Total pages in book: 215
Estimated words: 217988 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1090(@200wpm)___ 872(@250wpm)___ 727(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 217988 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1090(@200wpm)___ 872(@250wpm)___ 727(@300wpm)
“Hooligans? Really? How old are you? Eighty-five?” the mechanic asked.
“There is nothing wrong with having a sophisticated vocabulary. Something you clearly wouldn’t understand,” Brad replied stiffly.
She took it back. ‘Giant dick’ didn’t come close to describing him accurately.
Jake got off his bike, removing his helmet. He waved over at them and she waved back. Brad went pale. “Who . . . who is that guy?”
She eyed him. “He’s a friend of my neighbor. He checks in on her occasionally. Why?”
Mrs. Ellison had called him one of her ‘boys’ when she’d introduced them, whatever that meant. Autumn had been so intimidated by him that she’d barely managed a wave before retreating into her house.
“I need to leave. I’ll call you.” He backed away and practically ran to his car.
“What a cockroach,” the other man said, staring after him.
She sighed. “He really is.”
“You opened the door to him?”
“Ahh, yes?” Where was he going with this?
“Don’t do that again.”
She gaped at him. Was he seriously trying to order her around? He had a slight accent. Maybe Italian?
“Why wouldn’t I open my door to him?”
“Because he’s a cockroach. Don’t trust him. You got some personal protection? Stun gun? Mace? Where’s your phone?”
She just gaped at him. Yes, she did have those things. They’d turned up on her doorstep one day.
“Yes, I do. Thanks for bringing my car. Do you have an invoice?”
He grunted. “Already paid.”
“What? By who?”
“I dunno. Secret admirer? Where’s your stun gun?”
“In my pocket.” She was lying. The only thing in her pocket was Freddy Fox.
“Can I see it?”
“What happened to buying a girl dinner first?” she asked. Then she slammed her hand over her mouth. What was wrong with her? This guy was a stranger. An unusual stranger.
“You want to go to dinner with me?”
“No! And I don’t want to show you my stun gun!”
“Want me to show you mine?”
“What? No!” She stepped back, about to slam the door in his face. This guy was crazy! And panic was building in her stomach.
“Why not? It’s a state-of-the-art one, see?” He held out a small, black stun gun.
“It’s an actual stun gun,” she said with relief.
“What were you expecting?” His eyes danced with amusement. There was something about him . . . but she couldn’t put her finger on it. “Oh, you thought I was talking about my dick. Now, girl, you’ve got to buy me dinner before I’ll show you that. I’m not a piece of meat you can just use and discard.”
“I didn’t . . . I wasn’t . . . what’s happening right now?”
“I don’t know. I was just talking about stun guns and you go asking to see my dick. I mean, it is magnificent so I can’t blame you.”
She just stared at him. “My car . . .”
“Oh, yeah, it’s good to go. Dent’s fixed. Gave it a service and put oil in. Checked it all over. You really should have something safer, though.”
“So I’ve been told,” she said faintly.
“Maybe a Hummer.”
She eyed him. “A Hummer?”
“I’m Owen,” he said instead of answering her. He held out his hand. She couldn’t not shake it, right? Reaching out, she held on tentatively. A strange feeling filled her and she quickly drew her hand back.
That was . . . odd.
She didn’t know this man. And he was unusual. Who asked a person if they carried a stun gun or insisted they be more careful before opening their door?
So why did she feel this pull to him?
There was something wrong with her. First Frank and now Owen?
This was . . . bizarre.
She’d never felt like this toward Brad. He’d wanted to wait to have sex until they were married, and she hadn’t really cared. That seemed like a big warning sign now. But she pushed him from her mind. Brad was a dick and she didn’t want to think about him anymore.
“That guy around much?” Owen asked, looking over at Mrs. Ellison’s house.
“I’ve only seen him there once.” She wasn’t sure where he lived or what he did. “Thank you for fixing my car.”
“No worries.” He handed her a card. “My number’s there in case you ever want to play with my stun gun. Get a feel for how it works.”
Was he talking about his actual stun gun or . . .
“Thanks, I will. Bye!” She shut the door in his face and then turned, sliding down until she landed on her butt.
Had he really just given her his number?
Damn, her allure was working overtime at the moment.
9
Autumn stared out the windshield at the two of them standing in the parking lot outside Brad’s office. They were making out like teenagers.
Seriously.
Was eye bleach a thing? Because she was going to need it. Or some way to erase her memory.
All she’d need to do was start up her car and drive forward . . .