The following week, she’d returned to the garage and asked for Brett specifically. She requested that he replace her air filter, though hers looked brand new. The next week, she’d come back by to ask him to check the pressure in her tires. Little did she know that he had already done so the week before since he thought one had looked a little low. But he went ahead and checked them again anyway, even though none of them ended up needing any air. But by the time the fourth week rolled around and she once again showed up at the garage where he worked, Brett couldn’t take it anymore.

He hadn’t planned to ask her out. Not only because she was one of his clients, but because they were just too different.

Sidney came from money. He’d learned that she’d grown up in a nice home where she was surrounded by fancy things and never had to want for anything. Although she’d always claimed to be a spoiled brat, Brett had never seen any real proof of it. She was warm and kind and funny, as beautiful on the inside as she was on the outside. And she was way more sophisticated than any girl he’d ever dated.

Brett, however, was only twelve when his father passed away, leaving big shoes to fill, and he tried to do so in as many ways as possible. He watched his little sister while their mom worked, earned extra money to help pay bills, and made sure that the two women in his life would never want for anything. But when he got busted for hustling pool, his reputation went downhill fast. And so did his attitude. He was moody and belligerent and rough around the edges. Not the kind of guy you take home to meet the family.

Honestly, he didn’t know what the hell Sidney ever saw in him back then.

But when he finally asked her out, she just smiled and said, “About damn time.” And then another strange thing happened. Her car suddenly didn’t have any more issues.

Guess mechanics and pool hustlers aren’t the only ones who run cons.

The thought had Brett chuckling to himself, which prompted a glance from Sidney. “What’s so funny?”

He cleared his throat and immediately straightened his face. The last thing he wanted to do was tell her that he’d been reliving the day they met in his mind. “Ah, nothing. Sorry.”

But there was something he wanted to talk about when it came to their past. One specific event that replayed over and over in his mind on a regular basis. Valentine’s Day of last year. The day he royally screwed everything up between them.