Chapter 5
Kelly had just opened the bookstore on Monday morning, when Emma walked in balancing a bag from the Clarkston bakery and two steaming cups of coffee.
“You’re an angel,” Kelly said, relieving Emma’s burden. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to stay away for long!”
Emma had just given birth to Ava a few weeks ago, but as the owner of A New Chapter, she was having a difficult time staying away. “I promised Zack I would only stay for a few hours,” she said. “Just long enough to get a few things done and to talk to you about Damian.”
“What about Damian?” Kelly said while she reached into the bag and pulled out a cinnamon sugared donut.
“Well, how did it go on Friday night? We haven’t had a chance to talk since then, and I’m dying to know.”
“Not much to say,” Kelly replied before she bit into the yummy goodness of the donut.
“Oh, come on. You two sat outside for quite a while alone, so there must be something to tell.”
Kelly rolled her eyes. “And you thought I was the hopeless romantic!”
Emma fished a double chocolate donut out of the bag and waited for her friend to spill. She didn’t have to wait long.
“Damian and I called a truce. We’re going to play nice at least up through your wedding, but that was all we agreed to. Nothing else.” Kelly knew that she sounded disappointed, but Emma was her best friend, and there was no reason to hide her feelings.
“I wouldn’t call living in your apartment complex nothing!”
Kelly almost choked on her donut. “Wait, what? Did he already get a place?”
Emma smirked. “Yep, and he happened to mention that he’s in the building directly across from yours. You two are going to be neighbors!”
Kelly’s eyes grew as big as saucers. She had known it was a possibility, but now that it was a reality…
“So, what do you make of that? Out of all the possible residences in the Clarkston area, he chooses to live right next to you!”
Kelly was afraid to be optimistic. “I’m sure he chose the apartment because it was within his budget and he was anxious to have a place of his own. It has nothing to do with me.”
“Hmm…we’ll see,” Emma said and wiggled her eyebrows.
“Em, I know you would like it if Damian and I got back together, but don’t hold your breath. I’m afraid that ship has sailed. Besides, I’m dating Ken, remember?”
Emma cocked her head to one side. “I thought you weren’t sure about him. How can you date a guy who’s into healthy living when you’re sitting there eating a donut?”
Kelly giggled. “There’s nothing wrong with eating healthy, but if I indulge once in a while, Ken doesn’t have to know.”
“Says the queen of cheeseburgers and fries.”
“You’re one to talk!”
“I know, but at least Zack doesn’t mind. Anyway, I think it’s awesome that you and Damian are going to be neighbors.”
Before Kelly could respond, the front door chimed, and in walked Mrs. Simmons, an eighty-year-old grandmother who happened to be one of their best customers.
“Good morning, Mrs. Simmons. How can we help you today?” Kelly asked and gave her a bright smile.
“You can help me by starting that romance book club we talked about,” she replied gruffly.
“Romance book club?” Emma asked, directing her inquiry at Kelly.
“While you were busy having a baby, Mrs. Simmons asked me to host a romance book club meeting at the store. She and several of her friends are interested.”
“I think that’s a great idea! I wish we’d have thought of it sooner.”
Kelly shot her a scolding look. “I don’t know, Em. I’m not really into public speaking. I prefer to keep a low profile.”
“Nonsense!” Mrs. Simmons proclaimed. “You’re young and beautiful. Now is not the time to keep a low profile. Look at me, still going strong at eighty!”
How can I argue with that? “Ok, fine. But if it’s a disaster, don’t say I didn’t warn you!”
Emma smiled and turned to Mrs. Simmons. “We’ll work out a date, and you’ll be the first to know.”
“Thank you, dear,” she replied and then disappeared into the romance section.
“Thanks a lot, Em,” Kelly hissed.
“Hey, you’re the expert on romance novels, not me,” Emma said and walked away.
