Free Whiskey Rebellion (Romantic Mystery/Comedy) Book 1 (Addison Holmes Mysteries) by Liliana Hart Page A

can’t think fast enough to spar with you tonight. What are you doing here anyway?”
    “I was getting gas across the street, and it was hard to miss the flaming red blur and squealing tires as you sped into the parking lot. It must have been an ice cream emergency.”
    I must have hit my head harder than I’d thought because the next thing I knew everything went dark, and when I woke up I was in a place I’d never been before, and it smelled fabulous.
    “You smell so good,” I said, taking a big whiff of Nick’s neck. I think I might have accidentally licked him, but I couldn’t be too sure.
    “Well, I do try to shower everyday,” he said, leaning my head back so he could look me in the eyes. “That’s a pretty nasty bump you have there. Do you want to tell me what happened?” 
    His face was close enough that his breath feathered my lips, and I sighed as I felt the familiar stomach clutch of attraction. You’d think my body and my brain would be in agreement over the fact that Nick was all wrong for me, but my body insisted on being stubborn.
    “I hit it on my steering wheel yesterday when I ran you off the road.”
    “That would explain why you looked so crazy in Kate’s office. Maybe you jarred something loose.”
    “And then tonight I ran into my car door when I was trying to get to the camera to take some pictures. I think I hit it harder than I thought.”
    I looked around, realizing I was sprawled on the ground of a Dairy Queen parking lot. A small crowd had gathered to stare at me, while others walked by like they saw women littering parking lots every day. Nick’s arms felt better holding me close than I wanted to admit, so I was reluctant to tell him I was okay to stand up when a sudden thought came to me. I jumped up and groaned as the ache in my head intensified. “Where’s my ice cream? Is it okay?”
    Nick looked at me a little incredulously, but obviously saw the determination in my face and looked around for my ice cream. 
    “Sorry, kiddo. The ice cream is toast. If I would have known how much you wanted it I would have let you fall to the ground and grabbed it instead.”
    “Well, shit.”
    “Looks like. Sorry.”
    “Why are you being so nice to me? I thought you were the tough guy without a heart.”
    “Don’t let my concern fool you. I saw Kate’s camera on the seat and knew she’d be pissed if it was stolen while you were lying on the ground unconscious.”
    “Gee, thanks.” I stood up shakily and got into the driver’s seat, wondering how many times I could embarrass myself in front of the same man. The answer wasn’t comforting.
    “I’m going to follow you home. You still look a little shaky.”
    I normally would have told him thanks, but no thanks, but I was still feeling a little unsteady.
    “I’d appreciate that.”
     
     
     
    We made it to my apartment with no major mishaps, and I decided to park close to the stairs and take my chances with falling brick crushing my car. I wanted nothing more than to crawl up the stairs and fall into bed.
    I was surprised when the car door opened and Nick was there to help me gather my things and push me up to my apartment.
    “You’re ruining your tough guy image.”
    “I just like to make sure there are no dead bodies on my watch.”
    “You’re such a giver.” 
    I unlocked the front door and Nick shoved it open for me so I could stumble inside. I fell face first onto the couch and decided everything would be okay once the room stopped spinning. I heard Nick rummaging around in the kitchen and rolled over so I could see what he was doing. The light hurt my eyes, so I lay there with them closed and hoped he would leave soon. 
    A bag of ice mysteriously appeared on my forehead.
    “Ahh—t hank you.”
    “I don’t know why I have this insane urge to take care of you,” Nick said. “It seems like you’re used to having these things happen to you.”
    “Yep. Someday I’ll tell you about my sophomore year of college.