With the pan full, Patti slid back out and rolled to her feet, careful not to slop oil everywhere. Setting aside the pan, she ducked back under the car, replaced the cap, and double-checked to make sure everything was tight.

 The bad thing about summer was how long the sun took to set. Patti didn’t realize how much time had passed until she heard the heavy thud of a car door nearby. She wasn’t given much time to gather her thoughts before she heard the voice that made her tingle all the way down to her toes.

 “So you drive a muscle car and you like to get dirty.” His voice was thick with appreciation and held a touch of laughter.

 Patti used her feet to propel herself from under the car. Once she was clear, she found herself looking up into Jon’s incredible blue eyes.

 “Damn and I thought you were stunning before.” His eyes skimmed down her body, and Patti became acutely aware of how much skin she was showing. She snapped her legs closed.

 “What time is it?” she asked from her prone position.

 Jon held out his hand and she took it. Grasping it tightly, he pulled her to her feet. “It’s nearly eight. I’m usually late for everything, but I found myself unable to wait any longer.” He slid his gaze over her again, and Patti felt her cheeks warm. Here he was confessing that he couldn’t wait to see her, and she had lost track of time over a car.

 He hadn’t let go of her hand, she realized. Gently slipping her fingers free of his, Patti stepped back. Standing there in her filthy tank top and shorts, grease and oil smudging her exposed skin, while he stood before her looking completely edible in a pair of fitted black slacks and a white button down dress shirt, she couldn’t help feeling self-conscious.

 “I’m sorry I’m not ready. I got distracted.” Patti jerked her thumb over her shoulder at the car.

 Jon followed with his eyes and nodded. “That’s understandable. Having something that beautiful at your disposal is bound to cause some distraction.”

 When Patti looked up at him, she found his intense eyes focused on her and she got the distinct impression that he wasn’t referring to the car.

 “I can be ready in fifteen minutes, if you still want to go out,” she stammered.

 A slow, wolfish smile spread across Jon’s face as he took her in again. “If you look this good dirty...” He cleared his throat and shook his head. “Yeah, I still want to go out, but you’d better make it ten because anything beyond that and I can’t promise I’ll still be a gentleman.”

7

Jon struggled to keep his mind from wandering to sex as he sat and listened to the sound of the shower running down the hall.

 All day long, thoughts of her kept him distracted, and now that he was standing in her house, he was at a loss for what to do with her. To her. Himself. His mind was a jumbled mess of confusion.

 He hadn’t been serious with a woman for a long time. He wasn’t entirely sure he ever wanted to be again. But this woman was something different from what he was used to. She wasn’t glamorous in any way, but her beauty seemed to come naturally, as if she weren’t even trying.

 He smiled, recalling the moment he first got lost in her eyes. It was right after the accident when he’d gone to see if she were okay. He’d never looked into eyes as blue as hers. They were rich and vibrant and full of life, like the ocean on a clear summer day. He’d met her two nights earlier, of course, but it wasn’t until the accident that he became mesmerized.

 The water shut off and as Jon yanked his thoughts out of the gutter, it occurred to him that this might be the woman who changed everything. He wasn’t entirely sure he was on board with that realization, but he wasn’t willing to turn his back on the possibility just yet, either.

 The muffled sound of a blow dryer came next and Jon settled into the recliner, knowing for damn certain that he wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. He had a sister, so he knew without question that the ten-minute stipulation he’d placed on her would be more like thirty…if he were lucky.

 To his surprise, Patricia only kept him waiting an additional ten.

 “Sorry, sorry,” she said as she stumbled into the living room. She had on one very high, black heel, while hopping around on it trying to pull on the other. “I know I took longer than I said I would, but beauty takes time.” Finally managing to loop her shoe over her heel, she stood up tall and presented him with a dazzling smile. “Ready?”

 Jon stared. He couldn’t take his eyes off her even if he wanted to. Dressed in a token little black dress that left her shoulders bare and cupped her breasts like loving hands, and ended at mid-thigh, exposing her lean, toned legs, he was sure he had died and gone to heaven.

 Noticing the look on his face, Patti’s steps faltered. “Everything okay?” She frowned down at herself, smoothing her hands over the formfitting dress. “I just realized that I didn’t bother to ask where we were going tonight. Should I change into something else?”

