I don’t respond. You’re welcome doesn’t seem fitting and is awkward under the circumstances.
“Why don’t you come in and fill out an application, so we have your information,” Tamara says, motioning for me to follow her inside.
“Sure,” I mutter. It’s probably useless. No matter what solid I did for Rosie, being hired by anyone inside the Gallo family will be a hard sell.
“When you’re done with her, come back out and see me in the garage.”
I nod and follow Tamara as she peels herself off her husband. “Will do,” I reply.
Tamara doesn’t say much, typing away on her phone as I follow her through the customer entrance of the shop to a small office.
“Sorry about that,” she says, setting her phone on her desk as she takes a seat. “So…sit. Sit.”
I do as she asks, sitting across from her, feeling completely awkward. “You don’t have to do this,” I tell her, sitting on the edge of the seat, ready to go. “I know how my family and yours…”
She shakes her head, holding up a hand. “Whatever shit you have with my uncle Joe doesn’t run down to me or to Rosie. That’s between you and him. What you did last night…” She stops and blows out a breath. “I don’t know what would’ve happened if you hadn’t been there. We owe you.”
“You owe me nothing.”
“We do, but we’re also in need of another mechanic. We’re busier than ever, and getting good workers hasn’t been easy. Most of the kids these days don’t know shit.”
“Well, I know my shit.”
Tamara tilts her head and studies me again as her phone starts to dance across the desktop as messages roll in.
I tick my head toward the vibration. “That about me?”
She smiles. “Maybe.”
“That’s a yes,” I mutter, scrubbing a hand across my beard.
She reaches into the top drawer of her desk, pulling out a piece of paper and sliding it across to me. “Fill this out so I have your contact information. It’ll be up to Mammoth after he knows a little more about your experience and skills.”
I grab a pen lying nearby and start to write, but Tamara isn’t going to let me do it in peace or quickly.
“So, you stayed the night last night. How’d that go?”
“You tell me,” I say, filling in the old address that used to be my home but is now temporary. “I’m sure word’s spread.”
“She said you were sweet.”
I growl and scribble a little faster.
“I like that,” she says, leaning over the desk with her hands clasped in front of her. “Mammoth’s a teddy bear. He can be a grumpy fucker like you, but around me, he’s nothing but kind.”
“I’m not grumpy,” I grumble.
“Said like a grumpy fucker,” she says with laughter lacing her voice.
“Ro’s sweet on you, you know?”
I glance up, my pen not moving. “You sure about that? Her father…”
“Doesn’t matter in the equation. You think my dad liked Mammoth? Don’t be ridiculous. My father wanted to murder Mammoth, especially after I went into lockdown and almost got killed.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “Well…I…”
“So, yeah. It’s all about your good deeds and how you treat his daughter. Gallo men can be the biggest, grumpy fuckers on the planet, but they’re just being protective. Once they know they can trust you and that you’ll protect their girl, you’re in the fold forever.”
“I think you’re getting ahead of yourself.”
She leans a little closer, staring me straight in the eye with no smile on her face anymore. “Am I?”
I stare back and say, “I don’t know what the future holds, kid.”
“No one does, old man. You could get hit by a bus on the way home tonight, but I’m asking about your intentions and feelings toward my cousin.”
“I have no idea.”
“Whatever you need to tell yourself,” she says, her smile back on her face. “When you know, you know. You just need to come to terms with that reality and let it sink in.”
“Fuckin’ women,” I mutter under my breath.
“You like her.”
“We’ll see.”
“Nah, you like her,” she tells me and starts to hum to herself.
I fill out the rest of the application in a hurry, scribbling down my answers to the basic questions. “We good?” I ask after I slide it back across the desk.
“We’ll see,” she says with a nod.
I shake my head, cursing to myself. Well, one thing is for sure, Rosie Gallo isn’t about to hide me, her father be damned.
Maybe I have a shot at her after all, and nothing about that thought makes me want to run.
13
ROSIE
I stare at my reflection in the mirror, regretting letting Luna do my makeup for my date tonight with Dylan.
“I look ridiculous,” I say to myself as she stands off to the side, looking totally impressed with her work.
Luna fusses with my hair one more time. “You look hawt. Don’t you dare take it off.”
“I look like a clown,” I grumble.
She rolls her eyes before she turns me toward her and holds my shoulders. “You look like a badass bitch. Your girls alone will bring any man to his knees, but add in the smoky eye and the red lips, and he’ll be eating out of your hands.”
“And I want that because?”
“Because it’s better than you eating out of his.”
“You’re weird.”
“I’m smart.”
“He’s seen me without all this. It’s not like he’s seeing me for the first time in his life.”
“Doesn’t matter. He’ll be unable to keep his eyes and hands off you tonight.”
“This is a thank-you dinner, Luna.”
“Uh-huh.” She winks. “He can thank you with some good dick.”
It’s my turn to roll my eyes. “I don’t need good dick,” I tell her before trying to pull up my top to cover my breasts that are reaching for my chin.
I’m not two steps away from her when her hand lands flat on my ass with a load thwap. “Well, you most certainly don’t want bad dick either.”
I rub the spot on my ass that only stings a little, but I’m going to milk it for everything it’s worth. “We may be identical in looks, but after that, we’re not much alike.”
“We are, but you repress your inner goddess.”
There’s a light knock on the door, and Luna claps her hands, filled with so much freaking happiness. Me? My body’s buzzing, and my palms are sweating no matter how hard I concentrate on slowing my breathing.
“I can’t do this,” I announce, standing near the doorway of my bedroom and looking at the hallway like it’s made of lava.
Luna pushes me forward, not letting me back out now, and I hate her for it. “Oh no, you don’t. You’re going. You said you wanted to thank him, and you’re gonna thank him.”