Page 5 of Turn Up The Heat

“A good thong will do that for you every time.”

Bellamy shook her head and held up her cell.

The girl nodded, a little slow on the uptake. “Oh, right. I’ll just be over here if you need me.”

Bellamy expelled a breath of relief at the caller ID and tucked the phone to her ear. “Hey, Holly. What’s up?” She slid into the plush chair tucked discretely on the other side of the display.

“I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

Bellamy sighed. “I’m fine.”

Holly wasn’t convinced. “This breakup isn’t even an hour old. Are you sure you’re not in just a touch of denial, here?”

Oh, the freaking irony. “You know what? I’d love to be in denial, because at least that would mean I wasn’t dealing with it. Every time I turn around, someone’s asking me what happened and if I’m okay. I think I’mover-dealing with it. I wish, just for today, I could go somewhere where nobody’s even heard of Derek Patterson!”

The salesgirl’s bottle-blond head popped up from the next aisle over. “Derek Patterson, like, the news guy? He’s hot.”

Bellamy couldn’t have fled the store any faster if it had been engulfed in flames.

“That’s it,” she declared, her heart whacking against her sternum. “I’m at my limit.”

Holly didn’t skip a beat. “Jenna and I will be at your place in twenty minutes with pizza and ice cream. You can do that weird cooking thing you do, and then we can watch mindless reality TV ’til we pass out. What do you say?”

Bellamy knew she should give in. Her friends meant well, and she could spend the night immersed in the classic breakup routine of bad TV and Haagen-Dazs for dinner. Better yet, if she called in sick tomorrow, she could even put off worrying about her drill sergeant of a boss until Monday morning. By then, she’d be more than ready to get on with her normal, albeit kind of boring, life. Bellamy opened her mouth with every intention of saying she’d meet Holly and Jenna at her place.

And then she saw the billboard over the bus stop.

Pine Mountain Ski and Spa Resort, only 100 miles from Philadelphia. Come for the weekend. You’ll want to stay for a lifetime!

Bellamy’s mouth curved into the first genuine smile she’d managed all day. A thousand bucks said no one at the Pine Mountain Ski and Spa Resort had ever heard of Derek Patterson.

“On second thought, Holly, call Jenna and tell her to pack her bags. We’re headed on a little road trip.”

* * *

Shane practically grittedhis teeth into dust while Louie Sinclair, aka The Car Czar, took yet another slow turn around the Mach 1. Louie didn’t so much walk as he slithered, stalking the car as if it was a side of beef and he hadn’t eaten in weeks.

Everything about this was wrong.

“It’s a nice car,” Louie proclaimed, as if it was a gift. “Paint’s going to be a problem, though.”

Shane cranked his hands into fists, but willed himself to chill out. “The body work’s done. You won’t find a scratch anywhere on her. About the only thing she needs is prep and paint.” He’d spent hours—hell,months—making sure that every line on the car was spot-on.

“Where did you say you came across it, again?” Louie eyeballed the primer-gray of the car one more time, not missing a thing.

“I didn’t. But I bought the car six years ago outside of Philly. Everything’s been rebuilt, including the engine.” Normally, Shane would have popped the hood with pride and showed the 428 Cobra Jet off like it was his kid, but he didn’t want Louie to lay his beady eyes on it.

Of course, Louie asked, so Shane had to oblige. After Louie had done everything but take the car out for a nice steak dinner, he rocked back on his heels and gave Shane a look.

“Mind if I ask why you’re parting with it?”

Shane didn’t even flinch. “Yeah, I do.”

Louie’s thin brows lifted in surprise. “Well, I’ll tell you. Demand for Mach 1s is iffy right now, economy being what it is. This one’s in pretty good shape, though.”

Screw that. Shane knew it was pristine because he’d made it that way. He opened his mouth to tell Louie to forget the whole thing.

But with Mrs. Teasdale’s car done and no other jobs in sight at the garage, Shane needed the money. As much as he wanted to, Grady couldn’t pay him if there was no work coming in.

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