Kelly pulled on the cozy fleece blanket that was draped over the back of the couch and snuggled beneath it. I’ll just close my eyes for a minute, she thought. The next thing she knew, she was being lifted, very gently, into Damian’s arms.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked sleepily.
“To bed,” he replied.
In the past, that would have meant one thing, but now he simply tucked her under the covers—alone. He leaned down and placed a brief kiss on her lips. “Sleep well, beautiful.”
And she did.
Chapter 19
“So, what’s the final count for the book club meeting?” Emma asked.
Kelly couldn’t believe that it was already the end of September and the book club meeting was only one day away. The last few weeks had flown by, between work and seeing Damian, and dreaming about Damian…
“Kell?”
“Oh, sorry. There are twelve confirmed and two maybes.”
“What about Sam and Nikki?”
“They’re confirmed.”
“Yay! I can’t wait to see them.”
Sam (short for Samantha) Sullivan was an elementary school librarian who frequented the store on the weekends when she was looking for something “adult” to read. Kelly and Emma had taken an instant liking to her and had even met her for a ladies’ night out on occasion. Sam was married to Jason, a much younger man, and they had two beautiful children, one boy and one girl. Jason had come into the store with Sam a few times, and not only was he young, but he was charming and obviously head-over-heels for Sam.
Nikki (short for Nicole) Branson was a well-known and respected real estate broker in town who was also an avid reader. She split her time between Clarkston and Los Angeles, as she was married to Nate Collins, a famous Hollywood actor and heartthrob. Kelly and Emma didn’t get to see Nikki very often, but whenever she came into the store, they chatted about books and the latest Hollywood gossip. Kelly and Emma had met Nate once, when they had run into Nate and Nikki at a local restaurant, and even though Nate was incognito, they found him to be warm and friendly.
“Are you nervous?” Emma asked.
“You know, I was at the beginning, but now I’m looking forward to it.”
“Me too!”
“You’re going to be there for sure, right?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t miss it.”
“Damian told me that he’s going over to your house to help Zack with the girls.”
“I know. I love how close he and Zack have become. And of course, the girls adore Uncle Damian.”
“That makes three of us,” Kelly said and then covered her mouth with both hands.
“It’s ok, Kell. It’s me you’re talking to. I already know that you’re crazy about him.”
“Yeah, well…”
“And the feeling is mutual. I’m sure of it.”
“How can you be sure if I’m not?”
Emma raised her eyebrows. “Really, Kell? Don’t you see the way he looks at you?”
“That could just be pent-up lust.”
Emma burst out laughing. “Well, that’s your own fault for imposing all those rules.”
“I know. How stupid am I?”
Emma placed a hand on her arm. “You’re not stupid. You’re going slow this time, and I think it’s admirable.”
“That’s one word for it, but frustrating might be a better one.”
“Just think about how great it will be when you two finally get together.”
“Oh, I do, believe me. I only hope that Damian can wait that long.”
“He’s waited this long, hasn’t he?”
Kelly decided to skip the story about the episode on the couch. “Technically, yes.”
Emma didn’t ask any follow-up questions. Instead, she glanced at her watch and said, “Since I’m here and it’s kind of slow today, why don’t you go and surprise Damian at his shop?”
“I don’t know, Em.”
“Why not?”
“I’ll be seeing him this weekend when we go for the tuxedo fitting, and then we’re meeting on Monday to work up a marketing plan. Things are going well right now, and I don’t want him to get spooked.”
“I hardly think that stopping by his shop to say hello is going to spook him, but I suppose you know him better than I do.”
“That’s just it. Sometimes I think I know him, but then he shuts down on me. Did Zack ever tell you that Damian was engaged?”
“He mentioned it, but he didn’t go into detail. Anyway, that was a long time ago. I’m sure Damian’s over it by now.”
I’m not so sure, Kelly thought. And then it struck her that Damian’s fiancée had abandoned him, in a way, and probably had made it difficult for him to believe that another woman wouldn’t do the same. That was why he retreated at times. That was why it had been easy for him to walk away from Kelly the first time around. Well, she wouldn’t make it so easy for him to walk away this time. She would show him that she wasn’t going to abandon him, or tire of him, or do whatever it was that that woman had done to him.
“You know what, Em? I think I will pop in on Damian. Thanks for the idea!” Kelly hurriedly grabbed her purse from the office and headed out the door.
“You’re welcome,” Emma called.
When Kelly pulled into the parking lot of the auto shop, there was another car parked alongside Damian’s truck. It’s probably Jim’s, Kelly thought and then questioned her decision to stop by. She didn’t have a legitimate reason to be there, and Damian was working after all. Kelly glanced at her watch and realized that it was almost noon. Perfect! I’ll ask him out to lunch.
When she entered the front door of the shop, a bell chimed to announce her presence, and she waited to see if Jim or Damian would arrive to greet her. Her face fell when a gorgeous young blonde girl came around the corner instead.
“May I help you?” the young blonde asked.