If only I could be as good at romance in real life…
The next few days passed quickly, and Kelly drove home from the bookstore on Friday evening with the entire weekend stretched out before her. Emma had insisted that Brett and Jill could handle the store for the weekend and that Kelly deserved some time off. Kelly should have felt grateful, but she actually felt let down. She had half-hoped that Ken would call her for a date, but her phone had remained silent. Now the weekend loomed ahead of her with no plans in sight.
Kelly had just started to prepare a mental list of chores that she could do when she pulled into the apartment complex and spotted Damian’s black truck parked in front of the building across from hers. The tailgate was down, and there were several packing boxes stacked inside.
Kelly parked her Jetta in her assigned space, checked her reflection in the rearview mirror, and caught sight of Damian sauntering toward her. Kelly took a deep breath, smoothed down her skirt, and stepped out of the car.
“Hey, neighbor,” he said with a dazzling smile.
“Hey,” she replied. Now what?
“Just get home from work?” he asked, eyeing her up and down.
“Yeah. Congratulations on your new apartment. That was fast.”
“Yep. I don’t mess around,” Damian said and leaned against the tailgate of his truck.
Kelly took in his usual attire of faded jeans and a graphic t-shirt, which today sported the Chevy logo in large black letters across the front. He wore the same worn-in work boots that she had seen on him numerous times before but never tired of. Damian was not a man who dressed to impress, and the truth was, Kelly admired that about him. He simply was who he was, with no apologies. She’d never seen him put on airs or adjust his behavior to fit in. He was a man who was definitely comfortable in his own skin, and oh, what glorious skin it was…
“Is that all of your stuff?”
“Yeah, why?”
“It doesn’t look like much. There’s no furniture.”
Damian chuckled. “I need to buy some. I only had the essentials shipped here from California.”
Kelly guessed that the number of boxes in his truck would barely contain all the clothes in her closet! “Well, then that explains why you didn’t need help moving in!”
“Actually, this is my third load. I could have used some help earlier, but Zack was at work, and my dad was on the golf course.”
“Ah, well, don’t let me interrupt. Go back to your unpacking and…welcome to the neighborhood,” she added flippantly. Kelly had just turned around to head to her own apartment when Damian called out…
“Wait.”
She stopped mid-stride and faced him again. “What?”
“You busy tonight?”
Uh-oh. “Um…”
“Because I was thinking about ordering Chinese take-out, and if you’re not busy…”
Kelly eyed him suspiciously. Was this part of the whole calling-a-truce plan, or did he have an ulterior motive? Because if he did, she would not make it easy on him this time. There was no possible way!
“Never mind. Forget I asked.” With that, Damian turned around, hopped into the back of his truck, and bent over to pick up some boxes, which provided Kelly with a perfect view of his…
“Chinese sounds good,” she blurted.
Damian set the boxes back down and slowly stood up.
Damn the man for having such a hold on me! But she had to eat, and her refrigerator was currently void of food. It was a practical solution, but she would definitely draw the line at dinner.
“Cool,” he said. “I
f you want to change, I’ll order the food, and you can come over in a few minutes.”
She put her hands on her hips and quirked an eyebrow at him. “I thought you said you didn’t have any furniture?”
Damian nodded. “Good point.”
“Have them deliver the food to my place, and you can come over here.”
If Damian’s smile could have spread any further, it would have fallen right off of his ruggedly handsome face.
“What? Did I say something funny?”
“No. It was nothing. I’ll be over in a few.”
Kelly was still confused as she walked up the stairs to her apartment. It wasn’t until she had stripped down to her bra and panties that understanding struck. “Oh, I get it now. I said that he could come over here.” She giggled and then shook her head. “Damian, you are one naughty boy, but I’ve got news for you. Nobody’s coming under my roof tonight!”
