Unfolding Desires

by Kristy Love

  “That’s so awesome. I’m glad things are working out for you.” I wondered how in the hell they could afford this house when her husband didn’t have a steady job.

  “Me, too. We were ready to move into David’s!” She laughed and David’s mouth pressed into a thin line as he looked down at her, clearly not happy with that idea. Gia started crying and Mia picked her and the diaper bag up before leaving the room.

  “Thank you for your help,” he said. It was the first time he’d talked directly to me after he told me they wanted to put an offer on the house.

  “You’re welcome. I’m glad I could help.” The tension between us filled the room. It was electric and full of anticipation. I wasn’t sure if I wanted him to come over and kiss me or keep things professional. Some odd mix of the two would be thrillingly amazing.

  His eyes swept over me. “You still look the same.” He gestured to my hair. “Your hair is different.”

  I touched it and smiled. It was long and down my back last time I saw him. Now, it fell to my shoulders in choppy layers. I kept the strawberry blonde color, though I had highlights added. I got it done not too long ago, after Cassie moved in with Jax. Part of me was bummed that my sister moved out as soon as I moved down to live with her. Another part was so damned happy they were back together because they were absolutely perfect together. Yet another part was a little sad that I was alone. “Yeah. It was time to change things up.”

  “You look beautiful.” His eyes pierced me and I looked away, slightly flustered at his words and the intensity of his gaze.

  “Thank you. You look the same, as well. Still handsome.” I bit my tongue. I didn’t want to come off as pathetic or that I still liked him. Hell, up until he walked into that house, I hadn’t thought of him in a long time. As soon as I saw him, desire punched me in the gut.

  “Thank you, love.” He smirked at me. Before I could further embarrass myself, Mia breezed into the room and the fax machine came to life. The paperwork from Brock was in.

  After the paperwork was finished, I walked them to the front door since I now had more work to do.

  “I’ll call you soon with more details,” I said.

  David nodded and escorted Mia outside. Gia was on his hip. He buckled Gia in the car seat before kissing Mia on the cheek. Mia’s happiness caused her glow to intensify.

  It was a successful day at work. I helped a couple in need and met up with an old . . . friend.

  THE LAST WEEK had been hell. Between fielding nonstop calls from Mia asking about the progress of the sale, David calling to make sure things were going okay, and not being able to sleep, I was at my wits’ end.

  And now, my stupid fucking car was stalled on the side of the road. It was an old car, a 1998 Toyota Camry, and it’d been on its last leg for a while now.

  It figured that it would choose this moment in time to fucking stop working. I climbed out and kicked the tire, which was so completely stupid because I had on heels and now my toe was throbbing. I had a house showing in fifteen minutes and it was too far to walk. I leaned against the fender and buried my face in my hands, unsure of what I’d do next. When I finally looked up, I saw a car shop across the street. Perfect. I grabbed my purse off the seat and walked across the parking lot.

  I’d seen the shop’s sign over the years whenever I drove by, but I had no idea what it was. The sign said Garrett Vintage Automotive. I wondered if they’d even be able to help me, though hopefully they could at least get the car started.

  The parking lot was huge and had several cars in it. There were classic cars, muscle cars, and a few newer models. The building was large, though the majority of it was taken up by garage bays that had some kind of old car in them. No one looked up at me as I walked by and I kept walking forward toward the building that was clearly the main office, faced mostly in large panes of glass. I felt completely out of my element. Opening the door to the inside, I was impressed with the decor. There were vintage car pictures hanging everywhere, though there wasn’t a single bikini-clad girl in sight. I hated those clichéd pictures. There were a few large leather couches arranged around the space. It was clearly a showroom too, since there were classic cars on display inside.

  “Roxie!” Mia exclaimed as she rushed out from behind a desk and enveloped me in her arms. “It’s so good to see you! David didn’t tell me you were showing up today!” She pulled away from me, her face falling. “Is there something wrong with the house? Did they decide not to go through with the sale?”

