Read Online Good Girl Gone Plaid by Shelli Stevens - Free Book Online

darted out to wet her lips.
    “I—I don’t know if I hit my head. Honestly, I can’t remember much except swerving. Then I saw red. The airbag went off though.” Seeming almost self-conscious, she ducked her head and her hair slid in a curtain shielding her face.
    Concern slid through him. “You should take Colin’s advice and go to the hospital.”
    “I’ll be fine.”
    He grunted in reply. “Still stubborn. Some things don’t change.”
    “So what’s your plan of action?” Colin called out as he approached again. “I’ve got a call coming in and need to go. Would you like me to send a tow truck?”
    “Already called one for her on the way up,” Ian answered before she could.
    Her head jerked back up. “Wait, you did what ?”
    “Towing it to your garage then?” Colin confirmed.
    “Aye.”
    “Right then. I’ll be seeing you around, I’m sure, Sarah. Ian will have your car running in no time.” With a wink at her and nod at his brother, Colin disappeared back into his vehicle.
    “Look, I’m not sure what kind of deal you and your twin have concocted here, but I’m not taking my car to your garage.” Sarah’s words were terse and her arms folded across her chest indicated her mind was made up.
    “Ah. So you’re filing a claim and picking another garage on the island then?”
    She nibbled on her lip and uncertainty flickered across her face. “No. I’m not going to file a claim. I can’t afford a spike in my insurance—I already have a speeding ticket from earlier in the year.”
    “Let me fix your car.”
    “Look, I can’t afford to pay you,” she blurted, and then her cheeks flushed red. “I…I just don’t have a lot of money right now.”
    He stared at her, knowing that had been damn hard for her to admit.
    “I’m still paying attorney fees from the divorce.”
    Ah. Yes, that would certainly put a hole in one’s finances. What did she even do for work now? He really didn’t have any idea.
    “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure we can figure something out.”
    Her lips parted and her face lost a shade of color. Slowly she shook her head.
    “Ian, that’s probably not a good idea.”
    “No?” He arched a brow. “How do you intend to fix it then?”
    “I don’t know. But I don’t want to be indebted to you. Don’t you understand? I had no intention of even seeing you during this visit. This is a complete nightmare for me.”
    For some reason her impassioned, maybe unintentionally barbed words, hurt.
    “Aye, I understand.” His lips curved into a mocking smile, even as the urge to touch the tempting softness of her cheek suddenly overwhelmed him. Using his knuckles, he brushed a caress over the round apple of her cheek.
    Touching her had always been his crack. Nothing had changed. He wanted to unwind that colorful scarf and expose the delicate skin of her neck. He could almost see between the folds of purple fabric the curve of her breasts.
    There was so much he wanted. So much he’d be stupid to try and explore.
    “Why is seeing me again so hard?” The question tore from him, quiet and confused. “Because of what happened?”
    The panic across her face surprised him. So did the fact that she hadn’t pushed his hand away.
    “Please, let it go.”
    “For the moment, I suppose I’ll have to.” He glanced over her shoulder and noticed the tow truck pulling up in front of her wrecked car. “Just as it seems you’ll have to accept my help.”
     
     
    The ride to his shop was only about five minutes, but in Sarah’s mind it may as well have been an hour.
    She was tucked into Ian’s Camaro, speeding through the back roads of Whidbey Island. It was entirely too familiar. Too comforting—which she wasn’t about to analyze why.
    She’d held her breath more often than drew one in. She just wanted to be invisible.
    Right. A hysterical laugh—one that had been lingering for the last hour—built low in her throat. Of course she kept it restrained.
    She closed her eyes