by Ali Parker
“Well, yeah,” I said. “Obviously.”
“Obviously.”
We both laughed. Everything about being with Declan was easy. Laughing and talking. Hearing his stories about Mila. Even listening to him talk about Gamble Realty wasn’t as tough as I thought it would be. After the first few minutes, I realized he was telling the truth. This wasn’t a sales pitch. He really just wanted to have lunch, all business aside.
“Can I say something that might piss you off?” Declan asked after we were done eating.
“Go for it.”
“It’s impressive that you own a motorcycle repair shop,” he said. “Not many women could do what you do.”
I shrugged. “Sure they could,” I said. “Anyone can.”
“I’m not so sure about that.”
“It’s all about being taught,” I said. “I learned to repair bikes when I was just a kid. I’ve spent my entire life around motorcycles, figuring out how they tick. I could work on an engine before I knew how to add and subtract.”
“Damn.” Declan shook his head. “You’ve got me beat. I didn’t even pop a hood until the military.”
“Seriously?” I tried not to laugh, but a small snicker escaped my lips.
“Let’s just say I grew up privileged,” Declan said. “I hate to admit it because, honestly, rich kids suck, but that’s what I was. My family had money. We had people who did things for us. And, it turned me into a pretty shitty person there for a while.”
“At least you can recognize that,” I said. “Most people can’t.”
“The Army helped,” Declan said. “No one there cares how much money your family has. You pull your own weight, or you get left behind. It’s as simple as that.”
I nodded and watched him as his eyes fell to the table again. His guard was still up but less so. His face was softer, smoother. While I watched him, I noticed a thin layer of scruff covering his cheeks and chin. I swallowed hard and looked away, feeling my stomach tighten.
I’d been attracted to Declan the first time I saw him, but this was different. Deeper. The heat coursing through my body needed an outlet. My entire body longed to touch him. I didn’t know what had gotten into me, but I didn’t like it.
“I’ll be right back,” I said. I stood up quickly.
I practically ran to the bathroom and threw myself into the first empty stall I found. My head felt fuzzy. I sat down on the toilet and took a deep breath. My cheeks were flushed, and my skin felt alive with energy. I’d never felt like this before, but I knew immediately that it was because of Declan.
Having lunch with him was a mistake. My attraction to him was growing stronger every second. His soft side when he talked about Mila was enough to keep me wanting more. The way his eyes simultaneously darkened and lit up when he talked about the military made me want to know everything he went through. It was impossible that I already felt this way about a man I barely knew, a man who’d introduced himself to me under false pretenses.
Sitting in that bathroom stall, I suddenly remembered why I needed to keep my distance. Whatever else had happened, Declan was only in my life because he wanted to buy my father’s shop out from under me. That hadn’t changed.
I stood up and took a deep breath before I went back out to the table. Declan smiled when he saw me, but I kept my lips pressed together and my jaw tight. We were done eating, and I didn’t want to dawdle for another minute.
“We should probably go,” I said. “I have work to do at the shop.”
“Right,” Declan said. “Sure.”
He waved over the waitress and paid the bill, against my protestations, before we left. It was silent in the truck. I stared out the window and tried my best to remember who Declan really was. I’d let myself get distracted by his icy blue eyes and five o’clock shadow. I couldn’t let that happen again.
“Listen,” I said. We were almost to the shop, and there was something I wanted to say before we made it back. “I’m not selling the shop. There’s nothing that could ever make me change my mind about that. That shop is, well, it’s mine.”
Declan glanced at me with an unreadable expression. He nodded and turned his attention back to the road. We didn’t speak again until it was time to say goodbye.
“Thank you for lunch,” I said.
“Thanks for coming,” Declan said. “And thank you again for your help with the truck.”
“It was nothing.”
Declan looked like he wanted to say something else, but he stopped himself. Instead, he just smiled and nodded as I pushed open the door and got out of the truck. I didn’t turn around until I was inside, and by then, Declan was already pulling away.
I watched him go with a pit in my stomach.
“How was lunch?” Garret asked from behind me.
“It was nice,” I said without turning around.
It had been nice. Lunch was great until I ruined it on the ride back.
Garret looked at me suspiciously for the rest of the day. He didn’t press me for details, which I was grateful for because I wasn’t sure I could give them. My mind felt oddly blank as I tried to focus on work.
It was useless. The second Declan dropped me off, I regretted my decision to bring up the shop. He hadn’t once talked about buying the property. All through lunch, he’d kept his word. He wasn’t there for business, and yet, I made it about business. I let my own pride and insecurities ruin what was otherwise a perfectly nice afternoon.
I told myself it didn’t matter because that was the last time I would see Declan. Unless, by some random act of the universe, I came across his broken-down truck again.
17
Declan
“You ready?” Samson asked.
I glanced up from my computer with a frown. It was too early in the morning for me to read my brother’s mind.
“Ready for what?” I asked.
“To talk about the Tanner property,” he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Oh.” I squeezed my eyes closed and sat back in my chair. “Can it wait?”
