Head Over Wheels: Road Tripping Series Read online

  Head Over Wheels

  Road Tripping Series

  Samantha Chase

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Epilogue

  Looking for more RoadTripping antics?

  DRIVE ME CRAZY

  About Samantha Chase

  Also by Samantha Chase

  Copyright 2020 Samantha Chase

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  All Rights Reserved.

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  No part of this book, with the exception of brief quotations for book reviews or critical articles, may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author.

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are 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.

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  Cover Design: Uplifting Designs/Alyssa Garcia

  Editing: Jillian Rivera Editing

  Praise for Samantha Chase

  “If you can’t get enough of stories that get inside your heart and soul and stay there long after you’ve read the last page, then Samantha Chase is for you!”

  -NY Times & USA Today Bestselling Author Melanie Shawn

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  “A fun, flirty, sweet romance filled with romance and character growth and a perfect happily ever after.”

  -NY Times & USA Today Bestselling Author Carly Phillips

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  “Samantha Chase writes my kind of happily ever after!”

  -NY Times & USA Today Bestselling Author Erin Nicholas

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  “The openness between the lovers is refreshing, and their interactions are a balanced blend of sweet and spice. The planets may not have aligned, but the elements of this winning romance are definitely in sync.”

  - Publishers Weekly, STARRED review

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  “A true romantic delight, A Sky Full of Stars is one of the top gems of romance this year.”

  - Night Owl Reviews, TOP PICK

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  “Great writing, a winsome ensemble, and the perfect blend of heart and sass.”

  - Publishers Weekly

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  “Recommend Chase to fans of Susan Elizabeth Phillips. Well-written and uniquely appealing.”

  - Booklist

  1

  “Well? What do you think?”

  Danielle Perry had overseen the restoration of dozens of classic cars since coming to work for Malcolm and Son Restoration, but this was the first time the sight of a finished car brought tears to her eyes.

  This one was personal.

  She had felt a connection to this car from the beginning that had her feeling overly emotional, and she was not an emotional person.

  Ever.

  Staring down at the black and white photograph in her hand, she blinked away the tears.

  “Dani?”

  Beside her stood Malcolm and son. Well, Malcolm Sr. and Malcolm Jr., such as they were.

  Malcolm Sr. had started his classic car restoration business back in the nineties. The man lived, breathed, ate, and slept classic cars, so it was no wonder he passed his love of all things automotive on to his son.

  Looking up, she met Malcolm Jr.’s eyes and felt herself blush.

  Averting her eyes quickly, she cleared her throat. She looked at the photo and then back up at the car before saying, “It’s perfect.” The next time she looked up at father and son, she saw the look of relief on both of their faces. “Seriously, you guys outdid yourselves. This car is…well…it’s a dream.”

  Malcolm Sr. smiled broadly before coming to stand beside her. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he hugged her. “Don’t sound so surprised,” he teased.

  “I’m not!” she replied, stepping away, her eyes wide. A nervous laugh was out before she could stop it. “I’m just…” She paused and collected her thoughts. “It’s like part of this photo has come to life.”

  Both men nodded.

  The truth was, it was simply a coincidence that the 1960 Corvette convertible was the same one from the photo in her hands. Her grandparents and great-grandparents were in the photo; her grandfather purchased the car back in 1962 to soup it up for the sake of racing it. He never got it onto a track, but the picture was a snapshot in time where everyone was young and carefree and enjoying the possibilities of a great car. Her old, Italian great-grandparents were in the front seat wearing sunglasses and giant smiles.

  It was a great photo.

  It was a great car.

  And if she didn’t get her head out of her butt, it was going to be the reason she turned into a blubbering mess.

  Straightening, she cleared her throat. “Okay, are you ready to go over the checklist?”

  Malcolm Sr. groaned and took a step back. “That’s my cue to leave. Good luck!”

  Dani didn’t think it was possible for a man his age to sprint–especially one who complained about his knees on a daily basis–but he practically left them in a cloud of dust. Shaking her head, she laughed softly. Glancing at Malcolm Jr., she smiled.

  There wasn’t anything she wanted more than a chance to be alone with him and this trip was finally her chance. There wasn’t a thing about him that didn’t attract her–from his tall, muscular build, his jet-black hair, baby blue eyes, and arms covered in tats. Add in the fact that he was a genuinely nice guy who was a little on the quiet side, and he was practically catnip for her.

  For three years she had been pining for him and it hadn’t gotten her anywhere. It didn’t matter how hard she flirted or tried to impress him with her knowledge of classic cars; he just never took the bait.

  Or maybe he just wasn’t interested.

  Nope. Not gonna go there. I’m sticking with him being clueless.

