Read an excerpt Where I Need to Be by Jamie Hollins
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When heroin stole James Foley’s wife and destroyed his marriage, he poured all his energy into raising his young son and running his auto garage. There’s no room in his life for anything else until Megan McKenna walks into his shop. He finds it impossible to resist the sexy school teacher.
After an ugly divorce, Megan lost her home, her job, and a big chunk of her self-respect. With her posh lifestyle now a memory, she starts over by indulging in an unexpected fling with a hard-bodied mechanic.
What begins as something casual turns into something meaningful. But how can their relationship survive when it’s built on half-truths?
James and Megan soon discover that being honest with themselves is just as important as being honest with each other. Only then will their relationship fire on all cylinders.
Excerpt
Even over the wailing guitar of an old Chevelle song, James had no trouble hearing a deep rumbling and god-awful clanking outside the closed bay doors. After dusting off his hands on a shop rag, he turned down the radio in time to hear a car door slam shut.
It was half past eight o’clock on a Friday night. The shop was officially closed. He had half a mind to stay put and let whomever was out there figure that out on their own.
But when he heard the distinct clacking of high heels across his front parking lot, he changed his mind. Not because he knew it was a woman. More because he was hopeful it was one particular woman.
Reaching the front office door, he peered outside to see Megan McKenna scribbling furiously across a scrap of paper. Even in the partial darkness, he could see she was concentrating hard, biting her lower lip as she wrote the note. Something about her biting her lip sent all his blood rushing below his belt.
Jesus, he felt like he was in high school again. He had no idea what type of spell this woman had cast over him, but he found himself thinking about her too often. And looking at her now, he really didn’t have to wonder why that was.
She was fucking gorgeous.
She had the most gloriously long legs he’d ever seen, made even longer by her black patent leather heels. The remnants of the day’s light made Megan’s red cardigan and matching shirt glow above her tight black skirt. He was starting to think he was getting a thing for cardigans too.
Before he started to drool on the glass, he quickly unlocked the deadbolt and opened the door. Megan looked up, startled.
“Oh, my gosh,” she breathed. “You scared the crap out of me.”
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.”
That was true, but he liked the way her cheeks got all flushed.
She smiled. “I wasn’t sure what time you closed. When I saw the times on the door, I was going to leave my keys with a note in your drop box. I parked my car over there.” She turned and pointed to her Accord. It was kind of hard to miss. “I was on my way home from work and something broke, so I drove straight here.”
She sounded exhausted.
“What exactly happened to it?” he asked, stepping from the doorway and walking toward the car.
“I had just pulled out of the parking lot and made it about a block before I hit a pothole, and I heard this really loud bang followed by a high-pitched scraping sound. I couldn’t see anything out the back window, and it seemed like all my gauges were okay, so I continued driving.” She stopped beside where he knelt to look under the back of the car. “Within two blocks there was another awful sound, then all of sudden my car sounded like a helicopter.”
James knew even before he looked at it what had happened. “Your muffler fell off.”
Megan sighed. “Is that bad?”
He looked up at her from where he stooped on the pavement—trying not to check out her legs—and nodded. He stood up, dusting off his hands on his thighs. “I’m gonna have to order you a new muffler. I can probably have it here by Tuesday.”
His eyes got caught on where she was biting her lower lip again. “How much is that going to cost me?”
He pulled his gaze away from her lips and saw the worry in her expression. “You’re looking at anywhere between two hundred to two fifty for parts and labor.”
She looked back at her car and sighed. “I guess there’s no way around it, so go ahead. Do you need me to fill out any paperwork?”
“No. But I’ll need your keys.”
She dropped her keys into his grease-stained hands. “Thanks, Mr. Foley. Just give me a call whenever it’s done.”
She heaved her purse up her shoulder before giving him a tired smile and wave. James was too busy watching her walk away when he suddenly realized that she planned to walk home by herself.
“Megan,” he yelled. When she turned toward him, he asked, “How far is your place from here?”
“Oh, it’s just a few blocks. No biggie.”
She had just started to turn back toward the sidewalk when he had a completely stupid idea.
“I was about ready to head home for the night. How about I give you a ride?”
She regarded him for a moment before saying, “You know, after the day I’ve had, I think I’ll take you up on that.”
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About the Author
Jamie Hollins was born and raised in rural Northeast Ohio. After graduate school, she embarked on a perilous career in Human Resources where she met plenty of real life characters. When she’s not writing or chasing after her toddler, she enjoys reading and golfing. Jamie lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, son, and their dog, Winston.
