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Oh, yes.
“Well.” He emerged from under the hood and she jerked her attention from his butt. “Your radiator’s shot. Probably more than the radiator, but that part I know for sure.” There was an oil streak on his face and his hair was more rumpled than usual.
Sexxxxy.
The meager progress she’d made getting over him had suffered a major setback thanks to this circumstance. Heaven help her.
He dropped the hood with a bang and wiped his hands on what looked like an expensive pocket square. It was paisley—silk, she’d bet. Not to mention the shirt that stretched over his ample chest, covering three-quarters of those capable arms, was ruined as well.
“Your wardrobe is shot. You’ll have to take it out of my paycheck.”
He grinned and she nearly swooned on the side of the freeway. “Sounds like me. Help out a damsel in distress and then dock her pay. What kind of a guy would I be if I let you fend for yourself?”
“A practical one?”
Her reward was his husky laugh that made her ankles tremble. Interestingly enough, no one had yelled at her since Brannon arrived. It was as if they understood they were in the presence of power.
“Come on, I’ll give you a ride to the office.”
She retrieved her purse from her front seat while he transferred her luggage to the trunk of his incredibly shiny car.
“Is this new?” she asked as she sank into the butter-soft leather passenger seat. She could swear she’d never seen this car before.
“Very new. She’s one day old. Had her delivered last night.” He settled in the driver’s seat, picked his moment and smoothly pulled into traffic. “I haven’t been able to drive her anywhere but work, but I’m itching to take her out.”
“I’ll bet.”
He put his foot on the gas and the engine growled, sending tingles through her feet and up her legs.
“You were headed to Tahoe, right?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“For a reunion.”
He wasn’t technically wrong, so she nodded. “How long do you think it’ll take for my car to be repaired?”
“Hard to say. Depends on whether the mechanic has the parts he needs, and if he has five cars in front of yours or fifty.”
Her shoulders sagged. That piece of crap car was her only means of transportation. And if repairing it cost more than the vehicle’s worth—a probability—she’d have to go through the hassle of buying a new one.
“Why are you driving a car in that bad a shape, anyway? Tell me it’s not because I don’t pay you enough.”
“No! Oh my gosh. Not at all.” He took very good care of her in the money department. “It’s... I keep it for sentimental reasons.”
“Really?” His dubious expression said what he didn’t. How could she be sentimental over such an ugly hunk of metal?
“That car was the first big purchase I made with my own money.” She’d hunted countless dealerships and sifted through online classifieds. She’d taken care of the transaction herself. It’d been scary at first, but then enthralling. That was the day she knew that she didn’t have to be scooped under her parents’ wings to make it in life. That she was capable of surviving on her own.
Though she’d sort of been scooped up under Bran’s wing today. It was past time to reclaim that plucky woman who had ventured off on her own. To be as independent as she’d once been.
“I remember my first car,” he said wistfully.
“Was it a Maserati?”
“Maybe.” He flashed her a quick smile and she had to laugh. “When do you need to arrive in Tahoe?”
“My reservations are for tonight.”
