With a shake of her head, she grabbed her purse from the car and checked traffic before heading across the street. Gigi approached the bay that had the light on, peeking through the smudged glass to let her eyes wander around the shop. There wasn’t a lot of light, just enough to see that there wasn’t anyone inside.

With a sigh, Gigi turned to walk back to her car and screamed when she realized there was a person directly in front of her. The shrill sound bounced off the door, making her wince. Once her ears stopped ringing, she tilted her head up to see Cooper looking at her with concern in her eyes. “You okay?”

Gigi clutched a hand to her chest, trying to catch her breath after the scare while swatting at him with her purse. “God, you scared the crap out of me.” She looked from left to right, seeing nothing but empty space on either side. He’d appeared like an apparition on Halloween night, and if it weren’t for open expression on his face, she might have taken a step back. “Where did you even come from?”

“I was taking the trash out to the dumpster when I saw you.” He hooked a thumb over his shoulder toward the dumpsters that were overflowing with black garbage bags. “What is it with women and their purses today,” he murmured quietly, rubbing at the arm she hit while shaking his head at her.

She looked down at her large leather handbag and gave him a contrite expression. “Sorry about that. I get a little violent when I’m spooked.” Probably a result of listening to too many true crime podcasts, but they were too entertaining for her to consider stopping.

“Good to know.” Cooper smiled at her, his eyes traveling over her face as though he was studying a beautiful work of art. Her stomach fluttered at the soft look in his eyes, reconsidering her earlier position on him not being interested. “So, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

Gigi’s mind was snagged on the word pleasure and how it fell from his full lips like honey off the dipper. “Hmm?” She stared at him dumbly for a long moment, cataloging his handsome features as she registered the rest of his question. “Oh. Um, my car won’t start and I was hoping someone would still be around to maybe take a look at it for me.”

A wide grin pulled across his face and he gestured for him to follow her. “Let me just grab some tools and we’ll head over.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you.” His offer of help had buoyed her spirits and she couldn’t help espousing her gratitude as she followed him into the shop. “I’m at a total loss when it comes to cars, so I really appreciate you taking the time.”

Gigi’s eyes followed Cooper as he moved over to a clean and organized workbench and he reached underneath, grabbing for something. She watched with rapt attention as his coveralls tightened over his firm, round ass as he bent down to retrieve a toolbox. She’d never considered coveralls to be a particularly provocative outfit, but the way he wore them was so effortlessly sexy that Gigi wondered if he’d just unearthed a new kink for her. “Happy to do it.”  She was so lost in images of him bending her over the hood of a car that she didn’t notice Cooper looking at her over his shoulder and totally catching her checking out his backside. He winked and stood up, walking back toward the open garage door.

She felt her cheeks flame once again and was thankful that it was dark enough now to not show against her skin as badly as it probably had earlier. Gigi followed him and when they made it to the main road, she slipped her arm in the one he had offered her. Cooper was every bit the gentleman, even though she didn’t deserve such service after she had so blatantly ogled him. He didn’t seem to mind all that much and even looked a bit pleased, so she tried not to beat herself up about it.

They crossed over and walked into the parking lot where her car stood, the hood still propped open. “I’m assuming this is you.” He gestured to her Volkswagen with his toolbox, his mouth turned down slightly at the corners.

“Yeah, that’s me.” She walked up to the car with him, putting her hands on her hips as he placed his toolbox down on the ground.

Cooper looked over at her, his blue eyes sparkling in the fading evening light. They were the same color as the river, a bright blue that shone from the water when it was calm and peaceful. His eyes crinkled at the corners and he smiled at her. “Just a word to the wise, Miss Gigi. You should always shut your hood when you’re away from the vehicle.”

Her head bobbed as she rushed to agree with him. “Right. Someone might mess with it when I’m gone.” She should have known better than to leave her car open like that. Apparently those true crime podcasts hadn’t drilled street smarts into her brain quite as much as she thought.

He shrugged a shoulder. “Sure, that’s always a possibility, but I meant it more because squirrels will climb in here and chew through wires and things like that. Nasty little buggers can mess your car up good.”

“Oh.” Gigi’s body slumped. She felt a little silly for not knowing something like that was even a possibility. “Is that what happened to my car? Squirrels?”

Cooper shook his head slowly, a bemused expression on his face. “No. That’s just a friendly warning. I wouldn’t want you to run into any more trouble.” He scratched his beard and his eyes raked up and down her body appreciatively, her body shivering as though it had been a physical caress. “Although, if it means you come knocking at my door again, maybe I should toss a few acorns in there and leave the rest up to the squirrels.”

She chuckled and smiled coyly at him, her body swaying toward his. “You know, there are easier ways to get me to come knocking on your door.” Gigi loved that he was flirting with her, but she wanted more than that from him. All those lingering looks across the street had sparked her near obsession with the man, and now she finally had him in front of her in relative privacy. Oh, the things her body longed to do with him.

Cooper stepped closer to her and she caught a bit of his scent. He smelled like worn leather and motor oil, not a combination she would have thought would work for her, but, boy, was it getting her libido up and running right now. “That so?” His voice was low and a little gravelly, his warm breath fanning across her cheek.

Gigi nodded and licked her lips, hoping that the two of them were going to kiss. She barely knew anything about Cooper, but what she did know was that she wanted him to kiss her, badly. You could tell a lot from a kiss, and she had the gut feeling that one from him would flip her world upside-down, something she’d been longing for. His eyes flicked to her lips and she tilted her head up when a loud voice boomed across the way. “You having car trouble, Gigi?”

Gigi blinked away the lust in her eyes, sighed, and turned to the owner of the neighboring business. “I am, Mr. Grady, but I’ve got someone here to help me with it.” She looked over at Cooper who had an amused expression on his face before turning back to the older man across the way. “Thanks for your concern.”

“Let me know if you need a jump. I’ve got cables,” he said excitedly, turning and heading back into his hardware store.

Cooper chuckled as he leaned into her space a little more. “What do you say, Miss Gigi? Do you need a jump from old man Grady?” He waggled his eyebrows and smirked and she slapped his arm for the second time that night.

“Don’t be crass.” Her scolding meant very little, especially when she couldn’t hide her giggle or her smile.

“Just checking.” He winked again and peered under the hood of her car. He pulled out a flashlight and proceeded to poke around for a few minutes. She stared in awe as his strong hands moved around so adeptly. They looked far rougher than any on the men she’d dated before, but she didn’t want those soft men anymore. She wanted someone with a little more edge to them, someone whose hands would feel masculine, like rough sandpaper against her skin. She may want to be more independent, but she also liked feeling delicate. Cooper had already accomplished that just in the way he looked at her like she was something to be treasured. “What exactly happened when you tried to turn your car on?”