Free Driven By Love by D. Anne Paris

with Alexandra he swore off women for the next decade no matter how gorgeous they were. Still, his mind began to change when he came back home and saw families with children around town. He realized that was what he wanted next, to fall in love and start his own family. He wanted to trade the late-night missions and nail-biting situations for late-night feedings and tense Little League games. 
    The black slacks Anne wore accentuated her slim figure while the pale yellow blouse brought out the highlights of long chocolate hair that practically dropped down to the middle of her back. Dean wondered what that hair would feel like in his hands. Would it be soft just like imagined her lips would be? And what would her lips taste like? He caught himself before his thoughts made him do irrational things. There was no way that she would date him--he was a nobody in her world.
    “You didn’t deserve to be treated like that.”
    “At the time I didn’t think so. Plus it didn’t help that the tabloids wrote that my prudish ways deprived him of any sex whatsoever. John’s PR manager spun it to make it look like he was the victim because, as he put it, I never wanted any sex--which was totally false!”
    Dean felt his groin tighten at the thought of Anne aroused and wanting him. He gripped the bottle harder and he pushed away the erotic thoughts. “Don’t people have their own lives to worry about instead of butting into yours?”
    She grabbed the spoon from the spoon rest and angrily stirred the water, creating a vortex in the pot. “That’s how they make their money. The more shocking the story, the more it sells, especially if it’s about a big star like me.”
    “It’s flat-out wrong. He didn’t have any right to do that to you.” The shrill ring of his cell phone caught his attention. Stan’s name popped onto the screen.
    "Stan, give me some news," he said as he answered.
    "I don't know if it's something you'd want to hear."
    "Why?"
    "The preliminary findings show that the brake line was loose and popped out, causing a loss of brake fluid which ultimately means brake failure."
    He ran his fingers through his hair as he tried to piece together what happened. "So what are you saying, someone rigged it?"
    "I don't know. With Evan unconscious, we can't get his side of the story. Does anyone know if he recently was repairing his brakes?"
    "I'm not at the hospital, so I'll have to ask them tomorrow."
    "Ask what?" Anne coaxed as she placed the spoon back on the spoon rest.
    "Hang on, Stan. Do you know if Evan was working on his brakes prior to the crash?"
    "No, but Evan’s dad would know. I'll call him now." She dug through her purse and pulled out her cell phone. She frowned as she saw all the new text and voicemail messages. While at the hospital she turned the ringer off so she could concentrate on being with her family and Missy. She cleared the notifications and scrolled through her contacts to find Evan’s father.
    "Anne's going to find out from Evan’s dad. What else did you find?"
    "That was about it. We have a couple witnesses who said that some guy cut in front of him and that's when he swerved to avoid him and ended up hitting the median instead. The others behind him just tried to stop from hitting him and that's when the pileup happened."
    "Unbelievable."
    "How's everyone holding up?"
    "As best they can. Helen and Kenneth are staying at the hospital tonight. Missy is in stable condition right now, but none of the doctors can give us an answer on her condition."
    "That's so frustrating."
    "Yeah, I know. It seems like Evan's in better condition, though."
    "At least that's some good news. As soon as he's awake, we're going to need to talk to him."
    "I have some questions for him myself." He looked over at Anne, who hung up her phone.
    "George said that Evan hasn't worked on his brakes since last year. He has no idea what could have happened with them."
    "Did you hear that, Stan?"
    "Yup." He sighed heavily. "The