 Realizing what an ass he was making of himself, Jon shook his head and stood. With his eyes glued to hers, he crossed the room to stand in front of her. “You look incredible. Don’t change a thing.” Unable to resist the allure of her curvaceous body, he reached out his hand and let his fingers skim lightly across the slinky material clinging to her taut stomach like a second skin. He felt the muscles tighten beneath his touch, and took it as his cue to get even closer.

 “Should we be going?” he asked, gliding his palm down her arm and enfolding her hand in his.

 She smiled shyly, dropping her gaze. That single moment of vulnerability set in stone Jon’s determination to get to know her beyond the purely physical. She wasn’t just the hard ass, tough as nails woman he’d met before. She had softness to buffer her rough edges, and he found that quality beyond sexy. “Sure, let me just grab my purse.”

 After she locked up, Jon led her to his truck.

 “I see you got a new car.”

 “It’s a truck, actually,” he said with a teasing smile.

 Patricia smacked him in the side playfully with the back of her hand, surprising him. “I can see it’s a truck.” She smirked. “I just figured you for the luxury sedan type.”

 “I’m whatever fancies me at the moment type,” Jon told her honestly. Hitting the automatic locks, he opened the door for her and took the opportunity to touch her again. Slipping his hands around her waist, he hoisted her up into the cab, then closed the door and ran around to the driver’s side.

 Excitement coursed through him, making Jon feel eager and energetic. It reminded him of when he was a teenager going out on his very first date. All that nervous anticipation and exuberance filled him to the point of bursting. It was insane, but it made him feel rejuvenated. Almost hopeful, even.

 Jon climbed in and settled himself behind the wheel. “I hope you brought your appetite,” he said as he started the engine.

 “I think you lost something,” Patricia said. She held up her hand.

 Jon glanced over at her. Seeing that her arm was raised in the air between them, he noticed the glittering piece of jewelry dangling from her fingertips. Shit. Flashes of the woman he’d picked up at the club last night played in his mind’s eye. She was smoking hot in the latex micro mini and offered herself up like a sacrificial lamb. They’d had a few drinks and shared a few dances, and when she’d taken his hand and guided it under her skirt, her husky confession whispering in his ear, to show him she’d forgotten her panties, he’d all but dragged her back to his car. They hadn’t made it out of the parking lot.

 It was easy to forget for a moment his desire for this woman sitting before him when he was drunk and horny, but now that he was right in front of her, with her staring expectantly back at him, he felt like a total sleaze. All he could see was her blue eyes watching him, waiting for an explanation, mixed with intermittent flashes of the woman he’d fucked right there in the seat she was sitting in.

 Fuck.

 With practiced ease, Jon took the earring from her, inspected it briefly, and shrugged. “Huh, never seen it before. Must be my sister’s.” He smiled with a confidence he didn’t feel and leaned across her legs to open the glove compartment and toss it inside. “So, how does seafood sound?”

* * *

She didn’t know if she bought the sister excuse, but it was their first date and they weren’t exactly an item. It left Patti feeling torn. The string of bad relationships and equally bad boyfriends had made her wary of men and their tactics. Never again did she want to be reduced to just another notch in some man’s bedpost. But, as she looked into Jon’s eyes, all she saw was sincerity and kindness, so she decided to play it by ear. If things between them went no further than tonight, she’d be okay with it, and if it progressed into something more, than she would see it through to wherever it ended up.

 Setting her concerns aside, Patti vowed to enjoy the evening ahead. “Seafood sounds wonderful,” she told Jon. He slanted a dizzying smile at her and eased into traffic.

 He took her to a nice steak house with an African Savannah theme. The hostess seated them in a corner booth made to resemble a train caboose with prop luggage stored on a shelf overhead. It was a very casual yet elegant environment.

 The menu itself was large and consisted of just about every type of meat available to man. Patti had a hard time choosing what to eat, but eventually settled on a light meal of pasta and shrimp with a fruity cocktail laced in rum to wash it down. She hadn’t been treated to a meal this nice in some time, which only made her realize the type of men she had subjected herself to before.