“I thought my dad was going to drop you off.” Hands on hips in the middle of the gusty parking lot, she waited while he opened the passenger door and waved her inside.
“He did,” he said, laughing a grin and moved around to the driver’s side.
Finally, she climbed in, hoisting into the passenger seat. Oh my. Heated leather seats warmed in an instant, the engine humming imperceptibly. “This is… nice,” she said, sliding her hand over buttery soft black leather.
Even the gearshift handle was unique, chrome to contrast the smooth leather, she thumbed the tip of it.
At her side, Cole muffled a groan, then snorted a low laugh. “Fuck, Trace. Give me a break.”
“What?” she asked, looking up, then realized what she’d done. A light giggle rattled her throat. “Oh.”
Cole palmed the steering wheel and rested his other hand on the back of her seat, looking out the rear window as he backed into the increasing surge of weekend-thirsty staff. Another car backed out, and Cole waited, finally turning onto the exit in the row of taillights.
After slipping her hands under her thighs to warm up, she relaxed back into her seat.
Traffic thinned as they neared the edge of town.
And then it dawned on her.
Tongue fiddling in her teeth, Trace folded her arms over her chest and turned to gauge his response. “How’d you get my car home?”
“I drove it,” he said easily, enjoying leaving her hanging. She saw right through his thinly masked smug grin as he kept his eyes on the road, avoiding eye contact.
“I lost the spare key years ago, and my key is in my purse.”
“I know, I—“
“You stole my car out of a high school parking lot?” Half laugh, half shock, she burst into a full laugh when he shrugged and grinned impishly. “What if you had gotten caught?”
Wheel shifting easily in his hands, he flicked on the blinker and aimed for the highway.
Without a word, he flashed her a look.
She knew that look.
He’d loved the challenge of it.
“You could have stopped in to get my key.”
“That wouldn’t have been nearly as fun.” He flicked the windshield wipers on faster as the sky dumped fat drops in a river over the road. “FYI, you have an oil leak. I can take a look at it when we get back.”
“I know,” she grumbled, turning to face forward. “I’ve been avoiding it,” she said, slouching into her seat. “It’s time to update it, before I run into serious problems. But I don’t know what to get. I want sporty, but I want practical.”
“That’s a tough one. Just get out there and test drive a few things, see what you like.”
“I should,” she said on an exhale. A fuzzy on her cream-colored pants caught her eye, and she plucked it off.
Scowling, she looked in the backseat. While she had her trusty suitcase jammed full, as she couldn’t make up her mind on what to bring, he’d packed lighter in an old backpack she thought actually might have been his, a long time ago.
“I’m going to change,” she said, unbuckling and rotating in the seat, her bum up and climbing on all fours over the center console. Halfway back, she laughed out loud. “Tight squeeze.”
“I can pull over,” he offered gallantly, yet the car stayed in its lane.
“That’s okay. I just want to get there.” Inelegantly landing in the backseat, nearly smashing her face into the headrest, she rotated and spun to her butt.
“Careful,” he laughed, glancing back in the rearview.
She rolled her eyes and dug into her suitcase. The windows were darkly tinted, and the thickening clouds were bringing dusk before the sun was due to set. Still, there was no good way to do this without flashing Cole. Biting her bottom lip, she looked up and caught him sneaking glances back. “Hey. Eyes up front,” she teased.
