Page 59 of Twice as Tempting

“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 thatwoman 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?”