Read Melody Anne's Billionaire Universe: One Sweet Summer (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Love by the Numbers Book 1) for Free Online Page B

I was hoping you’d be blown away by my stuff, but…”
    “I am blown away. By more than just your talent.” Ugh, he hadn’t meant to admit that out loud to her.
    Her mouth opened, then closed, then opened again. “See this area on your fender? That will take ten to twelve hours of time alone to fix. Unless you’d prefer to wait and see if the guys here can locate a replacement?”
    “No.” Not only could he not afford to hide the car that long, but the parts were all serialized. He’d be destroying the value by tearing off the front fender and replacing it. “Not if the original can be salvaged.”
    “Oh, it can be salvaged all right. But not by me.”
    “Why not?
    “I just can’t.”
    “I’m not asking for any favors. I fully intend to pay the going rate. Hell, I’ll pay more.”
    “It’s not about the money.”
    “Gah!” Kane threw up his hands in frustration. The woman was being ridiculous. He was so close to fixing this mess he could smell the hint of redemption emanating from the small salvage garage. Taste it, like the flavor of acid and motor oil on the back of his tongue. “C’mon, Anna. This car is a piece of art, and you’re an artist. You need to be the one who works on it.”
    Anyone else would jump at the change to help out a Maverick. Seattle and the surrounding areas had all benefitted from his family’s money and generosity. What the heck was her problem?
    “I won’t do it,” she tossed over her shoulder as she headed back into the garage. Her work boots clomped on the floor like a Clydesdale.
    Damn it, she was walking away from him. Most women giggled and deliberately bumped into him, hoping for a chance to lock eyes with him off set. Or more. He wasn’t used to women turning their backs on him, unless they were asking for help with a zipper.
    “Please, Anna.” He caught up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. “Wait.”
    She glanced down at his hand, and he removed it at once, still feeling the tingle of her warm body on his palm. Once freed, she glared up at him.
    “I need you.” He had to make her see reason. She was the only one who could help him. And he was damn certain he could help her.
    “You don’t,” she insisted.
    “What if I made you an offer you can’t refuse?”
    “Such as?” Her eyes narrowed. She was like a lit fuse, ready to go off at a moment’s notice.
    Well, he couldn’t offer her a spot in the show. He planned to do his damndest to get her art into The Mav regardless, but he still had to present his selections to the panel—and his father.
    “Don’t.” She halted his thoughts before he could even voice them. “Don’t you dare offer me a spot in the show in exchange for this. I want to get in on my own merits, Kane Maverick. The merits of my art.” She sounded remarkably like his mother when she used that scolding tone.
    “I wasn’t going to…” She really could see through him. “Ok, fine. Would you just name a price? Any price. Please, Anna. Just think of all the spark plugs you could buy.” He took out his wallet. “How often do you get the chance to work on a 1969 Dino?”
    “I don’t know. How often are you going to wreck yours?”
    He bit back resentment. “Oh, come on. I didn’t wreck it. Hit and run. Barely a scratch.”
    Sure, he’d grown up wealthy, and his first real job had been a lucrative TV show, but he wasn’t some irresponsible trust fund asshole.
    Was he?
    “You call that a scratch?”
    “I have a witness. You wanna call him, make sure I’m worthy of your help?”
    “Fine.” She was quiet while the flames in her cheeks faded to pink, then named a figure that was less than he probably deserved but more than he’d expected. “That’s how much my time is worth.”
    He didn’t flinch. “Done.”
    Now it was her turn to blanch.
    “Wait, wait.” She backtracked. “It’s not just the cost. It’s the time, Kane. Between my work and the community center summer camp starting up, I barely have time to