by Jo Barrett
Table of Contents
Excerpt
Stoplight Magic
Copyright
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
A word about the author...
The next day the motorcycle man made eye contact again. All Eleanor could do was cast him a shaky smile. She’d spent the previous day and half the night kicking herself for being such a chicken. This morning, she hoped, and yet feared, he’d ask again.
A grin tilted up the edge of his lips and once again, he pointed to the coffee shop across the street.
She bit her lip with a glance at her watch. plagued with doubt, and the idea of being late for work for the first time in her life.
No, she just couldn’t do it, and looked at him, ready to shake her head, when he held up five fingers, then pointed at the shop again.
Meet him at five o’clock?
With a broad grin, he patted his chest with leather clad hands, tilted back his head as if he were in pain, then held them out in a pleading gesture.
With a smile, she found the courage to nod. She would meet him at the coffee shop at five o’clock after work. It wasn’t exactly a walk on the wild side, but it was a start, something that was long overdue.
He raised his leather covered hands in triumph, and Eleanor couldn’t help but laugh.
A horn tooted, and he gave her that sexy wink before flipping down his visor and starting out into traffic.
As she pressed her foot to the pedal to move along side, her smile still wide and her heart beating at a giddy pace, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye.
In less than a heartbeat, she made a decision that would change her life forever.
Stoplight
Magic
by
Jo Barrett
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.
Stoplight Magic
COPYRIGHT © 2014 by Jo Barrett
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author or The Wild Rose Press, Inc. except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
Contact Information: [email protected]
Cover Art by RJMorris
Published by The Wild Rose Press®, Inc.
Publishing History
Digital ISBN 978-1-62830-794-8
Published in the United States of America
Chapter One
Eleanor sat at the traffic light, wondering why she’d been put on this planet. Although she lived with her brother, his wife, and their three boys, they didn’t really want her there, not unless she was doing chores for them. Her life was not unlike so many fairytales, but with no prince charming available to swoop in and save her.
“Geez, am I really that bad off?” She let out a long sigh. “No, that’s a major exaggeration.” But her life hadn’t turned out quite like she expected.
Her brother was doing what he’d always done; make sure she was safe and taken care of. Heck, he was more of a father than a brother, having raised her after their parents were killed in a car accident.
It was her sister-in-law who saw her as free babysitting service, and their three kids were good at stomping on her every nerve. She loved them, but they were complete hellions, and no matter how many times she tried to discipline them or suggest that they be disciplined, her sister-in-law would win every argument with her brother. He was blind to what was happening in his own home.
Eleanor took a deep breath and shook her head. She felt sorry for him, because she had a feeling he wasn’t very happy, but he trudged on as he always did, down the path that he’d chosen, never seeing that there were other ways of doing things, other opportunities. All he could think of, all he ever focused on was making sure everyone had a roof over their head, food in their tummies, and all the other necessities of life without ever thinking of himself.
If only she could convince him that it was past time for her to move out, then maybe he and Margaret could start over somehow—or not. Maybe he’d be able to see what she saw, that they weren’t really right for each other. And after all, she was well over twenty-one, and he didn’t need to be her father figure any longer.
And yet, the idea of being on her own was almost terrifying. He’d taken such good care of her, protected her for so long.
She snorted softly at her own ridiculousness. She was twenty-eight years old, for crying out loud. Just because she’d never really done anything with her life, not without her brother’s approval and guidance, didn’t mean she couldn’t or shouldn’t move out.
“I have got to grow up,” she muttered to herself.
The deep rumble of a motorcycle pulled alongside her in traffic.
Thank goodness. He was just what she needed to get her mind off her dismal thoughts and focus on her favorite fantasy.
She’d noticed the biker on many prior occasions and had admired his build. There was nothing like leather to accentuate the positive.
Shamefully, she let her gaze travel over his form, as she had many times before, attempting to wipe out her nonexistence sex life with a three minute stoplight fantasy.
There was something about the man’s power, how he sat on the bike, the way his legs straddled the seat, that she’d always found intriguing. And with his helmet on and tinted visor down, she was able to swap out his face with various others, usually the latest in super-hot movie stars. The little mental side trip was just the ticket to lift her spirits, because thinking about her life at present was depressing.
Then, for the first time since she’d noticed the biker, well over a month ago, he turned her way and caught her gawking!
Sucking in a breath, she jerked her gaze back to the road, her entire body flushing with embarrassment. If only the stupid light would change, she could get to work and forget about this mortifying moment.
What a lousy way to start the week. First she manages to let her life and her brother’s family depress her, then she ruins her favorite fantasy, and humiliates herself beyond belief.
If only the stupid light would change! She peered at him from the corner of her eye and withheld a groan as he continued to look her way.
