Hope Breaks: A New Adult Romantic Comedy Read online

  He shook his head. “You’re serious?”

  I leaned up against a display of Styrofoam bull’s eye barrels and sighed. “As a heart attack.”

  Drew licked his full, pouty lips, looking nervous. “I wouldn’t have to pose naked, would I?”

  I shook my head and was about to speak when he started interrupting me again.

  “Because my mom would kill me if—”

  I cut him off this time. “You’d just have to take off your shirt, which I imagine happens often enough already.”

  “Huh?”

  I closed my eyes before they rolled back sarcastically in my skull. Why else would a guy workout as much as this guy looked to, if it wasn’t to look good when he took his shirt off?

  “Just the shirt, I promise. And I can pay you two hundred a shoot.”

  That made Drew’s eyes brighten like sapphires on QVC. “Two hundred dollars, just for taking off my shirt?”

  I shrugged. “You’ll have to pose too. And pose with the girl I find to do the shoot with you.”

  Drew’s eyes darkened, and his face went expressionless. “That will be a problem. I’ve got a girlfriend and she wouldn’t like me posing with another girl.”

  Shiiit…this was just getting complicated as hell.

  Then inspiration raised her manipulative head. “Is she cute?”

  Drew snorted. “Of course.”

  “You got a picture of her in your wallet?”

  He looked at me like I was some prehistoric fossil. “No… but I’ve got some on my phone.”

  “Can I see them?”

  Drew looked around nervously again. “We’re not supposed to use our phones on the sales floor.”

  “If anyone asks,” I said, winking, “you were showing me that… Kmart had a much higher price on…” I looked around and settled on what I was leaning against. “Target barrels.”

  Drew smiled wickedly. “Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m doing.” He pulled his smart phone from the back pocket of his jeans and started scrolling through pics. I saw his face blush, so I knew there were some naughty pics intermixed with the regular ones. Finally, he turned the phone so I could take a look at his girlfriend.

  Pretty, very pretty. With dark blond hair and blue eyes that were about three shades darker than Drew’s.

  As a bonus, she had dimples. Dimples always looked good on film.

  He showed me three more pictures. In one she was dressed to kill in a sexy little black dress, in another she was leaning up against a big red truck, her tight fitting flannel shirt tied up over her mid-drift. She had a darling figure. Not too skinny, but not too curvy either.

  The last one was black and white, and was of the two of them in an embrace sitting on some steps. They looked good together. Really good. And there was already that sense of intimacy, even just sitting there together.

  “I’ll pay her two hundred too.”

  “Really?” I could see the wheels and cogs in his head spinning. Then his mouth went firm with suspicion again. “She wouldn’t have to be shirtless, too?”

  No time to be squeamish. “For most of the pics, no. But I’d probably want one where we see her bare back. But nothing from the front.”

  He seemed to ponder this, and then he opened his mouth… but nothing came out.

  I waited, but started to feel my headache coming back. “What?”

  He swallowed. “I’ll have to ask her.”

  I smiled. “Yeah, that would be a good idea.”

  Drew looked at my business card again, and then slipped it into the chest pocket of his t-shirt. “I’ll call her on my break. Can I call you a little after that?”

  “That would be great.”

  With that the handsome, well-built young man turned and started pulling the freight jack behind him again. The damn thing made even more noise when it was empty.

  So I headed for the painkiller aisle again.

  Chapter 3

  CLICK, CLICK, CLICK, CLICK. That was the only sound my car made when I tried to start it in the Wal-Mart parking lot.

  Shit, shit, shiiit!

  I rested my head against the steering wheel and breathed. Car breaks down? Just add it to all the other crap on your agenda. But it was something that needed to be dealt with immediately. I needed my car.

  So I called AAA. About time I got some use out of my AAA Plus card. I was always paying for it, and never actually got to use it.

  Of course, if I ever went somewhere further away than my local Wal-Mart, I might get a chance to use it.

