Page 6 of Wanting His Girl

"How about we exchange numbers?” he suggests. “I can text you an update on your car."

I give Jake my number and he quickly types it into his phone. Then he steps closer, and before I can overthink it, he wraps an arm around my shoulder and pulls me into a hug. His scent—pine and a hint of leather—fills my senses, and I have to remind myself to breathe.

"Goodnight, sweetheart," he murmurs, releasing me but holding my gaze for a second longer than necessary.

I swallow hard. “Goodnight, Jake."

As I watch his truck roll away, I touch the spot on my shoulder where his hand had been.

There's a fluttering in my stomach, a mix of nerves and excitement—the kind you get before the first drop on a roller coaster.

I know I'm probably reading too much into a simple hug and an offer for a ride, but I can't help it. With Jake, it feels different—it feels like possibility.

Maybe it's wishful thinking, but I can't shake the sense that there's something more waiting for us just over the horizon.

Chapter Three

JAKE

The smell of grease hits me as I step into Boone Pierce's auto body shop.

Boone, a stocky guy with hands that have turned more wrenches than most have seen in their lifetimes, is already walking toward Melanie's busted-up ride.

“Morning, Jake," Boone calls out, his hands busy scrubbing off the grime on a worn-out rag. “You’re up early.”

It’s a little bit after seven a.m. on Monday morning, and the sun is barely peeking out above the horizon. Since I work late at the bar most nights, I tend to be a late riser. But I promised Melanie I would make sure Boone took care of her car first thing in the morning.

My eyes scan over the car's damaged windshield. "So, how bad is it?"

Boone tosses the rag aside and walks around to the other side of the car.

“Eh, looks worse than it is. All we need to do is remove all this damaged glass here,” He gestures to the spiderweb of cracks marring the car's front view. "Once that's done, we clean up the frame and seal the new windshield right in place. She'll be as good as new."

"Got it," I nod, trying to keep up with his rundown. Windshield replacement seems straightforward enough when Boone explains it, but my mind can't help but drift.

I can’t get the image of Melanie from last night out of my mind.

She was a vision - sexy and sweet rolled into one like I've never seen before. I kept wanting to pull her into a corner and kiss the shit out of her. But it was her work event and I could tell she was already on thin ice with her asshole boss.

So I kept my hands to myself, while my mind wandered down paths less than innocent.

"Jake?" Boone's voice snaps me back to the present.

"Sorry, man, miles away," I say with a sheepish grin. "You were saying?"

"I was asking how you managed to crack a pretty girl's windshield?"

I chuckle, the sound echoing off the shop walls.

"I was playing baseball in the park with my brothers when a stray throw went straight through her windshield."

"Sounds like quite the meet-cute.”

I snort. “More like a meet-disaster. Melanie took it in stride, though.”

"Melanie, huh?" Boone smirks and leans against the counter, eyeing me with a knowing look. “She’s Dean Watts' sister, right?”

"Yep, that's her."

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