Harlequin Holiday Collection - Four Classic Seasonal Novellas

it another try. That weird sound again. The engine failed to crank even after a third attempt.
    She dropped her head against the headrest and blew out a weary breath. What was the name of that mechanic shop one of her coworkers had said he’d used?
    Max’s or Lex’s… She didn’t have a clue.
    Olivia started to dig through her purse in the hopes of finding a note to herself with the name and number when Jacob exited the building.
    She tried starting the car once more. Nada. She gazed at the man walking toward his SUV.
    Maybe he wouldn’t mind rescuing her twice in one day.

Chapter Three
    Jacob hesitated before unlocking his SUV. He was no mechanic, but even he recognized the grinding noise coming from Olivia’s Volvo as a problem with the starter.
    He surveyed the parking lot. Empty. Other than the evening-shift security, the place was completely deserted. He sighed. It wasn’t that he minded helping out a colleague—or a stranger for that matter. The problem was that every time he got close to Olivia Perez, he regretted it. Take this morning, for example. He’d known she was panicked. One look at her face had told him she was in crisis. So he’d given her a hand. He enjoyed the sweet sound of her voice, the way she stared at him with such admiration. What man wouldn’t be flattered…tempted?
    But the next hour afterward had been spent attempting in vain to refocus on his work. He was forty years old and not a single woman he’d ever known had possessed the ability to distract him to this degree.
    From the moment she’d joined the lab’s staff, he’d been struggling with keeping his mind off her. He’d gotten his heart tanked back in Durango, and he’d promised himself then that it would never happen again. Who needed a wife or children? He had his work.
    That had been enough.
    Until now.
    What was it about this young woman that distracted him so?
    “Jacob! Hey!”
    He watched as she dashed across the parking lot in his direction. Dark hair flying behind her like a cape of silk. Hazel eyes wide with worry. Already his body had reacted to her distress.
    Or, more likely, her coming nearer.
    “Sounds like your starter has gone bad on you.” He could make a call to a mechanic he used. But the chances of getting the automobile fixed tonight were slim to none. She would need a ride home.
    He could give her a lift. It was the right thing to do. Truth was, being close to her for a few minutes more…alone…wouldn’t be a bad thing.
    “Do you know a good mechanic?” She bit her lip, staring up at him hopefully.
    Jacob fished in his jacket pocket for his cell phone. “I haven’t had any complaints with the guy I use. I’ll give him a call.”
    “Thank you.” The worry lifted from her face. “I owe you big-time for this morning. Now this. You’re a real lifesaver.”
    “Thanks is quite enough,” he said as he pulled up the number of the shop from his contact list.
    A few minutes on the phone with the mechanic and a tow truck was on its way.
    “So I just leave the keys under the floor mat?” she confirmed.
    He nodded. “Security will let the tow truck into the lot. You’ll get a call sometime tomorrow about when your car is ready for pickup.”
    “Great.” She grabbed her purse and closed the car door. “It’s very sweet of you to drive me home.”
    She chatted away as they loaded into his SUV and headed for town. He got the distinct impression she was nervous. He’d never known her to talk so incessantly about nothing at all. Usually she was quiet and focused on her work. He acknowledged once more how very much he enjoyed her voice. As well as her brilliance.
    “Oh, darn,” she said suddenly.
    He glanced at her as he braked for an intersection. “Did you forget something?” Being alone with her was playing havoc with his ability to breathe normally. But this wasn’t smart. He wasn’t the type of man to evoke desire in a young, beautiful woman like Olivia. Hadn’t he learned that lesson already? She admired him, yes. But he doubted her feelings went beyond that.
    She turned and stared back at the store they’d just passed. “I’d planned to pick up a Christmas tree this evening.” She sighed. “It’s only a few days before Christmas and I…” She turned to him and smiled. “This is my first Christmas alone. I guess I’m a little homesick.”
    He took the next right and doubled back. How could he resist? She’d sounded so forlorn.
    “You didn’t have to do that.”