Becoming My Ex’s Mother in Law by Aurora Starling
Chapter 21

Chapter 21

“I don’t know how you can help,” I said as I looked back at my dead car. “There’s no repair shop in town. I’m not sure if there’s even a tow truck.”

“Well, lucky for you, I happen to know a thing or two about cars.” Andrew climbed out of his Aston Martin and popped the trunk. “I also take a full toolkit with me wherever I go, just in case.”

I smirked.

I

“I guess it’s a good thing I waved down Mr. Handyman, then.”

“No, it’s a good thing that Mr. Mechanic saw you on the side of the road and decided to take pity on you.”

He winked at me, and I giggled.

“Touché, Mr. Mechanic.”

Andrew set his toolkit on the ground and started to take off his suit jacket and tie.

“Why don’t you hop down and pop the hood for me?”

“Sure thing.”

I slid down, popped the hood, and then propped it up. By the time I was done, Andrew had removed his suit jacket and tie and rolled up his sleeves. I swallowed hard at the sight of his forearms.

“All right, let’s take a look at this bad boy and see what’s going on,” he said as he stooped under the hood. I watched as Andrew got to work on the car. I had no clue what he was doing, with the exception of when he would reach for a tool. I was too mesmerized by the muscles beneath his undershirt to really focus.

Those lean, hard muscles stretched and contracted with each move he made, with each turn of the wrench and bend at his waist as he checked every component of the engine. Sweat gathered around his armpits and abs; some trickled down his forehead and n*eck, disappearing beneath his shirt. I could practically smell the testosterone pouring off of him.

I squirmed in place and crossed my legs, trying to hide how wet I was getting.

“Okay, I think I’ve found the problem,” Andrew said, jarring me out of my thoughts. “It’s actually a much easier fix than I had anticipated.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah,” he said, almost laughing as he spoke, “and you won’t believe why. But first, fixing it will go a lot easier with a little help. Would you like to lend a hand?”

I tried to swallow, but my throat had suddenly gone dry. The thought of being closer to Andréw in this state was a bit overwhelming for me.

“Of course.

I took my place beside him, our shoulders touching. The heat between us in the freezing cold caused me to shiver from pleasure. I prayed to the goddess that Andrew didn’t notice.

“So, what do you need me to do?” I asked, my voice cracking a little from the dryness.

Andrew pointed the light of a flashlight into the engine.

“Are you able to see that hose there?”

“Yes.”

“That’s your radiator hose. If you follow it a little farther down, you’ll be able to see that there’s a hole in it.”

My eyes followed the light as it traced a trail to a hole in the hose. Right next to it, nested among miscellaneous debris, was a tiny mouse.

“Is that a mouse?” I asked, admittedly stupidly.

Andrew laughed.

“Yes, that is. It seems to have crawled into your engine for warmth and chewed a hole in your radiator hose. Frankly, you’re lucky that it wasn’t burning hot when it broke down.”

“Well, what do we need to do?”

“What we need to do is to remove the mouse without hurting it and then patch up the hole.”

“That’s it?”

“Well, we’ll need to check the coolant levels afterwards to make sure that you have enough, but yes, that’s it. You’ll still need to take it to a proper mechanic later, but it should do for the trip home.”

“Okay. What do you want me to do?”

“When I bend the hose, I want you to reach in and gently remove the mouse and its nest. We’ll set it free on the side of the road.”

I nodded, though I wasn’t too confident that I could make it out of this situation without getting bitten. “We are predator, not prey.” Susan said defiantly.

I knew that Susan was right, and the mouse did look cuter than it looked vicious, but I still didn’t want to take, the risk. It could be carrying diseases. Besides, what if I accidentally hurt it?

“Don’t worry, I’ll be right here with you. I’ll make sure that nothing goes wrong.”

Andrew wrapped his arm around my shoulders, still directing the light on the mouse. Chills covered me where we made contact, and it had nothing to do with the cold. With his other hand, he moved the hose and exposed the mouse fully.

“Now, just reach in slowly and gently lift it out of there.”

Following his instructions, I slowly reached forward and scooped my hand under the mouse’s nest. My breath caught as my hand brushed against Andrew’s warm skin, but I continued to carefully lift mouse and home out of my engine. Once clear of the complex mechanisms under the car’s hood, I brought my other hand to help cradle the mouse and put it close to my chest.

The mouse’s squeaking startled me momentarily but also endeared me to it.

“All right, go put it in that bush over there. That should be as safe a place as any. I’ll handle the hole while you

do that.”

I nodded and took the mouse over to the nearest bush, I tucked it and its nest as far under the leaves as could, hoping that it would be safe and warm there.

As I returned to the car, Andrew was using duct tape to repair the hole in my radiator hose. Even pulling the tape apart, his muscles flexed and throbbed in a way that made my heart race. I licked my l*ps subconsciously.

Andrew looked up and gave me a cocky half–grin. Did he know that I was checking him out? I turned my head away quickly, blushing.

“So, is it working?” I asked as I approached him.

“It should be. We just need to check the coolant levels and see if that’s all the damage that’s been done.”

“Thank you so much. I really appreciate your help.”

“No problem. I’m sure that anyone could have found that pesky rodent in there, set it free, and slapped some duct tape over a hole.”

We laughed. Even with the frigid temperatures and angry clouds overhead threatening us with snow, I only felt warmth in Andrew’s presence. I glanced up at him from under my lashes, and our eyes met.

“His interest is now 99.999%,” Susan said proudly.

I bit my bottom l*p. His gaze drifted to my l*ps, and I could almost see the gears in his mind turning. He leaned forward slowly, his eyes half–lidded, and I tilted my head in anticipation of his k*ss.

When he was a couple inches away from my face, Andrew stopped. A mixture of conflict and desire crossed his face, but he eventually sighed and pulled himself away.

“We better make sure that this car’s working.”