“Rockol.” Excited pride thrummed through Mattie’s voice, and Leo loved the sound.
“Rockol!” he repeated, feeling his own swell of delight. “You’ve been singing their praises for years! I remember when you were showing me how to oil an engine—you told me always to use their brand.”
“Precisely!” Mattie managed a little bounce despite being prone.
“It couldn’t be more perfect for you.”
“Even though it isn’t a girlie product?” Mattie opened one of her eyes to watch him.
“Hey,Iuse it because of your expertise.”
“Not because you were sweet on me?” Mattie teased.
He hesitated.
Mattie raised her chin, astonished. “Youweresweet on me? Even back then?”
Leo wanted to rub his head, but that would mean removing one of his hands from Mattie’s back. Instead he focused on kneading the muscles around her shoulder blades.
“You weren’t like any other girl I’d ever met,” Leo admitted slowly. “When I first saw you, you were fixing a lead wire.”
“You developed a crush on me because I was repairing my plane?” Delight spread across Mattie’s face.
Leo focused on his hands pressing against the navy-blue fabric of her swimsuit. “Yes.”
Mattie flopped back down with a huge sigh, and her eyelids drifted closed once more. “That is just about the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me.”
Mattie looked serious, utterly serious, and a pleased thrill shot through Leo. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“But, Mattie,” Leo said, knowing this would be important to her, “I would have used Rockol even if I hadn’t been sweet on you. You were, are, an excellent pilot and mechanic. I’ve always known that.”
One of Mattie’s eyes popped open again. “Really?”
“Really.”
“Do you think men will buy Rockol because of how I fly or because of how I look?” Mattie asked, her voice soft and unusually unsure. His heart twanged. He wanted to reassure her, but he didn’t want to lie either.
“You want the truth?” he asked.
“The truth.”
“Both,” Leo admitted. “You’re adventurous, and that’s what Rockol is aiming to sell. They’re trying to convince men that if a fellow uses their brand of motor oil, then he can attract a gal with your spirit.”
“And there’s nothing wrong with that?” Mattie asked.
“No more than men buying the stuff that I endorse because they want to be as brave and daring as an ace pilot,” Leo pointed out.
“Rockol’s former spokesman was an ace too,” Mattie said thoughtfully. “I guess Rockolistrying to market adventure. I like the idea of representing female derring-do.”
Leo paused in the massage as cold realization slithered through him. “Wasn’t Rockol’s last spokesman Earl Crenshaw?”
“Yes. It might be petty of me, but it makes the deal even more delicious after how Crenshaw treated me at the Gilded Secret.”
“You should be careful.” Leo worked to keep his voice even. He didn’t trust his old comrade, and he worried how the man might react once he discovered that his former rival’s sister, a female, had “stolen” his endorsement deal.
“Careful?” Mattie asked. “Why in heaven’s name would I need to be careful? It’s not likely that I’ll ever see Crenshaw again.”