  “The sale is good, Mia. I promise. My car just broke down across the street. I hoped someone here could help me . . .” I let my voice trail off, wondering what kind of luck I had. Of course, I would stumble upon David’s business. I’d look like the ridiculous damsel in distress.

  “Hold on, let me get David. He’s around here somewhere.” She walked back over to her desk and picked up the phone. She punched in numbers and looked up at me, smiling. “Hey, David. Roxie’s here. She needs some help.” She was silent a few seconds. “Okay!” She hung up the phone. “He’ll be right out. He was in the garage helping someone with one of the cars.”

  “Great.” I forced a smile. “Thank you so much, Mia.”

  “Of course.” She smiled and went back to whatever paperwork was on her desk. I called the clients I was meeting to reschedule our appointment.

  I couldn’t keep bringing this car back to life. It was only getting more and more expensive. I walked over to a picture hanging on the wall and it was David with a hot as hell dude that I thought I recognized from the movies. They were standing in front of a sleek antique car, both wearing big smiles on their faces. The picture next to that was of David with a another celebrity.

  “Roxie,” David said from behind me, though it sounded more like a purr with his accent.

  I turned and smiled. “Hi, David.”

  “I heard you’re having trouble.”

  “Yeah, my car stalled across the road.”

  “Let’s go take a look.”

  I nodded and he motioned for me to walk in front of him. We fell into silence as we left the building and crossed the tarmac. “I didn’t know you worked here.” He smiled at me, and a dimple appeared in his cheek. I felt a little awkward because he said nothing else.

  When we reached my car he stopped, his eyebrows raised and his hands on his hips. He looked at me then back at my car. “You drive a piece of shit.”

  Something about the statement caused me to laugh, hard. I wiped the tears from my eyes. “It may not be as pretty as the classics you work on, but it’s a classic in its own right.”

  “This is a classic piece of shit.” He walked over and tapped his hand on the hood. “Open it up and we’ll take a look.” I released the hood, then joined him at the front of the car as he bent over and checked the various parts. Eventually he pulled the dipstick out. After several long minutes, he slammed the hood closed, wiping his hands on a rag he had tucked in his back pocket. “There’s no point in fixing this car.”

  “What? Why?”

  “There’s something wrong with the engine. I’d have to take a more exhaustive look at it, but it’s burning oil, it’s stalling, and I’m guessing the reason it’s stalling is because there’s something wrong with the engine. The amount of money you’d dump into it isn’t worth it. You need a new car.”

  “Fuck.” I kicked the car tire again, wishing I could just set it on fire.

  David chuckled, a low, rumbling noise that I found sexy even when I was massively pissed off. “Don’t hurt yourself on account of this car. It’s shit.”

  “We’ve already established it’s shit, David. You don’t need to keep saying it every five seconds.” I glared at him. He grinned, one side of his mouth quirking up higher than the other and his dimple showing.

  “Come back to the shop. I’ll help you out.”

  “I don’t want to drive a fucking car from the sixties.”

  “I have more than classic cars, and even if I didn’t have s
omething you’d want, I have friends who own car lots. We can figure out what you like.”

  I crossed my arms over my chest, narrowing my eyes at him. He really wasn’t going to fix my piece of shit car and I was really stuck here. “Fine.” We crossed the pavement back to his shop and he placed his hand on the small of my back, guiding me up the stairs.

  His office was beautiful with a large desk and a view that overlooked the whole fenced-in lot. The cars parked there were in various states of disrepair, a few even had whole pieces missing. David sat behind his desk and motioned me to sit in the chair across from him. It wasn’t until this moment that it fully dawned on me that he didn’t work here; he owned the damn business.

  “What kind of car would you like?” He opened a notebook in front of him and scanned the pages.

  “One I can afford.” Clearly, I was out of my league.

