Miss Mechanic Page 21

  I let go of a little laugh and leaned right back. “My God. She’s the worst. She’s so embarrassing. I don’t even know why she said that. I didn’t tell her a thing this morning and—”

  Resting one arm along the back of the chair, he hooked one finger beneath my chin and turned my head so our eyes met. “Does it matter?”

  “Does what matter?”

  “What she said. Do you care?”

  “Of course, I care. I mean—”

  “Why? Why do you care?”

  I swallowed, looking into his bright yet gentle eyes. “Because,” I said softly. “I don’t even—I don’t even know what’s happening right now. And she just blurts it out.”

  He released my chin to push my hair from my face. “I get it.”

  “And you offer me the job at a really coincidental time, and I know you weren’t lying, but it feels weird, and then my mom—”

  Dex dipped his head and pressed his lips to mine to shut me up. “I know it looks that way,” he said in a low voice. “But I swear to you, Jamie, it’s not. The way I feel about you has nothing to do with me hiring you.”

  He froze as if he realized what he just said.

  “The way you…feel about me?” I swallowed, leaning back. “Which is…what?”

  “I…” He hesitated before he ran his fingers through my hair. “I want you, Jamie. Every way I can have you. I don’t know how else to say it.”

  I smiled and tilted my face down. My cheeks burned, but there was no denying the thrill that danced through me at his words. I didn’t know how I’d come to this point, but we had.

  Two weeks wasn’t long, but I knew, categorically, I felt something for this man. Something very, very real. Something that had crept up between the arguments and the bickering and the kissing.

  It didn’t matter that I’d only just really recognized it.

  The one thing I didn’t need was my mother doing so before I did.

  “Well, I guess that’s okay,” I muttered.

  “Okay? What do you mean, okay?” He sank his fingers into my hair and tugged my head back.

  I grinned.

  “You’re a pain in the ass,” he said, closing the distance between our mouths until our lips touched. It was barely a brush, but it tingled across my skin all the same.

  “I’m not going to let up on you, you know. I’m still going to kick your ass all the time.” I rested my head on his shoulder.

  “I wouldn’t expect anything less. But at least I can smack your ass now.”

  “Is that right?”

  Dex looped his arm around my body and linked his fingers together, resting his head on top of mine. “I’ll let you smack mine right back.”

  I snorted. “Done.”

  “Should we go inside and explain ourselves to your parents?”

  “Nah. Let my mom stew.”

  The back door opened right as I said that, and I jolted upright. It was Dad, and he pulled the door almost closed. His gaze darted between the two of us, and a smile tugged at his lips.

  “I guess you’re going to let your mother think about what she said,” he said, letting his smile grow.

  I grinned and leaned back into Dex.

  Dad saluted and walked back inside, letting the door click shut.

  Dex kissed my forehead, and I knew that somehow…

  I’d won.

  Epilogue – Dex

  Two months later

  “It’s your turn to get the tacos.”

  “No, we made a deal last night. I cooked, so you said you’d get tacos today.”

  “No, I didn’t. I had my fingers crossed behind my back, so it doesn’t count.”

  Sasha, our new, nineteen-year-old apprentice looked between us. “Do you two ever not fight?”

  Jamie grimaced and looked at her. “Would you believe we were way worse than this when we met? We couldn’t stand each other.”

  “I can’t imagine anything worse than this,” she said.

  “Oh, it’s true. We would fight all the time, but somehow, I charmed her into falling in love with me.” I flashed Jamie a grin.

  “Charmed? More like you tricked me. Somewhere between tacos and fighting and your aunt getting me drunk.”

  “I’m just—I’m gonna get the phone.” Sasha covered her mouth with her hand, but her laughter was obvious as she darted through the workshop to get to the phone.

  I moved closer to Jamie and took the wrench from her. I’d quickly learned—not long after we’d made our relationship official—that her temper was a very real thing.

  The standing toolbox I’d once fucked her up against had the dent to prove it.

  She’d been restricted on tools for a while.

  “Look, if you still can’t tell Aunt Greta no when she’s got a tray full of whiskey shots…”

  She pointed her finger at me. “Tell that to your sister. She’s a damn bad influence on me.”

  “No, she’s a pusher, and you give in to her. You’ve literally been arguing with me about who’s getting tacos for lunch for fifteen minutes, yet she bats her eyelashes at you, and the next thing I know, I’m carrying you to bed.”

  She sniffed and folded her arms. “At least I didn’t throw up on you again.”

  “And you’re still getting tacos, because I cooked you dinner last night.”

  “No, you cooked us dinner. That’s what happens when you infiltrate your girlfriend’s house to the point you live together.”

  I pretended to be shocked. “Infiltrated your house? I’m offended. Besides, you stayed at my place one time and got grilled by Greta about sex the next day although we were both too afraid to do anything.”

  “I’m not saying I mind—”

  “You like that I infiltrated your house?”

  “You just said you didn’t!”

  “Oh God, you’re still going?” Sasha came back into the workshop. “I have an idea. I know the taco place. Why don’t you give me money and I’ll go get lunch so you can both finish your freaky foreplay?”

  I turned to her, blinking. “One, I let my sister spend way too much time around you people. And two, why the hell can I not hire a nice, quiet, sass-less woman?”

  Jamie touched her hand to my arm. “You bring out the sasshole in all of us, honey. It’s really not our faults. It’s all you.”

  I gave her a withering look before turning back to Sasha. “Go and take fifty bucks out of the register. That should cover all three of us.”

