His jaw flexed. “I’m dropping you off in New York the same way I picked you up.”

“Bored?”

He shook his head. “Clean.”

Lucy reeled a little under the impact of his unexpected answer. That single word told her so much about him while at the same time, spawning a hundred more questions. He thought touching her would…tarnish her? It didn’t fit in with the arrogance he wore on the surface. She opened her mouth to ask him to clarify what he’d meant, then decided against it. The set of his mouth told her she’d be wasting her time. Delving any deeper would just shut him down completely.

She took a breath and glanced back down at her itinerary. “There’s only one important activity on the list. The rest is just funny business.”

“Funny business.”

Lucy nodded. “Correct. Thursday, however, is important. It’s the sixtieth anniversary of my grandfather proposing to my grandmother.”

“You’re celebrating with them?”

“Actually, Matt, they’re dead.” She shook her head. “Way to bring up a painful subject.”

He shot her a look, smirking when he saw she was kidding.

She let her head fall back on the headrest. “He popped the question on a bench in Central Park. I’m going to be there for the exact minute it happened.” She shrugged. “Kind of like a tribute.”

“You won’t be alone for that, at least. Someone will probably be asleep on it.”

She covered her eyes. “Please, stop. Your optimism is blinding me.”

Without missing a beat, he handed her his sunglasses. Lucy put them on.

Before she could ask him how he saw through such dark lenses, something under the hood of the car snapped, screeched and fell into a thumping pattern.

“Serpentine belt,” Lucy said automatically as Matt cursed, pulling the car onto the shoulder.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.” If Matt had spent any amount of time with Brent, he knew about the Mason family obsession with cars. Diagnosing his engine trouble would definitely tip her hand. “I said…I don’t like how that felt.” He shot her a suspicious look, but ultimately climbed out of the car. She debated a moment, then joined him under the hood he’d propped open. Seeing the frayed belt, she let herself enjoy a little surge of pride at being correct. “Uh-oh. That looks bad.”

He was already dialing his phone and didn’t answer. When what Lucy assumed to be roadside assistance answered, he rattled off their location perfectly and described in exact detail the engine’s condition. His words were clipped and precise, telling her how close attention he paid, even when he appeared to be lost in his own world. She needed to remember that.

“How much is it going to cost to tow it back to New York?” Matt asked into the phone, before wincing at the answer. “How about the closest garage? Fine.”

He hung up.

“That sounded promising. Tow back to New York too expensive?”

Matt cast a look down the busy highway. “It literally would have been highway robbery,”

A laugh bubbled from her throat. “At least you’ve maintained your relentless sense of humor.” She stepped back as he closed the hood. “So, what now, Chuckles?”

His throat worked as he grazed her with another head-to-toe perusal. In that moment, she got the odd impression that she made him nervous, but that couldn’t be right.

“Good question,” he finally answered, with all the enthusiasm of an undertaker.

Chapter Three

He was actually checking into a roadside motel with the rosy-cheeked girl next door. If she knew, if she had even an inkling of the thoughts bombarding his mind, she would have taken her chances hitchhiking the rest of the way to New York City.

They’d ridden in the tow truck to the nearest garage, whose mechanic had informed him they could have a serpentine belt ordered for his car by morning. Which meant they were stuck overnight, still three hours from home, in a convenient motel adjacent to the garage.

Convenient. Right.

While they waited for the slow-moving motel clerk to wake up his ancient computer, he decided it would be safer to book her a separate room. He didn’t trust himself having her within reaching distance. Throw in a convenient bed and time to kill…he’d be screwed in more ways than one.

Right on cue, the clerk lifted his head. “One room?”

“Yes,” Sasha chirped.

“Two,” he answered at the same time.

Doing his best to ignore the way her tempting lips pursed in disapproval, he handed the clerk his credit card. When he saw the man eyeing Sasha with not-so-subtle interest, he nearly snatched it back. He didn’t like the look on the clerk’s face. In fact, it kind of bothered the shit out of him, especially since he’d brought it on by claiming they required separate rooms. So much for retaining his sanity.

“On second thought, just one room,” he said, holding on to the card until the clerk met his eyes. Hopefully, a room with two double beds and a decent enough cable hookup would keep him distracted. Matt almost laughed out loud at that. A teeming swarm of locusts couldn’t distract him from her. She stood beside him silently, chin set with unflagging positivity, enveloping him in that cinnamon-vanilla scent that seemed to get more noticeable with each passing minute. He wanted to mingle that scent with his own, drag her down onto a flat surface and smell every inch of her skin to determine where it radiated from the strongest. Then…God, then…he wanted to hear several screamed apologies, back to back, for making his c**k hurt so badly.

You can’t do it. Remember the damage you’ve caused.

The clerk cut off his disturbing thoughts by handing him back his credit card. He stared at Sasha the entire time. “All set for room number fourteen.”

She smiled. “Thanks. Is there somewhere to eat around here?”

“Not within walking distance, I’m afraid.” His hands moved furiously over his desk before handing her a stack of glossy, colorful menus. “Lots of takeout choices. Or I could take you to pick you up something. I get off in—”

“Thanks, we’ll manage,” Matt interrupted. Apparently the clerk was as slow as his computer. Putting his hand on the small of Lucy’s back, he led her out of the office. A glance at a mounted blue sign had him turning right. “If you want something to eat, I’ll get it for you.”

She held up a Domino’s menu with a flourish. “I swore after grad school, I’d never order another Domino’s pizza. Didn’t even make it one full day.”

“I’ll let you pick the toppings.”

“Oooh. A humorist and a gentleman.” She grinned up at him, blissfully unaware of his sudden desire to hand-feed her, bite by bite, watching her mouth accept the food he offered. “Be careful or you’ll be stuck with me longer than a night.”

“Don’t jinx me.”

“I’m growing on you. I can tell.”

Matt bit back a sudden smile. How many times had he been required to do that today? As they walked, his thumb eased under her shirt of its own accord, finding a dimple at the base of her spine. He almost groaned out loud, wishing he could drop to his knees and explore the valley with his mouth. Bumps raised along the skin of her neck as he watched, telling him she felt it, too. It was alarming, how quickly the pulsing need had risen. He could usually keep it leashed until it came time to engage in the actual physical activity. With this girl, his leash had been pulled taut since the moment he laid eyes on her in the coffee shop. Now it threatened to snap. He desperately needed to keep himself in check, for the entire night. But in his current state Matt worried he might not even make it to their room.