Twice as Tempting

by Susan Coventry

  With that job done, Kelly turned her attention to planning a grand reopening celebration for January, although they were still trying to decide on a name for Damian’s shop. They mulled it over during lunches, dinners, and donuts, and yes, even when they were in bed, and that’s where it finally struck her. Kelly was tracing Damian’s lightning bolt tattoo when she sat up straight and declared, “I’ve got it! Lightning Fast Autos!”

  Damian repeated the name a few times and then said, “Lightning Fast Autos, it is!”

  In between helping Damian, Kelly continued her work at the bookstore and started planning the next romance book club meeting. She had received nothing but positive feedback from the attendees of the first meeting, and a few more participants had jumped on board for the next meeting.

  Kelly was sharing the news with Damian over dinner one night while he listened intently, a quality that she loved about him. When she had finished talking, Damian set his beer down and said, “I have an idea.”

  “About the book club?”

  “Yeah. What about including a man’s perspective?”

  Kelly cocked an eyebrow at him. “Go on.”

  “I finished that book that you lent me. The one with the rich boss and the sexy assistant…”

  “You mean the book you stole from me?”

  “Borrowed. Anyway, I could come to your next meeting to represent the male point of view.”

  Kelly chewed on the inside of her cheek while she considered his proposal. “Are you serious about this?”

  “Sure. Why not? You’ve got enough estrogen in the club—why not add a little testosterone?”

  “A little testosterone?”

  Damian shrugged. “Ok. A lot. But I bet the ladies would love it! How many men do you know that read romance novels?”

  “I didn’t know any until I discovered that my man reads them!”

  “I’ll admit it. When I first started reading, I thought it was going to suck, but then I really got into it. I was actually rooting for Hudson and Lacey to get together!”

  Kelly almost spit out the slug of beer that she had just taken. “You even remembered their names?”

  “Yeah. Who has names like that anyway?”

  “This ought to be interesting.”

  “So, is that a yes?”

  “It’s a maybe. I need to give it some more thought. Besides, I’m still in shock that you would actually consider doing this.”

  “Anything for you, princess,” he said and clinked his beer bottle against hers.

  And the funny thing was, she was starting to believe him.

  Chapter 23

  Kelly should have known that the blissful feelings that she had been experiencing wouldn’t last. Just like a storm that suddenly gathers in the sky, she hadn’t seen it coming. She never could have predicted what happened at the Halloween party and how it would be connected to the conversation that she and Damian had had the night before.

  They had just finished eating dinner at her apartment and were sitting on her couch, flipping through the television channels, trying to find something worth watching. After a few minutes, they gave up, and Kelly suggested that they just talk. She had learned so much more about Damian since they had been spending so much time together, but there were still some major topics that they hadn’t delved into, and one of them was money.

  It had dawned on her that Damian would have needed a sizable amount of money in order to buy the auto shop, and she wondered where it had come from. Damian wasn’t a big spender, but he always offered to pay whenever they went out, and he never seemed concerned about his finances. Kelly hesitated to bring up the topic, thinking that it was really none of her business. However, if they were going to have a future together…

  “Did you know that money is one of the top three topics that couples fight over?” she ventured.

  “I’ve heard that. What are the other two?”

  “Sex and parenting.”

  “Hmm. Well, at least we can cross sex off our list,” Damian said, shooting her a toothy grin.

  “Yes, we seem to have a handle on that one.”

  Damian leaned in to kiss her, but Kelly pulled back. “Not yet. We’re still talking.”

  “Oh,” he replied, sitting up straighter. “What is it that you want to know, Kell?”

  “I was thinking that it had to have taken a lot of money to buy the shop, and I was wondering…”

  “Where I got it from,” he finished.

  “Yes,” she replied, relieved that he didn’t seem put out by her question.

  “Well, I have my grandparents to thank for most of it. When my dad’s dad died around six years ago, he left Zack and me a generous amount of money, with the stipulation that we use it for something worthwhile. He didn’t want us to squander it.”

  Kelly nodded, encouraging him to continue.

  “Zack was engaged to Alicia at the time, so he used his money to put a down payment on their house in Ann Arbor. Since I was single and didn’t have any debts to pay off, I invested mine.”

  “Ah, I see,” Kelly said.

  Damian shifted his body to face her. “The thing is, most of my money is tied up in this business, so until I start to turn a profit, things will be a little…tight.”

  “But I’m confident that the business will be successful. Aren’t you?” she asked, suddenly feeling nervous for him.

  “That’s the goal, but there’s also some risk involved. When I started out on this venture, I didn’t have anyone else to take care of. It’s only been me for such a long time, and I wasn’t worried. I don’t need a lot of ‘stuff’ to be happy, Kell. Give me a roof over my head, a decent car to drive, and some food in my belly, and I’m content.”

  Kelly took a moment to digest his answer while Damian studied her. “Just say it, Kell.”

  “I guess I’m pretty content too, although I don’t plan on living in this apartment forever. I’d eventually like to own a home and have some money left over to do some extra things, like travel. Don’t you want those things too?”

