Page 38 of Fox (Drive Me Wild 1)

“You know I don’t know nothing about cars like y’all do. It was a small piece of something that came out easily.”

Fox stared at her incredulously before shaking his head. “You?

??d better hope you didn’t damage anything. Pop will be pretty ticked off.”

“Oh, I’m not worried about Hal Fox’s temper. Consider it a calculated risk in the interest of pulling off hashtag birthday surprise,” Annette said with a smile and wink, not looking in the least bit concerned. “Jonna Lee, where is the rest of your skirt? You are going to catch OLD and NEW-monia dressed like that.” She yelled as she raced after her daughter. Fox and I laughed and shrugged. We didn’t have the heart to tell her that the only surprise Hal will be feeling is when he sees the repair bill to fix whatever Annette damaged.

“Well, I guess I’d better go and pick him up. I’ll be back,” Fox said as he turned to me and kissed me quickly.

“Hey!” I called out after him and he stopped to look at me. “We’ll talk more about everything later, okay?” He gave me a small smile and nodded before he left.

Annette immediately put me to work stocking the bar, which was kind of hard to do in a tight dress, but I managed it anyway. Jonna, who had managed to escape her mother’s scrutiny, sat down on the other side of the counter as she tugged at her skirt. Annette was right, it was quite short but Jonna’s long and shapely legs were something to envy.

“Sooo.” She drew out the word. “You and my brother, huh?”

I stared at her for a second and then nodded. “Yeah.”

“Is it serious?”

“I think so, yes.” And I felt myself smiling as I stacked glasses.

“I knew it.” Jonna sat back in the chair looking very pleased with herself. “I knew you would be the one?”

“The one?”

“Yeah. As in the one. My brother doesn’t do relationships and he rarely brings anyone around his family. For two weeks, he moped around here and he never, I mean ever, acted that way over a girl. Ugh. He made me want to smack him. He also doesn’t let anybody call him Drew except us, and I heard you call him that the other day. I always knew that the girl he let call him by his first name would be the one. And here you are,” she said as she fanned her hand in front of me as if I were a brand-new speedboat on The Price is Right. I thought about how much he loved it when I used his name and my chest felt so full it would burst. What if she was right? Am I the one?

“Jonna, I...”

“Yeah, I know. I just blew your mind. You’re welcome.” She winked and walked away. I stared after her with my jaw hanging open.

The one?

****

Just as Hal had promised, he put on a convincing surprised face and Annette beamed the entire night at his side. Their connection to each other was undeniable. They’d been married for twenty years yet they seemed like they only just began their relationship. Hal would whisper into his wife’s ear from time to time and she would blush and slap at his arm. Annette always had her hand on some part of her husband, whether it was tucked under one of his huge biceps or swallowed up in one of his large hands. It made me believe that true love was possible. Something I’d never seen firsthand.

My eyes shifted to see Fox and Woody across the room talking to Blake. He and Tayia walked in about an hour ago, but they went their separate ways at the door. Blake grabbed a beer and found a spot at an empty table while Tayia made a beeline to Jonna and soon the two of them were causing trouble.

“Jonna Lee! You and Tayia better not be drinkin’,” Annette called over to her daughter as the two girls hurried past me and into the kitchen giggling. When I reached Fox, he wrapped an arm around my waist and kissed my cheek.

“Hi, Blake,” I said, enjoying the feel of Fox’s arm circling around me.

“Hey, Harley,” he replied with his signature smile I was used to and I knew all was right with us.

“Was everything okay with Tayia when you got home last night?”

“Uh?” He stared at me with confusion for a second before a hint of color stained his cheeks. “Oh yeah, the garage noise. Yeah, yeah everything was fine.” I studied him for a second, thinking his behavior was odd before Fox spoke up.

“Blake is going to look at Woody’s car this week to help us get ready for the race.”

“Cool!” I said as I smiled at Blake.

“Yeah, there is no way in hell that Knight is going to win another race,” Blake said, and Fox nodded.

“Damn right,” Woody called out in agreement and for the first time I had a chance to get a good look at him. He wasn’t as handsome as Fox, but he was still cute enough. His eyes were brown instead of blue, however, they shared the same full lips and chin dimple. He even seemed better behaved tonight although he never made eye contact with me.

“Hey, you should bring your car over, too, Fox,” Blake suggested.

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