The chair screeched again as he leaned forward and placed one meaty elbow on the desk. “Anything else I can help you with?”
She shook her head, the pain in her temple turning into a steady pounding. “No—yes.” The man looked at her quizzically.
“For God’s sake, is there anywhere I can get a Diet Coke around here?”
The cluster of men had thinned, but those who remained stared as Sarah stalked back to her car. She must have looked like some kind of exotic animal to them, her black clothes and high-heeled boots as out of place on this dusty road as the men’s worn jeans and cowboy boots would be in her Manhattan law office. And her car, which hardly signified back home, stood out among the battered pickup trucks and twenty-year-old sedans like a peacock among pigeons.
Annoyed as she was, she didn’t notice that the front end of her car was jacked up until she was practically on top of it. A man’s body stuck out from underneath it, visible from the ribs down.
She stopped in her tracks.
Faded denim hugged narrow hips. The man’s white tee had ridden up to expose abs that were flat and taut. A six-pack instead of the beer bellies sported by the men she’d seen so far. Dark hair gathered into a narrow line that parted around his navel and disappeared beneath his waistband. A brass buckle with an image of crossed racing flags cinched his leather belt. The thought of crossing that finish line made her pulse race.
The beautiful body moved, pulling the material of his jeans across his crotch and clearly outlining the bulge beneath his fly. A wave of longing swept through her, so strong that it made her knees shake. All concerns about her car fled.
If that’s what he looked like soft… Damn.
Her last lover Trent had been pretty well endowed but nothing like this guy seemed to be. He’d been fit too, but wiry. Handsome. Disappointing in bed. But this guy? The warmth in Sarah’s belly drifted south and pooled between her thighs. Her fingers twitched with the urge to touch him. Were his muscles as hard and his skin as smooth as they looked?
Whoa. She stepped back, the intensity of her reaction a total surprise. She liked a buff guy as much as the next woman but had never wanted to grope one at first sight. Her little “problem” had to be the reason she was acting strange. Months of frustration made her desperate. The man was under her car for God’s sake.
Which meant that she could stare with impunity.
She leaned forward—and he slid out from under the vehicle.
Broad shoulders and chest. Strong jaw. Black curls. She knew this guy. “You stopped on the road earlier.” It came out like an accusation.
He nodded, rising to his feet with unexpected gracefulness. Sarah’s mouth went dry.
The man’s hand dipped into the front pocket of his jeans and Sarah’s gaze went back to his crotch. A red bandanna came out with a bit of flourish and Sarah realized she’d been caught staring. An uncharacteristic blush heated her cheeks.
Get a grip, Sarah. Pulling her New York mien around her like armor, she thrust out a hand. “Sarah Lange.”
“Better not,” he said, raising his large, callused hands to show palms spotted with motor oil. “Cole Cassidy. Pleasure to meet you.”
Pleasure… Sarah withdrew her hand and tucked a few errant blond strands behind her ear as she mentally shook herself. He was a mechanic no matter how powerful his mojo. Definitely not her type. She forced her attention back to the problem at hand. Her car’s problem. “You’re the local expert?”
“Yes, ma’am. ‘Fraid they don’t have much experience with high-maintenance foreigners around here.” His drawl was soft and smooth.
“And you do?” She heard the sharpness in her voice and hoped that he chalked it up to impatience—or the dig about “high-maintenance foreigners”—rather than the disturbing effect he was having on her libido.
If he noticed her tone, he chose to ignore it. “I’ve got some.”
“Do you know what’s wrong with it?”
“Looks like the right front tie rod is busted. If so, it’ll have to be replaced. That could be all, but I’d have to get it up on the lift to say for sure.” He pointed his chin toward the garage.
Sarah’s gaze shifted to the open garage door. The rusted truck that had been occupying the only lift when she arrived was still there. Beneath it, two men were deep in conversation while a third stood with his hands in his pockets, shaking his head. They didn’t look like they were leaving anytime soon.
The garage’s office door opened and Austin came out. He headed toward them with a smile.
“Cole. Thanks so much for stopping by, man.”