Angie walked her son into his second grade classroom. Her little boy was growing so fast. She swore he was in diapers just yesterday. “Love you, sweetie. I’ll see you later this afternoon.”

“Bye, Mom.”

She kissed Raymond before leaving the elementary school to head to the shop. She drove her used Chevy Cruze into the parking lot. As she circled to park in the back, she saw Max’s black Jaguar in front.

Uh-oh. Her heart plunged into her stomach. She was so surprised to see Max yesterday that she forgot to tell her manager she left an oil stain in his car.

Max was here because of the stain. She just knew he was inside, complaining to Mr. Stokes. He was going to cost her a letter of recommendation, and she only had herself to blame.

Angie’s boots felt like they were made of cement. She dragged herself in through the employee’s entrance. Max’s voice carried from up the hallway. She heard Mr. Stokes reply. Then they laughed. What was so funny about her being unemployable?

More laughter. Might as well face the music. If she apologized again to Max and asked for the car upholstery cleaning cost to be taken out of her paycheck, maybe she could leave the temp job on a good note. How long would it be before another auto shop hired her? She walked towards the front desk. “Morning.” She kept her greeting short, because the morning certainly wasn’t shaping up to be good.

Max wore jeans, a long-sleeve shirt and a million dollar grin. “Angie, it’s good to see you today.”

She raised her eyebrows. “It is?”

Mr. Stokes faced her with a smile, too. “Max was telling me you went to high school together. How come you never said you went to school with a hometown hero?”

What was so heroic about throwing a ball across a field? She audibly scoffed.

“What was that?” Mr. Stokes asked.

Angie cleared her throat. “We went to the same school. We graduated three years apart.”

“I need to make coffee before we open for business. I’ll let you two catch up.” Her manager shook Max’s hand. “Great to see you, champ.”

“You’ve got a fine shop and employees.”

Angie found herself alone in the front of the shop with Max. He still had his plastered on grin. She wasn’t sure if he realized the show was over. “Why are you here?”

“To talk to you.”

“Is it about the oil stain I left on the driver’s seat?”

He held up his hand. “Forget about it. I got it cleaned yesterday. I actually came to ask an important question.”

“About?”

“Let’s go for a drive.”

She saw his Jaguar through the shop window. “I start my shift in twenty minutes.”

“More than enough time. Come on. I’ll buy you a donut.”

“No, th-”

“We’re getting donuts.” He cupped his hand over his mouth to reach Mr. Stokes down the hall. “What’s your favorite, sir?”

“Maple cream,” Mr. Stokes called out.

“Be right back.” Max motioned for Angie to follow him outside.

Did she wake up this morning in the Twilight Zone? What was going on? She got to the door. Max held it open for her. “I don’t understand what you’re doing, but I can’t afford to be late for work.”

“You’ll understand in a minute.” He walked ahead to grab the passenger door of his car, opening it for her to get inside.

Max didn’t have a lot of time to explain his offer to Angie. He got in the convertible and sped out of the lot, making a sharp right turn.

Angie gripped the passenger door handle. “This might be why your brake pads are wearing out sooner than later.”

He kept the speed at a respectable thirty-five as he made his way to the donut shop farther up Main Street. “How’d you get into your line of work?”

“My brother and I used to work on cars during the summer as a hobby.”

Max got sad when she mentioned her brother. “I’m sorry about Detrick. I was in California when I found out he passed away.” He had heard the news at the last minute, and felt like a heel for not being able to make it to the funeral service.

He glanced at Angie. Her lips trembled before they formed a tight line. “He died serving his country.”

“He was a good guy.”

She gave him a sideways stare. “Is this why you wanted me to go with you on a drive, to talk about my brother?”

“This isn’t why I visited the shop this morning.” They arrived at the donut shop. He wanted to get the passenger door for Angie. She bolted out of the seat and went right inside. He followed. The place smelled like coffee and deep-fried heaven.

“I’ll have a cake donut with strawberry frosting.” She placed her order at the counter.

“Make it two,” Max said to the cashier. “We’ll also take a box of twelve. Six maple cream, six glazed.”

“Mr. Stokes probably could eat six maple cream donuts.”

“Want me to get him a dozen?”

She pulled napkins from the dispenser on the counter. “I want you to tell me why you came to the shop to talk to me today.”

The cashier was lightning fast. She had the donuts all boxed up and ready to go. Max put a ten on the counter and carried the donuts outside. “How would you like to be my fiancée?”

Angie couldn’t believe Max just asked her to be his fiancée. If she bit into the cake donut with strawberry frosting, she was pretty sure she would’ve choked on it. “Excuse me?”