  Damian shoved his hands through his hair and looked at her with an unreadable expression. “Yeah, I do, but it’s going to take a while for me to get there. I’m not like Zack. I didn’t have my life all mapped out like he did, with the nice house in the ‘burbs, and the fancy car, and the money to fly off somewhere on a whim. I can’t give you what Zack and Emma have. At least, not right now.”

  Kelly wasn’t sure if he was referring to their “stuff” or their lifestyle, but she didn’t like Damian’s implication. “What’s wrong with wanting the things that I mentioned?”

  “Nothing, except that I can’t give them to you,” he repeated.

  “I’m not asking you to give me anything, Damian. I’ve worked hard all of my adult life to support myself, and I will continue to do so. I’m not looking for someone to take care of me.” At least, not financially.

  “How did we get on this shitty topic anyway?” he asked, still exasperated.

  “I brought it up, but I can see that it was a mistake.”

  Damian stood up and shoved his hands in his pockets. “It’s not your fault. I think I’m just overtired. Why don’t we finish this conversation another time?”

  Kelly stood up too and wrapped her arms around his waist. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean to cause an argument.”

  Damian just held her close and rubbed his hands up and down her back. Kelly thought about pulling him into the bedroom, but the air was still fraught with tension, and she was filled with uncertainty. Her fear was confirmed when Damian let go and said, “I should probably get going.”

  On previous Friday nights, Damian would have stayed over, or at least stayed late, but it was only ten o’clock. “You’re not staying?” Kelly asked, but she saw the answer in his eyes. He had begun to shut down, and there was nothing she could do but wait it out.

  “Like I said, I’m really tired, and we have to work tomorrow. Plus, we have the Halloween par
ty tomorrow night.”

  Excuses, all of them, but Kelly didn’t have the energy to argue anymore. “Ok. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

  Damian was already at the door, lacing up his boots. When he stood up, she was right in front of him, and she willed him to put his arms around her, but he didn’t. He simply leaned over and kissed her forehead, and then he turned abruptly and rushed out the door.

  That night, Kelly lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling, searching for answers that wouldn’t come. Money was obviously a hot-button topic for Damian, but why? And why did he sound almost accusatory when she told him about her goals for the future? Then there was the reference to Zack and Emma, whose lifestyle was comfortable but not extravagant. Damian seemed to be hung up on the idea that he had to provide for Kelly even after she had tried to convince him otherwise. Maybe it was his sense of pride that had caused such a negative reaction.

  Kelly racked her brain, trying to figure out if she had ever given him any indication that she wanted to be taken care of, but she came up blank. Finally, her eyes started to droop, and her body began to relax, but then another thought popped into her mind. Maybe this has nothing to do with me. Maybe it was her, the mysterious ex-fiancée, who made Damian feel inadequate. Does this woman still have a hold on him after all these years?

  Somehow Kelly got to sleep, because, the next thing she knew, her alarm was going off. She reached over and shut it off, and then burrowed back under her covers. She wasn’t worried about falling back asleep, because her mind was busy replaying last night’s conversation with Damian, and then a knock sounded at her door.

  Excited at the prospect that it was him, she shoved the blankets aside and rushed toward the door. Her hair was sticking out in every direction, and she still had sleep in her eyes, but she didn’t care. She just wanted to see him and be assured that everything was all right. She heard the rumble of his truck and spied the note sticking through her door crack at the same time. “Damn,” she muttered, frustrated that she had missed him.

  Curious, she extracted the note and read…

  Sorry about last night. I brought a little something that I hope will make you smile. Looking forward to tonight. Batman

  Kelly shook her head, because she was smiling already! She swung the door open, and there was the bag in its usual spot with a steaming cup of coffee next to it. “And he thinks I need a lot of stuff to be happy!” Kelly scoffed as she hurried into the kitchen with her treasures. Before she gave into temptation, she picked up her phone and sent him a text.

  Catwoman thanks you, and I will thank you in person later! xoxo

  She set her phone down, thinking that he wouldn’t be able to text her until he got to work, but she was wrong.

  Batman is seriously looking forward to that! xoxo

  Satisfied that their argument was behind them, Kelly dug into the donut bag. She hesitated before biting into the second donut, considering that she had to get into her Catwoman costume that night, but then she decided, “Ah, what the hell?”

  It wasn’t until later, when she was actually squeezing into the costume, that she regretted her earlier indulgence. Once the suit was on and she had surveyed herself from all angles, she was pleased. When Kelly and Damian had gone to the costume shop a couple weeks earlier, they had agreed not to show each other their costumes until the night of the party. Now Kelly was anxious for him to see her, and vice versa.

  She slipped the eye mask into place and unzipped the black catsuit a touch further to provide Damian with a peek of her cleavage. Black elbow-length gloves and four-inch high-heeled boots completed the costume, and her long dark hair lay smooth and sleek down her back. She swiped a deep red lipstick across her lips and declared herself ready.

  And she was just in time, because the doorbell rang, announcing Batman’s arrival. “Your Batmobile awaits,” Damian said from outside the door.