  “You don’t need to tell me twice.” Sasha grabbed her purse and threw a wave over her shoulder. “I’ll go out the front.”

  “Ooh, big spender,” Jamie teased when she’d gone.

  I held a finger to my lips. “Watch it. You’re getting on my nerves, woman.”

  “You’re always on my nerves, Dex. You’re practically a medical condition at this point.”

  “Don’t you have work to do?”

  “I do, but as you know by now, fucking with you is so much more fun.”

  I grunted and pulled her against me, sliding my hands down her back to cup her ass. “Watch it. There aren’t many places in this garage that haven’t seen me fuck you yet. I’m happy to tick the rest off the list.”

  She eased her hands up my chest and linked her fingers behind my neck. “Why? Does it still turn you on when I give you attitude?”

  “I’m pretty sure that’s the reason I started seeing you as more than a gnat-like annoyance.”

  “Funny. It was your cock that made me realize that’s exactly what you are.”

  “Watch your mouth, you.” I grazed my teeth over her lower lip. “Or Sasha is gonna come back to something highly inappropriate.”

  “You already exhausted your shenanigans allowance on her day off.”

  “I’m the boss.” I kissed along her jaw. “I can do what I want.”

  “You think you’re the boss. We both know I’m really the one in charge.”

  My cock agreed, but my mind did not. “Whatever you say, darlin
’.”

  “You’re starting to piss me off, Dex.”

  “Awesome. I love angry sex with you. My back doesn’t, but it can deal with it.”

  She smacked her hands against my chest and glared at me. “Dexter.”

  I spun us so she had her back up against my Dodge. I really needed to get it out of the garage, but for now. “Talking of the places I haven’t had you yet…Over the hood of this Dodge is one of them.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “I don’t see you wearing a wiper blade costume.”

  I burst out laughing, releasing her to flatten my hands on the hood of the car. “Shit. I have to order it. Can I owe you that one?”

  Jamie laughed and cupped my face with her hands. “Oh, you owe me that. You have no idea how much you owe me it.”

  I grinned as she kissed me, and my hands slid down to her thighs. I gripped her tightly and pushed her up onto the hood of the truck.

  Jamie slid her fingers through my hair and smiled down at me. “I love you, you crazy little shit.”

  Again, I grinned, running my eyes over her. From that frizzy hair to those mesmerizing eyes and those perfectly red lips.

  To the honesty I saw shining in her eyes.

  “I love you, too, Little Miss Mechanic.”

  THE UPSIDE TO BEING SINGLE

  Coming January 30th and available for pre-order now.

  If anyone asks, I knew better than to flash my boobs for Mardi Gras beads.

  I still don’t know why I did it.

  Maybe it was the dare from my two best friends.

  Maybe it was the guys on the balcony saying they’d throw Fireball shots with the beads.

  Or maybe it was the quiet guy in the corner of that same balcony with piercing gray eyes, wavy dark hair, and a smile so tempting I wanted to climb up there and lick it off his face.

  Maybe it was because I never thought I’d see them again.

  Not that it matters. Not today.

  Because the hotel I manage was finally bought—and the guy who walks in and introduces himself as my new boss is Mr. Tall, Dark, and Silent.

  There are many upsides to being single.

  Your new boss knowing what your boobs look like?

  Not one of them.

  FOR MORE INFORMATION:

  www.emmahart.org/sign-ups

  Emma Hart is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over thirty novels and has been translated into several different languages.

  She is a mother, wife, lover of wine, Pink Goddess, and valiant rescuer of wild baby hedgehogs.

  Emma prides herself on her realistic, snarky smut, with comebacks that would make a PMS-ing teenage girl proud.

  Yes, really. She's that sarcastic.

  You can find her online at:

  www.emmahart.org

  www.facebook.com/emmahartbooks

  www.instagram.com/EmmaHartAuthor

  www.pinterest.com/authoremmahart

  Alternatively, you can join her reader group at http://bit.ly/EmmaHartsHartbreakers.

  You can also get all things Emma to your email inbox by signing up for Emma Alerts*. http://bit.ly/EmmaAlerts

  *Emails sent for sales, new releases, pre-order availability, and cover reveals. Each cover reveal contains an exclusive excerpt.

  The Vegas Nights series:

  Sin

  Lust

  Stripped series:

  Stripped Bare

  Stripped Down

  The Burke Brothers:

  Dirty Secret

  Dirty Past

  Dirty Lies

  Dirty Tricks

  Dirty Little Rendezvous

  The Holly Woods Files:

  Twisted Bond

  Tangled Bond

  Tethered Bond

  Tied Bond

  Twirled Bond

  Burning Bond

  Twined Bond

  By His Game series:

  Blindsided

  Sidelined

  Intercepted

  Call series:

  Late Call

  Final Call

  His Call

  Wild series:

  Wild Attraction

  Wild Temptation

  Wild Addiction

  Wild: The Complete Series

  The Game series:

  The Love Game

  Playing for Keeps

  The Right Moves

  Worth the Risk

  Memories series:

  Never Forget

  Always Remember

  Standalones:

  Blind Date

  Being Brooke

  Catching Carly

  Casanova

  Mixed Up

  Miss Fix-It

  Miss Mechanic

  The Upside to Being Single (coming January 30, 2018)

  Golden Girl (coming March 13, 2018)

  The Hook-Up Experiment (coming May 8, 2018)

  The Dating Experiment (coming July 24, 2018)