Kelly guessed the girl’s age to be in the low twenties—not quite old enough to be considered a woman, although she had the body of one. Slightly taller than Kelly, she was busty, and her t-shirt with Jim’s Custom Cars printed across the front stretched tightly across her breasts. She wore snug skinny jeans and Converse sneakers (another sign of her age), and her long blonde hair fell in soft waves to the middle of her back. What struck Kelly the most was the girl’s confident, almost arrogant demeanor. It was if she were well aware of how striking she was and used it to her advantage—probably to make men fall on their knees and to make women (like Kelly) bristle with envy. Kelly could usually hold her own around such women, but with Damian in the picture, she felt the sharp prick of jealousy at the base of her spine.
“Yes. I’m here to see Damian Kostas,” Kelly replied.
The girl sized Kelly up too and, with a look that said she found Kelly lacking, asked, “And you are?”
“His girlfriend. Kelly Cruise.” That was the first time that Kelly had pulled out the girlfriend card, and she decided that she liked the sound of it. A lot. She gave blondie a smug smile.
“Huh. Funny, he never mentioned you before.”
“I could say the same about you. And you are?”
“Lexie Farrell. I’m the owner’s niece.”
She said the last part proudly, as if Kelly should be impressed that her uncle owned the shop. Ha! Silly girl!
Before Kelly could respond, Damian stuck his head around the corner, and seeing Kelly there, he broke into a wide smile.
“Hey,” he said, and then he must have felt the tension in the small space because he added, “I see you’ve met Lexie.”
“Yes. We were just getting to know each other,” Kelly said with a forced smile on her face.
“You never mentioned that you had a girlfriend,” Lexie accused.
Kelly caught the flash of disappointment on Lexie’s face while they both awaited Damian’s response.
He shot his brows up at Kelly and then shoved his hands in his jeans pockets, a telltale sign of nervousness
if ever there was one. “Well, I, uh…”
“Damian likes to keep his private life private,” Kelly said and then took a step closer to him. “Right, sweetie?”
“That’s right,” he muttered and looked back and forth between them as if he were trapped between two venomous snakes.
Kelly decided that he’d suffered enough—for now. “I came to see if you could get away for lunch.”
Damian glanced up at the wall clock and looked relieved. “Lunch sounds great. I’ll go wash up and meet you outside.” He scurried back into the shop before Kelly could reply, which left the two cobras alone.
He may have wanted Kelly to wait outside, but her job wasn’t done yet. “So, Lexie, what are you going to do for work when your uncle retires?”
Lexie narrowed her eyes at her opponent. “I was planning on asking Damian if I could stay on until I find a real job. I’m graduating from college in December, but it might take me a while to find something.”
“What field?”
“Human Resources.”
Figures, Kelly thought, a fluff job! Although some people said the same thing about her marketing degree.
“You ready?” Damian asked, reentering the room with a look of surprise that Kelly was still standing there.
“Yes,” Kelly said distractedly.
As they walked toward the door, Lexie called out, “Don’t forget about your one o’clock appointment, Damian.”
He just nodded and practically shoved Kelly out the door.
Kelly didn’t speak until they were a half a mile down the road. “Is A&W ok?”
“Sure.”
There was an old-fashioned drive-up A&W nearby, and Kelly pulled up next to the speaker and shut off her car. She placed their order for Coney dogs, fries, and root beer and then turned sideways to face Damian.
“Just curious. How come you never mentioned your co-worker before?”
“Kell…”
“Just answer the question.”
“I don’t really think of her as my co-worker. She’s Jim’s niece, and she only works part time. I didn’t think it was important.”
“Just like you didn’t think that it was important to mention me to her?”
“Kell…are you…jealous?”
“Ha! Right! Jealous of a teeny bopper? No way!”
“She’s not a teenager; she’s twenty-two years old.” At her scowl, he added, “Not that it matters.”
“Did you know that she wants to stay on after she graduates?”
“No.”
“Well, you better break the news to her soon.”
“What news?”
“That she won’t be staying. As your marketing consultant, I would highly recommend against it.”
Damian tilted his head back and burst out laughing. When his laughter subsided, he said, “And that advice would have nothing to do with jealousy?”
“I just don’t think it would be a wise business decision. You need to portray a professional image to your customers, so the front desk person should probably be an older, more mature person, and preferably a male.”
Damian laughed again. “I’ll take that under advisement.”
The carhop roller-skated over to deliver their order, which put a temporary halt to their conversation. As they tucked into their food, Damian kept shooting her glances until she finally said, “What?”
“I never figured you for the jealous type. I’m learning new things about you every day.”
Kelly wiped a glob of mustard from the corner of her mouth and replied, “Well, ordinarily I’m not. However, I could tell by the way that girl looked at you that she’d like to rev your engine.”
“That’s too bad, because there’s only one woman who does that for me.”
They faced each other again, and Kelly melted under his gaze. “Me?” she asked hopefully but with a fair amount of confidence.
“You,” he confirmed.
It was difficult to finish eating after that because Kelly had a large lump in her throat. Her man of few words always managed to captivate her with just one. When they pulled up in front of the auto shop a short time later, Lexie’s face was there through the window, as if she had been anxiously awaiting Damian’s return.
