Page 33 of Thunderstruck
This is my problem. As soon as people open up to me, I get attached. What is it about vulnerability that is so compelling?
Cole swallows, his eyes dropping to the keychain in his hand. “I don’t know.” He shakes his head. “You are dangerous, Carissa Paxton.”
This moment feels safe, a strange thing when Cole Evanson is involved, which probably explains the question that shoots out of my mouth. “Why didn’t you tell Moxie about Darcy?”
He looks up again, cocking his head to one side. “What makes you think I didn’t?”
I cock my head to match him. “Why, Cole?”
“Because it’s not my secret to tell.”
That surprises me more than he would probably like, but after the way he reacted to finding out about Darcy’s alter-ego, I was so sure he would tell as many people as he could. “Thank you.”
“You have a license, right?”
The question catches me off guard. “To practice PT in California? Of course.” When he lifts a dark eyebrow, my eyes drop to the keychain in his hand. “Oh wait, did you mean to drive?”
Cole snorts. “No, to kill,” he drawls. “Obviously I mean to drive, though I’m glad to know you’re licensed for your job.”
Was he actually wondering if I’m allowed to work in this state? I might have made some mistakes with my last job, but I’m not stupid enough torisk liability. But I choose to ignore that and focus on his actual question. “Yeah, I have a driver’s license. Why?”
He stuffs the keychain into my hand, and I look down to see the keys for the fancy car next to us. I don’t recognize the brand, which probably means it’s expensive.
“Cole?” I say the word breathlessly as I try to understand what’s happening right now. “Are you giving me a car?”
He barks out a laugh and moves out of the doorway to open the driver’s side door of the car. Instead of getting in, he holds it open and gestures inside. “Of course not. But I’m letting you borrow it for a while if you agree to take me to practice every day.” He says it so matter-of-factly, like he’s not letting a virtual stranger use his very nice, very expensive car.
“But you don’t know if I’m a good driver.”
He lifts that eyebrow again, and I can’t help but study his face as he waits for me to move from the doorway. Something has changed between this morning and now, and I don’t know what it is. But he looks different. “Are you a good driver?”
Part of me wants to tell him no, but I’m rather proud of my perfect record. “I’m a great driver.”
“Then what’s the issue?”
I step forward if only to not feel like I have to shout at him. The problem is this is a single-car garage, so there are not a lot of places for me to go without standing directly in front of him, with the open car right next to me. It smells like a new car, and I can’t help but take a deep breath of the smell of leather. Moxie’s car is nice but smells a bit like gym socks, and Bean’s car was…a little terrifying. Coming closer was a bad idea because now that I have a clear view of the pristine interior, my resolve is crumbling by the second.
I badly want to say yes to his offer, no matter how ridiculous it is.
“Cole,” I say, forcing my eyes to him. His house faces west, which means the sinking sun is glowing directly behind him and making it difficult to see his expression. “I can’t take your car.”
He folds his big arms, which feels a bit like a cheap trick, given the sheer amount of muscle on him. I’m a sucker for a strong and functional muscle group. “Why not?”
“Because you don’t even know me. What if I steal it?”
“You won’t.”
“How do you know?”
“I don’t.”
“I can’t take your car, Cole.”
Instead of continuing what feels like would be a never ending argument between us, Cole leans closer. Closer.Closeruntil I shrink away from him and run into the car, losing my balance. His hand tucks behind my head to prevent me from hitting it against the frame, but he does nothing else to stop my fall onto the driver seat. “Great,” he says, bending down and picking up my feet to stuff them inside. He shuts the door before I can react.
And at this point, I already know I’m not going to be able to say no. Not only does the car smellso good, but it’sso prettyinside. And insanely comfortable. And it’s one of the fancy ones that doesn’t even need a key because I just push a button and it rumbles to life beneath my touch.
I’m stroking the steering wheel when Cole slides into the passenger seat and gives me a smirk. “You’re taking the car,” he says. Not a question.
