Kelly’s heart skipped a beat, and then her stomach dropped and her brow furrowed.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have asked,” Damian said in response to her disgruntled expression.
“No, no, it’s not that,” she said, which brought a smile back to his chiseled face. “It’s just that I already have plans.”
The smile disappeared. “Oh. Ok, then.”
Kelly wanted his smile back. She wanted to pull him behind the counter and wrap her arms around him. She wanted him to…
“Ask me again? Another time?”
“Yeah. Sure.”
The store phone rang, interrupting their awkward exchange. Damian gave her a brief wave and left while Kelly picked up the phone.
“A New Chapter. How can I help you?”
“It’s me,” Emma said.
They hadn’t spoken since the babysitting incident, and Kelly was happy to hear her friend’s voice.
“Hi.”
“I’m sorry,” they said in unison and then broke out in giggles.
“I really am sorry,” Kelly repeated. “And I promise not to ruin your wedding. It’s just that Damian’s got me so tangled up I can’t think straight.”
“What now?” Emma asked.
“Well, he just left the store after I turned him down for a date tonight.”
“You turned him down? Why?”
“Because I already have plans with Ken.”
“The vegan?”
“He’s not a vegan. He eats chicken and fish.”
“Can I give you my opinion?”
“By all means.”
“Stop wasting your time on Ken when you know that you’d rather go out with Damian tonight.”
“Well, it’s too late for that. It would be rude of me to cancel on Ken. Besides, I can go out with Damian another time.”
“Ok, but Damian’s not going to chase after you forever. The man has his pride.”
“I know.”
They went on to talk about store-related things, but when Kelly hung up, her thoughts returned to Damian. Why did he have to ask her out tonight of all nights? It wouldn’t be fair to cancel on Ken again, although she was considering it when Mrs. Simmons reappeared at the counter.
“He’s the one,” she said. “The Adonis I was talking about.”
“Yes. He’s the one,” Kelly said.
Just before the end of her work day, Kelly made up her mind. She dialed Ken’s number and tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for him to pick up. When he didn’t answer, she was somewhat relieved, but then she had to explain to his voicemail why she couldn’t go out with him. In the end, she left a rambling message apologizing for the last-minute cancellation and for leading him on. She mentioned that there was someone else but didn’t go into details. When she hung up, she felt a twinge of guilt but decided that honesty was the best policy.
Her next call was to Damian, but he didn’t answer either. Instead of leaving a message, she decided to try and catch him at home. When Kelly pulled into the parking lot and saw his empty parking space, she swore. She had just gone from having two potential dates to having none. Maybe I’m being punished for cancelling on Ken.
And then it struck her that Zack and Emma might know where Damian was.
“It’s your lucky day,” Emma said a few minutes later. “Damian and Zack are having a beer at Clarkston Tap. They just left a little bit ago.”
Kelly breathed a sigh of relief. At least Damian wasn’t out with another woman.
She hurriedly changed from her work clothes into something a bit more provocative. Her loose dress pants were exchanged for a snug-fitting pair of skinny jeans, and the conservative blouse got traded in for a silky tank top. She removed the elastic ponytail holder and let her hair fall in soft waves down her back. Shiny gold hoop earrings took the place of her demure diamond studs, and out came the strappy black sandals with the four-inch heels. A fresh coat of mascara and a swipe of lip gloss, and she was ready to go.
Kelly hadn’t given much thought to what she would say to Damian—she just knew that she wanted to see him. She squelched the flutter of nerves in her belly while she parked her Jetta, and then she walked into Clarkston Tap. The place was a small bar/restaurant that catered primarily to the locals. Kelly had only been there one other time, and that was with Damian months ago. The low-key, simplistic vibe suited his personality perfectly…and there he was, a standout (along with his brother) among the crowd of men who were seated around the bar.
Several pairs of eyes turned her way as Kelly made her way over to him, but she barely noticed. Damian and Zack were watching sports on one of the overhead television screens, but it was almost as if Damian sensed her presence. He swiveled around on the bar stool and locked eyes with her, the corners of his lips turning up in a wide, sexy grin.
Her nerves instantly vanished when she saw his reaction, and she returned his welcoming smile.
Zack finally noticed the shift of his brother’s attention, and he turned to greet Kelly as she approached.
“Hey. Look who’s here! Did you come to relieve me?” Zack teased.
Damian gave him a playful shove. “Hey, I was doing you a favor, not the other way around!”
Zack hopped off his stool and offered it to Kelly. “I warmed it up for you,” he said.
Just then, a waitress came over and asked for Kelly’s drink order. She ordered a Coors Light and then turned her attention to Damian.
“Hi,” she said playfully.
“Hi, yourself,” he said.
Zack cleared his throat noisily. “You know what? I’m going to let you two do…whatever it is that you two do, and I’m going home to my soon-to-be wife.”
“Don’t let me chase you away,” Kelly said, but she didn’t sound very convincing.
“No worries. Damian and I had just about used up our allotment of words to each other anyway.”