  “You’re in luck. I just got in a used 2007 Mercedes CLS550. I think it’d be a good fit.” His eyes flitted over me before he turned back to the papers in front of him.

  “David, I can’t afford that.”

  He leveled his gaze at me. “It’s a used model and not as expensive as a newer one.”

  “How much are you selling it for?”

  Before he could answer, Mia bounced into the room carrying coffee mugs. She set them down on the desk and kissed David on the cheek. “How is everything going with the car trouble?”

  “It’s a shit car. She’s going to get a new one.” David smirked at me.

  “Oh, no! That sucks, but you’re in the right place.”

  “Go back to work, Mia.” David didn’t even look at her. Mia winked at me and bounced back out of the room. Who talks to someone that way? He stared down at the papers, flipping through them. “It’s a very affordable car.” His gaze came up again and he must have seen the shock on my face. “I’m sorry. My sister is just excited. She’d stand here all afternoon and talk your ear off.”

  “She does love to talk.”

  This earned me a half smile. “Let’s go look at the car and then you can make up your mind.”

  “David, I’m telling you I can’t afford a Mercedes.”

  “It’s a used car. It’s less than twenty grand and, for you, I’ll sell it to you for what I paid for it plus the little bit of work and cleaning it needed.”

  “Why would you do that for me?” I blurted the words before I could stop myself.

  He stilled, the smile dropping off his face. “Because you helped me. I’d been looking for a house for my sister for months, and I was beginning to think she’d end up moving in with me. I love my sister and my niece. Under normal circumstances, that wouldn’t be an issue. Her husband . . . that’s a different story.” His blue eyes were stormy. Clearly, he didn’t like his brother-in-law. He stood and motioned for me to follow him.

  This time, instead of walking through the showroom, we went through the garage. Every car he had in here was clearly a classic. Most of them were muscle cars, though a few were more sporty and sleek. I saw a Mustang like the one he drove, except it was blue with a pair of thick, white stripes running over the hood and roof. David caught me staring at the cars and grinned. We left the garage and went to a fenced in area where there were some classic cars that needed serious work and a few newer model cars and SUVs. My eyes landed on a silver car and I immediately wanted it. The lines were sleek and sexy and it seemed to scream out to me.

  We stopped right in front of the car. “This is the Mercedes.”

  I was a goner as soon as I saw it, but now I wanted it. Badly. This car was perfect with black leather interior. David opened the door and let me slide in. With my hands on the steering wheel, I looked up at him. “How much is it?”

  He smirked knowingly. “For you, fifteen grand.”

  I could do fifteen grand. I could make that car payment and I didn’t even know how much the car payment would be. “I’ll take it.”

  He chuckled. “You don’t want to test drive it?”

  “I can?”

  “Love, you shouldn’t buy a car without seeing how it handles.” He spun the keys around his finger once before handing them to me. He went around and buckled himself into the contoured passenger seat. I turned the key and the engine purred. The fucking car purred.

  One of David’s employees opened a wide gate in the fence and I crept along until we got to the highway, then I opened it up and sped off. The car drove like a dream, smooth and effortlessly.

  There was no way I was walking away without this car.

  After a half hour, I drove back into the parking lot of David’s garage. I put it in park and turned to David. “I love this car.”

  “I knew you would. Let’s go in and start the paperwork.”

  I followed him into his office. He was all business now, getting forms and documents out. I watched him work and even like this, strictly business with his brows furrowed, he was undeniably sexy.

  The paperwork took forever and I could swear David flirted with me throughout the entire process. He tucked hair behind my ear. When I had paperwork to sign, he leaned over my back, his breath tickling my ear and his chest so close it brushed against me every time he inhaled.

  He left the room briefly and my phone rang. “Hello?”

  “What’s up?” Harper answered.

  “Not much. I’m just buying a new car.”

