Chapter 6
BEN
After quick thinking, I jump out and remove my white dress shirt before draping it over the hanger currently housing my suit jacket.
Glancing down at my thin undershirt and suit pants, I consider driving to the restaurant in just my boxers so I don’t sweat through my clothes.
Nah, too risky. I’ve got some jeans in the back I can wear until I can change in the hotel parking lot.
Hell, it’s not like any patrons will see me.
Placing my baseball cap backwards onto my head, almost out of habit, I turn onto the main thoroughfare.
I’ve barely made it ten miles before I nearly hit the brakes in the middle of the highway at the sight before me.
An older model navy-blue Dodge Ram pickup is parked along the shoulder, and the most glorious ass I’ve ever seen is hovering next to what I assume is a flat tire.
I instantly pull behind the vehicle and throw my truck into park as if I don’t have one of the biggest deals of my life waiting for me.
I debate turning off the ignition before exiting my truck until I remember how fucking hot it is. Better keep that AC going. Hopefully, she simply needs help changing the tire, and I’ll be on my way. “Hi. Need some help?”
“Oh!” she squeals, her lithe body jumping in surprise.
Standing to her full height, she’s probably about five foot five with gorgeous, lightly tanned, toned legs extending from her tiny jean shorts.
Her blonde hair is haphazardly piled on top of her head, with a few wayward wisps clinging to her sweat-covered nape.
It isn’t until she spins to face me that I take in her beautiful face.
My breath catches in my throat. This girl isn’t just gorgeous.
She’s a vision. The type of woman men go to war over.
She has fair, unblemished skin apart from a smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks.
Her dazzling blue irises are rimmed with flecks of gold that twinkle under the summer sun.
I’ve never been so captivated in my life. Well, until my eyes catch sight of…
Are those pasties?
Wearing a tight white tank top molded to her perfect breasts, with what appear to be black paw prints covering each nipple, it’s a fight to keep my focus on anything but her tits.
“Uh hmm.”
My eyes flick up from where I’ve been ogling her, um, shirt.
“Hi,” I blurt, flashing a toothy grin at her.
She seems to shift from foot to foot uncomfortably beneath my gaze.
Am I making her nervous? Then I remember.
Keep your eyes above her neckline, dumbass.
She looks awfully young. Hell, is she even legal? “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Depends. Do you own a tow truck? This old battle ax has been on borrowed time for a while now. I don’t think there’s any chance of fixing it here.” Her voice comes out broken, as if she’s teetering on the edge of a catastrophic meltdown.
I take a quick inventory of her vehicle and confirm the tire in front of us is flat, with a can of sealant lying precariously on its side.
Glancing at my watch, I wince. This is going to be tight, but I can do it.
Heading toward the back of her vehicle, I toss over my shoulder, “Where’s your spare? In the trunk or underneath the truck?”
“That was the spare.”
Shit.
Removing my baseball cap, I nervously drag my hand through my damp hair before returning the hat to my head facing forward. The bill of the hat offering little reprieve against the sun. “Here, let me call a tow—”
“No, no. I’ve got it,” she abruptly interjects. The last word sounds broken as it tumbles from her succulent lips. My eyes hold hers when a tear tumbles down her porcelain cheek.
Fuck.
I’m at her side in an instant, pulling her small frame into me before I realize what I’m doing. “Don’t cry. If you cry, I’ll cry. And that’d be downright embarrassing to reveal that strong, masculine side of myself in the first five minutes of meeting you.”
She buries her tear-soaked face into my shirt, and my heart splinters for this poor girl. It may just be a tire, but I’m no stranger to hard days.
“You’re killing me, love.” I squeeze her tighter, the delectable scent of her putting me further under her spell, despite the fact we’ve both been sweating like whores in church.
Her body jerks within my hold, wracked with sobs.
“Awe, baby, don’t cry.” I run my hand up and down her back.
Nearly a foot taller than she is, her head rests comfortably beneath my chin. “I’ve got you.”
It should be alarming how natural this feels. Especially given she’s probably more than ten years younger than I am. Hell, I don’t even know this girl’s name.