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“Look, all I need is a wrench,” she said forcefully. “Just loan me one. Sell me one. I don’t care. But if I have to go much farther in my car, I’m going to find myself hitchhiking. Do I look like I want to be hitchhiking today?” She spread her arms out from her body as she straightened, her pretty gray eyes cloudy, distressed, her pink lips tight as the mechanic moved in behind her.
“No, ma’am, you don’t.” Nathan shook his head, his gaze moving over her appreciatively before he looked around her at the mechanic. “Is there a reason why we’re not looking at her car?” he asked the other man.
Sammy’s eyes narrowed. “Garage bays are full, boss, I told her that.”
“A wrench,” she ground out between her teeth. “Just loan me the blasted wrench.”
She was frustrated. Perspiration clung to her forehead, glistened at her cheeks. Then her expression smoothed with obvious control.
“Look, really.” Her voice softened and he was enchanted. Right there, to the sound of a sweet Southern belle, Nathan Malone lost his heart. “I really just need a little bit of help here. I swear. My job interview isn’t going to wait for me. I promise, I won’t take long.”
She smiled, and he felt his world tilt on its axis. A sweet curve of her lips, a hint of nervousness, frustration, and worry lingered in the soft curve. But she smiled at him. Hell, he felt like a teenager again.
He moved around the desk and held out his hand to the door. “Show me the car. We’ll get you back on the road.”
“Boss, we’re packed,” Sammy protested.
Nathan ignored him as the young woman turned and preceded him to the door. He was watching her ass as she walked and it was the damnedest view. His hands itched to touch her. Itched to cup those curves and feel them flex beneath his hands.
“I’m Sabella.” She flashed him a smile over her shoulder. “I really appreciate this.”
That Georgia accent was going to make him come in his jeans. No way was he going to hold it back if she kept talking to him.
This one was his.
“It’s going to cost you,” he drawled as he popped open the hood to her little sporty sedan.
“It always does.” She sighed. “How much do you think?”
She looked worried. She was definitely a woman with a goal and intent on getting there. Pretty polished nails, just enough makeup to highlight her features, and pretty soft lips.
“Dinner.” He grinned back at her, catching the surprise in her eyes.
“Dinner?” Wariness filled her voice.
“Just dinner,” he promised. For now. “Tonight.”
She stared back at him for long seconds, those gray eyes seeming to sink inside him, to search, to warm places inside him he didn’t know existed. Let alone knew they were cold.
Finally, her lips tipped into a charming, flirtatious grin.
“The bad boy of Alpine is asking me out to dinner?” she said mischievously. “I believe I just might swoon.”
“That’s not me. That’s Sammy.” He pointed to the mechanic. “I’m just a poor mechanic and Navy SEAL.” The girls loved SEALs. Anything to impress her.
“Nathan Malone, the SEAL with the wild blue eyes and the heartbreaking grin,” she stated. “I know who you are.”
“But I don’t know who you are,” he stated somberly. “I’d love to find out.”
That look again. Intense, probing. “Dinner,” she finally agreed softly. “I’ll meet you.”
Whatever he could get. “Piedmont’s.” He named the most expensive restaurant in town, which wasn’t saying much. “Seven.”
“Seven it is. But I’ll never make it if you don’t fix my car.”
Sabella kept a knowing smile to herself. She had a feeling if she just told him what was wrong with it, he’d never believe her anyway. She let him piddle around, find the loose hose, and tighten it. There, just like she said, all she needed was a wrench. Her daddy had taught her how to work on her own car a long time ago. Unfortunately, her own wrench was missing.
So she let him fix it. She played helpless. Because she liked the way he looked at her, the way his wild blue eyes darkened just a bit, seemed more neon in his tanned face.
