Just as I lean the spare against the car and set the jack under the axle, a familiar car pulls up behind me, and I sigh deeply.
Leo.
Sonofabitch.
He unfolds his lean body from his black muscle car and walks to me, black Converse crunching over the gravel, seemingly unfazed by the rain. He’s wearing a leather jacket, open in the front, over his white t-shirt and loose jeans. He’s covered his head with a black knit beanie.
“Problem?” He asks with a half-smile, that lip piercing catching my eye.
Why am I attracted to a lip piercing?
I don’t know, but I am.
“Just a flat. I’m gonna change it. You don’t have to stay.” I start working on the lug nuts.
Leo hasn’t moved.
“You don’t have to stay,” I repeat more firmly and look up into his handsome face.
“Do you honestly think I’m going to leave you here, at the side of the road, to change out a flat by yourself?” He asks, his eyes have gone colder, and I frown.
“I have this handled.”
Instead of stalking back to his car and driving off, he leans his ass on my car, crosses his arms over his chest, and watches me with those stormy eyes the same color as the clouds currently dumping cold water on us.
“Suit yourself.” I shrug and return to the task at hand. God, the rain is cold and the wind has picked up now, making my hands throb and I wish for gloves, but refuse to let Leo see my discomfort. The nuts come off smoothly until I get to the last one, which is on too tight.
I struggle with it, grunting, and fall on my ass with the effort.
The nut didn’t move.
“Damn,” I mutter and glare at the tire.
Strong hands wrap around my upper arms and lift me to my feet. “God, you’re a tiny thing,” he mutters and moves me aside. He squats beside the tire and easily loosens the stubborn nut.
“I loosened it for you,” I tell him with a stubborn set to my chin.
“Of course,” he chuckles and pulls the flat tire off the axis. “Are you always this stubborn?”
I cross my arms over my chest, burying my hands against my ribs to warm them up. “Pretty much.”
He laughs and shakes his head, his tattooed fingers mounting the new tire and tightening the lug nuts. I can’t look away from his hands, the vivid colors of the ink.
His body art is gorgeous.
I wonder what he’s got under his clothes? He’s typically shirtless in publicity shots, so I know he has sleeves on his arms, a tat across his chest, stars on his hips, but I’d love to see under his pants.
I take a deep breath, close my eyes, and force the shirtless image out of my head just as he lowers the jack and gathers my tools and replaces them in the trunk with the flat tire.
“You didn’t have to do that you know.” I offer him a half-smile and then laugh out loud when he scowls at me.
“Sam, I’m not about to leave you here at the side of the road by yourself to change a tire in the rain. Your brother would put his foot up my ass.”
Of course. He’s only being nice because of Luke. Just like everyone else.
I systematically school my features, blank canvas, straighten my shoulders and put the walls back up.
People can’t hurt me if I don’t let them.
“You’re probably right.” I back away and move to walk around the white car to climb inside and escape. “I’ll be sure to tell him you were a big help. Thank you.”
“What the fuck just happened?” His eyes are narrowed on my face, his thumbs tucked in the loops of his jeans.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes you do. You’d loosened up a bit, and then suddenly you turned back into the ice queen.”
I’m not an ice queen! I’m a fucking human being, but I’ll never let you or people like you see me as vulnerable ever again!
“Have a good day, Leo.”
“Hey.” He blocks my path to the driver’s door, and tips my chin up to look him in the eye. “What did I say?”
I shake my head and back away, needing the space. God, he’s like an effing magnet.
He watches me closely for a moment and then shrugs. “Okay. Drive safe. Take that in to the shop tomorrow.” He walks back to his car, lowers himself gracefully behind the wheel and waits for me to drive off ahead of him.
Who knew that a rock star as famous as he is could be a gentleman?
Weird.
I offer him a wave and drive away, exhaling for the first time in thirty minutes. That is one sexually potent man. No wonder he’s so damn famous.
And I am never going down that path again.
* * *
Olivia is perhaps the most perfect baby ever born, and she gets all her charm, intelligence and good looks from her auntie Sammie.
And no one else on the face of the Earth had better ever call me Sammie.
I’m not usually one to cuddle babies, but oh how I adore this little girl. We are all gathered at my mom and dad’s house, and by all, I mean the whole crew. All of the Montgomerys are here with their kids, Luke and Nat and Livie, my youngest brother, Mark. Even Brynna is here with her girls.
Will has tugged Meg into his lap on the couch and they’re laughing intimately. He glances up at me and winks and I feel a glow in the pit of my stomach. To think that just two years ago family dinners consisted of just the five of us. How boring! Now we have this beautiful extended family. I wouldn’t change a thing, even if it did lose me my job last week.