  It took about five minutes to get through to the AAA dispatch, and then another forty-five to wait for the driver to show up. To my surprise he was young and good looking, and had a swagger that I only attributed to cowboys. But this being Texas, he very well could have been a cowboy.

  As I watched him take my car keys and slide into the driver’s seat, I realized that I might not need greasy Vincent at the modeling agency any longer. I could just take a ride down to Wal-Mart and hunt down my own pretty, fresh faces.

  I mean, look at this guy’s shoulders. And he had the sweetest face. That was until he smiled. Then his face turned hungry like a wolf.

  The Big Bad Wolf!

  Inwardly, I twirled and danced around. I had a cover coming up that was for an erotic retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. This guy would be perfect!

  Click, click, click, click. The kid looked out the car window and said, “Bad starter.”

  “Really? Is that hard to fix?”

  “Nah. Where do you want me to tow this thing to?”

  Oh… I hadn’t had anything go wrong with a car in years. I didn’t know where I should take it.

  I guess my confusion showed, because the kid, who I now could see had “Billy” stenciled onto his work shirt, said, “Tice’s does good work. So does Busy Bee. And Jake—” He pointed over to the side of the Wal-Mart. “If he’s working today, he can fix pretty much anything.”

  “Really, I can just have it done here?” I was amazed. Wal-Mart really did have everything: Tylenol, hot young studs, and even mechanics to change your starter.

  “If he’s working.” He pulled out a cell phone and hit a speed dial. “Yeah, yeah, yeah… transfer me to TLE.” There was a pause, and then Billy smiled, broad and toothpaste commercial handsome and bright. “Hey Georgia, it’s Billy from… yeah, me. I was wondering if Jake was working today. I’ve got a broke starter here in your parking lot.”

  He looked at me and gave me a wolfish smile and a thumbs up. “Great. I’ll tow the piece of… I mean, the car in. Then maybe I can talk you into getting some ribs later.” He blushed, and then he sighed and rolled his eyes.

  “I know he’s my best friend, but I just can’t stop thinking about you.” He stopped and looked up at me, embarrassed. “See you in a few.” And he hung up.

  “Jessie’s girl?” I asked.

  He just stared at me for a minute.

  Way before his time…

  “It’s a song… an old one, about a guy that’s in love with his best friend’s girl.”

  “Oh,” he said, getting that look kids get when someone older starts talking about the good-old-days. I cringed. I remember pulling that look in my youth… not that I’m old or ancient or anything. I’m only twenty-six…

  Okay, to this kid I’m old… I am ancient.

  “I guess the remake would be Adam’s Girl.”

  I nodded, even though I didn’t think the song would work with that name replacement.

  He shook his head and smiled. “So let’s get this… your car into TLE.”

  ***

  Ten minutes later my car was loaded into a work bay, and I was watching Adam’s Girl (aka Georgia, and that made me smile at the Ally McBeal reference—which I’d bet neither one of them were old enough to remember—sigh…) trying to type in my maintenance order while Billy leaned over the counter and tried to cajole her into going out with him.

  The boy was shameless. But he did wear her down enough that
she said she’d meet him at a local ice cream shop to “talk.”

  I handed him my card and told him that if he ever wanted to make some extra money modeling to give me a call.

  “You’re shitting me, right?”

  I shook my head solemnly. “I shoot romance novel covers. You’d be a natural.” I could just see the women swooning over one of his Big Bad Wolf smiles.

  He shook his head, but was smiling, thinking about the prospect. Then he leaned in and asked, “I wouldn’t have to show my johnson, would I?”

  I gulped and shook my head. “Just have to take off your shirt.”

  He hit me with that wolf smile again. “Well, I could do that right here if you like?”

  “No!” I said a little too forcefully. “No… that’s not necessary. I’d rather save that for when you’re in front of the camera.’

  “Okay,” he said, smiling again. “I’ll call you then.” And he sauntered out the door.

  Georgia and I exchanged the same look.

  Men…

  “Sorry about him,” she said. “He’s incorrigible.”

