A Love of Her Own Read Free Page B

pickup—wanted to do her harm, she didn’t have a prayer of getting away.
    She used pre cious seconds trying to locate her keys, which had fallen on the street alongside the curb. After bending to pick them up, she raised her face defiantly to look at the driver of the vehicle, which was now parallel to hers.
    Hilton White sat behind the wheel. “Hi there. You having car trouble?”
    Ava sighed with relief. “Oh, am I glad to see you.”
    He grinned at her as he got out of the car, and once more she was struck by how exceedingly good-looking he was. Her hand automatically went to smooth her hair. Vanessa had recently cut her previously shoulder-grazing naturally auburn tresses, which had always been on the thin side, giving her a stylish pixie look. She hoped it had held up.
    “ I saw your flashers. What happened?” he asked.
    “ It kind of lost its juice, and then there was smoke all over the place. The smoke cleared up, but it still smells kind of funny. I was just about to make a run for it.”
    Hilton frowned. He walked to the front of the car and knelt to the ground. “It’s hard to see, but there don’t seem to be any oil puddles, so at least it doesn’t look like you blew your engine,” he said as he rose to his feet. “Maybe it’s the transmission. But they generally don’t go out just like that without some kind of warning.”
    “ Well, it has been a little sluggish lately. I put some of that STP stuff in it, but it really didn’t do anything.” Ava suddenly felt embarrassed. “I guess I should have brought it to the shop before it got to this point.”
    “ If it’s the transmission, it probably won’t make a difference in terms of further damage,” he said. “It’s either pay now or pay later.”
    “ I suppose. Listen, can you give me a lift home? I don’t live far from here. The car will be all right here until morning.”
    “ Sure; come on.”
    The truck sat considerably higher off the ground than her low-slung sports car, and her heels didn’t make getting in any easier. Hilton stood behind her and lifted her so her feet rested on the running board, keeping firm hands around her waist as she awkwardly climbed in. His hands felt large and unwavering as they supported her weight, and Ava sensed their massive strength through the thin knit shawl she wore. It took her breath away, and when he released her the heady feeling remained.
    As she settled into the passenger seat, Ava wondered what it was about these SUVs that so many men were crazy about. They were a pain to get in and out of. But then again, she reasoned, men didn’t wear high heels.
    As Hilton walked around to the driver ’s side she realized he didn’t even know her name. He climbed in, and she opened her mouth to introduce herself when he asked, “You really didn’t think I was going to leave you stranded, did you, Ava?”
    “ Not really, but I don’t like to take people’s good nature for gran—hey, how’d you know my name?”
    He laughed, a vibrant sound that filled the truck. “Catherine called you by your name when she took me to meet her guests. I remember thinking it was a pretty name for a pretty woman.”
    “ Oh…thank you.” He’s flirting with me. She liked it. It was always nice to know men thought she was attractive. And it was harmless. Nothing would come of it…nothing.
    Ava directed him to her home, a refurbished Queen Anne built in Nineteen Fourteen, freshly painted a cheery yellow with blue trim. The sight of her house continued to give her a warm, tingly feeling, even a year after she ’d moved in. It would always be special to her, and who knew? She might just live in it for the rest of her life.
    “ Nice place. I’ve got one over on Davis Street myself. Tan with red accents.”
    “ That’s only a few blocks from here. We’re practically neighbors.”
    “ This might be a good time for you to show me what work you’d like to have done,” he suggested.
    Ava hedged. Perhaps he should