After the Fall A Leap into a Stranger's Arms novel Chapter 217

“Huh?” Nettie froze for a second, her big eyes blinking as she stared at the sleek black sports car. Seriously, who wouldn’t fall for a ride like that? She swallowed. “Yeah, I like it.”

“Good.” Nicol’s lips curled into a half-smile, but his eyes stayed cool. “Since you’re a fan, I’ll have my assistant send you the price list, upgrade options, and an estimate for the repairs. That way you can really get to know this car, inside and out.”

He had this lazy, effortlessly cool vibe about him, and his words sounded polite enough.

But Nettie’s legs almost gave out and her heart started racing. Was this guy for real? He was totally messing with her.

She tried to keep it together, even though she was freaking out inside. Then, a thought popped into her head. She plastered on her brightest, most flattering smile and turned on her sweetest voice. “Wow, you really have great taste. This car just screams your style—super classy and understated. Honestly, this feels like fate, don’t you think? You’re so handsome, and I can tell you’re a generous guy with a big heart. It’s just a little scratch. There’s no way someone like you would hold it against someone like me, right?”

She clasped her hands together, big eyes pleading. “Please, could you just file an insurance claim? I’m honestly broke right now. I really can’t afford to pay for this.”

Forget it, she thought. If acting cute and begging could save her some cash, she was all in.

She just hoped this intimidating car owner would have a little mercy.

After all, a car like his had to be fully insured. One claim would sort it out, and of course, she’d pay him something extra for the trouble.

Nicol looked surprised for a moment, then his eyes glinted with more amusement. He leaned back against his car, arms folded, clearly enjoying her attempt to talk her way out of this.

He pretended to think it over. “Hmm, since you put so much effort into hyping me up, I’ll give you…”

A break? A discount? Was he actually going to let her off easy?

Nettie watched him, full of hope. But then he finished, “I’ll let you pay in installments.”

She straightened up, wiped the smile off her face, and held out her hand. “Okay, let’s just swap contact info. I’ll pay in installments.”

Nicol watched her for a second, eyes narrowing just a bit. Without all the pretending, he actually found her kind of impressive. “You’re pretty straightforward.”

“What else am I supposed to do?” Nettie sighed, her face falling.

He looked at her resigned expression and, for a moment, actually felt a little bad. Sure, he could have just claimed it on insurance, but honestly, he was kind of curious about her now.

He opened his car door and grabbed his phone. “Let’s exchange numbers. Text me yours.”

Nettie did as he asked, adding his contact and reading her number out loud. Nicol called her right away. “Save it.”