Chapter 1

Annie Wilson’s hands froze over the keyboard as someone yanked open the door of Mufford Brake and Muffler. She tried not to cringe. She was having a bad day already, and she had a bad feeling it was about to get worse.

Brent from Like a Prince Car Rentals strode to the counter and looked up at the clock on the wall. “Is the red Ford finished yet? You said it would be ready half an hour ago.”

She stood and approached him, glad for the barrier of the counter between them. “I’m sorry, no. As you know, we’re short a mechanic this week, and we’re running a bit behind.”

Brent ran his fingers through his hair. “I don’t mean to be snappy, but I’m short someone, too. I don’t have a minute to spare with Luke gone.”

Annie swept one hand in the air toward the shop. “The guys are working as hard as they can with Cindy gone. We took your Ford without an appointment, and we’re doing our best.” She turned her head to the west, in the direction of the ocean and ultimately Hawaii, where Luke and Cindy were. “Do you think they’re thinking of us and what’s going on while they’re gone?”

“I doubt it. At least they shouldn’t be. I sure wouldn’t be thinking of work on my honeymoon.” He turned his head toward Hawaii, too, and his expression softened. “I still can’t believe how quickly this happened. It took him so long to get her attention, and then it felt like the next day they were married.”

Annie sighed. “I can’t believe that story Luke told Cindy about getting a great deal on the plane tickets, but only if they used them right away.”

Brent nodded. “I know. But it worked.”

Annie didn’t believe anyone really fell for that line, yet somehow they’d managed to make a wedding happen in two short weeks. Although with the way her mother had treated Cindy, Annie couldn’t blame Cindy for wanting to get out of the house as fast as possible.

Ever since the night of Brent and Luke’s banquet, Annie’s eyes had been opened to her mother’s behavior toward Cindy, which had shown her the real Cindy. She’d believed all her mother’s lies and wrongly acted just as awfully as her mother. Even though her mother had no remorse, Annie couldn’t shake the guilt. In an attempt to make things right between them, Annie had done her best to pull every string she could to make the wedding happen. And in order for Cindy to actually go on a honeymoon, Annie had volunteered to run things at the brake and muffler shop. Now that she was a college graduate, she’d be looking for a job at a public accounting firm, but those plans were put temporarily on hold.

She knew she would be in over her head, but she hadn’t counted on Luke’s partner and his bad attitude.

Brent checked his watch, as if he didn’t trust the clock he’d just looked at only minutes ago. “How much longer will it be? The people who reserved it will be here soon, and I haven’t given it an inspection yet.”

“I’ll have to ask Oscar. I’ll be right back.”

As she turned to walk into the shop, the hair on the back of her neck bristled. She couldn’t believe Brent had the nerve to follow her.

She spun around, holding up one hand to stop him. “Customers aren’t allowed beyond the yellow line.”

He pointed down at the line they were both about to cross. “Neither are you if you’re not wearing safety boots.” He stared down at her feet. “Unless those are steel-toed sandals.”

Annie couldn’t help but wiggle her exposed toes. She hadn’t thought about going into the shop before; she’d never needed to. “Never mind the sarcasm. Wait here.”

She shuffled across the floor, being careful not to trip on any loose nuts or debris. “Oscar, how much longer?”

“Five minutes. Or more if he’s being a pain.”

Annie bit back a grin. “Just get it done,” she muttered and walked back to the yellow line.

At her return, Brent turned and walked back to where he should have been in the first place.

“Five minutes and it’s all yours.”

He checked his watch again. “I’ll be back in four, which should be enough time to start filling out the form.” He turned and left the second he finished his sentence.

Annie didn’t know whether to be angry with him or feel sorry for him. Even though she didn’t like his manners, or lack thereof, she could understand his situation. She felt the same without Cindy running things. Luke and Cindy had only been gone four days, and already everything was nearing a disaster. She’d never appreciated Cindy’s organizational skills. Instead of learning from Cindy’s instructions, for the past year she’d listened to her mother and only answered the phones and done a minimal amount of actual work. Most of the time she’d been there, she’d done her homework for college. Now she was trying to run the place, and she was totally unprepared.

Annie watched as Oscar lowered Brent’s fleet car down on the hoist, mentally counting the seconds until his return. She’d been so unfair to Cindy. No matter what it took, for the two weeks Cindy was away on her honeymoon, Annie vowed to do everything she could to make up for her past sins. Even if that meant dealing with Luke’s partner.

Brent Wallace gripped the pencil so hard he didn’t know how it didn’t snap.

During the time that Luke had been pursuing Cindy, it had been their unspoken agreement that Luke would be the one to go over to the brake and muffler shop when they needed something. Or even when they didn’t. Brent had found Luke’s besotted behavior amusing. But what hadn’t been amusing were the times when Luke came back frustrated over Cindy’s sisters’—or rather, her stepsisters’—behavior. He’d often grumbled about Annie being the worst slacker he’d ever seen, in addition to being downright disrespectful to Cindy, who, despite the family relationship, was the boss and should have been treated accordingly.

Even without Cindy there, Annie didn’t follow the rules. He could understand her not wearing regulation safety footwear, but sandals with her toes showing…

Cute little toes with bright-red nail polish…

Brent shook his head to clear the image from his mind.

Luke had asked him to make sure Annie could manage the place on short notice in Cindy’s absence, but Brent understood what Luke meant. Luke had meant for him to keep an eye on Annie to make sure she actually worked.

It was going to be a long two weeks.