Page 48 of She's a Big Deal

“Ever had vegan pizza before, Grace?”

“Nope.”

“Ever wanted to?”

“Negative.”

Olivia spied a faint smile, trying to escape on her lips. She liked to see Grace struggling a bit to hang on to her serious face and decided she would enjoy challenging her some more as the evening went on.

“I just hope they have rooms left. We’re obviously not the only ones who had the same idea.”

Indeed, the Super 8 was packed on account of the weather. They managed to snag the last room. Lucky again. The discovery that it only included one double bed had Olivia swallow a little hard. She glanced at Grace, whose first reaction was to pull off the sheets and inspect the mattress.

“What are you doing?”

“Making sure it’s clean. Yeah, that’ll do.” She turned to her, hands on hips, still in her jeans and leather jacket. Giving off bigboss vibes and vibrant femininity at the same time, Olivia noted. The woman made her heart jolt with her next words. “So, Olivia. Wanna play?”

Olivia had a sudden vision of Grace pushing her against the desk, bending her over, and yanking her pants down. It literally took her breath away for a quick second. She blinked, swallowed again, then recognized a telling flicker in her eyes. Amusement, humor, a touch of wonder. She was being teased again.Tested?Challenged?The question was: did Grace mean some of it or not? Olivia cocked a hip, matching her swagger. And she jerked her chin.

“Why not? What have you got in mind?”

It must have been the correct answer and the right attitude because Grace flashed an approving smile and tossed her the keys to the Mustang.

“Going to make all your dreams come true, Ms. Bianchi.”

It turned out this meant teaching her stunt maneuvers in an empty parking lot instead of having heated sex in their shared bedroom. Though with Grace in full instructor mode, Olivia figured it was also stimulating foreplay for the mind. She did not tell her that.

“It’ll be even better sliding on snow,” Grace declared with a wicked smile. “Quick bit of theory first: it’s the rapid change in direction that’ll cause the rear wheels to lose grip. So you have to have decent speed and then induce weight transfer.”

“What the hell is that?”

“Well, you want the weight of the car on the outside of the turn, right?”

“Uh… Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Grace confirmed, frowning at her hesitation. “So if you intend to turn left, flick the steering wheel to the right. Andvice versa the other way. Makes sense so far?”

“Yes, okay.”

“Good. Perfect timing is required to pull the handbrake. Now imagine a semi-circle representing your 180-degree turn. Your goal is to lock the rear wheels roughly forty-five degrees into the arc.”

“Got it.”

“Go too early, and the back end won’t get loose enough to slide; do it too late, and your turn will be pitiful.” Grace inflected enough disdain into the word to make Olivia dread the result. No way would she be pitiful during this exercise. “You have any questions?”

“Yes. When do I use the clutch?”

“You don’t need the clutch for this. Don’t touch the brakes either.”

“Uh… Are you sure?”

“Sure, I’m sure. We’ve got plenty of space over here; you’ll be fine.” Grace actually licked her top lip in anticipation. “Ready to practice?”

Olivia was dying to kiss her, actually. She chuckled, feeling nervous and excited at the same time. It was quite a while since she’d done something silly and spontaneous just for the sheer fun of it. And the woman who sat next to her made it all even more thrilling.If Dana could see me now…

“I am ready.” She shot Grace a grinning wink. “Buckle up, Ms. Michaels, and prepare to be dazzled.”

chapter 17

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