  “He’s a horn-dog.”

  “That too.”

  “You’re really going to go out with him?”

  She shrugged. “I only started dating his friend three weeks ago… and already we’re to the he’s starting to ignore me phase.”

  I winced in empathy.

  She bit her lower lip. “It’s just… I’ve known him for years, and I used to have this big crush on him… but…”

  Oh, I knew this one. “But he never gave you a second look before you started dating his buddy.”

  “Yeah,” she said and sighed. “So I don’t know if he really likes me, or he’s just…”

  “Coveting his neighbor’s ass?”

  Her eyebrows shot up. “No! Billy’s definitely not gay.” Then she started getting a confused look. “Or did you mean he was… coveting Adam’s ass? Because that could explain—”

  I put up my hand to cut her off. Dear lord, how was I going to explain this so she would understand?

  “That would be a biblical reference,” a deep male voice said from right behind me.

  I yelped and wheeled around to find a broad, blue work shirt clad chest at my eye level. The name badge read “Jake.”

  I looked up and found the most attractive man staring down at me. Lord have mercy, he was just gorgeous. But not like all the hot young men I’d just seemed to run into today. No, Jake was broad and solid and hard as a crowbar.

  He had deep, fathomless eyes, melted chocolate brown, and a mug not only ruggedly handsome, but with a fine dark shadow of a beard. When he smiled, he had dimples too.

  Oh, and he looked to be about my age, if not a little older.

  I gulped. “Hi,”

  “Hi yourself.” He looked up over my head and started talking to Georgia again. “It’s from the bible, coveting your neighbor’s ass. And no, it doesn’t mean his actual ass. It means a mule or donkey.”

  Georgia giggled, and Jake looked back down into my eyes. “So let’s go take a look at your car.”

  Chapter 4

  CLICK, CLICK, CLICK, CLICK.

  “Yep,” Jake said, rubbing his oil stained hand over the back of his neck. “That’s your starter.”

  I tried not to stare too hard at his really firm, tight ass. But he was leaned under the hood while I turned the key in the ignition, and well… there was his ass.

  Now I was coveting ass!

  I closed my eyes and forced myself to focus. I needed the man to fix my car. And he was too old for me to use as a model…

  I couldn’t believe I’d just thought that. He was my age, and I’d just thought that he was too old!

  But he was. Even though he was the hottest man I’d ever laid eyes on… oh jeez, breathe. He was still not what women wanted on the covers of their romance novels.

  Yeah, but they should.

  Holy shit, snap out of it!

  “You’re Southie’s little sister, right?” he said.

  I blinked at him. He was standing up straight again, and was looking right at me.

  Southie? And then the nickname clicked. My big brother, Roy, was called Southie in high school. He was the football team’s quarterback, and a southpaw.

  I nodded my head. “No one’s called Roy that in years.”

  Jake smiled. “He still selling used cars up in Houston?”

  I smiled. “No, he owns a Kia dealership in Dallas now.”

  He made a low whistle. “Makes sense, he could talk people into doing just about anything.”

  “Including putting themselves in debt for a car.”

  He laughed and smiled at me… but then his smile dimmed as if on a switch. “You don’t remember me, do you?”

  Not at all. “It’s been a long time since high school.” And you were in high school with my older brother, so it’s been even longer.

  “My name’s Troy. Jacob Troy. You went to school with my sister Paula.”

  Paula Troy. Suddenly I had a mental image of a girl with long dark curls and exotic dark brown eyes. She was dressed in a cheerleading outfit… and she was scowling at me.

  Oh, Jesus Christ! Paula Troy, captain of the cheer squad, Salutatorian of my senior class, and my own personal tormentor for all four years of high school.

  She’s a bitch.

  Jake scrubbed his hand over the back of his neck again, looking suddenly sheepish. “I take it she wasn’t very nice to you.”

  I shook my head. “She was…”

  “A bitch, yeah, I know. But now she’s—”

  “She’s changed?” I asked skeptically.

