Left Behind: Left Behind Series #1 by D. J. Pierson, Kim Young

It can be fun when they play hard to get.
    Then
Kacie Foster walked into the club. My first reaction wasn’t to sleep with her.
Okay, that isn’t totally true. I would have definitely laid her across my desk
if she even hinted it was a possibility, but there was something about her that
made me want to find out more about the girl in the blue dress. When Kacie
smiles, she makes me smile and I have no idea why. The look in her eyes the
first time I saw her made me want to pull her in my arms and make her forget
all about whatever was bothering her. It was crazy the way I felt when she
touched my arm and how she was so damn close to me, I could smell her. Who the
hell smells that fucking good sitting out in the sun?
    So
here I am with my mechanic on my office phone, but so damn distracted with
thoughts of Kacie that I can’t think straight. “Pierce!” Danny yells in my ear.
“Did you hear what I just said?”
    “Sorry,
man. I was just looking at something,” I lie. “What was that?”
    He’s
chuckling. “Some thing or some one ?”
    “Some thing ,
dickhead. If it was some one , I wouldn’t have your sorry ass on the
phone,” I tell him.
    “Some
friend,” he laughs again. “Anyway, the new clutch and dog box transmission just
went in today. Since we got so far, I gave my guys tomorrow off. Between your
car and the shop’s other clients, they’ve been working overtime. We will finish
up with the upgraded turbo and catless exhaust system on Monday. That means you
can take her for a test drive Tuesday. There’s no reason you shouldn’t be good
to go by Thursday night.”
    “Perfect.”
There’s a knock at the door and Jake pokes his head in. I wave him inside and
he comes to sit in the chair across from the desk. He doesn’t usually come back
here. “I’ll let you know when I get a start time for Thursday, if you still
want to put in for the race.”
    “Absolutely.
I want a front row seat at the finish line, too.”
    “I’m
sure it can be arranged. I gotta run. Jake just walked in.”
    “Does
the Camaro need anything before Thursday?” Danny offers.
    “Do
you need anything from Danny?” I pass the question along to Jake.
    “I
was planning on stopping by Tuesday just to have them take a quick look, if
that’s okay?” Jake says.
    “Tell
him that’s fine. I’ll make sure someone is available for him.” Danny must have
heard him. “Later.” He disconnects.
    After
hanging the phone up, I glance over to my friend. “Danny says that’s cool.
Someone will be ready.” He nods his head. “What’s up? You don’t look like
you’re here for a social visit.”
    “I
am, but I need to talk to you about something first.” He leans forward in the
chair, putting his elbows on his knees. “It’s about Kacie.”
    That’s
not at all what I was expecting. “What about Kacie?” As if it’s not hard enough
to get her out of my head, now my friend is bringing her up?
    “I
saw the look on your face earlier.”
    “Look,
Jake, I get it. She’s like family to you and off limits. She wasn’t interested
in me anyway. I’m backing off,” I confess.
    He
starts shaking his head. “You’re right. Kacie is like a sister to me.” The way
he says that makes me wonder if that’s how he really sees her.
    “Just
a sister?”
    Jake
sighs. “I didn’t always see her like that, but now I do. I asked her out a few
times and she didn’t go for it. She was afraid it would go bad and things would
get ugly. I respected her feelings.” I nod in understanding. “The second you
sat down at my table when you came back from Kacie’s house, I could tell that
something was different. What’s up?”
    “Jake,
I just told you that I’m backing off,” I repeat, standing up and fixing the
papers into a pile on the desk.
    “Evan,
sit the hell down and talk to me.” If this was anyone else, I would have thrown
his ass out of the club. It’s only because it’s Jake that I sit back in my
chair. “What’s the