Page 11 of Turn Up The Heat

Looked like confusion was contagious. “What?”

“You said you can tow it back here and start today, right?” Her eyes were on him, unwavering and all business.

“You want me to fix your car?” Shane breathed, relief spreading over him.

The edges of Bellamy’s lips kicked up into a smirk. “You’re perceptive.”

Fuckin’ touché.

He laughed under his breath. “That’s your freebie, sweetheart, but only because I deserved it. Yeah, I can tow it back here this afternoon.”

Her hand went back to her hip in a move he’d bet was unintentional, and Shane had to admit it. He was totally turned on.

She gave up a catlike smile. “Tell you what. You can keep your freebie just as long as you get me back on the road no later than one week from today,sweetheart. Do we have a deal?”

An odd ripple went up Shane’s spine as he tipped his chin at her and grinned.

“One week. It’s a deal.”

4

“Oh, Bellamy! Honey, are you okay?” Holly’s arms were around Bellamy in a tight embrace before she and Jenna could even cross the threshold of their suite.

“Holly, it’s my car that’s toast, not me,” she managed to breathe past through the tumble of bright red curls falling over her friend’s shoulder. “I’m fine. I can think of about fifty things off the top of my head I’d rather do with that money, but what choice do I have?”

Bellamy looked around the gorgeously appointed common room of their suite, which was both cozy and utterly lavish. The breathtaking view of the Blue Ridge Mountains surrounded by the whispering hints of sunset should have been a complete tension buster, and she sighed as she gazed at the panoramic sight beyond the glass.

It was going to take something stronger than the stunning landscape outside her window and the promise of imminent spa treatments to kill the stress that had set up camp in her shoulders. Something along the lines of 80 proof tequila would do the trick just fine.

Holly flopped into a luxurious overstuffed chair, curling her legs beneath her. “Well, I hope you’re not getting ripped off. Are you sure this mechanic guy knows what he’s talking about?”

Bellamy thought of the intense way Shane’s hands had moved over her car as he assessed the damage. He might be cocky, but he was the only mechanic who’d ever given it to her straight.

“Unfortunately, yes. I double checked with the Mazda dealership in the city when I was sitting in his office, and he wasn’t wrong about the waitorthe markup. Do you know that those guys charge over a hundred and fifty dollars an hour for freaking labor? I’m in the wrong damned business,” she mumbled, slumping into the couch.

Jenna popped her honey-colored head in from the tiny kitchenette, holding a block of cranberry goat cheese and a package of garlic and herb crackers. “You got another estimate?”

Bellamy crinkled her nose at her friend. “You’re not really going to put those crackers with that kind of cheese, are you? They totally don’t go together.”

“Oh, I forgot. The captain of the Food Police is here. You want to do this, then?” Jenna laughed, bringing a large hospitality basket over.

“Mmm, fig preserves. Nice.” Bellamy rooted through the basket of goodies, lifting an approving eyebrow at the contents. “And hell yes, I got another estimate. Getting swindled isn’t my idea of fun.” She paused, sweeping a few items onto the coffee table and going to work. “But Shane seems to know what he’s doing, plus he said he’d start today. As it is, I have no idea how I’m going to manage not having a car for a whole week.”

God, she really wanted to forget every single second of the last couple of days. Missing a week’s worth of work because she was stranded in the mountains was probably going to send her boss into the stratosphere. She’d have to come up with a way to go home and come back for her car next week, or risk having Bosszilla so far in her shit that she’d never be rid of the woman.

“Yeah, that’s kind of a no-brainer. Have it hauled back to the city for more money or leave it here and let some totally hot mechanic have his way with it,” Jenna laughed, nudging Bellamy with one foot as she sat down next to her on the floor.

“I didn’t leave it with him because it was cheaper. I left it because it wasfaster,” Bellamy asserted, her hands stopping over the assembly line of snacks she’d laid out. “It has nothing to do with what he looks like.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, nobody said anything about the mechanic being hot!” Holly interjected, giggling from her perch in the nearby chair.

Bellamy flushed. “He’s notthathot,” she protested, knowing it was a bald-faced lie.

Shane was hot as hell.

Jenna gave a no-nonsense snort. “You’re full of shit, sister. I could see how smokin’ hot he was the minute I walked in the door to come pick you up. If you didn’t have dibs on him, I’d be half-tempted to go yank something important-looking out from underneath the hood of my car and show up on his doorstep needing a little repair job of my own,” she snickered, popping one of Bellamy’s hors d’oeuvres into her mouth.

Bellamy hopped up and made a beeline for the kitchenette to look for wine glasses. “Okay, first of all, I don’t have dibson him.” Her frown sent a knowing look between her two friends that Bellamy knew she had to nip in the bud right away. “And secondly, if you’d like my four-thousand-dollar car trouble or the screeching reaction my boss is sure to have over my missing this much work, you’re welcome to it. I’ve been handed enough crap over the past couple of days without having to worry about some backwoods mechanic who has some grudge against all things city,” she sighed.

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