Until Sadie - Sarah Curtis Page 0,3

I’ll take it.”

Jim nodded. “I don’t do no formal contract. As long as you pay the rent every month, we’re good.” They made their way to the door, and he continued, “Need help moving anything in?”

Dean stepped back out into the bright sunshine. “All I own is strapped to my bike. Sold everything to move here.”

Ray whistled. “That’s risky, man.”

Dean couldn’t agree more.

Chapter Two

The screw slipped from between Dean’s fingers and fell into the engine bed. “Son of a…” He looked down at his hands. They were covered in grease. He pulled his head out from under the hood of the Mustang GT he was working on and grabbed a rag off a nearby workbench to wipe them off.

After almost a month of working for Ray, he could never get them completely clean. Black stained under his fingernails and around the cuticles no matter how much he scrubbed.

Someone in the next bay started an impact wrench, temporarily blocking out Supertramp telling him to Take the Long Way Home. He chuckled humorlessly under his breath. No worries there. The road home for him was long and winding—The Beatles for the win.

A commotion in the parking lot drew his attention. Ray was waving his arms around like a crazy person. It looked as if he was arguing with someone, but his body blocked who he was talking to.

Curious, Dean stepped out of the bay, his hand lifting to shade his eyes from the bright sunlight. Taking a few steps to his right, he was able to see the object of Ray’s attention.

And what an object it was. In fact, the woman going toe-to-toe with Ray was damn near the prettiest one he’d ever seen.

He took a few steps closer to get a better view. Scratch that, she was the prettiest.

Long brown hair fell in a cascade to the middle of her back, the sunlight catching all the red and gold highlights and making it glow. Her skin was smooth and flawless and sun-kissed to a light tan. Even in the throes of an argument, her features were soft. Rounded cheeks, small pert nose, full, ruby lips, and a little chin she had defiantly jutted in Ray’s direction.

He felt his hackles rise as new-found jealousy took hold. Only people who loved each other cared enough to get that angry.

Dean had been to the bar a few times with Ray and the guys since he’d been hanging around, and Ray hadn’t behaved as though he had a girlfriend. Dean had even seen him leave with a woman once.

Was that what they were arguing about? Did the little pixie who held Dean spellbound find out?

Of their own accord, his feet moved him closer so he could hear actual words and not just shouted noise. And that’s when it happened.

Her eyes collided with his.

Green. That was their color. But hers were so bright and vibrant, they could only be called emerald.

Time stood still.

Dean wasn’t sure if he believed in love at first sight, but fuck him if he didn’t just fall hard, landing with a splat to the pavement.

Mid-rant, her mouth froze before it formed a small O. Her hands, which had been planted aggressively on her hips, fell, leaving her arms to dangle at her sides.

She took a step back from Ray, and Dean found himself taking another step forward, his heart thumping madly in his chest.

Ray looked over his shoulder, spotting him. “Hey, Dean.”

He knew it was none of his business, but he still found himself asking, “Everything okay here?”

Ray ran a hand through his hair, sighing. “Yeah, everything’s cool.” Recalling his manners, he gestured to the woman. “Dean, my sister, Sadie. Sadie, Dean.”

Sister. His new fucking favorite word. He held out his hand then thought better of it, quickly retracting it, but not before she lifted hers to make the grab. Fucking flustered for the first time in his life, he shoved his hands in his back pockets and shrugged. “Sorry, I remembered they were dirty.”

“The hazard of being an auto mechanic?” Her voice was melodic, and it was playing his song.

He shrugged again. “Something like that.”

They stared at each other for a few beats. What was fucking wrong with him? He was never at a loss for words around a pretty woman. Hooking up had always come easy. Women flocked to his good looks, height, and muscles, and he’d always said the right things to seal the deal. But in front of Sadie, he was coming up blank.

In a blink, he lost