Just to prove her point, Kelly pulled on an old pair of gray sweatpants with the letters MSU printed down one pant leg, and a matching green and white MSU t-shirt. Not her best look, but nothing said “hands off” like an old pair of sweats! She even resisted the urge to touch-up her hair and padded out to the living room barefoot to await Damian’s arrival. She idly flipped through a fashion magazine until her doorbell rang.
“Come on in,” she called. She set the magazine aside but remained seated. She didn’t want to jump up and answer the door lest she appear too eager.
Damian strolled in looking the same as he had a few minutes earlier, yet there was something different. The smell of his spicy cologne wafted in with him, along with the scent of mint from either his mouthwash or toothpaste.
That rat! He had obviously “spruced up” before he had come over!
Damian raked his eyes over her and smirked. “You changed into something more comfortable, I see.”
Kelly rolled her eyes at him. “What time will the food be here?”
“They said about fifteen minutes,” he replied, taking a seat on the opposite end of the couch.
Observing him leaned back against the puffy couch cushions reminded Kelly of the times they had made love there, and she swallowed hard. Searching for a neutral topic, she asked, “So, what are you doing for work?”
“Remember that guy you saw me with at Hilltop the other night?”
“The older gentleman?”
“Yeah. His name’s Jim Farrell. He owns a custom car shop up the road in Ortonville. I worked for him before I moved to San Diego. Anyway, he’s getting ready to retire, and I plan on taking over his shop.”
“Wow, really?”
“Why is everybody surprised when I tell them? I’ve got brains, you know!”
Kelly giggled at the sly reference to his buff body. Whenever she used to compliment his physique, he’d counter with, “I’ve got a mind too.”
“I know you do. This is just the first I’ve heard of your plans. I think it sounds great.”
“Yeah, well, I still have a lot to learn about the business end of things, but Jim’s going to work with me until I get it figured out.”
“What’s the name of his shop?”
“Jim’s Custom Cars. Not very original, I know. I’ll have to change the name.”
Kelly’s brain started whirring—she was a marketing guru after all. “Maybe I could help you with that,” she suggested, her eyes lighting up.
“You’d want to do that?”
“Sure, why not? It’s what I do. I’m the one who came up with the name for the bookstore, and I’m the one who does most of the marketing for the store.”
“Yeah, but car stuff…”
Kelly put her hands on her hips indignantly. “It doesn’t matter what the product is, marketing is marketing.”
Damian crossed his arms over his chest and gazed at her intently. “Ok, smarty. So, what’s a chassis?”
“It’s…um…it’s that thing…um…”
“That’s what I thought. You don’t know a damn thing about cars!”
The sound of the doorbell saved Kelly from having to retort. Damian jumped up to get the door while Kelly went into the kitchen to procure the plates and utensils. The whole scene felt surreal; it was like she and Damian hadn’t missed a beat. They’d eaten Chinese in her apartment before and followed it up with heart-pounding, against-the-kitchen-counter…
“Here we are,” Damian said and set down the containers on the kitchen table.
When Kelly turned around with the utensils, he studied her inquisitively. “You ok? You look a little flushed.”
“I’m fine. I think I just stood up too fast.” Liar, liar, pants on fire! Literally!
Damian accepted her explanation and began to dish out the food. “I don’t suppose there’s any more beer in your fridge?”
“Actually, I picked some up on the way home from work the other day. Just because…you know…I felt like having a beer.” Her second lie of the evening! She had picked it up on the off-chance that Damian might visit her apartment again.
Kelly pulled two beers out of the fridge and plunked them down on the table.
“Thanks,” Damian said, and he shot her another one of those spectacular Kostas’s smiles.
They dug into the food with gusto, as they had every time they’d eaten together, and Kelly enjoyed their companionable silence. Maybe having Damian for a neighbor wouldn’t be so bad after all, as long as everybody kept their clothes on!
After they had finished eating and Kelly had put away their dishes, the silence turned awkward. If they had been dating, Kelly might have suggested watching a movie, or going out for ice cream, or… Who was she kidding? They would have most likely ended up in bed, but since that wasn’t happening, she wasn’t sure what to do.
