Page 18 of Lost Prince
The mechanic nods, his eyes darting between me and Diana. There's a hint of surprise in his expression, like he can't quite believe what he's seeing.
"No problem," he replies, his voice cautious but not unkind.
I follow Diana to her beat-up car and slide into the passenger seat. The car is small, clean, yet clearly on its last leg. As she gets into the driver’s seat, I become acutely aware of how small it is. Her scent fills the air. Her warmth reaches out to me.
She looks at me happily. “Ready?”
I nod, finding myself drawn into her green eyes. Warmth and longing fill my chest. She bites her lower lip, and a carnal thought fills my brain, causing my dick to twitch. I jerk my gaze away, hoping she can’t see the bulge in my pants.
She begins to drive. Silence fills the car, and I’m afraid my response caused awkwardness.
"This thing's seen better days," I comment, inwardly kicking myself for saying something disparaging about her car.
Diana just laughs, patting the steering wheel affectionately. "Oh, Miss Lola has got plenty of life left in her. Just needs a little TLC."
“Lola? You named your car?”
“Of course. Don’t you?”
My lips twitch up and I damn near laugh. It makes me think of how she made me laugh earlier. It shocked me. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d laughed.
As we drive, Diana chatters away about how she came to own Lola. She bought her from an actress in a small town theater playing the character of Lola in some musical calledDamnedYankees.
“I would make food for the cast,” she says. “Anyway, when it was time to go, my car, Old Beater, died, so she sold me her car.”
“Old Beater? That’s not a name you want for a car.”
“Right?” she says, her voice and expression full of amusement. “That’s why this is Lola. It’s a sexy name for a car, don’t you think?”
I swallow, trying not to think about sex.
“She’s got me from San Antonio to Louisiana, and now here. And when the time comes, she’ll get me to Minnesota, right, Lola?” She pats the dashboard.
I don’t like the idea that she could be leaving. “What if you find your people here?” I ask it before I think better of it. The last thing I need is her thinking my family could be her family. I’m a fucking maniac. She can’t want to stay around me.
She glances at me and I hope my expression is impassive. “I guess I’ll stay. I’m open to whatever life brings. It’s part of the fun of it.”
"You're something else, you know that?" I say, shaking my head in amazement.
"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
“Definitely good. I don't know how you do it, staying so positive all the time."
She shrugs, still smiling. "Life's too short to focus on the negative. Besides, there's always something to be grateful for, if you look hard enough."
A part of me thinks she’s lecturing me, but as I watch her, I can see she really believes it. She must. She’s a woman who has no family. Nothing but a car that is running only on hope. And yet, she sees the world like it’s the Wonka Chocolate Factory.
As Diana pulls up to the house, I feel a knot in my stomach. But it's different now. It’s not dread. Not that it’s warm fuzzies, but it’s not so scary.
Before she can stop the car, the front door opens and Lana comes flying out. She yanks open the door.
“Lazaro!”
I step and she grips me, her face pressed into my chest. “I was so worried. Are you okay?”
The force of her embrace nearly cuts off my breathing. My arms wrap around her instinctively. I have the feeling I had when she showed up at the auto shop in Lafayette. It was a sense of knowing her, being connected to her, even though I had no clue who she was.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you. I just… needed some time."