Aphrodite's Passion by Julie Kenner

was on her eyes.
    “No. No problem at all.” Except that she couldn’t stop staring. He seemed so familiar somehow, but she couldn’t quite place him.
    Her brain kicked into gear. Or her mouth did, at last. “Yes!” She coughed. “I mean, yes, actually, I do have a problem.” With a quick nod, she indicated the offending vehicle. “It’s being uncooperative.”
    “I find that hard to believe.” His smile revealed a dimple, and once again Tracy was struck by how familiar he looked. As if she’d looked at him every day of her life. “I can’t imagine anything not going out of its way to please you.”
    She squinted at him, not sure why another gorgeous man was flirting with her, but considering the day’s events, she wasn’t inclined to fall into that trap again. “As remarkable as it might seem, there aren’t many things in this world that fall over themselves to do my bidding. If there were, maybe I wouldn’t be getting ready to scour the backlot for jumper cables.”
    The man’s mouth twitched.
    “Glad to provide you with some entertainment,” she snapped.
    The man laughed outright. “I get the feeling you’re not having the best day.”
    “I’m having a
lousy
day, thank you very much.” Then, running her hands through her hair, she sighed. “I’m sorry. It’s not your fault, and I’m taking it out on you. I promise, I’m not usually such a bitch.”
    Again, that incredible smile. “I believe you.”
    Missy wandered over, sniffed the man’s shoes, then plunked herself down on the asphalt and waited for him to scratch her head. He complied almost immediately, earning him at least two brownie points in Tracy’s book, and probably lifelong infatuation from Missy.
    “Right. Well.” Something about this guy made her incredibly nervous. Not that the
something
was any great mystery. He was some sort of Greek god, and she’d never exactly been at ease with men of the super gorgeous variety.
    Still, one of the nice things about growing up as Tahlula Tannin’s granddaughter was that Tracy had met more than her share of incredibly good-looking people. And through each encounter, though she’d felt uncomfortable, she’d had to be on her best behavior. So, with her grandmother’s etiquette lessons spurring her on, she held out her hand in greeting. “I’m Tracy, by the way. And you are ...”
    “Incredibly pleased to meet you.”
    His hand closed over hers, sending a flood of rather disconcerting tingly sensations racing through her body. Within seconds, the fact that he’d failed to answer her question ceased to bother her.
    He nodded toward the car. “Can I help?”
    “I think the battery’s dead.”
    “No problem.” He headed over to the area behind the Paws trailer, and for the first time she noticed the sleek, black Ferrari parked there. As Mel would say, another two points in the mystery guy’s favor.
    “I didn’t think a car like that would need jumper cables,” she said.
    He aimed a devilish grin her direction. “Well, I don’t keep them for me. But it’s a heck of an efficient way to meet women.”
    Okay, this guy was a hoot. He was doing
way
too good a job at lifting her foul mood. “Does it work?”
    “Ask me in a few minutes.”
    Well, that did it. A bubble of laughter escaped her.
    He waved the jumper cables in her direction. “Met you, didn’t I?”
    “Oh, I get it,” she said with good-natured sarcasm. “You hang around in parking lots waiting for women with dead batteries.” Even as she said the words, she couldn’t believe how flirtsy she was being with this stranger. It was so un-Tracy-like. Tahlula would be proud. Mel would be ecstatic.
    “Do you have a problem with that?”
    The husky tone of his voice zinged straight to her knees, and Tracy grabbed the roof of her car for support. “No. It’s just that...” She trailed off, suddenly fresh out of flirty comments. After a second, she just shrugged. “I’m
so
not good at this.”
    “I don’t buy