  But if she could be alone with him outside of the garage, maybe things would be different.

  It wasn’t like he was completely indifferent to her. He was always bringing her stuff from his trips to deliver their cars–mostly tacky things from souvenir shops because he knew she loved that crap. It was really kind of sweet how he always did that. She had three shelves filled with plastic snow globes, shot glasses, candles, assorted figurines, and gifts from him in her apartment and they always made her go all soft and dreamy.

  “You okay, Dani?”

  “Uh…yeah. Why?”

  He shrugged. “You sort of zoned out there. We were going to go over the checklist?”

  “Oh. Right.” Way to go, dork. Looking down at the tablet in her hand, she swiped the screen and pulled up the necessary information. “Is the car completely secured?” Right now it was chained to the flatbed truck she and Malcolm would be driving from the shop in Raleigh, North Carolina, down to Jacksonville, Florida, with a few stops along the way.

  Nodding, he said, “Check.”

  “Do you have all the final documentation for the car–registration, insurance, title?”

  Frowning, Malcolm looked at her. “Wait, isn’t that in your folder along with directions, our reservations, our registration to the show, and all that? Maybe I should be the one going over the checklist and making sure you have everything.”

  She knew he was joking, but…

  Handing him the tablet, Dani hung her head. “That makes more sense. All you needed to do was secure the car to the f
latbed. Everything else was on me so…”

  The low snort he let out was his only response.

  Sighing dramatically, she said, “Okay, fine, you spent three months and hundreds of hours restoring the car from a broken down, rusted-out piece of junk to a shiny showpiece. There. Happy?”

  His slow grin had her practically standing in a puddle of her own drool.

  He looked down at the tablet and frowned. “There’s an awful lot of stuff on here.”

  “There was an awful lot of stuff to do,” she replied sweetly–secretly enjoying his reaction to all the things she had to handle for him.

  Clearing his throat, he said, “Let’s take it from the top. Final documentation?”

  “Check.”

  “Hotel reservations?”

  Doing her best not to smile, she nodded. “Check.”

  “Registration packet for the Concourse Classic Car Expo?”

  Another nod. “Check.”

  “GPS programmed?”

  “It’s all done,” she finally said. “Trust me. Plus, I’ve packed up a cooler with drinks, Reese’s Pieces, Cheetos, Oreos, and some grapes. You know, in case you wanted to eat like an adult.”

  He laughed softly. “Thanks.”

  “My pleasure.” Looking around, she caught a glimpse of the last thing that needed to be done. “All that’s left is for you to put our luggage in the truck and we’ll be ready to go!”

  With a curt nod, he handed her the tablet and walked away.

  A soft, dreamy sigh was out when he bent over to pick up their bags. Malcolm had a fine butt–especially in faded denim. She was going to have to make sure she didn’t do that while they were on this trip. No need to freak Malcolm out.

  Although…she had a feeling it was going to happen no matter what because they had never spent this much time in such close proximity. And she was planning to use that to her full advantage.

  For the life of him, Malcolm had no idea how he was supposed to handle being alone with Dani for five days.

  Well, five days if everything went according to plan.

  And with Danielle, that rarely happened.

  She had a knack for taking something simple and making it complicated–usually in the name of making things better–but he was a man who enjoyed having a plan and sticking to it.

  “One of us may not survive this,” he muttered.

  “Survive what?”

  Turning, he saw his father walking toward him, and rather than answer him, Malcolm finished stuffing the luggage behind the seats.

  With little more than a groan, he turned around. “Are we sure this is the right thing to do–asking Dani to go on this trip with me?”

  “Why? Don’t you?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. I just don’t want this to drag out and you know how she can be…”

  His father snickered. “And you know she gets results. Our business changed for the better when we hired her, and this little project will only help solidify our name. She’s a real people person.”

  “I guess.”

  “Wait, you’re not nervous about traveling with her, are you?”

  “Well…”

  “Because if you ask me, it’s going to be a good thing for you.”

  “Me?” he cried. “Why?”

  “Malcolm, you’re a good man. A fine man. But you move at a damn snail’s pace and it’s painful to sit back and watch.”

  Straightening, he stared at his father as if he’d lost his mind.

  Malcolm Sr. continued, “Dani is a beautiful woman who looks at you like you hung the moon and if you don’t get up off your ass and show her some attention, some other guy will. How would you like that?”

  “Did you hit your head today or something?” he asked incredulously. “Dani’s had quite a few boyfriends since she’s worked here. Why would her dating someone bother me?”

  The look his father gave him in response told him just how little he believed him. The truth was, it would kill him if Dani found someone and got serious with him, but…that didn’t mean he was the right guy for her either. He didn’t have the best dating record. So much of his time and energy was spent working and he knew he could get consumed with a restoration. More than once he’d been dumped simply because he seemed to care more about the cars than the girls.

