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

again and drew in a slow breath. That didn’t help in the least; instead it filled her nostrils with the smell of his soap. He’d never been a cologne guy, but she recognized the familiar soap he’d been so fond of buying from a local vendor on the island.
    She’d been with him the first time he’d purchased it at a street fair. Beer soap, it had been touted. Not like it had smelled like a brewery or anything, it had been subtle, almost a faint nutty scent. But the word beer combined with soap had been just too cool for a teenage Ian. And apparently the grown Ian too.
    She liked the smell, though. Always had. Unfortunately now it was bringing back too many memories.
    The tires of the Camaro crunched over gravel, and she opened her eyes to see them arriving.
    Who knew what she’d been expecting, but it wasn’t this. The garage was located on the outskirts of Coupeville. A restored garage painted a bright vibrant blue. The words above the garage : McLaughlin’s Auto and Classic Car Restoration .
    Her lips fell open on a silent sigh. This wasn’t a rundown auto shop by any means. Not the way she’d been expecting. It looked authentic. Tasteful. With a handful of employees working hard inside the garage.
    “Here we are.”
    Unfastening her seatbelt, she offered a grudging, “This looks like a nice place.”
    “That’s because it is.” His gaze met hers, and the hard glint in those amazing green eyes both captivated her and made her flinch. “Come on inside. I’ll show you the place.”
    After a brief tour of the garage and meeting some of the employees—all of whom seemed pretty nice—Ian took her into what appeared to be his office.
    There was a door that locked and shutters that were closed. A computer sat on the desk, some kind of spreadsheet on the screen. She averted her gaze, but tried not to look at Ian either.
    The office wasn’t small, but it felt downright closet-sized with just the two of them inside it. Especially when he closed the door behind them.
    Feeling his gaze on her—hot and heavy—she did her best not to squirm.
    “So, how long have you had the garage?” That probably sounded like the lame and obvious stall tactic that it was.
    “Six years.” He moved toward her and her heart leapt into her throat. But he strode past her and dropped his keys on the desk instead. “Da fronted me the money to get it off the ground since the bank wouldn’t lend to me.”
    “They wouldn’t?” It didn’t really surprise her all that much, though it did disappoint a little.
    “No. I didn’t have the best credit history. And I’m sure the felony on my record didn’t help.”
    Hearing him say the words aloud were a bit of a punch, and she could feel her eyes rounding. She’d known about the felony, but had always tried to not think about it. Wanted to believe it had been some kind of mistake.
    Ten years ago she’d had a momentary lapse of sanity and had decided to try and contact Ian again. When her father had discovered what she was about to do, he’d presented her with Ian’s latest background check—the felony conviction highlighted in yellow.
    Ian seemed to be waiting for her shock and disgust. One brow was arched and his lips were curved into a slight smile, but his eyes were hard. They were always hard. As if the weight of the world, barbed and vicious, sat on his shoulders.
    “Aren’t you going to ask what the felony was?” His words were soft. His steps deliberate as he approached.
    This time she knew his destination truly was her and not his desk.
    “It’s none of my business.” The words came out on a croak.
    I won’t step back and let him think he scares me. No, it wasn’t really him that scared her anyway, but her response to him.
    “Second degree assault,” he answered anyway. “I beat a man nearly to death.”
    Bile churned in her stomach, and there was no disguising the shock in her eyes now. She blinked and jerked her gaze from him, staring instead at the wooden