“Doing some detail stuff for a motorcycle build.”

“The bike with the hand-tooled leather accents?”

“One and the same. I put in little bits and pieces from the seats and other leather work. If I do say so myself, it’s pretty cool.”

PJ was an artist with her work in much the same way Asa was. They both loved cars and clearly loved one another and it made Carmella happy to see her friend doing so well in every way.

“Excellent. I’ll need to go look at it later before I leave for the day.”

“You going to the track tonight?” PJ asked with faux casualness.

“I was thinking about it. Duke just told me about it a few minutes ago.”

“Oh, he did?”

Carmella rolled her eyes. “You’re so transparent.”

“Please. He’s ridiculously adorable. And the track is full of hot guys if you’re inclined otherwise. Plus Asa will be all involved with his car and stuff so it’ll be nice to have you there.”

“I’ve been before,” Carmella said. “Craig and I have seen you a few times.”

PJ waved a hand at that and the mention of Carmella’s cousin, who was part of PJ’s crowd. “That’s different. Now you’re there with Twisted Steel. There’s food and beer and soda for everyone.”

“Like a cool club?”

PJ leaned closer. “They now have ice cream too. They’re making root beer floats at our tent.”

“Oh, really cool club.” Carmella laughed. “You don’t have to sell me. I love the track and I love ice cream so I’m delighted to combine those while I look at hot men.”

“Well now.” Duke stepped back into the room, the skitter of Ginger’s nails sounding quickly as she came over to check on Carmella.

Her face heated and she wanted to apologize and hide under the desk and burst out laughing. Maybe she could fake something medical and run out of the room.

Instead she squared her shoulders. “Thank you for returning the dog.”

“She’s always happy. Being around her makes you happy too. She’s an excellent dog.”

“Carmella is coming tonight. To the track, I mean. I finished the bike if you want to take a look.” PJ looked around Duke’s body. “See you tonight!”

“She’s happy a lot too.” Duke propped his butt on the edge of her desk so she was unable to pretend away the snowy white spots on his jeans where the denim had worn thin.

He had fantastic legs. Long and lean, like a swimmer or a runner.

“Where’d you go?” he asked softly, almost a tease.

She flicked her gaze from his thigh to his face and got caught up there. The bits of gray mixed in the darker caramel at his temples and a bit in his beard. His eyes, gracious, it was the way the lashes fringed the pale green that made them so gorgeous.

Currently his mouth was working a cocky grin and it worked because he was hot as fuck and he had every reason to be cocky.

“I haven’t gone anywhere,” Carmella answered, though she knew that wasn’t really what he’d been asking.

“You were thinking. Arguing with yourself maybe?”

Well, she’d been thinking about his thigh and his cock and she should have been arguing with herself to stop that but she didn’t bother.

“I bet it was about sex given that blush.”

This was bad. So stupid. Bad. Wrong. All those things, but man, he smelled really good and he made her feel … lighter. As if he saw her without all the baggage she carried around. It was nice he didn’t know Carmella in that context.

Freeing.

And it was really fucking cool to have a man this handsome and charismatic clearly find her attractive and engaging enough to flirt with. They had some major chemistry between them, and while she knew she needed to run screaming, she let herself breathe in a little deeper to sniff him.

“Could be. Or it could be about laundry or grocery shopping.” She smiled and he laughed, standing once more.

“I’ll see you tonight. Since you’ll be looking at hot men, I expect you’ll find me.”

He sauntered out, whistling.

Damn, that ass.

PJ had been right. It was different going to the track now. It had hit her as she’d gotten dressed after work. Tonight she changed into an entire new outfit, whereas when she’d gone before with her cousin, they’d just headed out in whatever they’d worn to work that day.

She wanted to look nice for the people she worked with. Probably Duke more than everyone else. Carmella rolled her eyes at herself in the mirror after she checked her lipstick.

It was just flirting. She could flirt and enjoy herself and not end up like her mom. She was twenty-six years old, far from dead so why live like it?

Carmella had written all that down in a journal and needed to look at it from time to time. But it was true.

A lifetime of caretaking her mother as her mother had deteriorated had kept Carmella wary of most personal relationships. Which had only been underlined when she’d realized her ex was pretty much a carbon copy of every dick her mother had ever been dumped on by.

But it was lonely either having one-night stands or time with her hand and showerhead. Working at Twisted Steel made her happy and she’d decided it was all right to live like a young woman and let herself enjoy herself.

Within moderation, of course. But Duke was attractive and sexy and they had a nice back-and-forth and it made her feel alive and something more than a caregiver.