Page 29 of Purrfectly Trapped

What she wouldn’t give for a night in this man’s arms! Sigh.

“Absolutely,” he answered, and held his hand out.

She accepted it, shivering slightly at the contact. Christ, he was warm! In fact, heat seemed to emanate from his entire body as he walked behind her down the stairs, one hand on her back.

Gretchen felt the effect ripple through her, all the way to her toes. Ever the gentleman, Reg escorted her to his vehicle, hand in hand. He opened the door and lifted her inside, to her surprise.

He drove a suped up Jeep. She’d always loved them! It was large and comfortable with real leather seats, and an expensive sound system. It smelled clean too, like he’d just washed it. Gretchen smiled, thinking he’d probably done that for her.

This date was already starting out way better than she’d hoped. She smiled as the promise of something warm and bright began to tease her mind and heart. Warning bells should have been going off by now, but Reg was smiling at her, and Gretchen sighed wistfully.

She was not asking for rainbows, but wouldn’t it be nice if this turned into something more than a meal?

A girl can dream.

Sigh.

ChapterTen

“Sorry, I should have rented something nicer for you,” Reg began.

Gretchen shook her head, stopping his apology in its tracks. It was strange, but she wanted to reassure him. Honesty was something she tried for in all things, and whatever this turned into, she was not going to start it with silly little games most people played. She liked reg and his car and she wanted him to know it.

“No way,” she began, touching his forearm lightly and watching in surprise the way the big man seemed to shudder at her touch.

Interesting.

“I really like Jeeps, Reg. This one is fantastic, especially the color,” she explained and ran her hands over the armrest of her warm leather seat.

The exterior was a deep, blood red that she rarely saw on this kind of vehicle, and the interior was black with that same dark red trim. It was a helluva a car and it suited him, big as he was. She could not see him driving a Prius.

“Really? Thank you. Some of the roads out here can get bad in rough weather, and I’m a big guy and I work in construction, so it helps to have something like this.”

“That’s right, you work for Elissa’s husband,” she replied and nodded at him.

“Yes, I do. I’ve been with Maverick Development since I was a cu-,uh, a kid.”

Gretchen was fascinated by that line of work. She was great with scissors but couldn’t do crap with a hammer or screwdriver.

“That is so cool. What do you do exactly?” she asked as he turned the corner.

“I guess, I’m a jack of all trades. I work in demolition, masonry, ironwork, and I’m a certified electrician as well. We have some local government contracts, and do a lot of roadwork, but we’ve been known to take on private projects.”

“That’s awesome that you can do all that. And I had no idea Maverick Development was so big,” she said, impressed by his skill set.

“You don’t think I’m just some dumb contractor?” he asked lightly, but she sensed his tension.

“Of course not,” she replied without hesitation. “Why? Do you think I’m just a dumb hair stylist?”

“What? No way! If I gave you that impression---” he almost shouted. The poor guy was tripping over himself apologizing, and she felt bad for teasing him.

“Reggie, relax. I was only kidding,” Gretchen said and placed a hand on his arm. She liked the feel of his muscles beneath her fingers, and even better the way he glanced at her, one eyebrow raised as he maneuvered the vehicle down the street.

“Reggie?”

“Oh, sorry. I have this habit of shortening names. Do you mind?” she asked and bit her lip.

“Not at all, but you’re the only one who can call me that,” he replied, and winked.

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