Mz Mechanic by Ambrielle Kirk Page A

at the bank, he’d ditched his tie. The decision to visit Reilly’s today was a split second one. For the next two evenings he’d be busy helping his parents move into their new place. This might have been the only chance this month to meet with this business owner.
    He took out his phone and brought up his task line for next week. The event he’d dreaded for several months filled this weekend’s schedule. Something like a high school reunion should have been the center of his attention, but it wasn’t. Who cared about reuniting with people he saw too many times than he cared for already? At the last reunion, hardly anything at all had changed about his classmates. This time may have been different, but he still detested this event. If Troy, an old pal of his, hadn’t insisted that he be there, he’d have no guilt about ditching this one.
    Hardly anything at all had changed about him. He was still the same old guy from high school. Wasn’t he? He may have been popular back then, but when it came to his personal life, he kept a low key lifestyle. Most of his classmates were probably married by now. Yet, he was still a certified bachelor. And he liked it that way.
    Half an hour passed before he realized he’d seen an entire re-run of an old sitcom and he was alone in the waiting room. He got up and ventured into the main area, where he saw Daniel sitting behind the counter texting away on a smartphone. Although, the Open sign was now facing in the store, indicating that the guy had closed up shop already. It explained why he was the only one in the waiting area.
    Shawn approached the counter. “Was your owner available?”
    Daniel looked surprised. “No, she’s busy. She doesn’t remember making any appointments. Are you trying to sell us something? Because if you are—”
    “I’m not trying to sell anything. This is business related. I’ve been trying to reach the owner by phone for some time.”
    “I’ll be right back, sir,” he said.
    Shawn felt like a pest all of a sudden. But why should he? It was the owner of Reilly’s Automotive that contacted him about possible investments. A call would have been nice to save him from nearly suffering a massive heat stroke on the way here if they had changed their mind.
    Daniel came back into the main area of the store, held the door open, and gestured into the car shop. “Alex is on the far end.”
    Good grief. If his truck wasn’t being repaired, he never would have waited this long.
    Shawn walked past a row of mechanic stations toward the other end of the shop. He passed the repair man who greeted him earlier outside, who was still whistling a tune.
    The hood to his black Hummer was propped up, but no one was in view. He recalled that an Alex Reilly had signed the documents in the file he’d been assigned. When he reached the last station, there was still no mechanic—or any sign of Alex in view. A clanking noise on the other side of his car caught his attention. He walked around to the other side.
    The lower half of a pair of legs stuck out from under his car. They were bare, smooth, and shapely. They belonged to a woman…and they were sexy as hell. His gut twisted causing what seemed like a flurry of butterflies to awaken. The brown tone of her legs looked like the mocha he treated himself to every so often. A pair of black working boots adorned the woman’s small feet.
    He cleared his throat. “Hello.”
    A small hand reached out from under the car to grab a screwdriver. “One minute please.”
    The voice was low and sexy, and he craned his neck trying to see the woman under the car. “Ah, sure.” He was at a loss for words. Never in his thirty-three years had he witnessed a woman doing anything under the hood of a car. Let alone, his truck. “You umm…you need some help down there?”
    He thought he heard her chuckle. More of her legs came into view. The thighs were bare as well, with patches of black grease smudged on the skin. With legs that