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“Yeah?” I turned back around and he was right there.
He reached out, caging me between his arms, his hands resting on the rusted hood of my car.
“Goodnight,” he whispered huskily, and then he kissed me. It wasn’t really a kiss, more a brush of his lips, but it was enough to ignite a fire in my body. I found myself leaning in, wanting more, but he was already gone.
I opened my eyes, which I hadn’t realized I closed, and saw him getting into his car wearing a proud smirk.
He drove away and I still stood there in the cold. I was in a daze, shocked by his brazenness and how much I’d enjoyed the barely there touch of our lips. My heart raced against my ribcage and I reached up to place shaking fingers against my lips. I was so screwed.
chapter three
My car wouldn’t start. It was completely dead. No lights. No clicking. Zilch.
I had stopped at the drugstore close to school before heading to class to pick up a few things and now I was stranded in the parking lot. If I had to I could walk to campus from here, but it was a particularly windy day and my backpack probably weighed fifty pounds. I tried to comfort myself with the fact that today was a review day, but I still hated to miss a class. I prided myself on perfect attendance and grades.
I grabbed my phone, calling the insurance company so they could send for a tow truck. I was told to wait with my car and that a tow truck would arrive within thirty minutes to an hour. Great.
It was too cold for me to stay in my car, so I grabbed my backpack and headed inside Walgreens. I spoke to the cashier, explaining the situation, and asked if she minded if I worked on some homework while I waited. It wasn’t an issue, so I picked a spot close to the door so I’d see the truck when it came, but far enough away that I wouldn’t freeze every time it opened.
I had most of my homework done, only a review sheet left to fill out, so that took me no time at all. I pulled the book I was reading out of my bag and propped it on my knees. One of the perks of working at the library was the convenience of getting a new book to read. I couldn’t afford a new book all the time—and I read fast—so it was nice to be able to check one out whenever I wanted.
Every time I read a page, I’d glance up in the hopes that the tow truck had arrived. But it wasn’t here yet, and I’d been sitting here for close to an hour. It would be my luck that it would take closer to two hours to arrive.
Just when I was starting to get really pissed off, the truck pulled into the lot.
I shoved my stuff in my backpack and slung it over my shoulders. I stopped just as the automatic doors swooshed open. You had to be kidding me.
Wentworth Wheels, read the name on the side of the truck. It figured my insurance company would pick the one repair shop run by Trent’s older brother.
I took a deep breath and forced myself to step outside and face this like a big girl.
“I believe I know you,” Trace said as he climbed out of the truck. Trace was Trenton’s older brother. They both looked alike with their dark hair and build, and both always seemed to forget to shave. The big difference between the two was Trent had blue eyes and Trace had green. “I haven’t seen you in a long time. Rowan, right?”
I nodded, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear.
“Hey, Trent!” He called. “Come here! It’s Rowan!”
My eyes threatened to bug out of my head as Trent rounded the front of the truck. Even when he wasn’t trying to find me he was there. I couldn’t escape him—and who was I kidding? I kind of liked seeing him.
He smiled an easy grin, casually leaning against the side of the truck. He didn’t approach me like expected. Instead he hung back, like he was waiting for me to make the first move. I had news for him, he’d have to keep waiting.
“Looks like you’re in need of some help, Row,” Trent nodded at my dead car.
“Yeah,” I grumbled.
“Luckily,” Trent took a few steps forward, “my brother here knows exactly what he’s doing, so you’re in good hands.” He clapped Trace on the shoulder.
Trace reached up to push his hair from his eyes and a wedding ring glinted on his left hand. I wondered when that had happened. “Don’t worry. We’ll get you fixed up in no time. The Wentworth brothers know exactly what they’re doing.” Something about the way he said it made me think he wasn’t just talking about cars.
“You work on cars too?” I asked Trent.
He nodded, smiling crookedly. “Only when I’m home on breaks and during the summer.”
“I didn’t know that.”
Trent stepped forward until we were so close that when the wind blew my hair brushed his chest. He grabbed a piece of my flying hair and rubbed it between his fingers, then reached up to tuck it behind my ear. “Remember, Rowan, there’s a lot you don’t know about me.”
“I know plenty,” I snapped, taking a step back to distance myself from him. The scent of his cologne was making me dizzy as memories of last night—his lips pressed so tenderly to mine—flickered through my thoughts. I wanted to deny enjoying the kiss, but I had. After I went home, it had been all I could think about.
