Victoria laughed against his mouth.
Daniel turned back to the engine.
“What did you actually do?”
“Nothing.”
“Victoria.”
“I drove it.”
“That is something.”
“You're impossible.”
“You married me.”
“You proposed.”
“You said yes.”
“Temporary lapse.”
He looked at her.
Six years.
Lines near her eyes that were not there before.
Same confidence.
Different softness.
He loved both versions.
She caught him staring.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“That look is never nothing.”
Daniel reached toward the wiring harness.
His fingers found the old repaired connector.
Still perfect.
The fault was elsewhere.
Of course.
Life rarely repeated itself cleanly.
He smiled.
“What?”
Victoria asked again.
Daniel looked at the garage.
The sign Rachel painted.
The expanded bays.
Lily’s backpack on the desk.
Victoria’s coffee on the workbench.
His life contained everything that had once seemed incompatible.
Grief.
Love.
Debt.
Success.
Independence.
Marriage.
Memory.
Change.
A billionaire’s Porsche.
A $138 invoice.
A foreclosure notice that had almost taken everything.
And one absurd morning when two exhausted strangers nearly kissed beside an open engine before discovering that one unknowingly owned the other's worst problem.
Daniel looked at Victoria.
“Remember the first time?”
She smiled.
“Every second.”
“You were unbearable.”
“I was charming.”
“You offered me thousands of dollars.”
“You charged me $138.”
“You flirted with me while I was working.”
“You stared at my dress.”
Daniel coughed.
“Professional assessment.”
“Of what?”
“Mobility.”
She laughed.
Daniel leaned against the car.
“You know what I thought after you left?”
“What?”
“That I hoped I never saw you again.”
Victoria smiled.
“Liar.”
“Completely.”
She stepped closer.
“What did you actually think?”
Daniel considered.
Then told her.
“I thought you were trouble.”
“Correct.”
“And I thought if you came back, I was probably going to kiss you.”
Victoria wrapped her arms around his neck.
“You made me wait until dinner.”
“I have standards.”
“No. You had fear.”
Daniel nodded.
“Yes.”
Victoria's expression softened.
“So did I.”
“Of me?”
“Of wanting something I couldn't solve with money.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Still can't.”
“I know.”
“Good.”
She kissed him.
Behind them, Lily shouted from the office:
“THE CUSTOMER IS WAITING!”
Daniel pulled away.
Victoria whispered, “We’re the customer.”
Lily shouted:
“I KNOW!”