Patti roared into a parking spot positioned directly in front of the address he’d given her. “Okay, Patti,” she murmured to herself, “you can do this. Your heart won’t explode—it just feels like it will.” With shaking hands, she let herself out of the car and made her way up the short walkway.

Jon lived in one of those ultra-modern single-level condos that were joined to several more just like it. His sat on the outside edge, giving it the unique feature of having windows on three of its four sides. There was nothing in the way of landscaping and the front yard was an unimpressive square of bright green grass that was too small even for someone of her height to stretch out on. It was nothing special, yet it probably cost him an absolute fortune.

The door swung open before Patti could knock. “Hey,” she said, her fist still poised in the air. She lowered it to her side and folded her hands in front of her.

Jon stood in the doorway smiling down at her. He presented a gorgeous picture of the perfect male specimen in a pair of khaki cargo shorts and a striped polo. His hair was gelled into soft spikes, creating a faux Mohawk that made him look far less than the wealthy businessman she was accustomed to, and much more like a regular guy.

“Hey, yourself,” Jon said brightly. “You’re early.”

“Expecting me to be late were you?”

Jon let his gaze roam over her, giving her chills. “I don’t know what I was expecting exactly,” he said, distracted. “You wore shorts.”

The shortest pair she owned, in fact. Powder blue, they rode low on her waist and ended just below the crease of her butt. Jon said he wanted her legs at his disposal, so she gave him as much leg as she could short of showing up in her underwear. She looked down. “It seems I have,” she said, returning a teasing smile.

Without warning, Jon took her hand in his and bent down, placing a chaste kiss to her lips. “You look stunning.”

“They’re just shorts,” Patti said, attempting to catch her breath. Jon had a way of stealing it from her.

“They’re incredible shorts,” Jon amended. “Come inside. I just have to grab my wallet and phone and we can head out.”

Patti allowed Jon to pull her inside and marveled at what she saw. The condo was done in an open concept design, and from her position, she could see everything it had to offer. Off to her left sat a spacious living room with white walls and lush white carpet. The furniture was also white, punctuated by colorful throw pillows in red, blue, and green satins. A few pieces of artwork hung on the walls that she was willing to bet cost more than an entire year of her salary. The dining room sat adjacent to the living room, complete with a large glass top table surrounded by black metal chairs. Beautiful pale stone floors extended into the kitchen, which was outfitted by white cabinets and shining black countertops, and beyond that, she could see the beginning of a hallway, which she assumed led to the bedrooms.

“Wow, nice place,” she said, soaking it all in.

“Thank you,” Jon said as he pocketed his phone and wallet.

“I take it you like white?”

Jon glanced up at her and studied her face. “Are you being smart?”

“Not at all,” Patti said innocently. “It’s just a lot of white.”

Reaching out to her, Jon pulled Patti into his arms. “White represents purity, a blank slate. White presents the opportunity to color your future any way you want. I like white.”

“I can see that you do,” Patti said, looking up into eyes that burned.

“Would you like a tour?” Jon asked her, staring at her mouth as if he would devour it any second. “I just redecorated the master bedroom. We could start there.”

Boy did she ever! Patti sighed with regret. “As fun as that sounds, we can’t, unless you want to miss out on what I have planned for us.”

“Ah, that’s right. I almost forgot. You have a surprise for me.” Dropping a quick kiss on the tip of her nose, Jon swatted her on the butt and set her away from him. “I guess we’ll have to save the tour for another time.”

Patti couldn’t deny that she was a tad disappointed, but she sucked it up like a big girl and preceded him out the door.

“Holy shit,” Jon gasped, pulling up short.

Patti spun around to see what was wrong. She found Jon rooted to the sidewalk, his mouth agape. “What’s wrong?”

“I didn’t realize you had your car repaired,” he said, taking a cautious step toward it.

Patti moved aside so he could get a closer look. “Actually, I did it myself,” she said, lifting her chin. She was proud of her accomplishment. Not many women took the time to learn the ins and outs of how their car ran, let alone got their hands dirty repairing it. It was what she’d often heard it referred to as a man’s job. It was total bullshit if you asked her. Still, Jon didn’t seem to be put off by her abilities in the least.

