Whiskey and Gumdrops: A Blueberry Springs Chick Lit Contemporary Romance by Jean Oram Read Free Book Online Page B

lips again and shook his head. "No."
    "No what?" she said through his finger.
    "I'm not letting you out of this one."
    "There's nothing to be let out of, Frankie." She held Frankie's gaze until she had to look away, tears stinging her eyes.
    "What are you afraid of?" he asked.
    She let out a snort. "Nothing." Frankie grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the kitchen.
    "What are you doing?" she asked, trying not to panic. What if he kissed her? What if he demanded they get it on right here on the table instead of going back to her bedroom that overlooked the alley and she said yes and their friendship was never the same as a result?
    "There's only one way to settle this," he said, pulling her to the door.
    Right. Of course. His place had a bigger bed.
    No. He wasn't going to do something like that.
    Which was good. Wasn't it?

    * * *

    Mandy squeezed her hands around her truck's steering wheel, trying not to react to Frankie's challenging grin from the old beater with the powerful engine rumbling beside her. She had nothing to worry about, right?
    She had good tires.
    She had a good engine with pep.
    She was a good driver.
    But was she as good as Frankie in crap conditions like today? Over the years, they'd worn the meadow's homemade track down to dirt on the corners where their tires had skidded out in the abandoned bison paddock and today, it was covered in slush and half frozen crud and surrounded by unpredictably deep snow banks. One false move and she'd be bogged down and stuck. Even in her big truck.
    She called to Frankie, who had his window down, "Are you sure you want to do this?"
    He shot her that wicked grin and punched the gas pedal, making the frame of his car twist and lift like a horse ready to race out of the gate.
    Mandy focused on the track. It was a mess of snow, mud and slushy puddles, but had enough of a packed down base from casual skidoo races held over the winter that they would be able to manage. In fact, she might be able to use her truck's height to her advantage and blast slush onto Frankie's windshield to give her a leg up. Because honestly, if he got the momentum going in his car, he could blast through as well as she could.
    Her nerves poked at her stomach, sending it into a tizzy.
    If Frankie won, she had to open her own restaurant in his building. If she won, she'd be able to prevent turning their friendship into a business partnership. By winning, she wouldn't lose—in more ways than one.
    "Why are you shaking your head?" he called up to her. "You're not a big chicken sandwich are you? Bawk-bawk!"
    She gave him her best glare. "Just thinking how I'm going to have to mollycoddle your poor bruised ego when I crush you. I know how you feel about being beaten by a girl. A girl in a much bigger vehicle."
    "Oh, I don't think so," he said with a glimmer in his eye that made her nervous.
    Her voice wobbled as she turned off her truck, head on her steering wheel. "I can't do this." She saw his question coming and plucked the first excuse she could think of. "I can't betray Benny. He didn't teach me everything so I'd become his competition."
    Frankie shut off his engine and slung an arm across the passenger seat so he could lean out the open window to see her better. "People like choice, Mandy. You'd offer something Benny doesn't."
    "He's my mentor. I can't go against him. It doesn't feel right."
    "People do it all the time."
    "Would you go against Alex with your own parts store?"
    "Blueberry Springs couldn't handle another parts store. But it can handle another restaurant—especially if you made it a place you'd like going to."
    Mandy stared at the crocuses peeking out of the meadow's still snowy ground, toying with the small chain around her neck.
    "Why don't you eat at Benny's, Mandy?" he asked.
    "I do eat at Benny's."
    "Yeah, the two healthy menu items. That's not eating. Open a place that has what he doesn't. You won't be competing, you'll be complementing. Just like with my restoration