“I think so, too. Man, you are so talented. I bet all of the Knights come in here to get their bikes done.” I don’t even ride, and suddenly I want a custom bike.

   “Yeah, they do. I think it started out as just a place for them to custom their own bikes, but it grew. It’s now known as the best custom bike shop in the city,” she explains, pride in her tone. “We have a waiting list for people wanting a one-of-a-kind, custom bike. And we’re a small shop, so we take our time creating them, which makes them even more exclusive. I do the designs and then we have the mechanics that work in the garage.”

   “I feel like I need to do a little research so I actually know what I’m talking about when customers ask me,” I say, opening the lid from the lunch I packed from home and eating one of the nuts from the top of my salad. Not long after Abbie left, so did Crow, and I have to admit the workplace is much less stressful with him gone. I can now enjoy my lunch break talking shit with Cam without the tension Crow brings.

   “I’ll help you and guide you through everything. You’ll be a pro in no time,” she assures me. “My mom said she’s going to drop in and see me today, so if you see someone who looks like me but older and with pink hair, let me know.”

   “Will do,” I say, grinning at the image. “You’re lucky to have your mom around.”

   “You don’t?” she asks, lifting her head and looking at me.

   “No, she died when I was a kid,” I say, staring into my salad. “She had cancer. She and my dad had an epic love story. He’s never loved anyone again, never even introduced a woman to me. I wonder if I’ll ever find that type of love, or if it even exists anymore.”

   Cancer. The disease that took my mother may just be my downfall, too.

   Or maybe it will just take away my chance to give life.

   “I’m sorry about your mom,” she says, pulling up a crate and sitting next to me. “That type of love does exist—I see it every day. Temper and Abbie, they have that. Sky and Saint. Renny and Izzy. It’s out there. I don’t know if I’m ever going to find it, but it’s out there.”

   “So you have hope for others but not for you?” I ask, frowning. “Have you seen yourself? I’m surprised you don’t have men coming in lining up to see you.”

   “I’d like a line to form,” she jokes, laughing. “Men and women, I’m not fussed—I like them both.”

   We laugh together at that, and I like how open she is about everything. Cam hides nothing—she is who she is, and I appreciate that about her.

   “What type of women are you into?” I ask. “Do they need to be over six feet, too?”

   A man I’ve never seen before walks in, eying the two of us. “Hey, Cam.” He looks at me and grins. “Bronte?”

   I nod.

   “Damn, Crow never mentioned how cute you are,” he says, openly checking me out.

   Of course Crow didn’t.

   “I’m Dee.” He offers me his hand and I shake it.

   “Nice to meet you, Dee. You come to see your piece of art?”

   He rubs his hands together. “I have, and damn, she is looking good. Cam, you’ve outdone yourself.”

   The two of them coo over the bike while I head back out front, and sit back down at my desk. I’ve only just opened a tab on Internet Explorer when Crow walks back in, holding a big-ass bouquet of flowers.

   “Who are those for?” I ask before I’m able to stop myself.

   He places them on my table and leans forward on his palms. I can smell his cologne, a wild, woodsy scent, and I have to stop myself from wanting to just melt into him.

   “Cam,” he says quietly, blue eyes raking over my face. “It’s her birthday tomorrow, but I won’t be in, so I wanted to surprise her.”

   “Oh. She’s in the back with Dee,” I reply, licking my suddenly dry lips. “Who, by the way, was surprised that you didn’t tell him I was cute.”

   Crap, I shouldn’t have said that. It’s a bit unprofessional, but I wanted to get a rise out of him. Besides, I enjoy putting him on the spot, but I should have known that nothing ever fazes Crow.

   “I’m not a woman. I don’t sit around gossiping and discussing other people.” He tilts his head a little. “Why? You want to hear that I’m going around saying that the new chick at the garage is a hottie?”

   “Just repeating what he said, and don’t act like men don’t gossip,” I reply with a smirk, glancing back at the flowers. “They are beautiful. I had no idea it’s Cam’s birthday tomorrow. I’ll have to bring in a cake or something.” Everyone has a few talents in their life, and one of mine happens to be cake decorating.

   “Yeah, she doesn’t like to make a fuss, so of course we do that for her. By the way, good work with the parts order you put in this morning. You have a good eye.”

   “Thanks.”

   He picks up the flowers and takes them out back to give them to her, and I can hear her yelling in happiness when she sees them.

   It was a thoughtful thing for him to do.

   Maybe Crow’s not so bad after all.

* * *

   The next day my dad drops into work unexpectedly, food in his hands.

   “Hey, Dad, what are you doing here?” I ask, giving him a big hug.

   “I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I’d drop in and see how you’re doing,” he explains as he glances around the warehouse. “Pretty cool place. I brought you your favorite burger and fries.”

   “Thanks, Dad,” I say, smiling at him. He always did things like this when I was working with Nadia. It’s what I love about him—he is so thoughtful.

   Crow walks back out and sees us standing there, and quickly comes over.

   “Dad, this is my boss, Crow. Crow, this is my dad,” I introduce.

   Crow offers Dad his hand. “Nice to meet you, sir.”

   “And you,” Dad replies, glancing over to me. “I hope you don’t mind, just wanted to check out Bronte’s new workplace and see how she’s doing.”

   “Not at all,” Crow replies, eyes going to me. “She’s a great worker, we’re lucky to have her.”

   Well, that’s news to me. I can’t look away from Crow as he says kind words about me to my dad, who appears extremely proud. In fact, his smile is wider than I’ve seen it in a long time. I’m happy, because I know how proud he was of me at my old job, so it’s nice to know that hasn’t changed with this one.