Hungry For You - Argeneau Series - Book 14 Page 0,23

private home. You needn’t make it sound like I am a Peeping Paul.”

“Peeping Tom,” she corrected absently, wondering how long he’d been watching her. Deciding it didn’t matter she hit the button to unlock her car and pulled the driver’s door open. “Fine, I’m not going home, I’m heading out to get something to eat. But I have a lot on my plate and really don’t have time for men right now, so good night.”

Alex then quickly slid into her car and pulled the door closed before he could say anything else to tempt her. Fortunately, he didn’t make a pest of himself but backed a couple of steps away from the car. Breathing out a little sigh of relief, Alex stuck her key in the ignition and quickly cranked it forward, only to freeze as all she got was a click click click.

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me,” she muttered, cranking the key again with the same result. She was no mechanic, that had been her father, and while he’d tried to teach her the fundamentals about cars when she was young, she hadn’t paid much attention. Still, she knew that sound couldn’t be a good sign. Alex tried a thirdtime with the same result, and then groaned and let her head drop to rest on the steering wheel in despair. This was the living end. She just could not handle all these problems hitting her one right after the other. What the hell had she ever done to deserve this ridiculous run of bad luck? She was a good person, generally nonjudgmental and nice to everyone she met. She also gave to charity. What the hell had she done to deserve this?

A tap at her window made her raise her head to peer out at Cale. To give him credit, he looked concerned rather than smug about her latest problem, which was nice since she’d just basically told him to hit the road in a very polite way. Alex heaved out a breath and straightened in her seat. Forgetting that the engine hadn’t started, she hit the button to unroll the window, realized her mistake when nothing happened, and instead opened the door.

“Can I help?” he offered quietly.

Alex felt her lips twist and asked, “Do you know anything about cars? ”

“No. It is not my area of expertise,” he admitted apologetically. “But I have my rental car here and can take you where you wish to go.”

Alex stared at him silently, debating the matter. She suspected most men would have wasted her time banging around under the hood, and then simply given her some spiel about not having the parts to fix it rather than admit they didn’t know how. She appreciated his honesty, but she’d just told him she didn’t have time for a man, and she didn’t. Would accepting his help now constitute using him? Would he expect somethingfrom her in return? Did she care? Frankly, Alex was so hungry she would start eating paint chips if she didn’t find some food.

“No strings attached,” Cale added solemnly, and that was enough for her.

“What the hell,” she muttered, grabbing her purse and quickly getting out of the car.

They were both silent as they walked around the building. For her part, Alex was too tired to come up with anything to say. She wasn’t even considering what she was going to do about her car. She was simply concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other and not falling on her butt on the icy concrete. As for Cale, she had no idea why he was so silent.

She’d half expected him to redouble his efforts to convince her to let him “get to know her.” However, he didn’t and was also silent as he ushered her to a Lexus parked on the street in front of her restaurant.

Alex murmured her thanks as he opened the door and took her elbow to aid her in. He then closed the door for her before hurrying around to the driver’s side, and Alex wondered if good manners were a European thing. She had never had a Canadian man see her into a vehicle like she was spun glass that needed coddling.

She quickly did up her seat belt, and then glanced to Cale as the driver’s side door opened. He got into the car on a cold breeze carrying a combination of citrus and a woodsy aroma she couldn’t identify. Toronto air had never smelled that good. Alex was