Melody Anne's Billionaire Universe: Roadside Assistance (Kindle Worlds Novella) Read Free

stirred things down south, making him think the idea brewing in his mind might actually work.
    If he could get her to agree to it.
    Something had to be in it for her, but she didn’t seem to need anything. Independent, strong, and she couldn’t care less about his money. If anything, she seemed amused by it. She was going to be a tough sell. Even if he could figure out how to make it worth her while, she just wasn’t the kind of woman to take less than she deserved.
    Admirable, but not entirely helpful.
    She glanced over to him. “What?”
    He turned in the passenger seat and hooked an arm over the back of her seat. “What do you mean what?”
    She unbuttoned the top of her jumpsuit and shook the sleeve off one arm and then the other.
    “You’re thinking so damned hard over there, I’m going to have to turn on the A/C. Is it the car? I’m telling you, it’s in good hands with my brother.”
    The jumpsuit slid to her waist when she leaned forward, leaving her in just a black tank top. A fitted black tank top. His gaze landed on a dagger tattoo, with some sort of intricate Celtic design running the length of her sculpted arm. No tramp stamp for Jack. No flowers, butterflies, or hearts. Nope. A full blown “look at this” dagger, from shoulder to elbow.
    “I haven’t thought about the car since you slid out of your truck.”
    Startled eyes met his. She shook her head and laughed. “Nice line, playboy, but you’ll never convince me that I’m the kind of woman your kind finds attractive.”
    “My kind? What kind is that?”
    “The kind that drives an eight-hundred-and-fifty-thousand-dollar car, for starters. Our worlds are so far apart, I might as well strap my ass to a rocket and head for Mars.”
    “I’ve got to give it to you, Jack; you have a way with words. Your mother teach you that?”
    “What mother?”
    He flinched. “I didn’t miss the taste of my foot.”
    “Don’t sweat it. I don’t.”
    Curiosity demanded he ask the question sitting on the tip of his tongue. Common sense warned him to not be an idiot, this could be messy.
    He was going to do it.
    Crap, don’t do it, Lathan.
    “What happened to your mom?”
    Yup, he just had to do it.
    She glanced over at him. He couldn’t see a single bit of tension in her. Her clear eyes met his, open and unoffended. Her shoulders stayed loose and her grip on the wheel relaxed as she rolled into Placerville.
    “She left. When I was three.”
    “I’m sorry.” Inadequate. Yup, he had a way with the ladies.
    She tilted her head at him before turning her eyes back to the road. “Why? I’m not.”
    How did she manage to talk about this as though they were discussing what they had for lunch? “Really?”
    “No. What kind of woman leaves her kids? One not equipped to be a good mother. To me, it’s better that she left than had she stuck around and screwed us up.”
    “That’s…”
    “Blunt?”
    “Generous.”
    “It’s the truth. We had a good life. My dad rocked the mom and dad roles. Neither one of us has been arrested. We don’t do drugs. We have successful jobs. Last time I checked, that was a decent track record.”
    She made it all sound so easy. Maybe it was. Here he was, a rich family, a ton of money, and stressing how to get the last of it. It was for an honorable cause, but it was still him desiring just that much more than he already had. And how would he live up to everyone’s expectations? How would he not lose himself in the process of being what his family needed?
     Then there was Jack: she seemed to have it all figured out. She was an enigma. One he was willing to spend a good long time figuring out.
    They pulled up to a huge blue shop with six white-doored bays. A worn “Price’s Auto Body” sign that looked to have been repainted at least a couple times hung over the middle of the building. This was no small operation, and Jeremy had to be far more than just a mechanic. Likely, he had a team working under him; a large one.