There’s more than one way to love and more than one place to call home in this rousing small-town romantic comedy that’s sure to charm fans of Hannah Bonam-Young’s Next to You and Ashley Herring Blake’s Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date.
Intrigued? read on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt from Karmen Lee’s The Relationship Mechanic, which is out January 21st 2025.
There’s no fix for a lonely heart like a little TLC…
Jessica Jae-un Miller came to Peach Blossom, Georgia, for a visit, not a breakdown. But when her rental car dies on the outskirts of town, mechanic Lavenia “Vini” Williams provides a tow—and a very welcome jump start to Jessica’s heart. It’s been a minute since Jessica’s last fling—her relationship specialty—and Vini checks all the right boxes. If only the sexy car whisperer seemed interested…
Vini knows herself and what she wants. She loves her job, her family, her hometown—but she’d love to fall in love. Jessica stirs up all the right feelings, but the city girl has no intention of staying in Peach Blossom. Why sign up for a broken heart?
But the temptation is real as Vini goes out of her way to drive a carless Jessica around town. The pair can’t seem to keep their distance—or their hands to themselves. With only six weeks to figure out where their red-hot chemistry might lead, Vini and Jessica will have to decide if home can be where the heart is when the heart only knows how to run.
The next few hours seemed to fall away as Jessica pretended to be doing anything other than stealing glances at the woman just beyond the glass door. Vini’s face was almost serene as she moved this way and that carrying tools that Jessica couldn’t even pretend to know the names of. Even the sounds faded into the background as she watched Vini in what was clearly her element. The woman moved like poetry Jessica wished she understood. Every now and then, their eyes would meet, and once or twice, Vini’s lips would twitch like she wanted to smile. It gave Jessica hope that maybe she wasn’t totally off base. It also gave her time to think of how to use their time together to get to know more about her. Vini didn’t seem to be the type that gave up personal details easily, but Jessica wasn’t trying to court her like some duke in a historical romance novel. Things didn’t have to get too deep to be worthwhile.
By the time Vini had the car back down on the ground, Jessica knew what her next moves would be. Keeping it simple seemed like it would be the key here. Being coy didn’t appear to be the way to go. She could appreciate it in a way. Too often, the women she dealt with moved in a series of chess-like starts and stops. It was exhausting sometimes to navigate that push-and-pull dynamic. That didn’t seem to be something Vini utilized, but there were other things Jessica knew she had to take into consideration. Small towns were notorious for running on word of mouth, and Jessica knew firsthand how quickly things could spread when a whisper network got ahold of them.
“Your car is ready to go,” Vini said, drawing Jessica’s attention again. Her once-clean shirt was smudged with grease as she wiped her hands on a towel. Her expression was even, and Jessica followed her to the counter. Neither of them said anything as Vini printed out the paperwork and handed it over. “Here’s everything that was done. I know you said the rental company was reimbursing you, but let me know if they push back on anything.”
“Thanks so much,” Jessica replied as she looked over things. She raised her eyebrows when she saw the quoted final price. “Wow, that’s much lower than I thought it would be.” She kept reviewing when she heard another door open and close.
“I see you’re giving her the friends and family discount.”
Jessica snapped her eyes up at Aiden’s words in time to see Vini swatting at him and making shushing motions. When she saw Jessica’s attention, she froze.
“The friends and family discount?” Jessica asked forcing her expression to stay neutral when really she wanted to grin. “Are we friends, then, Vini?” She dropped her tone, slightly crowing internally when Vini’s eyes widened. Not wanting to make her feel awkward, Jessica pretended to turn her attention back to the papers. She set them on the counter and signed without prompting. She wasn’t worried about the price after her conversation with the car company.
“So are you going to the bowling match tomorrow?” she asked without looking up. “Grace said it was going to be a big one. I figured I would go to lend some moral support and cheer them on.” Before she could overthink things, Jessica wrote her number and a little note telling Vini to call her on the paperwork.
“Yeah. If I don’t, Ava would probably lose her shit,” Vini replied softly. “She’s my sister, so I have to support the family.”
Jessica looked up in surprise but slid the paperwork across the counter with a smile. Grace hadn’t thought to mention that little tidbit when they were talking last night. This would complicate things slightly, but with another glance at Vini, she was thinking it might be worth it. “Great. It’ll be good to see another friendly face there.” When Vini reached for the paperwork, their hands brushed against one another. “And it will be good to see you again. I’m looking forward to what you plan on teaching me.”
At her words, Vini paused, their fingers still overlapping as she looked into Jessica’s eyes. There was heat there, Jessica was sure of it. Vini was into it, and Jessica had to figure out a way to let her know that she was more than a little interested. Besides, when everyone was on the same page, there was nothing wrong with a fun little fling.
Nothing more, nothing less.
