Head Over Wheels - Samantha Chase Page 0,8

a few days to get through together. Any chance you can relax a bit?”

Brows furrowed, he said, “What are you talking about? I’m relaxed.”

“Mal, you’ve barely talked to me all morning and now we’ve got an hour of driving to kill. I’d rather not spend it with my earbuds in again. Please.” She gave him a sweet smile in hopes of softening him up, but…

“We need to get going,” he murmured, closing the door.

Once he was settled in behind the wheel and they were on their way, Dani pulled out her phone and began doing some searches. After they had gone through the drive-thru of McDonald's, she figured she’d start the conversation.

“Do you want me to sit in on this meeting with Mr. Bennett? Is his place anywhere near the historic district? Because if you don’t need me with you, I thought I’d do one of those trolley tours. There are some seriously cool ghost tours, but I’m guessing those are done at night. Do you think they’re done at night? I’m sure they’re better when it’s dark out.”

“Dani?”

“Hmm?”

“It’s too early for all those questions. Maybe ask one and wait for me to actually answer it.”

She laughed softly. “Yeah, I know I tend to be too chatty in the mornings. Sorry. Normally I’m in the office starting my day and you’re in the garage under a car. I’m usually on the phone talking to people so…I’ll keep quiet until you’ve finished your breakfast. How does that sound?” If she didn’t have sunglasses on, he’d see she was batting her lashes at him.

With nothing more than a grunt and nod, Malcolm resumed eating his breakfast biscuit while driving. It was on the tip of her tongue to offer to drive but she knew that would get her nowhere. They had made such strides last night over dinner and it bothered her that he was back to his quiet ways today.

What to do…what to do…

Now that she had gotten a glimpse of how funny and sweet and charming he could be outside of the garage, there was no way she was going to settle for going back. They still had almost a week away together. Tomorrow was going to kick off the hardest and busiest time for them with the auto show, and she refused to spend it acting like they were just co-workers or casual acquaintances.

But for right now, she had to bide her time and not push too hard.

So she would wait for him to finish his breakfast and his coffee, then give him some time to simply relax and then…

Then she was going to do her damnedest to bring out the man she had finally seen last night.

Something was up.

They had finished their appointment and lunch with Devlin and were back on the road. She hadn’t gone on the trolley tour or any haunted ones–something he never would have pegged her for–and something just felt…off. Dani came to the appointment with him to discuss a restoration on a 1969 Dodge Charger. She had sat in on consultations at their shop, but this was the first time she came to meet with a client. He figured she’d sit back and maybe just observe, but she didn’t. Instead, she joined in the conversation and offered some great insight into the process Devlin was looking to schedule with him.

Malcolm always knew Dani had a strong working knowledge of what went into the restoration of a classic car, but he found himself beyond impressed with the way she handled herself.

And a little uneasy at the way she handled him.

First it was a simple hand on his forearm. Honestly, he didn’t think anything of it. But then she touched his bicep–all the while talking to Devlin–and squeezed.

Twice.

By the end of the conversation, her hand was resting on his thigh and he had no idea how he was going to stand up without it being incredibly awkward–and obvious–how much her touch affected him.

She did the same thing to him over lunch, but luckily, he had the table for protection.

It was like he was thirteen again and being asked by the teacher to show his work up on the board while dealing with an unexpected erection.

So yeah, something was definitely up and Malcolm was finding it hard to believe it was all because of last night.

Although last night was…incredible. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d gone out for a meal with a woman and enjoyed himself more. Then back at the room, for those few