42nd & Lex by Bria Hofland Read Free Book Online

and change into sexy
dresses and sultry makeup before an office happy hour. 
    I
concentrate on being steady in my sky-high heels as we walk back to the table. I
haven’t negotiated much terrain since I put them on. What if Lucan wants to
walk?
    “Don’t panic. He’s here.” Lindsey stops suddenly
and I fall into her. My ankles wobble a bit in the Jimmy’s. What was I saying
about negotiating the terrain? Lucan is talking to the hostess. She is leaning into
him with a sultry smile. I am momentarily disappointed when he smiles back at
her. I see her point in our direction and I relax. He’s just asking for
directions. Lindsey gives my arm a tug and I start walking again. 
    I blindly follow Lindsey to our table
because I cannot take my eyes off Lucan. He is absolutely astonishing, moving through
the crowd with a grace I can only hope to possess. I know he sees me looking but
I try to pretend I’m not. Lucan is at my side before I can sit down
completely. 
    “Abri, you look astonishing,” he purrs. His
hand grazes my elbow as I ease back onto my bar stool. I feel the heat rising
in my face from the reverberating shock that accompanies his touch. Has it
really been so long since I’ve felt a man’s touch? My entire body feels like I’ve
licked an electric fence. Brooks, Max, and Lindsey look on with mouths agape,
which prompts me to close my own.
    “Are you ready?” he asks, carefully pulling
his hand away from me.
    I manage to stammer out an affirmation and
to introduce my friends to Lucan before we bid them goodbye.
    I expect him to hail a cab, or at the very
most, show me to a hired town car waiting at the curb. Instead, parked in front
of the bar is the most incredible sports car I have ever seen. Growing up in
Iowa, the boys talked cars and heavy farm equipment non-stop so I knew a thing or
two about both. I recognize the emblem on the hood. Lotus. Its blue paint
sparkles under the streetlights. Again, I find my mouth hanging open.
    “I hope it’s not too flashy for you. We
could always just get a cab.” For the first time Lucan seems a bit unsure. It’s
cute. 
    “What, and leave this baby out on the curb? No
way. This is incredible,” I repeat aloud this time. “But what model is it? I
haven’t seen anything like it.”
    “It’s
a Lotus.” He is obviously enjoying my interest.
    “I know, but which one. It’s not an Elise or
Exige.” I smile back and start to walk around the car to check out the back. 
    Lucan
laughs. “You know foreign sports cars?”
    “I
grew up in Iowa. Boys there talk cars and heavy equipment and not much else.”
    “It’s
an Evora,” he admits.
    “Those are not available in the United
States, heck, anywhere, until next year!”
    “True,” he says, obviously pleased I know
that. “Do you want to drive it?”
    Did I want to drive it? Hell yes I want to
drive it. When was the last time I drove a car though? 
    “I might be a little rusty; I haven’t driven
much since I moved here.” I think about my poor Hyundai covered in an old tarp,
sitting untouched and unloved in my grandparent’s barn. Lucan tosses me the
keys and opens the driver’s door. Jesus H. Christ, I am about to drive a car
worth more than what I make in a year and a half with a man I barely know. Fuck
it.
    A sly smile creeps across my face as I round
the car. I pause to work out how to get into the tiny car in my dress and heels.
My ankles start to wobble so I place my hand on the door for balance. Lucan catches
me under the arm, steadying me against his body. My breath hitches in my
throat. I am just inches from his face, the most beautiful man I have ever
seen. The electric fence feeling hits me again as he leans in for that I hope
will be a kiss. This is fast but I don’t care.
    My head is spinning and I am unable to tell
if I am standing under my own power anymore. Our lips meet and another shock goes
through me and shoots out of the top of my head and the tips of my toes all at
once. My