Janet Evanovich - Full Tilt

Jamie stepped closer to the car and looked in the window. He was grinning. "Max, I know you're going to find this difficult to believe, but getting into your pants is the last thing on my mind." It wasn't completely true, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of letting him think it.

"So what are you after if it isn't me?"

Jamie hesitated. "I don't know." All she knew for sure was she couldn't let him go.

"Well, I'm not sure it's a good idea, but Muffin thinks you should go with us."

Jamie crossed her arms. "Muffin said that, huh?"

"Yeah. The minute I started off she blasted me with disco music. I can't drive all the way to Tennessee listening to disco."

"This is so typical of you, Max," she said. "It would kill you to admit you want me to go with you. Why is that? Why can't you just ask me?"

He wiped his hands down his face and muttered something under his breath.

"I can't hear you," Jamie said.

He sighed heavily. "Okay, I'd like for you to come with me. Is that what you want to hear?"

She smiled. "Now say please."

"Shit."

"Go ahead and say it," Muffin prodded. "You know you want her with us."

"Okay, then. Please!"

Jamie smiled, opened the door and climbed in. The protective bar closed over her. "See, that wasn't so bad. Now then, I need to drop by my house for clothes and work gear. I could do a little investigative reporting. It might be just what I need to liven up the newspaper."

"Yeah, and we need to celebrate the fact you're a free woman. I think I have a good idea how we should get started."

"I may be a free woman, Max, but I am still hands off where you're concerned."

He drove on. "I can wear you down."

"Has it occurred to you that I might need time to get over my breakup with Phillip? I mean, I can't bounce from one relationship to another like you. I like to think mine have a little more depth than yours."

Max checked his wristwatch. "Okay, do you think you can get over the guy by the time we hit the Tennessee border?"

"Don't be ridiculous."

"Okay, Muffin," Max said. "Here's the plan. You and I can play twenty questions on the way to Tennessee while Jamie mopes and pines away for Phillip, but first we have to go by her place for a few things."

"I'm not really crazy about this idea, Max," Muffin replied. "You just barely escaped death during this last little escapade, and now you're heading straight for another one. This is way too much stress on me, you know."

"And while you're mapping out a good route, I want everything you can get me on this preacher. I want to know who works for him and where all his future revivals are going to take place."

"So much for the vacation you promised me."

"We'll take a vacation as soon as I get this little problem dealt with. Won't take long. We'll be in and out in no time flat."

"That's what you said last time. That's what you always say."

"But you love the mountains, Muffin."

"Okay, I'll agree to this one last trip, but then I'm looking for a job elsewhere."

Max looked at Jamie. "You know, I have a feeling this is going to be one of the best trips ever. You and me, cool mountain air, lots of sex."

"Don't count on it, Holt," she said.

He winked. "Hang on, Swifty. I'm going to take you on the ride of a lifetime." He floored the accelerator and they were gone.