“No,” Samson said stubbornly. “It’ll be quick, but I want to get things ironed out quickly before we lose our chance.”
“How would that happen?” I asked.
“Alex could sell to someone else while we’re still trying to come up with a game plan,” he said.
“That won’t happen,” I said.
“You can’t know that.”
He was right. I couldn’t know for sure, but after talking to Alex the other day, I felt certain. Samson didn’t give me a chance to tell him any of that, though.
“I don’t want to screw this up,” he said. “It’s too good of an opportunity.”
This was the last thing I wanted to talk about. My lunch with Alex was still fresh in my mind. I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her since I’d dropped her off at the shop.
Days later, I still couldn’t figure out what I did to upset her. Our lunch was going great. She loved my Mila stories, and I found every reason to make her laugh. Watching her green eyes light up with amusement had quickly become more enjoyable than my food. Then, without warning, something shifted. Her demeanor changed. Everything about her became heavier. I had no idea why or what I did wrong.
My secretary poked her head into the office and interrupted both Samson’s and my thoughts. She’d just gotten in and asked if we needed anything before she got to work. We both said no, and she stepped back out without another word.
I welcomed the interruption. It forced me to think about something other than Alex. But the second she was gone, I knew my thoughts wouldn’t be kept at bay for long.
The door swung shut behind her, and Samson immediately turned his eyes on me. I stifled a groan and tried to keep my face blank. He had on his best professional expression. I knew this was a conversation I wasn’t going to get out of. He was determined to have this discussion, and as much as I hated it, I had to let him.
“I talked to Barry,”
Samson said. “And he found two other properties within a hundred miles that would be perfect franchise locations.”
“For what?” I asked blankly. I thought he wanted to talk about Tanner Bikes.
“Tanner Bikes,” Samson said.
“You want to franchise it?” I asked, immediately thinking about how Alex would take that news.
“I want to consider it,” Samson said. “I ran the numbers again, and honestly, we could make a fortune. With the reputation Tanner Bikes has in the motorcycle community, the name alone would bring in a ton of business.”
“If that were true, the shop wouldn’t be on the brink of financial ruin.”
“That’s only because they haven’t been running it properly,” Samson said. “Alex, for all her good qualities, doesn’t seem to have a mind for business.”
“You don’t know her.” My tone was too defensive. I had to pull myself back quickly. “I mean, you’ve only met her once.”
“Twice,” Samson said. “Remember, she busted in here to scream at us.”
“Right.” How could I forget?
“And I know,” Samson said. “But it’s obvious. They’ve always run that place as a mom and pop shop. It’s a business built on the backs of loyal customers and personal deals. With a little marketing, it could be huge.”
“Because of the name?” I asked.
“Yes,” Samson said confidently.
“Which we wouldn’t be able to keep,” I said. “If Alex agreed to sell, which is a huge if, there is no way she would let us reopen using the same name.”
“What if we kept her on as a manager?” Samson asked.
I snorted and shook my head. He was insane. If he knew Alex at all, which he didn’t, he would know that she would spit in his face if he ever took that offer to her.
“Hear me out,” Samson said. “Alex wants to hang on to the shop for emotional reasons, right?”
“We don’t know that for sure,” I said. “She’s never mentioned what her reason is. She just refuses to discuss selling.”
“But, we can assume,” Samson said impatiently. “Even though the shop is clearly failing, she still refuses to even consider selling. It all points to straight up sentimentality.”
“That’s what I told you,” I said.
“And you were right,” Samson said. “But, I think that can actually work in our favor.”
“How?”
“If we pitch it like it’s her idea,” Samson said. “If we go to her as two guys who just want to help out. We can offer our assistance and promise she’ll be a huge part of maintaining the company. Hell, we can even keep her on as part owner. I don’t care how we do it. I just know there has to be a way to get it done.”
I was saved from having to respond by my secretary. She appeared in the doorway with a message from Frank’s lawyers.
“He’s trying to get out of the deal,” she said.
“I’ll take care of it,” I said.
She nodded and left Samson and me alone. I watched her go, my mind drifting further away with each step she took.
“I think we should take a vacation,” I said suddenly.
Samson fell silent and blinked. He stared at me blankly for a few seconds before he walked over to my office door and pushed it closed.
“Are you okay?” he asked boldly.
“What?”
“Are you okay?” he asked again. “Like, mentally?”
“What the hell are you talking about?” I demanded.
“You haven’t taken a vacation in five years,” he said. “And now, all of a sudden, you decide that’s what needs to happen?”
“Well, five years is long enough,” I said with a shrug.
“Declan, what’s going on with you?”
He sat down in his usual chair and stared at me. His eyes were nervous and full of concern. I sighed and leaned back. He obviously wasn’t going to let this go.
“I just want to get Mila out of town for a while,” I said. “She’s never really traveled. I’ve been working nonstop her entire life. I want her to have memories, good memories. This is a chance to do that.”
“Okay,” Samson said slowly. “So, why now?”