Damian smirked and took a long slug of beer.
“Tell Emma I said thank you,” Kelly said.
“Will do. See you two kids later.”
“Thank you for what?” Damian asked after Zack had left.
Kelly flipped her hair over her shoulder. “For letting me know where to find you.”
“I thought you had plans tonight,” he said, searching her eyes for clues.
“I cancelled them.”
“I’m glad.”
And then they were at a standstill. There were so many things that Kelly wanted to say to him, but she wasn’t sure where to begin, and the bar probably wasn’t the best place for a serious discussion.
Damian must have felt the same way, because he suggested, “Want to get out of here?”
“Sure,” she said and then slugged down the rest of her beer.
“Wow! That was hot,” Damian said as they were leaving.
She gave him a flirtatious glance over her shoulder. “I have many talents.”
“Oh, I know you do,” he said and followed her out the door.
Chapter 10
“Where do you want to go?” Damian asked as they walked across the parking lot.
Why does everything that comes out of his mouth sound seductive?
“We could go to my place so you can check out the new furniture,” he suggested before she had time to respond.
He winked at her, and the memory of the two of them on the mattress at the furniture store came rushing back to her. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea,” she replied.
“Come on, Kell. Stop thinking I have an ulterior motive every time we get together.”
“Ok, fine. But I’m coming over to see your furniture and to have a discussion. Nothing else.”
“I got it,” he said and opened her car door for her.
She slid in and rolled the window down.
“Beat ya home,” he called and raced across the parking lot to his truck.
Kelly giggled at Damian’s playfulness. She had certainly seen signs of it before, but she realized that there was
so much more to learn about him. The weeks they had spent together eight months ago had been filled with fun: dinners out, the holidays, and lots and lots of sex. But then it had ended so abruptly when he had returned to California, and not seeing him or talking to him had left a deep void inside of her. She hadn’t even realized how deep until he had returned looking hotter than ever and seemingly still interested in her. But this time, she was going to take the driver’s seat. She refused to lay herself out for him on a silver platter like she had the first time, only to have him walk away.
No, this time, he was going to have work for her, and on the drive back to their apartment complex, she figured out how.
“It looks… nice in here,” she said after he had shown her around his apartment.
“I know it’s not as homey as your place, but I’m still working on it,” he said. “Do you want another beer?”
“No, I’m good,” she said as he extracted one from the refrigerator for himself.
There was only a sofa and the new black leather recliner in his living room, so Kelly took the chair. Less chance for any contact that way.
Damian looked at her when he came back into the living room, shrugged his shoulders, and sprawled out on the couch. “So, what do you want to talk about?” he said.
Kelly glanced at him while he leaned back against the couch cushions in his torn jeans, faded t-shirt, and work boots, and then swallowed nervously. You can do this, you can do this, she chanted to herself.
Damian took a long pull on his beer and waited.
“I have a proposition for you,” she began.
Damian raised his eyebrows but remained quiet.
“I think it’s pretty clear that we’re attracted to each other.”
“Um-hmm.”
“And we already know that we’re good together in… certain ways.”
“Go on.”
“But I think we should use the next few months, from now until Emma’s wedding, to really get to know each other. To start over in effect.”
Damian cleared his throat and sat up straighter. “But we do know each other, Kell.”
“You think so? Then what’s my favorite color?”
Damian looked her up and down and replied, “Blue.”
“Lucky guess. What are my parents’ names?”
“I have no idea.”
“Exactly! That’s what I’m talking about. We don’t truly know each other, Damian. We were only together for a matter of weeks before, and we spent most of that time… “
“In bed,” he finished proudly.
Kelly scowled at him. “Yes, and we’ve already established that that part of our relationship works, but what about the rest of it?”
“What rest of it?” Damian looked confused.
Kelly sighed. “We need to determine if we really like each other as people, not just as lovers.”
Damian gazed at her intently for what felt like several minutes, as if weighing his options. He must have sensed that she was serious and that he was being tested. Finally, he said, “So, sex is off the table. So to speak.”
Kelly nodded. “For the next three months.”
“No kissing?”
Kelly stared at his lips and decided that maybe she could make an exception. “Some kissing would be ok, as long as it doesn’t lead to… “
“How about touching?”
She glanced at his hands, one of which was wrapped tightly around his beer bottle, and the other that rested casually along the back of the couch. Oh, what those hands have done to me! “Maybe a little bit of touching.”
Damian looked skeptical. “Why are you doing this, Kell? Tell me the real reason, because I know it’s not just about your favorite color or your parents’ names. Where is this coming from?”
Kelly squirmed under his intense scrutiny. She had bared her body to Damian before, but not her heart, not her soul. If this was going to work, she owed him an honest answer, so she plunged ahead. “All my adult life, I’ve given myself freely to men, and what do I have to show for it? A string of failed relationships, that’s what. And I think it’s because I’ve been going at it backwards. Instead of taking the time to develop something real, I’ve jumped right in and gotten ahead of myself. I’ve decided that I want something more than just a fling. I want someone to want all of me, and I want to feel like I’m worth the wait.”
