Valentine Wishes (Baxter Academy Book 1) Read Free

She doesn’t even know me. I stand.
    “Do you make it a habit of stopping for stranded motorists and suggesting a drink?” Stupid shit like that could get her killed. Any number of guys would take her up on the offer.
    “No.”
    I’m not even going to question why she decided to stop for me. “Look, I’m already running late. I appreciate the offer to help, and the drink, but someone is waiting for me.”
    “How late are you going to be?”
    “At this rate, about an hour.”
    “Are you sure she’s going to be waiting on you?”
    I push my fingers through my hair and then mentally curse. Now I’ll probably have grease in my hair too. “I don’t know, but I’m not going to be a no show. So, if you don’t mind…” I gesture to the tire.
    “I’ll wait.”
    I blow out a frustrated breath. “Look. I’m sure you’re a nice girl. But, I have a date to get to.”
    “Then, I’ll bring the drink to you.”
    I don’t say anything and get back to tightening the nuts on the spare. Maybe I should call Sullivan’s again to make sure Jacqueline is still waiting. If she’s not, I’ll just go home and shower and call it a night.
    The Mazda doesn’t start up like I assumed it would when the car door opened, but I don’t even look in that direction. Maybe she’s some crazy chick and the only way she’s going to give up is when I leave without her number.
    After I tighten everything down, I lower the jack and grab it to put it back in my trunk. When I turn, I notice she’s leaning against the hood of her car, sipping from a cup and holding another one out to me.
    What kind of woman drivers around with a spare drink in her car? The hair stands up on the back of my neck and I make a note of her license plate. I’ll ask an officer to run it as soon as I’m out of here. I’m sure as hell not going to drink anything she is offering. Maybe it’s just my profession, but my first thought is that she’s put something in the drink to incapacitate me somehow. I don’t know her intentions, but I’m not going to play into her hands and find out. “No thanks.”
    “But I brought it for you.”
    “Me?” What the hell?
    “Hi, I’m Jacqueline Baxter.” She grins. “We’re supposed to have dinner.”

Chapter Three
    I feel bad that Brett has a flat tire, but happy that it wasn’t all a lie. So far, he’s scored points for calling not one person, but two to make sure I got the message. He scored more when trying to get rid of me, or at least, not being overly friendly, and explaining that he had places to be. And those points just kept mounting as I watched him change that tire. Damn, he looks hot in those black slacks and light grey button down shirt. And not hot in that he’s sweating and grease stained, but hot with muscles in all the right places. For once, Ashley and I agree on a guy.
    His pants were hiked a bit while he squatted and lifted the tire and he’s wearing an ankle holster, which kind of surprised me. What kind of guy takes a gun on a date? Then again, he’s the same guy who was with the state trooper when I was stopped this morning. Maybe he’s an undercover cop or detective or something like that. Though, he’s kind of young to be a detective. He’s too clean cut to be undercover. Don’t they usually disguise themselves as unkempt druggies?
    His ice blue eyes widen and then he relaxes, blowing out a breath. “I am so sorry I was delayed.”
    “Hey, you couldn’t help it.”
    He takes the cup of tea and sips from the straw. “How did you know where I’d be?”
    “Ashley told me what kind of car you drive and what road she thought you’d be taking into town.”
    “Thanks for the tea. I was thirsty.” He takes another sip and shakes his head. “I can’t believe you came looking.”
    I bite my lip. “To tell you the truth, I wasn’t sure if you were trying to get out of the date.”
    He chokes on his drink. “And if you hadn’t found me?”
    “I’d have gone home, and enjoyed