His Curvy Beauty by Lana Love

Chapter 1

Sonia

Iam almost the luckiest girl in the world.

I love my life. Well, most of it. I’m in my final year of studying for my accounting degree, which I love, I see a clear path ahead of me for my career, I have great friends, my family is healthy. The only downside is that I’m unlucky in love.

To be the luckiest girl in the world, Boyd West would finally notice me and talk to me as more than his bookkeeper. Ever since he hired me, he won’t come near me unless absolutely necessary. He may think I haven’t seen him looking at me, but I know he does. A lot.

Unlocking my phone, I scroll to the messages from my best friend.

I dare you to invite him to your birthday party.

I mean, yeah, of course I want to. I mean, I already have. I’ve tried to casually ask him out since I started working here. Multiple times. I don’t care that he’s my boss. Besides, if I’m the one doing the asking, it’s not a compromising situation. Right?

But Boyd barely ever talks to me, so I’m running out of steam on this. I can take a hint and I’m not going to make a fool of myself for a guy, no matter how much just being in the same space as him makes me crazy with desire for him. Maybe he has a girlfriend I haven’t heard about. He’s close-mouthed enough that it wouldn’t be surprising, not to mention someone as hot as he is must have a girl.

My phone beeps and I jump a mile high.

Have you done it yet??

My cheeks flame. It’s a running joke that my best friend, Harriet, and I have a psychic connection. How else would she have known that I was looking at her text, in between staring at my hunky boss?

Well, okay, she knows I’m at work. You don’t have to be psychic to know that’s how I spend a lot of my time here at the garage. I don’t actually have that much work to do, because the books are pretty straightforward, so what else would I do but ogle Boyd? It’s a wonder this building hasn’t gone up in flames from how hot my body gets.

Not for the first time ever (or let’s be real, today), I bite my lip as I look at my boss, Boyd. His shirt rides up as he leans over a car, his tattooed muscles flexing as he works on the engine.

I’m about to do it right now!!!

My finger presses send before I can delete it. I take a deep breath, hoping for the best, even though I know what’s going to happen. If there’s one thing I’m learning about Boyd, is that he’s consistent. But I’m going to try one last time, then that’s it. I need this job, for both the money and so that after I graduate, I have work experience on my resume.

The thick scent of grease and sweat greets me as I walk into the main part of the garage. There’s a radio playing classic rock and I can’t help but walk in time to the music and wiggle my butt.

“Hey,” I say, leaning against the muscle car Boyd is working on. “Got a minute?”

Boyd’s body freezes, then I watch as he turns his eyes to me. He barely talks to me, but I swear there’s a connection between us. Just being in the same space as him, even when we’re both working, there’s something magnetic flowing between us. He always says no when I ask him out, but he never tells me to stop and he doesn’t fire me. And it’s not like it’d be hard for him to find a new bookkeeper.

“Sure.” The word is heavy as it comes out of his mouth. He grabs a rag from the back pocket of his jeans and wipes his hands. The muscles in his forearms flex, making the lines of his tattoos dance, and every fiber of my being wants to reach out and touch his tattoos and feel the strength of his muscles.

“I think I’ve mentioned,” I say, pausing to give him a big smile. Behind me, I can hear one of the other guys laughing. This isn’t going to be the first time I’ve asked Boyd. “My birthday is this weekend and my best friend is throwing a party for me. Tonight. At Roscoe’s. I’d love it if you came.”

“I bet she would,” one of the guys says, laughing.

“Gordon.” Boyd’s voice is a growl and he glares at Gordon with an intensity that surprises me. Gordon quiets down, but I can see him smirking as he goes back to work.

“Sorry, boss.”

“What do you say?” I stand up straight and take a step closer to Boyd, but then he holds out his hand in the air between us and stops me.

“Sonia,” he sighs. “That’s not a good idea and you know it. Thank you, but no.”

He said no. Again.

I shove my phone in the bottom of my purse as I walk to Roscoe’s Bar. I’m not ready for the barrage of texts I know Harriet is going to send. First, she’ll say he’s an idiot. Second, she’ll say he’s too old anyway. Third, she’ll offer to set me up with some guy her boyfriend knows.

I don’t know why it always hurts so much when Boyd says no, but it does. Maybe he thinks I’m just randomly flirting with him – curvy chick in the office who has a crush on him and this is all a game. Thing is, this isn’t a game. Yes, I have a massive crush on him, but…it’s more than that. I see in Boyd everything that I want in a man. He’s responsible, he’s fair, he has integrity, not to mention he has a body I want as my personal playground. Plus, he's passionate about cars and I really respect how he’s built a business around something he loves to do and that he’s excellent at.

Harriet always talks about how much older he is, but it’s not that much – maybe just fifteen years. Guys our age always seem like they’re hurtling through space and have no freaking idea what they want, much less who they are. Boyd? He’s a man who has his life figured out.

The bar is crowded and none of my friends are here yet, which for once I don’t mind. Normally I don’t like feeling invisible, but Boyd turning me down, for the nth time? It hurts more than I want to admit. Part of me just wants to go home, but Harriet would kill me if I ghosted my own party, so I grab a vodka soda and walk over to claim a booth by the pool tables.

“You’re here!” Harriet’s voice brightens my mood as she leans over to hug me, then sits across the table from me. She is such an enthusiastically supportive best friend and I would do anything for her.

Snap out of it, Sonia.I push my anxiety into a dark corner and try to mute it. It is my birthday and, seeing Harriet, I’m reminded of what I do have. My life isn’t bad, not by a long shot. I’m doing well in school, I have good friends, everyone in my family is healthy. The only thing missing is a boyfriend, and then a husband and a family of my own.

My friends show up and we laugh and dance and hug, and everything feels almost right in the world. They all remind me that I’m loved. Each of them takes turns buying me drinks and I honestly lose track of how many as they make my birthday feel special.

I bite back a surge of emotion. I know my friends love me, but it’s not the love I need. As much as it feels un-feminist to feel this way, I know my life would be better if I had a man in it. There’s a part of my heart that I know I can’t unlock by myself or with my friends. I need someone who will show up for me in the ways I can’t do for myself or that my friends can’t do for me. When I have a bad day with work or with school, I need a man who will hold me when I get home and reassure me that everything will be okay.

Boyd is the man I want in my life, but…he’s not here. Despite having the distinct sense that he’s attracted to me, it’s becoming clear nothing will happen. You can only ask leading questions or flirt or lean over the counter just that little bit extra so much before you have to accept that it’s just not going to happen. I swallow my emotions down, vowing to keep work strictly professional from now on. No more flirting or innuendo. If he’s not interested, he’s not interested.

“I know that look.”

Harriet brings my attention back to reality, her eyes filled with tenderness. She wraps her arms around me and gives me a bear hug.

“I want someone who looks at me like that!” My eyes watch a couple across the bar, where a pretty girl is talking to a guy and the guy is looking at her like she’s the most amazing person in the world. It feels like I’ve spent my entire adult life waiting to find a man who thinks I’m special like that – and who isn’t afraid to say so.

“You will, Sonia. You will. I promise.”