He's always had a way with the ladies
She won't give him the time of day
Sparks fly when two hearts in motion collide.
Florist Joey Reeves is working overtime to stay away from Lou Cortez, the ace mechanic with a reputation for irresistible charm. She's a single mom with enough on her plate—the last thing she needs is entanglement with the hottest guy in town…
"Well, hello there."
Joey glanced up and froze. The man who'd been haunting her sleep looked even better in the hard light of day.
"H-hello." She coughed. The guys who worked at Webster's Garage all looked larger than life, covered in tattoos, muscles, and that indefinable sense of danger they wore like a second skin. But this guy, the tall, Latin lover with dark-brown eyes and lips made for kissing, had ensnared her.
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4 Stars
Collision Course is the fourth title in the Body Shop Bad Boys and features Lou and Joey.
Lou and Joey are both endearing, and appealing characters. Both characters have appeared in the previous titles in the series, so I was somewhat familiar with them prior to reading this title. Lou is charismatic, charming and a smooth talker, who is used to women falling at his feet. He's protective, kind, loyal and loving and takes his responsibility to his family very seriously. Joey hasn't had the easiest life, and she doesn't trust easily. She makes Lou work for not only her attention, but her affection. She's gentle, kind, loving and a wonderful mother to her young son. The banter between not only Lou and Joey, but the other character is fun and full of flirtation, and playful teasing. The side characters add an extra element to this story in the form of well meaning, yet interfering friends and family. Even through their relationship is quite full of ups and downs, the chemistry and heat between Lou and Joey is intense and believable. Overall an enjoyable contemporary romance, and great addition to this series. I look forward to reading more from Marie Harte in the future. | ||
The
sight of Lou’s pleasure made Joey feel good for having caused it…and gave her
dirty thoughts. Totally inappropriate, rated-R kind of thoughts, which had no
place in a coffee shop, for God’s sake. She really needed to get back out in
the dating world if a smile got her so hot and bothered. She glanced back down
at her latte.
Lou
sipped his own drink, then answered, “Today I got to sketch an amazing hood for
a sweet Corvette this car collector brought in for a job.”
“Huh?”
“I
work at Webster’s Garage fixing cars. On the mechanics of them. But I work at
Heller’s Paint and Auto Body doing custom artwork. You know, like custom paint
jobs?”
“Really?”
She studied him, wondering about him. “So you’re an artist.”
“Yep.”
“So
if my car gets a ding and needs paint to cover it…”
“You
hit Maaco. Or you go to Heller’s, and his body shop dudes fix you up. You want
a bitchin’ barbarian queen on your VW van, you call me.” He grinned. “Although
somehow I don’t see you driving an old van.”
“More
like a crappy little Toyota, but hey, it runs.”
“So
does mine.”
She
nodded, oddly at ease talking with the man. She watched his face, saw his
genuine interest in the conversation, and warmed. “You did the work on your
car. The snake along the side that disappears in the back. That’s your
drawing.”
“Yeah.”
“It’s
amazing. Were you always into art?”
Lou
shrugged. “I was kind of forced into it.” He nudged her pastry. “You going to
eat that or pull it apart?”
She
took a bite, chewed, and asked, “What can you draw? Anything? Or just snakes
and skeletons and half-naked barbarian queens?” As soon as she said it, she
heard herself sounding so flirty she wanted to bury her head under the table.
Lou
laughed. “That’s what my mother thinks I do. Draw naked people all day. I did
it once when I was in high school, and she never let me forget it.”
Joey
smiled. “Caught you, huh?”
“Yeah.
But that was okay because if I was at home drawing late into the night, I
wasn’t out robbing a liquor store or rolling some rich jerks for money.” At her
look of shock, he sighed. “What can I say? I grew up under the influence of
some not-so-nice people. A few smaller-scale gangs. I was a rebellious kid living in a houseful of women,
so you can see why I wanted some guys to hang out with. Fortunately, my mother
doesn’t play.”
She
stared, wide-eyed.
“A
short stint in corrections when I was ten helped change my mind-set. Well, that
and my mother slapping me upside the
head, sticking me on babysitting duty for my younger sisters, then having my
aunts sit on me. I had nowhere to go but crazy. So when she offered to let me
try art lessons to get away from all the women in the house, I went. Turned out
I had a knack for drawing, and it stuck.”
“I’ll
say.” His car was amazing.
“Enough
about me. What about you? Have you always wanted to work with flowers? That’s a
pretty creative profession.”
Surprisingly
pleased to have something in common with the man, she nodded. “I always liked
creating things, and I love the outdoors. Gardening especially. When I was
younger, my parents kept pushing me to be a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer.” She
sighed, aware she’d fallen way below the mark in their estimation. “But I ended
up falling into the flower shop right out of high school. I needed a job,
wasn’t ready for college.” Not with a baby in hand. She didn’t plan to mention Brandon to Lou, mostly because she
didn’t share her boy with strangers. Even good-looking ones. Her baby never got
to know her dates, rare though they were. Not unless she planned to get
serious, and it had been eight long years since she’d considered a real
relationship with anyone other than her son.
“Well,
you’re great at it, I have to say.” Lou nodded. “My sister’s eyes about fell
out of her head. She forgot all about the asswipe who dumped her. Thanks for
that.”
She
blushed. “Sure. I love flowers. They’re bright and cheerful.”
“And
dead. Sorry, but I had to point that out.”
She
frowned. “Yeah, but even in death they bring joy.”
“Good
point. Open your mouth.”
She
parted her lips to ask why and got a bite of bear claw for her trouble. Her
lips brushed his finger, and her heart seemed to stop. The sugar in her mouth
broke her paralysis, and she chewed for all she was worth.
“Eat.
It’s killing me you’re not enjoying this.” He broke a piece off and tried it,
feeding himself with the same fingers that fed her. “Oh man. This is good.”
She
swallowed before saying, “I know. Why do you think I get one whenever I come in
here?”
“You
come here a lot?”
“When
I was helping Del with her wedding, I went to the garage a few times. This was
a great place to get my morning coffee.”
“A
caffeine addict, huh? Me too.” He nodded. “I typically stay away from the
sweets though.” He eased out of his jacket, and she nearly choked on her drink.
She
stared at his conditioned torso, seeing the volume of muscle. “I can tell.” Good God. The man was seriously ripped.
He leaned to drape the jacket fully over the chairback, and she noted the hint
of a tattoo on his left arm, just under the T-shirt.
“Eat
up.” He held another bite out to her, but this time she took it from his
fingers, not wanting them near her lips. The last time had nearly shot her into
cardiac arrest, and it felt way too intimate for a first
just-getting-to-know-you kind of date.
They
chewed, watching each other. For the life of her, Joey didn’t understand why
Lou had such an impact on her, a woman who’d sworn off men. A guy like him, so
much bigger than life, handsome, and, yes, charming, was after her? A pretty but not spectacular woman
who worked in a flower store?