Damian stood up abruptly and shoved his hands in his front pockets, a sure sign that he felt uncomfortable too. “I should probably get going,” he said and moved toward the door.
Kelly followed a few steps behind him. “Yeah, ok. Thanks for dinner,” she said.
“No problem.” Damian had one hand on the doorknob, but he suddenly turned around. “You know, I might ask for your help with some marketing stuff, even though you don’t know shit about cars.”
Kelly’s lips curled up in a satisfied grin. “You could teach me,” she said flirtatiously.
The air crackled between them. “Are you a good student?”
“I got all A’s and B’s in school.”
“You might get dirty.”
“I’m ok with that.”
Damian smirked, but Kelly stood her ground. “I’m good at what I do, Damian.”
“Don’t I know it!” He eyed her up and down and then opened the door.
“Goodnight, Kell,” he said and headed down the stairs.
Kelly watched him leave, and just before he was out of sight, she yelled, “Hey, you forgot your leftovers.”
“That’s ok. I know where you live.”
The last thing she heard was his deep chuckle before he disappeared into the night.
Chapter 6
His hands trailed up and down her bare arms, leaving prickles of heat in their wake, and her nipples tightened beneath her t-shirt.
“You want this just as much as I do,” he said, his voice deep and gravelly.
“Yes,” she whispered.
He tugged up the hem of her shirt and pulled it off in a quick swoop, baring her breasts to his hungry gaze. Then his fingers went to the drawstring on her sweatpants, and he slowly untied them, his fingertips barely grazing the skin above her waistband. He began to ease the pants down her legs when…
A loud rumble sounded. And then another, and then…Kelly woke with a start. She sat straight up in bed and looked around frantically. Where is he? He was just here a minute ago, undressing me. She glanced down at her MSU t-shirt and sweatpants, which were still perfectly in place, and sighed. It was just a dream. A hot, sexy dream starring her and Damian that she didn’t get to finish thanks to someone’s extremely loud v
ehicle.
Kelly heard the rumble again and hauled herself out of bed. She grabbed her robe off the bedpost and glanced at her bedside clock. Seven-thirty. Who was making all that racket at seven-thirty on a Saturday morning. Didn’t they realize that some people might still be sleeping, or trying to finish a really juicy dream? Kelly shuffled over to the living room window and peered out through the blinds.
There was the culprit, backing out of his parking space in his oversized, obnoxiously loud black truck! She watched Damian leave through the tiny slat, but not before he glanced up at her apartment. She let go of the blinds like they were on fire and backed away from the window hurriedly. She didn’t want him to think that she was spying on him after all. And why was his truck so loud anyway? She would have to teach him the proper etiquette for apartment living!
Since she was up, she put a pot of coffee on and thought about her plans for the day, which right now consisted of absolutely nothing. She could vacuum and dust, which would take all of twenty minutes in her tiny apartment, or she could get a head start on reading her new romance novel. It was a no-brainer.
After breakfast, Kelly showered and dressed, and she had just sat down with her new book when her cell rang.
“Hey, Em,” she answered, sitting cross-legged on the couch.
“Hey. How’s your weekend going?”
“Well, it’s been interesting so far,” Kelly replied, twisting a long strand of hair around her finger.
“How so?”
“Damian and I had dinner together last night,” she blurted.
Emma’s smile came right through the phone. “Really? How’d that go?”
“It was nice.”
“Nice? That’s all you’ve got? Nice?”
Kelly giggled. “We shared Chinese food and talked. That was all, Em. End of story.”
“Hmm…”
“I’m serious. He left right after dinner, but then this morning…”
“What about this morning?”
“The bugger woke me up out of a sound sleep with his obnoxiously loud truck.”
Emma laughed. “Sounds like you two are back in business!”
“Not like you think, but we might work together on the marketing for his car shop.”
Twice as Tempting Page 3