Dustin watched the pretty lady beside him and chuckled to himself. He always got a laugh out of the way some women would check him out on his bike. But if he was driving his truck, they didn’t give him a second glance. Well, maybe a second glance on a good day.
He wasn’t ugly, just average, but he never got the full body once over with serious interest in their eyes unless he was on his bike. He figured it was the mystery of not knowing who he was beneath the helmet and all the leather he wore, although the leather was a necessity, not a fashion statement. He’d had his share of close calls and intended to keep the skin on his body in case he had to ditch.
This woman was different though, and he found himself focusing on the details of her face. It looked as if she were blushing, which wasn’t easy to see through the tinted visor, but for some reason the sight of that blush heated him up in more ways than one.
He’d noticed her before, and yet never let his thoughts dwell too long on the lady. Fantasies were distractions he didn’t need, especially while riding, he had to keep his wits about him, but lately the few fantasies he did have, left him feeling lonelier than usual.
He figured it was because what he really wanted was a living, breathing woman to share hi
s life. He just hadn’t had the time to concentrate on that until now. Being single wasn’t all it was cracked up to be, but it had been his choice to concentrate on his business and not let his love life get in the way.
Over the course of the last few years, he’d managed to acquire and lose several girlfriends because of his work, but in his heart, he knew that none of them had been that special someone he wanted to share the rest of his life with anyway. They didn’t understand his passion for his job and always seemed to think they had to compete with it.
He glanced at the woman beside him once again. She was pretty, no doubt about it. He liked the way her soft brown hair flowed just over her shoulders, and how her nose turned up a bit at the tip, giving her a pixyish look.
“Maybe it’s time to get back into dating,” he muttered.
With a mental shake, he looked back to the road before him just as the light changed. He and the lady in the sedan eased out into traffic, then went their separate ways, her going straight while he turned left down the parkway, as he did every morning.
But this time, he had a feeling the image of her flushed face and the way she nibbled at her bottom lip would stick with him the rest of the day.
****
Every morning, for the rest of the week, Dustin couldn’t stop himself from checking out the cars beside him, and was repeatedly disappointed not to find the blushing driver alongside. He’d thought about her constantly since he caught her checking him out, and damned if she hadn’t managed to sneak into his dreams as well.
With a glance in his side mirror, he spotted her a car length behind in the next lane, just as every other day but that first one, and knew she was checking him out again. He could feel her gaze on him.
“Feel her? Christ, I’ve got to get out of the shop more,” he grumbled, but couldn’t take his eyes off the reflection of the woman behind him.
Could she be intentionally avoiding him? Was she that embarrassed to have been caught looking? If so, he was going to go nuts trying to get a better look at her, because she seemed to be timing it so she wouldn’t land beside him at the stoplight.
The light changed, and with a grin, he pulled out into the intersection. She wouldn’t be able to hide from him the next time, because he was about to attempt his first serious shot at flirting in traffic. He’d make sure to get beside her.
****
Eleanor let her gaze follow the leather clad man. She’d have to wait until next week to see him again, but that gave her all weekend to daydream about him. It was better than trying to think up ways to stay out of her brother and his family’s way. With any luck she wouldn’t get babysitting duty this weekend either. Then she could really think about the biker.
And yet, when Monday finally arrived, somehow she’d not been able to avoid landing right beside him. How could she have miscalculated it? She’d been successful all last week, after she’d been caught looking, but not today, and it was killing her to not look to her left where he sat upon his bike, clad in butter-soft leather, straddling the rumbling machine between powerful thighs. And if she did look, and he caught her again, there would be no stopping the absolute flush of heat to her face.
Last week everyone at work thought she was sick and had a fever. They’d avoided her most of the day, which wasn’t such a bad thing, she realized. She had been able to daydream without getting caught. Still, it was embarrassing.
After weighing the pros and cons, and with a twitch of a grin, she made her decision. She wasn’t going to start off her boring old week without a good long look at her fantasy man, embarrassing or not. The two of them would be the only ones who knew, after all.
With a steadying breath, she attempted a sneaky glance, only to find his visor up and his gaze pinned on her.
Breathing was no longer an option.
Dustin couldn’t contain his grin, as her eyes widened and her pretty pink lips fell open. She was prettier than he’d realized, and when he gave her a wink, her cheeks flushed a bright rosy shade that made her even more tempting.
He cataloged every detail as quickly as he could, knowing he had only seconds. He’d given up on not fantasizing about her. She was just too appealing, and he found himself wanting to ask her out.
A quick glance to her hands gripping the steering wheel revealed no ring, and his grin grew, and so did a plan.
