In the Groove Read Online Free PDF Page A

something?"
    "No. Just two. We had a new tire changer and he didn't get all the lug nuts tight. Back tire fell off which tweaked the car enough that the front tire came off. My car looked like something you'd find in a ghetto."
    She was staring up at him like she thought he was crazy.
    "I'm serious. Looked like someone had stolen my rims. One of the boys back at the shop even spray-painted some graffiti on the side to make it look more authentic."
    "Seriously?" she asked in a small voice.
    "Seriously."
    "But did you break a leg while trying to get out of the car? Because that's the kind of thing that would happen to me right now."
    "No. But one of the other drivers got mad at me because my tire ended up in the middle of the racetrack, which he hit. It tore apart his front end, caused him to go a few laps down, which ultimately caused him to miss the top ten in points, thus eliminating him from the Chase. He threw a wrench at me in the garage."
    "Yeah?"
    "Yeah."
    "Here," Sal said, holding a box of tissues out to her.
    "Thanks," she said, wiping at her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said to them both. "It's just been a bad day."
    "Well, we're going to make it better," Lance promised. "Sal, get on the phone with the city. Find out who they use to tow cars. I'm going to get my cell phone to call Doc Brown. I want him to give you the once-over—ah, ah, ah," he warned her when she opened her mouth to protest. "For my sake, not yours. I'll worry about you all night if you don't get yourself checked out."
    She didn't look any more enthusiastic about the idea, but at least she stopped protesting. "Now. C'mon. Let's get you settled in the family room."
    "You mean the one with all the pictures of you in it?"
    "Yeah," he said, giving her a smile. "That's the one."
    "I should have known something was up when you all but dragged me away from the room."
    "I didn't drag you."
    "No. But it was clear you didn't want me loitering."
    "I didn't," he said with a wide smile. "I was having too much fun pretending to be a pool boy."
    Her eyes dimmed a bit.
    "C'mon, you gotta admit. I'd make a good pool boy." He flexed one of his arms.
    "Yeah... well, don't quit your day job, 'cause your acting skills leave a lot to be desired."
    He clutched at his heart. "Ooo."
    She smiled a bit. And that's all he'd wanted to see. A smile. Just one tiny little grin.
    They got her settled onto his burgundy-colored couch, the thing practically swallowing her up. Lance helped prop her injured knee up on his glass coffee table, saying, "You realize you're hired, don't you?"
    She caught his gaze, wariness in her eyes. "I'm not so certain that's a good idea."
    "Oh yeah?" he asked. "And why's that?"
    "Because..." She looked away, her lower lip being sucked into her mouth for a second, a blush lightly staining her cheeks.
    He just loved the way she blushed.
    "Because I just don't think it'd work out."
    "So what're you going to do? Go home in a taxi, take a bus to your next job interview, use up the last of your savings while you try to find a new job?"
    "I don't have any savings."
    "Well, then, it's going to be awfully hard to get your car out of jail, isn't it?"
    In went her lip again, her eyes moving to the floor once more.
    He tipped her chin up. It was a completely personal thing to do, something he wouldn't normally do to a woman he'd just met, but with Sarah, it felt right. "Drive my bus. Just give it a try. If it doesn't work out, at least you'll have one paycheck to help see you through."
    She met his gaze, and that thing happened to Lance again, that odd sort of mushy feeling he got in his stomach as he stared down at her.
    "All right."
    "Atta girl," he said, dropping his hand back to his side, rubbing his fingers together because it felt as if he'd been shocked by a loose spark plug wire.
    "Okay," Sal said. "I'm, ah, I'm going to go call the city."
    Lance held Sarah's gaze for a second longer before forcing himself to look away—and he really did have to force it.