Page 4 of Defining Us
She hadn’t expected her reputation to proceed her, but that was a thought for another day. “Uh, not great. My car’s broken down, and?—”
“No worries, we’ll send a tow right out. Where are you?”
Remembering her pinned location on the map, she gave a general description of her whereabouts, hoping her clues were enough to locate her.
“Yeah, I know exactly where you are. Sit tight,” the man instructed. “Be there soon.”
The call ended, and she rested her head back against the seat. The night had taken a sharp turn downward, but help was on the way. And Joel was likely out at a romantic dinner with his ex-wife—or perhaps they’d moved on to reunion sex by now—so there was no chance she’d have to face him.
TWO
Of course Joelwas behind the wheel of the tow truck that pulled in front of her car half an hour later.
“Fuck my life,” she muttered, rubbing her eyes with her palms.
She lifted her gaze as he descended from the vehicle, his movements easy and assured, as if he often rescued helpless women from the side of country roads. Since it was futile to avoid the inevitable, she forced herself to open the door and step out of the car. Gravel crunched beneath her retro-inspired heeled Oxfords as she approached.
“Hi,” she greeted him, raising her hand in a pathetic wave. Without the safety of the circulation desk between them, she now felt terribly exposed.
He looked her up and down, sending a shiver through her body. “You okay?”
Ah, that explained the once-over. He was concerned, not burning with attraction.
Get your head out of the clouds and back on your body, Mallory.
“I’m fine. Just embarrassed.”
His brow pleated, and his ever-present frown deepened. “Nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“Sorry, I—uh—I didn’t realize your shop was open so late. I just took a chance and called,” she admitted.
“Sometimes my cousin Tony is there past closing time. You caught him right before he left. But we have a twenty-four-hour emergency line. You would’ve been transferred if no one had picked up.”
Still, that didn’t explain why Joel came to her aid instead of the aforementioned Tony. That circumstance niggled in the recesses of her mind as she scurried over to the passenger seat and grabbed her purse. Then she stood on the side of the road as he went to work, first checking under the hood.
“Have you had trouble with it recently?” he asked, his eyes darting around as he inspected the car’s body parts.
If only he’d inspectmybody parts.
Lord, her libido was an absolute menace. She composed herself and said, “No. Although cars aren’t really my bread and butter.”
“Lucky for you, they’re mine.” After another minute of examination, he slammed the hood down. “It needs to go to the shop. I can’t fix it here.”
He prepared the tow and started fastening the wheel lift under her front tires. Fireflies lit up around him, a sign that summer was well and truly on its way. Joel appeared otherworldly as the glowing bursts encircled his impressive form, his biceps and back muscles undulating like some ancient Greek god. Old Mallory would’ve made a flirtatious little remark while admiring him—calling him Hercules or Achilles or whatever mythical hero popped into her head.
Current Mallory remained silent.
Once the front of her car was hitched to the tow, he wiped his hands on the front of his jeans and then looked around. “You have someone coming to get you?”
The question rendered her mute, but a pitiful answer formed in her brain.
No one’s coming to get me because I have no one.
She rummaged in her bag for her phone, a deliberate action to stifle the anguish eating at her dignity. “Uh, I could call Vivian?—”
“No need. I can give you a lift. Just wanted to ask before offering.”
The mere thought of sitting beside him made her stomach somersault like a gymnastics team, but there wasn’t any guarantee she could reach Vivian or even a taxi company. Might as well endure a bit of awkwardness if it meant getting home in one piece.