  “No, she’s still a bitch.” He laughed, and it was a really good laugh. You could almost reach out and touch it. “She just has three kids and an immature husband to keep her busy.”

  It was my turn to laugh now.

  He smiled, with wicked, evil, sexy as hell dimples. My heart went pitter-pat, my brain went fuzzy, and my core temperature rose. I suddenly felt feverish all over.

  “But you really don’t remember me?” he asked, laying his hand against his heart, feigning being hurt.

  I was coming up a total blank. I mean, my brother had a lot of friends in high school. They were always hanging around the house.

  “That’s not good,” he said more to himself.

  “Sorry,” I mumbled, and then shook it off. I wasn’t about to let a simple thing like a lack of memory ruin what was turning out to be the best mechanical breakdown of a car in history. So I took a deep breath, straightened my spine and gave him my best smile.

  “Who wants to remember high school? Zits, bad hair, shoulder pads.” I made a dismissive gesture with my hand.

  I thought he’d smile, but instead his eyes got wide, and his mouth went a little slack.

  And then it occurred to me that his wide eyes weren’t trained on my face or my brilliant smile. They were set lower, on my chest.

  I looked down and inwardly cringed. I’d run out of the house in just a pair of jeans and an old, threadbare t-shirt that was about two sizes too small. It had Great View airbrushed across the chest, and used to be the shirt I’d wear to Def Leppard and Van Halen concerts.

  About twenty years ago—thus the two sizes too small.

  Thus the reason why Jake was suddenly brain dead and staring at my tits.

  I groaned and rolled my eyes, and then tried to cross my arms over my breasts… but with boobs like mine you can’t just cross your arms over them, you had to do it under them, which just showcased them even more.

  Damn…

  Jake broke off his soulgaze with my chest, smiled awkwardly, and scrubbed the back of his neck with his oil stained hand again.

  Pretty soon he wouldn’t have any skin left back there.

  “Um… It’s about my lunch time. And this place is sort of adamant about that kind of thing.”

  “Oh,” I said.

  “I’ll need to go to the parts store and get the starter, an
d truthfully, the other guys here aren’t trained enough to change it.” He finally looked me right in the eyes, and… wow…

  I started to feel all tingly, all over.

  “I’ve got a couple cars to work on before I get to yours anyways, so… Why don’t I give you a ride home on my lunch?” The look on his face was a fascinating mix of heady longing and sudden shyness.

  “I could drop it off after work…”

  My eyebrows shot up, and then so did his. “And you could test drive it by driving me back here,” he said, his body language suddenly becoming uncomfortable.

  Did he just invite himself to my house?

  Yes, my inner voice sang. Yes, he did!

  No…no, no, no. I wasn’t ready for this.

  An avalanche of self-doubt and lonely misery started to fall around me.

  I don’t date anymore, remember? That’s why I’m living back in San Antonio again. Love and me don’t get along…at all. Like fire and water. Or ammonia and bleach.

  It’s not a date, you dummy. It’s just a lift home by an old school friend of your brother’s. But if…

  I clamped down my mind on my inner voice. I didn’t need to know what she thought anymore.

  I opened my mouth to tell him that I could just catch a cab and Georgia could just call me when it was ready for pick up. But…

  “Okay,” just sort of fell out off my mouth.

  Jake smiled and shrugged. “Okay then. We can stop and grab some dogs on the way. As I said, this is my lunch.”

  Mental head slap! Now it was a ride, lunch, and then a return invitation.

  Was I insane? Besides him knowing my brother in high school, I didn’t know a thing about him.

  He nodded his head toward the bay doors of the garage. “I’m parked out there, come on.”

  So I followed him, trying to keep my heart from pounding out of my chest, and my eyes from staring holes in his denim clad behind.

  ***

  First he stopped at Milligan’s Auto Parts, an old store that dated back to the fifties. He’d called ahead, so the owner/operator, a guy I kind of remembered from high school, had the part waiting for us. I went in with him to pay for the part with my Visa.