Page 36 of Screwed (Dad Bod Contracting 4)
“James.”
“And Ryder. And Laurel’s son.”
“And there you are, in your ridiculously well-endowed glory, all but naked.”
“Well, not all but naked, just…not dressed for being around people. James’s eyes popped out of his skull, and I’m pretty certain he choked on his coffee.” I huff a laugh. “Nate asked if the reason his mom’s shirt didn’t fit me was because my ‘no-no’s’ we’re so much bigger than hers.”
Audra chokes, sputtering on her tea. “Oh my fucking god—he said that?”
I nod, cackling. “He did.”
“He called them no-no’s?”
“Ryder thought it was hysterical. He asked if I was having a ‘tit-uation’.” I tilt my head, thinking back. “Actually, what happened was James was trying like the devil to not stare at me and failing badly, and didn’t know what to do with himself, so he made excuses about having to go, and Ryder asked him if he was having a tit-uation.”
Audra rolls her eyes. “Classic Ryder.” She shakes her head. “So. James bolted.”
“Later, Laurel pointed out that he left in a hurry, and was walking kinda funny.”
Audra shrugs. “Well, if you were dressed like you describe, I can imagine him being pretty, ummm, affected.”
“So I talked to Laurel a bit more, and then left. And then the next day, I knew I had to tell Imogen I was passing her wedding planning off on someone else, so I went over and talked to Imogen and explained everything. And then, barely two miles from home, my car died.”
“Oh jeez.”
“Yeah. I mean, I’d been expecting it for quite a while. It was over twenty years old and it had two hundred thousand miles on it. So I knew it was going to die.”
“Still, having a car die on you is never convenient.”
“Nope. To make matters worse, it died at a green light, in the middle of the intersection, so I had to put on my flashers—if you make a boob joke, I’ll slap you—and get out and push.”
“I think I know where this is going,” Audra says.
“Yeah. All of the sudden, the car somehow got a lot easier to push. Whoever was helping me gets my Explorer to a parking lot out of the way. And guess who it was helping me?”
“James?”
“None other.” I sigh. “So, he calls his friend who has a wrecking service, gets me five hundred dollars cash for my dead-ass car, and then offers to take me home.”
“Whose home?” Audra asks, snickering lecherously.
I roll my eyes. “Nothing like that. So we’re on the way home and I realize I now have no car, no way to get to work, and no way to even get to a lot to buy a new one.”
Audra laughs. “Right, because James is totally the type to just say ‘sorry, not my problem’ and leave at you home without a ride.”
“Exactly,” I say. “So he drove me to a couple used car lots and even a new lot, but nothing really jumped out at me, so he mentioned he had a truck he wasn’t using—he’d replaced it with his current one, but hadn’t had the heart to get rid of it.”
“That monster in the driveway is yours?” Audra asks. “I thought—I don’t know what I thought.”
I laugh as I swallow a mouthful of tea. “Yeah, it’s mine. I went to James’s house, and he showed me the truck. He and the boys had beefed it up under the hood, put on the lift kit and light bar and all that.” I pause to drink more tea. “It had sort of turned into Renée’s favorite thing to drive, whenever James wasn’t using it for work. He had a lot of memories of her in it, and a lot of money invested in it aside from the sentiment, so he hadn’t been able to bring himself to sell it to some random dude.”
Audra’s eyes widen. “He sold you Renée’s truck?”
I nod. “And for, like, a fraction of what it’s worth, considering all the aftermarket upgrades on it.”
Audra scoffs. “That thing has to have nearly twenty grand in upgrades. Those wheels and tires are hella expensive, and I know lift kits aren’t cheap, especially that high, plus the light bar, and whatever they did under the hood?”
I nod. “Exactly. He basically gave it to me.”
Audra shakes her head. “It’s weird, but I think you are the only woman who’s woman enough to drive a macho mobile like that and still be all woman.”
I laugh. “James thinks it’s hot, apparently.”
She rolls her eyes again. “Well, duh. I think you could roll in the mud and wear a paper bag over your head and James would think it’s hot.” She rolls a hand. “So, he sold you his truck, then what?”
I shrug. “I guess I’m not explaining this very well. The process of looking at the truck, him telling me about Renée loving it, how he didn’t want to sell it to anyone but would sell it to me, and for a quarter of its value? It was intense. The whole chemistry we’d spent the past year trying to pretend didn’t exist came flaring back to life.” I sigh. “We flirted. I haven’t flirted with anyone in years, and it’s been even longer for him. But we just…couldn’t help it. Every word, every look… was steeped in tension and chemistry.”