  He didn’t want to do that to Dani. She deserved better.

  “Think about it.” And with a huff of annoyance, Malcolm’s father walked away.

  Damn. Raking a hand through his hair, Malcolm let out a long breath. He hated how well his father knew him and hated even more that he was in this position. The last thing he wanted to do was disappoint Dani–not only because he genuinely cared about her, but because she really was an important part of the business. He thought he was doing the right thing by not pursuing her–the business always had to come first–but was he really doing the right thing?

  It took him less than a second to answer that. Of course he was doing the right thing. Hadn’t he watched his old man ruin three marriages because of his obsession with cars? And wasn’t he following right in his footsteps? It was in his blood–his love of working on cars and bringing them back to life! When he wasn’t working on a car, he was thinking about the cars he hoped to restore or going to car shows to see the work other classic car enthusiasts had done. As much as it meant he didn’t have much of a social life–or a private one–he was content.

  Well…mostly content.

  “Hey,” Dani said with a smile as she approached. “You ready to hit the road?” She looked so excited and hopeful and…beautiful. Dark hair pulled up into a ponytail, big green eyes, and the pinkest, glossiest lips he’d ever seen.

  He was starting to sweat.

  “Uh, yeah.” Raking a hand through his hair, Malcolm knew he couldn’t procrastinate any longer. They had a schedule to keep. Stepping aside, he opened the passenger door for her and watched as she climbed up. Today Dani had on a pair of black skinny jeans and a snug pastel pink t-shirt.

  I’m not going to survive this…

  Once she was settled, he slammed the door shut and walked around to the driver’s side like he was walking to his own execution. On his way around, he double-checked the Corvette and made sure it was secure, and when he climbed into the cab, he stopped and froze.

  “How long was I out there?” he cried, looking around in horror. Snacks were littering the center console and drinks in every available cup holder. Dani’s shoes were off, her feet were resting on the dashboard, and she was singing along to some awful pop song on the radio.

  “Oh, sorry,” she said sheepishly, reaching out to lower the volume. “When you didn’t climb in right away, I thought I had a few minutes with Taylor.”

  “Taylor?”

  She nodded, smiling. “Taylor Swift. That’s who was just singing. I love that song.”

  “Yeah, can’t say I’m a fan,” he murmured, buckling himself in. “I guess we should talk about rules.”

  “Rules?” Her smile faded. “Seriously?”

  “Dad and I normally do these things together and…quietly.” Hell, he couldn’t even force himself to look at her.

  “Ooohhh,” she said after a minute. “Got it. Sorry.” Bending forward, she reached into her oversized purse and pulled out a pair of earbuds. “No worries. I’ll keep my music to myself. And I promise not to be too much of a bother.”

  “That’s not what I meant…”

  “No, no, no…I get it,” she said right before making a zipping motion over her lips and popping her earbuds in. He was about to put the truck in reverse when she pulled the buds out and twisted to face him. “Malcolm?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Thank you.”

  He frowned. “For what?”

  “For trusting me to help you with this. I think this trip is going to be a good thing for us.” She paused and blushed. “I mean…for the business. It’s going to be a good thing for the business.” And before he could comment, the earbuds were bac
k in and she was settled in her seat, humming softly.

  Yeah, I’m not going to survive this…

  2

  “When we stop for lunch, can I take over driving?” she asked hopefully.

  “Hell no.”

  Eyes wide, mouth agog, she stared at him. “Excuse me?”

  The damn man never took his eyes off the road. “You can’t drive the truck, Dani.”

  “Why not?”

  Somehow, Malcolm even managed to make condescension look sexy.

  “Seriously? You’re a terrible driver! You can barely handle driving your car without getting into trouble. There’s no way you can handle the flatbed,” he reasoned. “And considering we’re hauling a car worth one hundred thousand dollars, I’m unwilling to take that risk.”

  Well that was a little harsh…

  With a huff, she sat back in her seat and stared out the side window. Damn the man and his honesty. What did he think would happen if she drove the truck on the interstate for an hour? How much damage could she actually do? Crossing her arms over her chest, she pouted. She knew she was pouting, and if Malcolm turned his head or even glanced at her, he’d see it, but she didn’t care. She was pissed and he should know it.

  Not even a minute passed before she huffed, “I don’t see what the big deal is. I would totally respect the car and the truck. I’m not an idiot.” She snorted before mumbling, “I really don’t see what the big deal is.”

  And that’s when Dani heard something she never heard before.

  Beside her, Malcolm mimicked her sound–snorting with annoyance.