Page 61 of Whispers and Wildfire

Hank:Thanks again for last night. Had a great time. Are you free Friday?

I hesitated. I was free on Friday. My eyes flicked between my phone and the door Luke had just gone through.

What did he have to do with it? I had a very strong feeling he was dating someone. And even if he wasn’t, I could date Hank if I wanted to. It wasn’t about Luke. It was about me, starting a new life. Moving on.

All those tingly feelings were just echoes—memories of something that had ended a long time ago.

Me:Yes, I’m free.

Hank:How about I pick you up at 6?

Me:Perfect.

Hank:Great, it’s a date.

I set my phone down. Yes, it was a date. And it was fine. I’d go out with him again, and damn it, there would be sparks. There had to be.

And if not, it was probably Luke’s fault. Somehow.

CHAPTER 16

Luke

No womanin the history of the world had ever been more confusing—or exasperating—than Melanie Andolini.

Instead of heading to my office, I went into the garage. Patrick and Ollie were working on restorations, and I had another project I was seeing to personally—a black 1968 Dodge Charger. But mostly, I wanted to keep my hands busy. Sitting at a desk would lead to brooding—over a girl I should not have been brooding over.

I got started on the Charger, determined to put Melanie out of my mind.

It didn’t work.

Because, seriously. Hank? All right, it was a cool name, but why was she dating him? And did he have any idea what he was getting into?

I hoped he was ready for it.

Or maybe I hoped he wasn’t.

Either way, that woman was a wildfire. I needed to keep my distance, or I was going to keep getting scorched.

My phone buzzed with a text, so I slipped it out of the back pocket of my jeans to check. It was Kyle. I didn’t have to read it to know what it said. A race was on.

It was tempting. But the strange thing was, I wasn’t craving speed. Not for the rush of adrenaline, at least. I was restless and frustrated—amped up with too much energy. It was hard to keep still, but I didn’t know what I wanted.

What was wrong with me? Was it Melanie? Was I that pissed off that she’d gone out with another guy? Maybe, although I probably needed to stop blaming all my bad moods on her.

And there was the fact that I had no right to be mad. She went on a date, so what? I had a date on Friday. Would she be angry with me over it? I doubted it.

That kind of pissed me off, too.

Too many feelings. I didn’t like it. But I said no to the race.

Time went by in a blur as I worked on the car. It was good to have something else to focus on. No dates or ex-girlfriends or frustrating emotions. Just the work I’d always loved.

I don’t know what made me glance up. It was too loud to have heard her come in. I wiped my hands on a shop towel as I watched her walk to the parts area with a printout in her hand, my eyes drifting over the curves of her body. A heady rush of adrenaline surged through me, making my heart beat harder.

My gaze locked on her. I couldn’t stop staring. She started to look for something on the shelf, referencing the sheet she held in her hand. Whatever she was after, she clearly couldn’t find it.

She rose on her tiptoes to look on the top shelf but wasn’t tall enough.

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