  “Are you kidding me? Tell me about it!” I gave her the basics, mostly that it was amazing and it actually started reliably. I had checked that, turning the car off and on at least three times before climbing out. As I was describing it, David came back and went back to his end of the paperwork. “That’s so awesome, Roxie. I’m happy for you!”

  “Thanks.”

  “Anyway, my husband is going out of town for the night and I wanted to hang out with you. Let’s go to a club.”

  “Which one?”

  “I don’t know. One with good music.”

  I laughed. “Harp, most clubs have good music. Let’s check out that new one. What’s it called?”

  “Sky Lounge?”

  “Yeah. Sky Lounge. Let’s meet there at like ten tonight?”

  “Sounds perfect, Roxie. I’m so excited to see you!”

  “I’ll see you then. Bye, chick.”

  We hung up and David was still buried in his paperwork. I’d have been surprised if he even remembered I was in the same room.

  Finally, after forever, he handed the keys over to me. I was so excited that I threw my arms around his neck, hugging him and squealing. His hand came to the small of my back and I stiffened. His hand was so low it was almost on my ass and his other hand came up behind my neck, cradling me close. This felt too intimate for our business relationship. That’s all we were. People who did business together. I had to remember that.

  “Thank you, David. I really appreciate this. I love the car.” I tried to go back to being professional, but his eyes bore into me.

  “I’m glad I could be of assistance, Roxie.”

  My breath caught in my throat and my knees weakened. The way he said my name did things to me that were completely inappropriate. Especially in public while fully clothed. I turned and walked into the parking lot, toward my new automobile. David’s hand went to the small of my back. Again, a seemingly innocent gesture felt intimate and charged when David was involved. As I approached my car, I saw the backseat had the few personal belongings that had been in my old clunker. “You moved my things?”

  “I figured I’d taken up enough of your time.”

  If only he knew how much of my time I really wanted him to take up. “That was nice of you.”

  He reached out and grabbed my hand. My breath caught in my throat and I swallowed hard, hoping I didn’t look as affected as I was. “I guess I’ll see you at the walk-through of the house next week.”

  His words held an innuendo that I couldn’t quite figure out right at the moment. I had trouble navigating his words. “I’m looking forward to it.”

&
nbsp; He slipped a card out of wallet and handed it to me. “If you need anything, have any questions, concerns, or any issues with the car, please don’t hesitate to call me.”

  I looked down at the card. The name of the garage was embossed in silver font on a black background. The card was thick and clearly expensive. It was clear he made good money. I was surprised. I didn’t realize classic cars were that profitable. “Well, thank you again.”

  “I’ll see you later, love.” He smirked.

  I climbed into my new car and drove away, still flustered from being in David’s presence.

  THE MUSIC FROM inside the club was blaring so loudly the interior of my new car vibrated with it. I felt so sexy in this car. I loved it so much and couldn’t stop staring at it. I texted a picture of it to Harper, Cassie, my mom, coworkers, and anyone else I could think to send it to. Cassie went through the roof, thinking I just put myself into debt over a car. I assured her that it was all good.

  And this car was definitely all good.

  Inside the club, I ordered a Sex on the Beach. It was my lucky drink. Whenever I drank it, I always ended up with a seriously hot guy. None were as hot as David, but he was a tough act to follow.

  I was meeting Harper here and I needed to get rid of the tension that coiled in my veins. I’d been on edge all day since I left David. He stirred desires in me, causing me to burn like I was on fire. My drink appeared in front of me and I handed the bartender some money when my phone chimed with a text.

  Harper: Please don’t hate me. I have to bail. Hubs came home early. I’ll make it up to you! I promise! Love you xo

  I scowled. I didn’t see her out like this often, but somehow her douchebag husband always managed to show up. They were way out of the honeymoon stage, so they should be way over fucking like rabbits.

  Apparently not.

  “Imagine seeing you here,” Kurt said from beside me. I turned and hugged him, surprised and relieved. Harper’s ditching me, again, was erased at seeing my old friend.