The interior smelled like leather, cedarwood, peppermint gum, and Blaze.
Warm and masculine. Entirely too familiar.
She tightened her grip on her clutch while staring straight ahead through the windshield.
She could handle one dinner. One evening. One auction date purchased by emotionally unstable girlfriends with terrible boundaries and too much disposable income.
That was all this was.
Blaze slid behind the wheel moments later, and the entire truck shifted around his presence instantly. Not aggressively, but noticeably.
He carried the kind of quiet masculinity that changed the atmosphere of a room without trying. The interior suddenly felt warmer. Smaller. More intimate.
Johanna hated how aware of him she became this quickly.
He glanced toward her while starting the engine. “You okay?”
“No.”
One corner of his mouth lifted slowly. “Honest answer.”
“You asked the question.”
“I did.”
The truck eased away from the curb while Main Street glowed outside beneath strings of twinkling lights and fading sunset.
Debbiecakes prepared to close for the evening, though employees still moved behind the glass boxing cupcakes for lingering customers. Clarence’s had a full parking lot, and somehow the scent of fried fish and hot sauce drifted into the truck when they passed.
Sheraton Beach at dusk looked unfairly romantic.
Couples walked hand in hand across cobblestone sidewalks. Music spilled from a piano bar’s front doors while laughter floated into the street. Lanterns glowed warmly beneath storefront awnings, softening the entire town into something cinematic.
Everything looked like the beginning of a love story, which was unfortunate considering the woman sitting in the passenger seat was actively trying not to have one.
Johanna glanced sideways at Blaze. “You planned this.”
“Of course I planned this.”
“That answer should concern me?”
He shook his head. “It should impress you.”
“Depends on the plan.”
His eyes slid briefly toward hers before returning to the road. “You don’t trust me?”
Johanna looked back out the window.
Trust.
That word carried too much weight between them. Too much history. “I trust you to drive safely.”
Blaze stayed quiet for a moment. Then he nodded slowly. “I’ll take what I can get.”
Something about the softness in his voice tugged at her chest in ways she did not appreciate. So, she pivoted quickly.
“Did the guys at the station give you grief about the auction?”
