Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 95471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
I’m practically doing her a favor.
“You know what, maybe there is another option.”
The girl looks up at me, her big blue eyes brightening with hope. “Really?”
I nod, looking her over and liking my plan more by the second. “I know a guy who owns an auto repair shop. Why don’t we take a ride to his place and get you a new tire? If they don’t have this model in stock, I can ask him to tow it for you as a favor to me. He won’t make you pay.”
Her eyes widen and I almost feel bad at how excited she gets. “Oh my gosh, really? You’re amazing. You really are my savior. Thank you so much!”
I flash her a smile I hope isn’t too sharkish and take a step back so she can open her car door. “Why don’t we load all this stuff into my car and take it with us? We don’t want to risk anyone breaking in and stealing it. Plus, this way, if the car has to be towed, I can just give you a ride to your boyfriend’s place and you’ll have all your things.”
I overexplain my fake motive to cover all my bases and make sure she does what I want her to without skepticism, but it appears I didn’t need to. This girl is not the suspicious type, and she’s already typed me as a good guy since I stopped to help her when she was stranded by the side of the road. Maybe it was the desperation of the situation, maybe she’s young, or maybe she’s just exceptionally trusting. Whatever the case, I can tell it never once occurred to her to be wary of me.
“Thank you so, so much,” she says, grabbing her purse and phone, then grabbing a bottle of water out of the cup holder in the center. She flashes me a bright, grateful smile as she climbs out of the car.
Now that I’ve decided she’s mine, the sight of her smile warms me a little.
I look forward to getting to know this pretty little snowflake. I don’t think she’s anything like my usual type, but I’m open-minded. Just because she’s not what I’m used to doesn’t mean I won’t enjoy her.
And I will enjoy her.
For now, I play the knight in shining armor. I smile back as non-threateningly as I’m able, then I help her move the bags of Christmas goodies from her ex-boyfriend’s rental car into mine.
I bet my sister’ll like her. She just seems like someone sisters like.
The girl slides into the passenger seat and looks up at me with a trusting smile. I close the door for her like a gentleman, then walk around to the driver’s side.
“It’s so nice of you to do this,” she tells me, situating her purse in her lap and reaching for her seatbelt.
I need something to call her if she’s going to be my girlfriend, so I go ahead and ask, “What’s your name?”
“Oh, right. Wow, I got into a strange man’s car without even knowing his name, didn’t I?” She laughs a little at this perfectly accurate summary of what she just did. “I’m Autumn,” she says, extending her gloved hand.
I look at her pretty little hand, then I reach for it and give it a good, firm shake. “Jasper.”
Her eyes sparkle with pleasure. “It’s nice meeting you, Jasper. It sure is lucky for me you were driving by.”
I wonder if she’d think that if she knew what I was doing before I drove by.
“Do you live around here?” she asks, looking over at me.
“Nope. Just on my way home from work. Actually, if you don’t mind, I need to swing by my place and grab something before I take you to my buddy’s shop.”
Not wanting to impose when I’m the one doing her a favor, she says, “Oh, no, of course not. I’m inconveniencing you enough as it is. When we get past this dead patch, I’ll just text my boyfriend to let him know what happened and that I’ll be running a little late.”
Ah, fuck. The cell phone.
Can’t have her texting her ex.
Luckily, due to my line of work, I am prepared for just such a situation. There’s a signal jammer in my console, all I have to do is flip it on and neither one of us will be able to use a cell phone until we’re a good 40 feet away from the car. She won’t know that, though. I’ll tell her a tower must be down, maybe an accident or something. The roads are bad enough that it’s plausible, but I don’t think she’s the type to really question even a poor explanation.
“You said you’re in town for Christmas, right? Where is it you’re from?” I ask, partially to distract her as I open my console and reach inside. I flip on the signal jammer real quick, then I grab a pair of black leather driving gloves I keep in here so I won’t arouse her suspicions by coming up empty-handed.