Read Online A Match Made in Heaven by Colleen Coble - Free Book Online Page A

the kitchen and into the garage. “Think you can hook that trailer up to your truck?”
    His eyes widened. The trailer held two Fat Cats, a kind of three-wheeled motorcycle with wide tires. He’d always wanted to play around in the desert on one of them, but none of his friends owned the vehicles.
    A grin stretched its way across his face. “You know how to drive these?”
    She held out her slim arm and flexed her muscle. “I can wrestle a Fat Cat through the worst cactus in the state of Arizona.”
    He pressed against her rounded arm and winced. “You’ll put me to shame.” He slipped his arm around her and pulled her to him. “You are remarkable. I’ll bring the truck around. Let’s get to the desert while the getting is good.”
    Callie pressed a button and opened the garage door. Nick jogged down the driveway. The scent of jasmine and eucalyptus filled his lungs and gave him another boost of well-being. What a great day this was turning out to be.
    He backed the truck up to the trailer, and within minutes they were on their way. “Where’re we headed?” he asked.
    “Bloody Basin Road, where else?”
    “I couldn’t have picked a better place myself.” He turned the truck out of town and headed to the play area of movie stars and car mechanics alike. It was about an hour away, so they chatted about inconsequential things. Nick loved to hear Callie’s laughter. It enveloped him in a cocoon of warmth and joy.
    It seemed only minutes later that they turned into the rutted track that was Bloody Basin Road. He found a parking spot and stopped the truck. The sun was high overhead, a roadrunner scrabbled in the dirt several yards away, and cactus dotted the landscape as far as he could see. A perfect day for off-roading.
    He unloaded the Fat Cats. Their chrome sparkled in the sun, and he yearned to climb onto the wide seat of one and head out across the stark hills and valleys. “Which one is mine?” he asked eagerly.
    “They’re identical,” Callie pointed out.
    Nick rubbed his hands together. “Let’s go!”
    They climbed onto their vehicles. The sound of the engines whined through the thin air. “I’ll beat you to the top of the mesa!” Callie shouted. She didn’t wait for his response but revved up her engine and tore between two clumps of prickly pear cactus.
    Nick followed her, the tires of his Fat Cat kicking up the dust. They raced over mesas and ravines, through eerie landscapes of cactus and sage. Hours later they stopped back at the truck for lunch.
    Nick had insisted on bringing the food. He loved to cook and had whipped up his favorite potato salad and made turkey sandwiches. There was a picnic table near the truck, and he spread a tablecloth over the weathered tabletop then laid out the food.
    Callie’s smile was reward enough for his preparation. Her face was flushed from the sun, and her brown eyes sparkled. “You let me win,” she said.
    He held up a hand. “You beat me fair and square. You’ve had more practice than I have with those things. How long you had them?”
    “About three years. They belonged to my brother. When he moved to New York, he sold them to me. They wouldn’t be much use in the high-rise buildings.” She sat at the picnic table.
    “What are you going to do with them when you go to New York?”
    Her face clouded. “I hadn’t considered it.”
    “You belong out here, Callie. I can’t imagine you in New York, never feeling the Arizona sun on your face, never smelling the sage and creosote. That perfectly turned-out image you portray isn’t the real Callie Stevens. This jean-clad sprite is the real Callie. You should let her run free.”
    Twin lines appeared between her eyes. “People expect a designer to look a certain way,” she said.
    “Kind of like an architect, huh?” He jerked his thumb at himself. “Look at me. I don’t look like the typical architect, but I’m not hurting for business. God made you like you are. When you pretend to be