Damian took a long slug of his beer and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “So, for the next three months, we date and get to know each other without the sex.”
At least he didn’t laugh at me or tell me to leave. “Yes,” she said softly.
“But some kissing and touching is allowed.”
His attempt to understand the rules made her giggle. “Yes, but we can’t get carried away.”
“You know that this is going to be torture for me, right?”
“It won’t be easy for me either,” she admitted.
“And after the wedding is over…”
“The ban is lifted, assuming you still want me.”
“Oh, I’ll still want you.”
Kelly swallowed hard. “So, do we have a deal?”
Damian leaned across the couch and held out his hand. “Shake on it,” he said with a sparkle in his eye.
When she slid her hand into his rough warm grip, she almost called the whole thing off. Just the feel of his skin against hers and the memories of the pleasure he’d brought her in the past made her tingly from head to toe.
Damian smiled seductively, and she knew that it was going to be game on! If she was willing to “torture” him, he would do the same to her. The next three months were sure to be a bumpy ride!
“Ready to go?” Damian asked.
It was the following afternoon, and Kelly had the day off, so Damian had asked her to come with him to check out the auto shop. Kelly had left his apartment shortly after their discussion the night before, even though Damian had suggested they watch a movie together. She hadn’t wanted to tempt fate by sitting in his darkened apartment on a Saturday night, so she had begged off early with the promise that she would accompany him to the shop the next day. She figured that this was the perfect outing for their first official “date,” because a dirty auto shop didn’t sound overly romantic, yet she was curious about where he worked.
“So, should I be asking some questions to learn more about you?” Damian teased.
“Sure. Fire away.”
“What’s your favorite movie?”
“Gone with the Wind,” she answered immediately.
“Rhett or Ashley?”
“Rhett!”
“How come?”
“Because he’s so much hotter than Ashley. The dark hair, those eyes, that smile…”
Damian chuckled. “Frankly, Scarlet…”
“I wouldn’t have thought you’d like it too.”
“I didn’t say I liked it, but I’ve seen it a few times. My mom’s a huge fan.”
“So, what about you? What’s your favorite movie?”
“Die Hard.”
“Now that sounds more like you.”
Damian smiled. “Bruce Willis is a badass in that film.”
While she was enjoying their exchange, Kelly wanted to go deeper than learning about his favorites. “Why’d you leave Michigan the first time?”
Damian’s smile instantly disappeared, and he tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “I wanted to get away.”
“Yes, but why?”
He sighed, recognizing that she wasn’t going to drop the subject. “Broken engagement,” he replied cryptically.
Kelly’s eyes widened. She’d had no idea that Damian had been engaged, and why would she? They hadn’t taken the time to share their stories before. “I didn’t know…”
“Well, now you do.”
Maybe she should have let it go, but she couldn’t. He had piqued her curiosity, and once that happened, there was no stopping her. “What happened?”
Damian shot her a we
ary glance and then trained his eyes back on the road. “We met in high school, junior year. After graduation, she went off to MSU, and I stayed home. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life, but I knew that college wasn’t for me. During her second year, we got engaged, but we decided to wait until she graduated to get married. A few months later, she decided that we were too different. We didn’t have the same goals, or some shit like that. Anyway, I left for California shortly after.”
Kelly was flabbergasted. The idea of Damian having been engaged was hard enough to wrap her head around, but the pain in his voice when he told the story was equally mind-boggling. That woman must have really hurt him to cause him to leave the state. Was she the reason that Damian was still a bachelor? Who was this woman, and why did Kelly have the inexplicable urge to punch her? Or maybe I should be thanking her. If Damian had gotten married, Kelly wouldn’t be sitting next to him right then. She would never have known what it was like to kiss him, touch him, be with him.
Damian glanced over at her as if he were waiting for further questions. “So, that was it? You never saw her again?” Kelly asked.
“I heard that she got married a couple years later, but that’s all I know. It was a long time ago, Kell. I’m over it.”
But was he really? Kelly had her doubts, but she decided to keep them to herself for now.
“Here we are,” Damian said, sounding relieved as they pulled into the gravel parking lot in front of Jim’s Custom Cars.
The shop was a white brick building with two large roll-up doors and an attached office space on the right. The building was neat but unremarkable, and the marketing side of Kelly’s brain was already plotting ways to make the building stand out. Damian used a key to let them in the customer entrance, and there was enough light streaming in through the large glass windows for Kelly to get a good look at the office space. It was sparse but clean, and featured a high wood-paneled front counter, a small waiting area with a few hard plastic chairs, and a water cooler. A glass-topped table held an assortment of car magazines, many of which Kelly was familiar with from working at the bookstore. A functional gray metal desk and matching file cabinets were positioned behind the counter, and framed photos of various cars and trucks covered the back wall.
Twice as Tempting Page 6