  Kelly giggled and swung the door open to find the best-looking Batman she had ever seen standing before her. “Holy smokes, Batman!”

  Damian was also cloaked in black from head to toe, and all that she could see of him were his sparkling brown eyes and his chiseled jaw. The suit fit his muscular body to a T, and underneath the exaggerated contours of the costume, Kelly knew that the real thing was even better! His pose made him look dark and menacing, but the smile he gave her showed the true Damian, the man with the soft heart underneath all that muscle.

  “Do you know what that outfit makes me want to do?” he asked.

  “Tell me,” she teased.

  He ran a gloved fingertip down the middle of her chest until it landed on the zipper. He gave the zipper a little tug to reveal even more cleavage, and she squirmed under his penetrating gaze. “It makes me want to strip you out of it, because I can tell that you don’t have a stitch of clothes on underneath.”

  “Ha! I could barely zip this thing up as it was,” she said. “There’s definitely no room for anything else under here.”

  Damian leaned in, his eyes darker than they were just a minute ago. “I think there’s room for my hand or my tongue,” he said, and he flicked his tongue out at her.

  Kelly swatted him on the arm, which he obviously didn’t feel because of the bulkiness of the costume. “As enticing as that sounds, we have to go. Emma and Zack are expecting us in five minutes.”

  Kelly took a step forward, but Batman blocked her way. “Uh-uh. First, we zip you back up. I don’t want anyone else getting a peek at the goods.” Damian zipped her suit back up to her neck and said, “There, that’s better.”

  Kelly was about to argue but thought better of it. The last thing she wanted was another disagreement between them. Besides, tonight was all about having fun.

  They pulled up to Zack’s house a few minutes later, and Kelly spotted Gracie waiting expectantly at the front door. Emma had asked them to meet there so Gracie could see all of them in costume. The plan was for Zack and Emma to drive separately in case Emma was overtaken with the urge to leave the party early. Even though Mrs. Kostas was babysitting, Emma was still a new mom who occasionally suffered from separation anxiety, as she liked to remind everyone on a regular basis.

  When Damian and Kelly stepped out of the car and approached the house, Gracie’s hands flew to her mouth, and her eyes grew wide. “Uncle Damian? Is that you?” she asked, peering up at him.

  “No, it’s Batman!” he said and picked her up while she squealed with delight.

  Once he set Gracie back down, she looked at Kelly and giggled. “You look like a pretty cat,” she said.

  “Well, thank you, sweetheart.”

  “Come in and see Mommy and Daddy!”

  It struck Kelly that Gracie had referred to her soon-to-be stepmom as “Mommy,” and Kelly felt a twinge of envy. And it wasn’t because of the well-appointed two-story house or the nice cars sitting out in the driveway. No, it was much more basic than that. It was because Emma was truly loved—by Zack, and Gracie, and baby Ava, and…

  “Catwoman? You ok?” Damian asked.

  “Yeah. I’m fine,” she said and took his hand as he pulled her into the living room.

  Emma and Zack, a.k.a. Wonder Woman and Superman, were posed in front of the fireplace, and Alex Kostas was rapidly snapping pictures of them while chatting incessantly.

  “Look who’s here!” Gracie exclaimed as Kelly and Damian entered the room. Everyone exchanged enthusiastic greetings and appraisals of each other’s costumes before Alex demanded that Kelly and Damian pose for pictures too. The four of them had fun hamming it up for the camera until Zack announced that it was time to go.

  “If we don’t leave now, Ava will wake up, and I won’t be able to get Emma out the door,” he explained.

  “Good thinking, Clark,” Kelly said to a round of laughter.

  Alex and Gracie walked the four of them to the door, and the superheroes were treated to hugs and kisses all around before Zack ushered them out.

  “This ought to be a riot,” Emma said to Kel
ly as they teetered down the sidewalk in their heels.

  Kelly would think back on those words later and wonder how a night that had started out so wonderfully had turned into a complete disaster.

  Chapter 24

  Beth Thompson lived in a Tudor-style home in an upscale neighborhood of Rochester, a prosperous community with a thriving downtown district. When Kelly and Damian pulled up to the house, there were already several cars there, and the front porch was decorated with flashing black and orange lights. Damian parked his truck behind Zack’s Range Rover, and they all headed for the door together.

  “We don’t have to stay long,” Kelly whispered to Damian as he tugged on his costume.

  “I’ll stay as long as you want to, princess,” he said and took her hand.

  Beth greeted them at the door in a 1950s style poodle skirt and tight sweater, with her blonde hair pouffed out in a bouffant. She took turns hugging Kelly and Emma and then asked to be introduced to their dates.

  “There’s plenty of food and drinks in the kitchen, so help yourself!” she said before flouncing off to greet some other guests.

  The foursome made their way to the kitchen, stopping along the way for Kelly and Emma to say hello to some of their friends. There were a lot of people in the house already, but it was hard to tell who was who behind the costumes. The superheroes received a lot of appreciative glances from the men and the women alike, but when one guy, who was dressed like a police officer, paid a little too much attention to Kelly, Damian quickly gathered her to his side.