Waiting On You (Blue Heron #3)(63)

And not a girl anymore.

“Don’t bug me,” she said, tearing her eyes off him. “I have work to do.” She tapped her phone, and once again, they could hear the star-crossed lovers from the street.

“So, um, do you know what I should do?” Paulie said, clearing her throat.

“Call Triple A?” Bryce suggested.

“Oh. So you don’t know how to change a flat tire?” Paulie asked, looking rather desperately at Colleen, who pointed at Bryce’s back.

“Not really. I never could figure out the jack, you know?” Bryce said.

Colleen whispered, “Tell him you’re sure he can figure it out. Be feminine. Be helpless. Make him feel strong and manly.”

Lucas rolled his eyes. “Tell me when you’ve ever acted feminine or helpless in your life.”

She looked up at him, her face suddenly stricken. She took a shaky breath. “Lucas, please,” she whispered, blinking back tears. “I’m just trying to help my friend. You’re right, it’s stupid. I just didn’t know what else to do.” Her mouth quivered.

“Nice try.”

She shrugged. “Well, it works on everyone else.”

He took the phone, clicked End and put it in his front jeans pocket. “You want it, you have to come get it.”

“I will. I’ll cut it out with my Swiss Army knife, and I won’t be careful of the landscape.” She waited. He didn’t move. “Lucas, give me my damn phone.” She reached for his pocket, but he intercepted her hand.

“You set this up, Colleen. Let them finish it.” Her hand was smooth and cool and fit into his just right. Same as always. Because he couldn’t resist, he stroked the back of her hand with his thumb, that soft, sweet skin.

“Oh, wow,” she sighed. “You’re really turning me on.” She batted her eyelashes at him, then pulled her hand free. Reached into his pocket.

¡Hola!

She kept her eyes locked on his. Fumbled around...deliberately, he figured. She gave that wicked smile.

Still the same Colleen.

And thank God for that.

He bent his head so that his unshaven cheek brushed hers. “Be careful what you wish for,” he whispered. God, she smelled good. Better than the lilacs, even.

“The ego on you could choke a blue whale,” she said, yanking her hand (and her phone) free. Her cheeks were very encouragingly red. She tapped her phone; a second later, Paulie tapped her Bluetooth. Command Central was once again established.

Bryce had found the spare tire in the trunk and put the lug wrench on a nut without too much difficulty. “I saw this in a movie,” he said happily, giving the wrench a hard turn. It sprang off and hit him in the arm. “Oops. Hang on, let me try that again.”

“Tell him how glad you are that you got this flat in front of his house. He’s a regular white knight,” Colleen muttered into the phone.

“It’s so lucky I got this flat in front of your house,” Paulie said. “You’re a prince, Bryce.”

“No prob, dude!” Bryce answered. He seemed to get the lug nuts loosened, but the jack was more perplexing. Paulie waited, cracking her knuckles. Bryce fumbled. Turned the jack on its side to see if it would work better that way, which, shockingly, it didn’t. “You know what?” he said. “My cousin’s here. I bet he could do this in ten seconds.”

“Maybe less,” Lucas murmured.

“No, don’t let him leave,” Colleen hissed into the phone. “Improvise.”

“Wait, wait,” Paulie said. “Uh...um...here. I’ll lift the front bumper, and you change the tire, okay? Count of three.”

And sure enough, she hefted the front end of her car.

“She’s magnificent,” Lucas said.

“Shush,” Colleen muttered. “And she is.”

“I meant it.”

“Wow!” Bryce exclaimed. “You’re superstrong. What’s your workout?”

“Marine Boot Camp 360,” Paulie grunted.

“No kidding! Me, too!” Bryce exclaimed. “How much can you bench-press?”

“Pull the tire off, for God’s sake,” Paulie said. “I’m gonna pop a hernia.”

“It’s like watching a  p**n o,” Lucas murmured.

Colleen snorted and hit Mute again on the phone, as her protégé apparently couldn’t take orders while lifting a small vehicle. “So why’d you get a divorce?” she asked after a minute.

“Maybe I never got over you.”

“Ooh. Good line. I’m serious. Why’d you leave that sweet deal of yours?”

“I thought we were having dinner sometime. I’d rather not discuss my marriage in the bushes.” That being said, he could see down her shirt. Push-up bra, thank you, Lord. She’d never been shy about showcasing her assets, and times like this, he was grateful.

She seemed to read his mind, because she glanced back at him. Busted. He grinned.

So did she, completely confident.

It suddenly occurred to Lucas that he was single, and Colleen was single, and he’d be in town for—

No. He wasn’t here for a relationship, and certainly not one that would doubtlessly be as tangled and intense as his and Colleen’s had been ten years ago. She wasn’t the fling type.