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With tantalizing ebony skin and braids that dropped to the middle of her back, she was a beauty. Tiny waist and curves in all the right places. She was wearing a purple suit jacket and a skirt that hugged every bit of her hips. In all of Podunk Minnesota, he never expected to run into someone like her.
His palms began to sweat as he turned the wheel and pulled in behind her. Classic first sign that he was probably going to say something wrong or give her the wrong impression. It always happened that way. Still, she was a damsel in distress. He couldn’t chicken out now and leave her stranded.
A quick glance in the rear view mirror assured him that he’d managed to wipe off that mustard stain from his grab and go lunch. He turned off his car and got out, forcing his face into a neutral expression. If he smiled, she’d think he was too eager. If he frowned, she might think he was some sort of serial killer. Little things like that made a big difference when it came to women.
“Are you okay?” Jordan slammed the door shut and rounded his car. She had her trunk open and was staring at him with suspicion looming in her dark eyes. Standing this close to her, he could tell she probably only stood up to his chin. “Did your car die?”
“Flat tire,” she replied, her eyes never leaving his face. “I’ve got a spare.”
“Let me show you how to do that,” he said, practically jumping toward the trunk. She flinched, but he pretended not too notice. Too eager, he scolded himself. Back off. “That is, if you want me to.” He held his hands up defensively and grinned at her. “I”m Jordan, by the way.”
“Chloe…” She frowned but didn’t seemed frightened. Her eyes were scanning him over, taking in every little detail from the missing button on his jacket to the shine on his fancy dress shoes from Barney’s, the one splurge he’d allowed himself this year. Gesturing at the wheel packed in her trunk, she cocked her hip and rested her hand just above it. “Show me what you got.”
“Great.” He rubbed his hands together and leaned over the trunk to take stock of its contents. A light breeze had picked up, just enough to seep into his clothes and make him shiver. Chloe wasn’t wearing a coat, even in this weather. He pulled off his jacket and handed it to her. “First things first, pu
t this on. You’ve got to be freezing.”
She tilted her head at him, but didn’t refuse it. Instead, she swept it over her shoulders and nodded at him in thanks.
Pulling a wrench out of the trunk, he tried to keep from staring at her. She looked so pretty in his jacket, he’d almost forgotten how to speak. A warm flame had burst to life in his gut and spread every time he glanced at her. He shook his head to get a grip.
“Alright, first thing I’m going to do is have a look at your nuts.”
“Excuse me?” She pulled back her chin with an incredulous look. Her dark brown eyes opened wide.
“I mean your lug nuts,” he said, the blood rushing to his face. “The things that keep the tires in place.”
There he went again, losing the connection from his brain to his mouth. He would’ve taken the wrench to his head for saying something so stupid, but that was guaranteed to put the last nail in the coffin of this relationship. Instead, he shrugged nervously and walked past her toward the tires, giving her a wide berth.
“You want to loosen them,” he explained as he kneeled by the flattened tire. “Then we can jack it up.”
She opened her mouth in confusion, but he just grinned to himself. All that time watching Youtube tutorials wasn’t going to waste. Of course, he’d never had to change his own tire. AAA was a life-saver. It didn’t mean he couldn’t impress some young female with his talents, though.
“Are you from New Hope?” he asked over his shoulder as he loosened the first nut. It was especially tight, so he had to throw some weight into it. “I just got here on a job assignment.”
“Yep, born and raised.” She stood over him, pulling his jacket in tight.
He loosened the last bolt and looked up at her. “And you never left?”
“I went to school at UMN. Got my master’s degree then came back.”
Nodding along and thoroughly impressed, he abandoned the wrench to find the jack in her car. “You didn’t like the twin cities?”
She shrugged and rolled her eyes. “I’d liked it. But I love New Hope. This is where my family and friends live. Minneapolis might be shiny and new, but it has nothing compared to the warmth and comfort of a small town. You’ll never find a better place to belong to.”
He liked the way she clearly spoke her mind, unapologetic and fierce. Her brief testimony made him forget what he was doing, so the tire swayed a bit as he jacked the car a little too high. “Oops.” He lowered it a few inches until the tire barely lifted off the ground. “That’s better. You just need enough room to take it off the axle. Like this, see?”
She nodded slowly, her lips pursing in a way that made Jordan want to claim her mouth with his own.
Instead, he removed the lug nuts and pulled off the flat tire, rolling it around to the trunk. Picking up the fresh one, he gave her a reassuring smile and then pushed it on the axle. “Nothing to it. Next time you have a flat, you’ll be able to change it easy. Although I’ll bet a woman like you has no trouble flagging down help.”
She raised one eyebrow and a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. He ducked his head, feeling his heart racing. The only thing left to do was ask her to dinner. He might only be in town a few weeks, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t have a little fun.
“Say, um…” he began, his mouth running dry. He busied himself with the jack and began to lower the car. “I don’t suppose…”
“Wait!” She flung his coat on the top of the car and snatched the wrench from the spot he’d left it on the ground. “You’re not done.”
He watched her expertly twist the lug wrench in her hand, kneel down in her tight skirt, and screw on the bolts that he’d managed to forget to reattach. She tightened them all and then proceeded to lower the jack and stash the tools in the trunk. When that was finished, she grabbed the flat tire and threw it in the car.
