Page 91 of Men or Paws

Every little thing Beth did and said moved her one step closer to stealing my heart.

Which put me closer to stealing a kiss. I couldn’t wait for that moment to happen because I was expecting some serious fireworks.

There was just one slight problem.

It was that pesky no-kissing clause in her addendum.

The only way around that would be if she kissed me first.

But just how was I going to make that happen?

I was certainly going to figure out a way.

Beth closed the door and walked past me, still smiling, but then stopped and flipped back around. “Oh wait, who’s driving?”

“You are,” I said.

“In that case, I need to go back inside and get my keys.”

“That won’t be necessary.” I grinned and pressed the key fob to the Maserati into the palm of her hand and closed her fingers around them.

Beth hesitated, staring at the key fob. “You’re joking, right?”

I stopped and turned around. “Not at all.”

She glanced down at the key fob again, then back up at me. “You’re going to let me drive your brand-spanking new Maserati?”

I nodded. “That’s right.”

“The one with eleven miles on the odometer.”

I crossed my arms. “It’s the only one I have.”

“You’ve never even driven that car yourself.”

“True. Am I missing something here? What seems to be the problem?”

Beth blinked a couple of times, then shrugged. “You trust me with it?”

I chuckled. “You drive a mint-condition 1966 Ford Shelby Mustang—I couldn’t find a single scratch on it, and believe me, I looked. Your car would probably get higher bids at auction than mine, so maybe you shouldn’t trust me.”

I raised my palms in the air. “What does that have to do with anything? You want me to drive your car. A Maserati. You’re not driving mine.”

“Yet.” I winked. “My point is, if I didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t have asked. But hey, if you’re scared to drive it, no big deal.” I reached for the key fob.

Beth yanked it back out of reach and stuck it behind her back. “Don’t even think about it. Come on, let’s go.” She smiled and squeezed my arm, then walked by me toward the house.

I laughed. “That’s what I thought.”

Inside the garage, Beth didn’t waste any time, clicking the button on the key fob to open the butterfly wing doors on the Maserati.

She sighed and shook her head in awe as both doors opened toward the garage ceiling. “I love that more than you know. Are you ready?”

“Ready.” I opened the garage and got in the passenger side.

Beth slid into the front seat, put on her seatbelt, and inhaled. “The smell of this leather is like an aphrodisiac.” She glanced at me. “You did not just hear me say that.”

I shrugged. “Say what? I wasn’t listening.”