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All that time, he hadn’t managed to close his mouth. This woman didn’t need his help. She’d been fooling with him, laughing as he’d stumbled through the process of getting the tire changed. The way she’d flung those tools around, she’d probably changed a few dozen tires in her short life.
When the trunk was packed, she slammed it shut and grinned at him, flashing her straight white teeth. “Thanks for the help.”
He licked his lips, suddenly feeling a lot less macho. “I don’t think you needed any help.”
“Maybe not.” She gave him another grin and shrugged, handing him his coat. He could still feel the warmth of her skin in its thick wool. “But, you were fun to watch.”
His eyes shined as he looked her up and down. She was more than just a beautiful woman, that was for sure. An educated, poised, and strong woman. If he’d been intimidated before, it was nothing to what he felt now.
“I guess I’ll be seeing you,” she said, backing toward her driver’s side door.
“Yeah.” He gritted his teeth, willing himself to ask her to dinner. Ask for her number. Ask for anything! But he couldn’t make the words leave his mouth.
“Good-bye, Jordan.” Her eyes danced with laughter as she got into her car and started it up. She took off like a rocket, leaving him in the rear view mirror.
The only thing he could do was kick himself as he let her drive away, knowing that their chances of meeting again were slim to none. So much for a damsel in distress. She had needed a knight in shining armor just about as much as he needed another hole in the head.
That was some woman.
Chapter Four
Laurie nearly fell over her own feet and planted her hands on the top of Chloe’s desk. “You did what?”
“I left him standing on the side of the road, his mouth hanging open,” she replied, blinking up at her friend.
“Chloe Walker…” Gemma Rink, the director of the New Hope Foundation and the final piece to their dynamic trio, dropped herself into a folding chair and stared at her friend with big brown eyes ringed in dark lashes. “You mean to tell me,” she said with mock anger, “that a beautiful man showed up in the middle of nowhere to rescue you and you didn’t even get his number?”
“No.” Chloe sunk into her chair and leaned her elbow on the desk. “He didn’t ask me. You should’ve seen him acting all macho and trying to change that tire. That boy hadn’t changed a tire in his life, but he sure looked fine pretending.”
“Why didn’t you ask him?” Gemma demanded. An ornery smile pulled at her lips as she poked her friend in the side. “You’re always telling us there are no more rules. And you were right. Look at where that got me.” She held up her left hand and flashed a gorgeous white gold setting with a one carat diamond in a princess cut.
The girls sighed and gazed adoringly at the ring. Lance Barkley had just proposed to Gemma last weekend. It made all of them squirm with happiness that one of their own was getting married.
“I guess you’re right,” Chloe said eventually. “But maybe I’ll still run into him. New Hope doesn’t have many places to hide. If he’s working on a project here in town, chances are good.”
Silently she swore that she’d do better next time and drag up the courage to ask him out. Gemma was right. She was always preaching to them about how the rules no longer existed and how women needed to exert their confidence and strength. If she could go back in time and slap herself, she would. It was silly to think she’d been so tongue-tied and shy. Chloe Walker didn’t do shy.
With an afternoon full of work left to do, she brushed off the disappointment and got busy. There were numbers to be crunched and spreadsheets to be analyzed. Not to mention, paychecks to be written. They couldn’t make it through the holiday season without a little money in the bank accounts. Gemma and Laurie would be on her rear end until she got the paychecks deposited.
A few minutes later, she ignored the tinkle of the front door as someone entered the office. It was probably UPS delivering a package. Or Gemma’s mom dropping off a batch of gingerbread cookies - her favorite. Laurie mumbled a greeting to the visitor and Chloe kept her he
ad down, concentrating on the books. It wasn’t until she could feel two sets of eyes on her, did she manage to tear her gaze away from her desk.
“How can I help…? You!” She shot out of her chair and pointed a finger at the man standing in front of her.
Tall, dark, and handsome didn’t even begin to describe him. He towered over her with a smooth head and a dazzling white smile. Underneath his jacket hid his noticeably muscular arms. She remembered the delightful shiver that had gone down her spine when he’d handed her his coat, so gentleman-like. The same man who had attempted to change her tire only a half hour ago stood in front of her, a boyish smile pulling at the right side of his face.
“Chloe, we meet again.” Jordan set down his briefcase and extended a hand. His voice was smooth and bold, like a dark amber caramel that melted slowly on her tongue. “If I’d known we were going to work together, I would’ve offered you a ride. You didn’t say you went to school to be an accountant.”
She looked at his hand as if it were an alien object. “Well, I didn’t plan on it. I wanted to be a lawyer, but Professor Garret changed my mind. He’s the best teacher I’ve ever had.”
Jordan’s smile slipped right off his face and he gaped at her. “You don’t mean Richard Garret? As in, chief CFO for the Minnesota Vikings? That’s only my dream place to work.”
With a shrug, she took his hand and gave it a little shake. “Yeah. He started working there just before I graduated. Sends me a Christmas card every year with a purple Vikings theme.”
She could tell the wheels were turning inside Jordan’s head, but couldn’t understand what was getting him so excited. And the bigger question: what was he doing here? Had he followed her? Her daddy had warned her about those kind of men. But he said they were going to be working together. That didn’t make sense.
“Mr. Davis is here from the State,” Laurie offered as the silence between the two of them stretched on into an awkward phase. “To do the audit.” She looked up at Jordan for help.