“Instead of me telling Lexie that you’re my girlfriend, why don’t we just show her?” Damian said with a sparkle in his eyes.
“Great idea,” Kelly said.
He leaned across the console and pressed his lips to hers. At first, Kelly thought they would exchange a few chaste kisses, but when he pried her mouth open with his tongue, she suddenly forgot all about their performance. She moaned against his lips and flung her arms around his neck to pull him closer. The kiss only lasted for a minute or so, but when they pulled apart, they were both panting. When Kelly finally remembered their audience, she glanced over at the window. Lexie glared at her for a second and then turned on her heel and disappeared behind the counter.
Damian kissed her again, a quick peck this time, and said, “See you tonight?”
She nodded and watched him walk away, admiring his broad shoulders, narrow waist, and fine backside. Oh no, she wasn’t going to let Lexie or any other woman get their hands on him. She was going to be the only one to rev his engine, and she smiled as she drove away, because, according to him, she was!
Chapter 20
Kelly found him in the shop standing next to a long creamy white car with tailfins.
His head swiveled around when he heard the click of her heels on the cement floor, and he broke out with a huge smile.
So sexy, Kelly thought as she approached him. “She’s a beauty,” she said, adopting the language he used when he referred to cars.
“That she is. A vintage 1965 Cadillac Eldorado.”
Kelly walked around the car and peeked into the windows. “Wow, the backseat is huge!”
“Hop inside and test it out.”
“What? No, that’s ok.”
“Oh, come on.” Damian opened the back door and motioned for Kelly to get inside. She hesitated for a second but then slid across the creamy leather seat, and he climbed in after her, shutting the door firmly behind him. Suddenly, the roomy interior felt very intimate with Damian’s large frame beside her.
He patted the seat and said, “Perfect for making out, huh?”
Kelly’s eyes locked on his, and she read his intent. “This is someone else’s car,” she protested as he slid closer to her.
“They’ll never know,” he said, and he buried his head in her neck.
Kelly’s head automatically tipped back to allow him greater access, and with each kiss, she forgot that they were in a stranger’s car in the shop, where someone might come upon them at any moment.
And then his hand grazed her thigh and disappeared beneath her skirt. “Damian…not here…we shouldn’t…”
He muffled her protests with his lips and tongue and then slipped a finger inside her panties.
“You’re the one, Kell. You’re the only one who revs my engine,” he repeated over and over and over until…
“Damn,” Kelly groaned as she slammed her hand down on the alarm clock. “Just when I was getting to the good part!”
“What was your favorite part of the story and why? Who wants to start?” Kelly asked. The romance book club meeting was in full swing, and Kelly was enjoying herself immensely. It was an eclectic group of women, ranging in age from twenty-five to eighty-five, but they all had one thing in common—they loved to read romance novels!
Mrs. Simmons’s friend Irene raised her hand enthusiastically. “The sex,” she stated to an appreciative round of laughter from the group.
Another hand shot up—this time from Samantha Grant, who was there with her friend Leslie. “The sex scenes were juicy. However, it was the chemistry between the main characters that made it so good.”
“I agree,” added Nikki Collins, who had brought her assistant, Rosa. “To me, that’s the most important aspect of a romance novel. It’s
not the sex itself, but the rapport between the characters that makes it so enjoyable.”
“That goes for real life too,” said Elizabeth, another friend of Mrs. Simmons. The women laughed again and nodded their agreement.
“How did you feel about the theme of forbidden love?” Kelly prodded.
Jenna, the youngest member of the group, raised her hand. “I liked the theme of forbidden love because I can relate to it. I have a serious crush on my boss, but I know that he’s off limits.”
“Why? Is he married?” asked a middle-aged woman in the back row.
“No. It’s just because he’s my boss, and I wouldn’t want to compromise his job or mine because of a crush,” Jenna replied.
“Smart girl. There are plenty of other fish in the sea,” Mrs. Simmons said adamantly.
“But I can’t help but wonder if he has feelings for me too,” Jenna said with a faraway look in her eyes. “Sometimes, the way he looks at me...”
The women gave a collective sigh, lost in their own tales of love, until Samantha’s hand shot up. “I experienced a kind of forbidden love too,” she admitted, twisting her hands together as if to gather courage. “I fell in love with a man who was seventeen years younger than me. He was still in college when I first met him.”
The room went quiet, and Leslie squeezed Sam’s hand reassuringly.
“What happened?” Irene asked.
“I married him, and now we have two beautiful children.”
A few women clapped, and more than a few teared up. Kelly started to wonder if the meeting was becoming too personal, but then she realized that none of the women seemed to mind. Everyone in the room had experienced love in some form or another, and they related to one another no matter their age or status.
“Why do we read romance novels, and why do we love them so much?” Kelly asked, scanning the room.
“Because they make us feel things,” Jenna ventured.
“You can say that again,” shouted Irene while she fanned her face with the book.
When the round of chuckles died down, Nikki’s hand went up. “Because they give us hope,” she said. “And they remind us that there is a special someone out there for each of us.” Rosa smiled proudly at her boss, and there were murmurs of agreement among the group.
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