I shrugged. “No reason,” I said. “Just thought of the idea today.”
Samson didn’t believe me. Hell, I didn’t even believe me. My desire to get out of town had very little to do with Mila, but it was a nice excuse, and I refused to admit anything different.
“All right,” Samson said. “Where are you going?”
“Us,” I said. “All three of us.”
“Who’s going to run the company?” Samson asked.
“We’ll put Barry in charge.” I shrugged. “Or Hal. I don’t know.”
“And you’re okay with that?” Samson asked. “Just handing over the reins and leaving town?”
“It’s not forever,” I said. “Just a few days. Maybe a week.”
“Okay,” Samson said. He blinked and shook his head.
He was still suspicious of my reasoning, but he didn’t push it. I didn’t know what I would have said if he did. The truth was, I didn’t even know why I wanted a vacation. Samson was right. It wasn’t at all like me. I had never been the type to enjoy idle time. I liked a schedule, a to-do list, something to keep me busy.
Taking a vacation had occurred to me in the moment. Listening to Samson talk about Tanner Bikes made something click inside my head. All he wanted was to move forward with an offer. He was determined to make that property ours. Me? I couldn’t have cared less.
The idea of owning Tanner Bikes was nice in a way. It would bring in money. We could either sell it or keep it for ourselves. The possibilities were endless. Samson’s excitement was great enough for the both of us. I tried to feel the same level of enthusiasm, but it was impossible.
Because of Alex.
I couldn’t separate the Tanner Bikes property from Alex Tanner. To me, they were one and the same. Tanner Bikes was Alex. Alex was Tanner Bikes. I couldn’t think about one without immediately thinking of the other.
Samson didn’t know about my lunch with Alex. I thought about telling him, but I knew what he would say. That I was mixing business with pleasure. That I was doing the exact thing I’d always warned him against. And he would have been right.
The decision to take a vacation was a good one. It made sense. I really did want to get Mila out of town and give her a good memory to look back on. But I also wanted to hide. I wanted to run away from Alex and her repair shop. I wanted to avoid making a decision for as long as I could.
“I’ll talk to Mila tonight,” I said. “She should decide where to go.”
“Okay,” he said. “Before we leave, we should probably get an offer together for Alex Tanner. I know she’s going to be a difficult sell.”
“We’ll do it when we get back,” I said quickly. “No point putting it together now.”
“When are we going?” Samson asked.
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “Soon.”
“What do you think about taking a vacation?” I asked when I picked Mila up from school.
“What kind of vacation?” Mila asked.
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “I was just thinking we should get away for a few days. You, me, and Uncle Samson.”
“Like to Gram and Gramps’ house?” Mila asked.
“No, somewhere farther,” I said. “Anywhere you want. Think big.”
Mila frowned and looked out the window. It hit me that she hadn’t traveled outside of Virginia since she was a baby. The last time she’d left Virginia Beach was three months ago when she spent the weekend with my mother and stepfather.
She turned back to face me with a thoughtful expression. Her eyebrows were pulled together in concentration. Until finally, she seemed to come to a decision.
“Disney World,” Mila said with confidence.
“That’s where you want to go?” I asked.
“Yup.” She nodded. “I’ve never been, have I?�
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“Nope,” I said. “In fact, neither have I.”
“You haven’t?” Mila’s eyes widened.
“It just wasn’t something we did,” I said. “My parents took us all over the world, but Disney World wasn’t fancy enough for their taste.”
“I think Gram and Gramps would love Disney World,” Mila said.
“Maybe.” I laughed. “But remember, Gramps isn’t my dad. He’s my stepdad.”
“What was your real dad like?” Mila asked.
There wasn’t an easy way to answer that question, especially not to a little girl. I just shrugged and changed the subject. The good thing about Mila was that she was easily distracted. As soon as I started talking about all the things to do in Florida, her excitement overwhelmed everything else.
We got home that night, and I made all the arrangements. I talked to Mila’s school so her absences would be excused, called the airlines, and booked a hotel suite. Everything was in place by the time Mila fell asleep. All that was left was to call my brother.
“I talked to Mila,” I said. “We’re going to Florida.”
“Oh, hell, yes!” Samson said. “Miami, baby!”
“Disney World,” I said impatiently.
“Oh,” Samson said, clearly disappointed. “I guess that’s good too.”
“This isn’t a way for you to pick up chicks,” I said. “It’s a vacation with your niece.”
“I choose to believe I can have the best of both worlds.”
“Okay.” I rolled my eyes. “Just start packing.”
“When are we leaving?” he asked.
“Tomorrow.”
18
Alex
More bills came flooding in. Emptying my savings account had barely made a dent in things, and after a week, I already needed more.
I’d let myself get distracted by Declan. For a couple hours at lunch, I stopped thinking about work. I only thought about him. He occupied my mind completely until he didn’t. When I felt my worries fall back into place, I’d lashed out. I’d ruined what had been a nice lunch, and ever since, I hadn’t been able to get my mind off work.