She watched as he slowly moved around the car, letting his fingers glide over its body. She imagined those fingers touching her with the same reverence, and shivered. If she had it her way, she’d be getting that tour by the end of the night. “I don’t remember these being here,” he said, running his hand over the bold red racing stripes running from the front end to the back.

“They weren’t,” Patti confirmed, moving to stand in front of it. “After I finished banging out the last of the dents, I guess I got a little design happy and decided to give it a little extra flair.” She shrugged. “I think it makes her look dangerous,” she said with a wink in his direction. “Sexy and sleek. Fast.”

As Jon stared into the reflective black finish, his expression grew so distant, that she feared she’d lost him.

“Jon?” Taking a step toward him, Patti flinched, startled when Jon jerked his hand away from the car as though he’d been burned.

“Let’s take my truck.” His voice was devoid of emotion, but his eyes were full of turbulence.

Patti approached him with caution and laid her hand on his arm. “Jon, what’s wrong?” She wouldn’t say it out loud, but he was scaring her.

“Let’s take my truck,” he repeated, and this time he turned his haunted eyes on her. “I can drive.”

“Jon,” Patti said with a drawn out sigh. She looked down at her car then back up at him. “That defeats the purpose of me taking you out. What’s going on? Why don’t you want me to drive?” A thought occurred to her and she jammed her fists on her hips. “This isn’t some pigheaded way of saying you’re not comfortable with me driving because I’m a girl, is it?”

Jon’s face twisted. “What? Of course not!”

“Then what is this all about?”

Pinching his nose between his thumb and forefinger, Jon shook his head and released a frustrated breath. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.” He gave her a false smile and bent to kiss her. Patti pressed her lips to his, but she could feel that something wasn’t right with him. “Come on,” Jon said, moving past her to open the passenger door. He motioned for her to get in.

“What? You think you’re going to drive?” she asked. “No way. No one touches my baby but me.”

Jon’s eyebrows lifted. “You don’t trust me?”

“I’ve seen the way you drive, remember?”

“Is this about the accident?” Jon’s brows lifted in surprise. “Because I would argue that since then, you’ve been on the receiving end of my awesome driving skills, so you really can’t hold that against me.”

Patti bit down on her lip thoughtfully. “I don’t know…”

“Come on,” Jon coaxed. Snaking his arm around her waist, he forced her legs to move until she was standing in the opening of the door. Lowering his head, he feathered wet kisses down the side of her neck. “Get in, Patricia,” he whispered. “Let me demonstrate how well I can…maneuver in and out of tight places.”

Patti felt her insides turn to liquid and she leaned into him, allowing Jon to support her. Feeling her placidity, Jon scraped his teeth over her sensitive skin and nipped her earlobe. Easing her into the car, he leaned inside and reached around her, drawing the buckle across her waist and securing her tightly in the passenger seat. He held out his hand. “Keys?”

Dazed, Patti dropped them into his palm. Jon closed the door and moved around to the driver’s side, and slid in behind the wheel. He grinned over at her, looking like the cat that ate the canary. “Since I have no idea where we’re headed, you’re going to have to guide the way.”

“For such a successful businessman, you really didn’t think this through,” Patti joked.

Jon fired up the engine and looked over his shoulder as he backed out of the parking spot. “I find life is a little more exciting when you introduce some spontaneity. Where are we going?”

Leaning her head back against the seat, Patti let her head fall to the side and took in Jon’s strong profile. Where were they going? She had no idea, but wherever they ended up, she had a feeling it was going to be an adventure and she wasn’t all together sure how she’d fare at the end of it.

“Patti?” Jon turned his head to look at her. “Left or right?”

Blinking away her thoughts, Patti pointed. “Right.”

11

Jon wasn’t sure whether he should be thrilled or freaked the hell out. Patti’s idea of fun was heart-stopping torture for him.

Standing tall, his chest out and his chin held high, no one would be the wiser that he was on the verge of having a total meltdown. Trying not to put her hand in a death grip, Jon allowed Patti to drag him toward the Raceway gates. The ticket master, a paunchy, middle-aged man with a comb over held out his hand, and she dropped two tickets into his sweaty palm.