The Mechanics of Mistletoe - Liz Isaacson Page 0,99

few times, and he’d never responded. Her old, unanswered texts sat right above his new one, in fact. Her thumb hovered over her keyboard as she contemplated what to do.

Finally, she tapped out yes and sent the text. She stuck her phone under her leg and looked out her window. She didn’t know what he wanted to talk about, but Oakley sure did like the sound of his voice, and she needed to end this night on a high note.

She continued to direct Ward to her house, and he finally pulled into the driveway of the one that sat at the back of the cul-de-sac. The house hulked in the night, as it was ten times too big for a single person who lived alone. Most men she went out with commented on it, and the one real estate agent she’d been to dinner with had actually looked up how much she’d bought it for, then texted her obnoxious questions about her financial situation.

Needless to say, that relationship had lasted for one dinner and one dinner only.

“Thank you,” she said as she opened her own door and got out of the truck. She heard Ranger say something in a low voice, but she couldn’t quite catch the words. A conversation ensued, and she closed the door and started toward the garage. The motion-sensor lights kicked on, flooding the driveway with light.

She hadn’t even reached the garage yet to tap in the code to lift the door when Ranger got out of the truck. Oakley kept her back to him and continued walking. She started pressing in the code as Ward backed out of her driveway.

The door rumbled up as the truck rumbled off, and Oakley finally turned and looked at Ranger Glover. “What did you want to talk about?”

“Why you didn’t have a ride home.”

The man knew how to go right for the jugular, that was for sure. He tucked his hands in his jacket pockets, and it should’ve been illegal to sell him that leather jacket. He’d cause traffic accidents if he walked down the street looking so good, with broad shoulders and tight, strong muscles everywhere she looked.

“Do you want to come in?” she asked. “It’s kind of a long story, and I’m going to need caffeine if I’m to tell it.”

“Coffee sounds great,” he said, a small smile riding on his mouth.

“Great,” she said. “You can make it then. I’m terrible at it, and the last thing I need to do is poison you tonight.” She stepped into the garage as he chuckled. Oakley paused, because his light laughter was one of the most magical sounds she’d ever heard. In that moment, she realized her crush on this man was wide and deep, and Oakley wasn’t even sure how it had happened.

She managed to reach the entrance to the house at the back of the garage, and he reached past her to hold the door while she went in. She hadn’t been lying about the coffee, and if he asked how she found the time to keep her house so clean after a long day at the dealership, six days a week, she’d have to admit to having a cleaning service.

Nothing wrong with that, she told herself as she stepped into the mudroom and hung up her jacket. He copied her, and she finally eased out of the way when he tucked those hands back into his pockets.

He went first down the hall and into the kitchen, which was more of a cave than a comfortable place to be. Sure, it had high-end appliances—a fridge she could see into without even opening the door—and plenty of upgrades in the quartz countertops, the cherry-wood cabinets, and the matching, coordinating art on the way.

Ranger started opening cabinets, and it only took him three tries to find the coffee. Oakley sighed and retreated to the couch. He finished getting the coffee started and came to sit with her in the living room off the kitchen.

This room had no TV, and she wanted to keep it that way. She liked the quiet sometimes, as the dealership was never truly quiet. The race track hadn’t been either. Oakley craved silence, but one look at Ranger, and she started spilling her guts.

“I was at the club with Dave Pratchett,” she said. “He picked me up, but he had to work late, so we didn’t get dinner.” Her stomach growled as if it just now remembered she hadn’t eaten since lunch. “Only a few