Max slid into the driver’s seat, cool as a cucumber in designer denim. “I’m working to get a new state-of-the-art hospital built here in Harper. It was my dad’s dream. Before he died in Atlanta last year, he talked with two potential business partners. These guys like to cut deals with people who share similar lifestyles.”

She held the box of donuts in her lap while he drove. “Aren’t you…like them?” She didn’t want to be crass and say rich, even though the word was precisely what she was thinking.

“No. They’re older and traditional. Actually, they’re quirky. They like to network with other family men.”

“It doesn’t sound so bad.”

Max made a face before turning to go to the auto shop. He didn’t take a sharp turn this time. “They own the land on Teak Ridge Drive where my dad wanted the hospital to be built. They won’t sell it to me unless I show intent to marry and start a family. This is where you come in by acting like my high school sweetheart. The small-town, romantic spiel appeals to them.”

Angie didn’t like his snarky attitude and critique of the business partners. She didn’t know them, but what was so wrong with men who placed priority on their families? “You want me to lie and pretend we’re engaged so you can buy a plot of land?”

“It’s a solid offer. It would only be for six months, tops.”

“Half a year is a long time.”

“Might be sooner if I play my cards right. I’ve been known to get things done fast.”

She hooded her eyes. Was this the part where she was supposed to be impressed by his business savvy?

Max must’ve seen her expression. He moved on. “All you have to do is attend functions and act like my fiancée in public.” He yielded for an elderly pedestrian out walking her miniature Schnauzer. “I forgot to ask. You aren’t married, are you?”

Angie rubbed the side of her neck. “No, but I have a seven year-old son.”

“Great. They have grandkids his age.”

“I don’t want Raymond involved in something shady like this. He needs stability in his life.”

“You don’t have to bring him to events if you don’t want to.”

There was a relief. After Raymond’s father walked out on her before her son was born, the last thing she wanted to do was expose him to a world of corporate wheelers and dealers. “I’m not trying to be nosy, but why not ask someone else from high school? Didn’t you date a couple cheerleaders during your senior year?”

“They got married or moved after graduation.”

“I see. You need a hometown girl and you’re experiencing a shortage.”

“Angie, if you agree to pretend we’re engaged, I’ll pay you one hundred and ten.”

“Dollars?” She got insulted. It didn’t sound like much at all for what he was asking her to do for six months.

“Grand.”

She held onto the donuts when he made an unexpected turn. One hundred and ten thousand dollars was a whole lot of money, far more than what she made at the auto shop. She’d have to work years to match the sum, and she didn’t have any permanent job prospects lined up. Most of the garages and auto body shops in Harper had closed down or relocated closer to Atlanta.

“Do you like fixing cars for a living?”

“I like tinkering under the hood, but I wish it paid more of the bills, if that’s what you mean,” she admitted. “I take care of my son and my grandmother. She broke her hip a month ago.”

Max parked the car in front of the auto shop. “So do we have a deal?” He cut to the heart of what he wanted. He didn’t even care to hear about how her grandmother was doing. Why did her brother ever hang out with such a self-absorbed guy?

“I’d have to quit seeking work as a mechanic, right?”

He shook his head. “Not if you don’t want to. In fact, if you keep your job, people will see your strong work ethic. It doesn’t get much more hometown proud than that.”

And Angie thought she could be pretty sarcastic. “You put a lot of thought into this, haven’t you?”

He smirked a little. “I didn’t make my father’s med supply company go global without using my head once or twice.”

“What happens after you get the land for the hospital?”

“You’ll be my fiancée until all the paperwork is in and I break ground at the hospital site. Afterwards, we’ll quietly end the engagement. I’ll keep managing my company’s headquarters in Atlanta. You can resume your life here in Harper.”

He made it sound neat enough. She couldn’t believe she was considering his plan. She had one last question. “What else has to change? My son and I live with my grandmother in the house I grew up in.”

“You can continue to live with her. The more wholesome we appear as a couple, the better.”

“Good, because I’m not shacking up with you, even if it is just pretend.”

Max drew his eyebrows together. “Do you agree to my offer?”

Angie bit her lip, thinking. “Until you get the land and break ground. That’s it.”

“Perfect.” He held out his hand for her to shake. “I’ll have my attorney drop by your house with the documents to sign tomorrow morning.”

Angie shook his hand before getting out of the car. Max drove away. Yesterday he left her with a one hundred dollar tip. Today he left her with a box of donuts and an offer worth one hundred and ten thousand bucks. Just what was she getting herself into?