Start Me Up by Victoria Dahl

I've been in the mood for contemporaries, and I remembered seeing a few reviews about this book, so when I saw it on the shelf I grabbed it. I'm glad I did, I enjoyed it.

Lori Love is a mechanic/body shop owner in small town Tumble Creak, near Aspen. She had gone off to college and dreamed of traveling the world, but her dad was injured and she had to come home and take care of him - for 10 years. During that time she ended up taking over the auto shop, and when he died she stayed. It's been a year, and she's tired of being alone but doesn't want the stress of a boyfriend. Her best friend Molly (in Talk Me Down, which I haven't read yet) writes erotic books, and over drinks Lori tells Molly she needs an uncomplicated fling.

Molly's brother Quinn is a rich architect who is back in town building his dream home. He asks Lori to come over and fix his backhoe. The next day, he stopped by her house to talk about it, and Lori jumped to the conclusion that Molly had told Quinn she was looking for a fling - so she told him she would not have a fling with him. Quinn had no idea what she was talking about, so then Lori is embarassed and Quinn starts thinking it's a great idea, as he gets forgetful when he's busy and a "friends with benefits" kind of thing would work for him too.

At first Lori says no, they've known each other too long, but he convinces her to give it a try, so they start datin' and sexin' and it seems to be working, except when they run into an ex-girlfriend. And Quinn wants to get serious, but Lori doesn't. In addition to her regular job obligations, Ben, the town sheriff and Molly's boyfriend, has re-opened her father's file and is investigating his death as a murder instead of an accident. Then someone starts breaking into Lori's shop and vandalizing it. Lori thinks it must be someone trying to get her to sell the piece of land her father bought right before he was injured, she's been getting a lot of offers recently. Conveniently, dating Quinn puts her in the right place to try to get some clues about why anyone would be interested in her land.

I liked this book. I felt bad for Quinn - he was a nice guy and Lori seemed to not give him a chance through most of the book. They argued a lot, but I think that was supposed to up the sexual tension a bit. I enjoyed the part the Paranormal/Erotic Romance books played in this story - Lori liked to read them and Quinn stole a few for "homework"; I will say that he's a good student!

I would recommend this book if you're looking for a fun, light read.