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Maddison frowned as she held onto the wrench. She really wished she could get both hands on it, but the bolt was in such a tight space she was lucky to have gotten in there with one hand. She was not going to give up though. Maddison had worked hard to gain the respect of the other mechanics. Besides being a woman she wasn't even an Englishwoman.

"Matty! Come out from under there. I got someone to introduce you to," Charlie called from above the car.

Maddison sighed, she didn't mind the nickname. She enjoyed it actually. It made her feel more accepted. Charlie was her boss. Lately however he had turned into a bit of a matchmaker. He was always dragging poor male customers into the shop as soon as he found they were single. She considered sliding further underneath the car and pretending she hadn't heard him.

"Come on out, Matty," Charlie insisted. He lightly kicked her boot.

Maddison groaned in defeat and brought the wrench to her chest before rolling out from under the car. She looked up to see Charlie standing next to one of the tallest men she had ever seen. At five foot four almost everyone was taller than her. From her position on the floor this man looked like a giant. His height seemed to all be in his long arms and legs. Her gaze made its way to his face and saw that his nose was narrow and a little on the long side. His dark hair was long and pushed back into a tie at the back of his neck. His lips and chin were covered in a perfectly groomed goatee.  He had cheekbones that made her think of aristocracy. She couldn't help rolling her eyes. Now Charlie had grabbed some helpless Lord who probably only brought his car in for an oil change. She heard a slight laugh and looked to see him smiling down at her. His face was full of laugh lines. This was a man who laughed often and well. She felt her cheeks go red as he gave her a quick wink.

He leaned down, offering her his hand. "Hi, my name is William, but you can call me Billy."

Maddison looked at the hand a moment before pushing herself up off the floor. Billy looked slightly hurt that she hadn't taken his hand. She quickly wiped her hands on a rag and offered one for a shake.

"Maddison Watson," she said with an apologetic smile. She had a better angle on his face at this height. His facial features with the long hair and beard made her think he had wandered in from one of Shakespeare's plays. She could see now that his eyes were a stormy blue-green. The color seemed to shift as she stared into them.

Billy broke into a blinding white smile and took her hand in both of his. Instead of shaking it he brought it up to his lips with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"American?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Maddison found herself frozen as she was caught in his gaze. His thumb grazed over her knuckles and she could make no response other than nod.

Maddison heard a movement to her side and remembered they weren't alone. She cleared her throat and stepped back. Billy reluctantly let go of her hand.

"Billy here is going to be our new mechanic," Charlie announced. He seemed to be unaffected by the exchange that had just occurred. It almost made Maddison think she had imagined it.

"Yes, I just moved into town and Master Thompson was kind enough to offer me employ," Billy said, grinning.

Maddison couldn't help looking down at his hands. They were large and capable looking, the fingers long and slender. She frowned as she noticed they were incredibly clean. They didn't look like the hand s of someone who was familiar with getting dirty.

"I wish to apprentice here," Billy said. He seemed to notice Maddison's skepticism.

"Okay, so who is he going to work under?" Maddison asked and immediately regretted her choice of words. Inappropriate images flashed in her mind. She bit down on the inside of her cheek and looked down at the floor. She then frowned. Five minute with this handsome stranger and she was as giggly as a teenager. At thirty three she had thought she was long past those days.

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