Page 44 of Twice as Tempting

They talked for a little while longer, and then Kelly spoke to her dad for a few minutes too. When she hung up, she thought more about asking Damian to join her in Florida for Thanksgiving. True, she had already been around his parents plenty of times, but initially it was because of Emma and Zack. If Kelly asked Damian to go with her to Florida, he might get spooked. He might feel like that was too serious a step, or even worse, it might remind him of his broken engagement. Surely, he had formed ties with his fiancée’s family, but where were they now? Kelly was still contemplating the idea when the store phone rang, and she saw Emma’s name on the display.

“Hey, Em.”

“Hey. How’s business today?”

“Dead, as expected.”

“That’s what I figured. Why don’t you close up, and take the rest of the day off.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I feel bad about you sitting there when it’s such a beautiful day outside. You should be out enjoying it along with a certain handsome Greek man.”

“Too bad Zack is taken,” Kelly teased.

“I was talking about the other one!”

“Unfortunately, he had to work today too.”

“Well, why don’t you stop by his shop and surprise him? Maybe you can convince him to kick off early too.”

“Now that’s an excellent idea.”

“I’m full of them.”

“You’re full of something!”

“Hey! Maybe I should rethink giving you the afternoon off.”

“Don’t you dare. I’m outta here. See you tomorrow at the barbecue.” Kelly hung up the phone without saying goodbye. She had a tall, hunky Greek man to go see, and she couldn’t close the store fast enough!

A short time later, armed with bags of sandwiches, chips, and sodas from Rudy’s Market, Kelly entered Damian’s shop. The front door was propped open, so the bell didn’t ring to announce her arrival. Kelly set the bags down on the front desk and peeked her head into the shop itself. A radio blasted out Def Leopard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me” while Kelly peered around for Damian.

A slight movement caught her eye, and there, sticking out from underneath a bright orange 1969 Pontiac GTO, were Damian’s scuffed work boots. Kelly smiled at the sight of them, and just as the song ended, she called out, “Anybody home?”

Damian rolled himself out from underneath the car and sat up on the creeper. Even though his face and clothes were smeared with grease and his hair was rumpled from lying down, he looked absolutely delicious. His grin said that he was happy to see her too, and she felt the air crackle around them.

“Hey. Didn’t expect to see you here.”

“The store was dead, so Emma let me close early. I brought lunch.”

“Awesome. Let me wash up, and I’ll join you in the office.”

Kelly returned to the office area and set up a makeshift picnic with the food and drinks. It didn’t have quite the same ambience as a picnic in the park or on a beach, but there was something romantic about it all the same. It was them, she decided when Damian strolled into the space. Their chemistry is what made any place electric.

“Wow, Kell. This is great. I didn’t realize how hungry I was until now.”

“Well, dig in. I got you a Reuben, because I remembered that you liked it before…”

Damian shot her a look that told her he remembered too. The last time they’d had Rudy’s sandwiches had been after a particularly vigorous lovemaking session that had left them both famished.

Kelly averted her eyes and tucked into her own sandwich. “So, I see you have a new car to work on.”

“Yep, and she’s a beauty.”

“You said that about the Corvette too.”

Damian shrugged. “What can I say? I’m a car whore.”