A horn blew, and he had to tear his gaze away and move out into traffic. And as on every other day, they eased into the intersection and went their separate ways. He would have to wait to see the pretty lady with the pale pink lipstick and honey colored eyes again. But he would definitely be asking her out.
Chapter Two
Dustin’s traffic light girlfriend, something he’d labeled her after one too many erotic dreams involving the pretty stranger the night before, was pulled in at the gas station just before the stoplight. If he hadn’t been looking out for her, to make sure she didn’t time it so she’d be behind him again, he would’ve missed his moment.
Angling through traffic, he turned in to the station to fill up his bike, but before he could reach the opposite side of the pump where she was parked, she turned and hurried inside the convenience store.
He took a nice long look and found her to be of average height, slim, but not skinny, and with an exceptional pair of legs. Her clothes were a bit on the drab side, but since he didn’t know what she did for a living, he figured it could play into her job. Still, from what he could guess in the way of her curves, she had some nice ones, and without much effort he pictured her in something clingy.
With a chuckle at himself and the thoughts the woman gave him, he topped off his tank and went inside to pay and grab a paper. He couldn’t very well loiter by the pump, waiting for her. He didn’t want her to think he was some sort of stalker, and with luck he’d be able to strike up some sort of conversation inside.
Gifted with some superb timing, he literally ran into her coming out of the store. She dropped her sunglasses, and he bent to retrieve them.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going,” she said, not looking at him as she grappled with her purse and a cup of coffee.
“No problem.” He snatched her glasses from the ground and handed them to her.
She lifted her gaze from his outstretched hand and froze. “Um, thank you.”
He grinned and gave her a wink. “My pleasure.”
She suddenly snatched her glasses and took off like a scared rabbit.
He had to admit, he was a little dumb struck himself. She was even prettier up close and smelled like heaven, and he’d gotten tongue tied for a moment. By the time he’d managed to remember to ask for her number, she was gone.
He cast one last glance at her pulling away, then with a shake of his head, went inside.
Eleanor couldn’t recall how she managed to get her stupid car moving, she’d struggled to put her key into the ignition, her hands were shaking so badly, but at least she hadn’t caused an accident.
There was no doubt about it; he was the man on the motorcycle. She recognized those eyes and that wink, and his bike was just on the other side of the pump where she’d filled up.
She groaned as she crossed the intersection. “God, he must think I’m certifiable.”
But to have been winked at—twice no less—was an all-time record for her. She never received that sort of attention from men. She was always the steady friend for a date, the one to even out dinner party numbers. Dating—real dating—was almost non-existent. But this man had actually flirted with her.
She couldn’t help but giggle like a school girl as she drove to work, thinking about how handsome he was. He was tall, towering over her by at least a foot, and had dark green eyes, and a head full of hair the color of midnight. It had unruly waves running through the strands, and matched the black leather coat he wore.
She squeezed the steering wheel tighter, her fingers itching to touch him, just like she’d imagined a hundred times. She’d never had a kis
s that rocked her world and made her want to hang on, but she had a feeling with him, every daydream she ever had was more than a possibility.
A wistful sigh slipped past her lips as she pulled into her regular spot in front of the law firm. He may have flirted with her, but they were innocent winks and smiles. Nothing would ever come of them. She would just have to keep the fantasy, the one she relived time and again, when she had a moment’s peace in her brother’s house.
She stifled a grimace as she made her way inside. Those moments were few and far between these days. She found herself hiding in her room earlier and earlier in the evening to avoid her sister-in-law’s nagging at her about one thing or another.
That’s when she let her mind drift—to him. At least now she had a soothing deep voice and dark wavy hair to add to it.
The following morning, the motorcycle man was beside her once again. Sometime during the middle of her boring day after their run-in at the gas station, she’d halfway convinced herself that he wasn’t as handsome as she remembered. That she’d built up the fantasy in her mind, and that he really was quite ordinary looking. So naturally, she had to look to make sure she was right.
Only when she turned, his visor was up and those same gorgeous green eyes and handsome face she thought she’d imagined were smiling back at her. He was everything if not more than what she remembered.
He motioned across the intersection to the coffee shop, then pointed at her. She sat puzzled for a moment, until he pretended to write on his hand.
Holy cow! He was asking for her number!
After gaping like a codfish for who knew how long, the light changed, and she gave him half a smile with a slight shake of her head, then pulled away, refusing to look back. She didn’t want to see what his expression was, happy, sad, irritated. Whatever it was, she didn’t want to know, because she just couldn’t do it. The idea was too farfetched, and she was way too chicken.
But for the rest of her morning commute, she argued with herself. Why couldn’t she live a little on the wild side? What would it have hurt to give him her number? She could always tell him no if he asked her out later. Of course he could end up being a stalker or something.
