Approaching slowly, I hoped he didn’t notice me. No such luck. Instead, when he spotted me, he flashed an exaggerated smile and waved.

Frantically searching for my keys, I rolled my eyes and muttered, “You again.”

He snickered. “Did you end up buying a sense of humor?”

“I used the change to buy you some couth instead.”

Chuckling, he shook his head at me. Running his hand through his hair, he put his shiny black helmet on and cranked the Harley. The rumble shook me to my core.

Getting in the car and slamming the door, I couldn’t help taking one last look over at him, seeing as though I’d never see this guy again in my lifetime. He winked through the helmet, and my pathetic heart fluttered.

I watched through the rear view mirror as he backed out of the spot. I expected him to take off like a bat out of hell, but after moving away slowly, he abruptly stopped. He kept trying to rev the bike to get it to move, but nothing was happening. Eventually turning off the engine, he removed his helmet and ran his hand through his hair in frustration before getting off to inspect things. I should have just left, but couldn’t take my eyes off him as he struggled to get it to run. Man, that sucks.

I dipped one of the chicken bites into the honey mustard sauce and popped it into my mouth, continuing to watch this like a spectator sport for several minutes. At one point, he took out his phone and made a phone call as he paced back and forth.

Putting his phone away, he looked in my direction and glared at me. Caught in the act of watching him, I let out a nervous laugh. I didn’t mean to laugh at the situation, but it just came out. He raised his brow, and that made me cackle harder. He slowly walked toward me, clutching the helmet by his side. He knocked on my window, and I lowered it.

“You think this is funny, Princess?”

“Not really…maybe.” I snorted.

“Well, I’m glad you finally managed to find your sense of humor.”

HUE-MA.

God, his accent was sexy.

He arched his neck to look into the backseat and took notice of all the boxes. “You homeless or something? Living out of your car?”

“No. I’m in the middle of a cross-country move.”

“Where you headed?”

“Temecula.”

“California.” He nodded. “Me, too.”

I looked toward his Harley. “Well, it looks like you’re not exactly headed anywhere anytime soon. I guess it’s payback for calling me a bitch.”

“Well, that would seem to be the case.”

“That it’s payback?”

“No, that you’re a bitch.”

“Very funny.”

“You know what’s even better than payback?” he asked leaning into the window, his cologne intoxicating me.

“What?”

He wiggled his brows. “Karma.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Come around and have a look at the back of your Beemer.”

BEE-MA.

I got out and walked around to the back of my car to find my right rear tire was completely flat.

What? This cannot be happening.

With my hand on my forehead, I looked over at his smug expression. “Are you kidding me? Did you know my tire was flat all this time?”

“I noticed it right around the time I caught you popping chicken and laughing at me, yes. It was real hard for me to keep a straight face at that point.”

I didn’t know how to change a tire to save my life. I couldn’t believe what I was about to ask of him.

“Do you know how to change a tire?”

“Of course I do. What kind of a man would I be if I didn’t know how to change a tire?”

“Will you help me? I know you have no reason to want to…after our little altercation, but I’m seriously desperate. I don’t want to be stuck out here all alone at night.”

“Let me ask you a question.”

“Okay…”

He rubbed the scruff on his chin. “How badly do you want your tire changed?”

I backed away from him. “What exactly are you getting at?”

“Get your mind out of the gutter, sweetheart. I’m not fucking propositioning you if that’s what you think. You’re not my type.”

“And what exactly is your type?”

“I typically go for women who don’t have the personality of a door knob.”

“Thanks.”

“My pleasure.”

“So, what are your conditions?”

“Well, as you clearly know from your laughing fit, my Harley is experiencing a technical malfunction at the moment. It needs a part that I don’t have. I just called a tow company. But I’m on a deadline, and like you, I need to get to California.”