AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My attention snapped to his face. “What guests?”
“Come on, I’ll show you.” He dropped his focus to his tented jeans and began murmuring a few phrases, ones that included his brother’s name. Ah, he was trying to make his dick limp by thinking about his brother. Not a bad idea. Thinking of Anthony was a surefire way to kill the mood. For both of us.
“Ready?” I smirked when we’d yet to move, and he was still closing his eyes and mumbling. He must’ve been as hard as I was wet since it was taking a lot of effort to switch gears.
“I’ll try to be,” he said a moment later, his gaze shifting over my shoulder to the desk. “At some point, we’re christening your office.”
“Yes, please.” I chewed on my lip, then realized that would only encourage his cock to stand back at attention, so I quickly freed the dirty thoughts and my lip.
“You,” he hissed, then readjusted his jeans before tipping his head toward the door, and we went into the restaurant.
My heart about stopped when I saw the “guests” sitting at a booth by the bar talking to Enzo. Shocked, I abruptly spun around to face Ryan, my hands flying to his chest. “What? How?”
He grinned. “The guys I worked with in Monte Carlo happen to know Michael and Kate Maddox. Actually, Kate threw a party a few years back and Owen proposed to Samantha there.”
My mouth hung open. I was speechless. It really was a small world. “And you, what?” I asked once my voice worked again. “Called in a favor?”
“You wanted to meet them, right? Discuss the potential for catering gigs with Kate’s company?” He opened his free palm, directing me their way. “So, here they are. Now it’s up to you to land the deal.”
I peeked back over at the gorgeous powerhouse couple in my restaurant. From the looks of it, our bartender was opening a bottle of the Rossi label Chianti, too. Is this happening? “You really have me wanting to go back into that office and thank you in a much better way than with my words.”
He arched a brow, then held my chin and directed my eyes to meet his. “I owe you. Not the other way around. You gave me my life back, Talia,” he rasped. “A life I thought was over after I left the Teams.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
RYAN
ONE WEEK LATER
“It’s perfect. I don’t know what to say. Thank you.” I swiped through the images on my iPad that Noah had sent me.
“I was more than happy to do it,” Noah responded over the phone. I could hear his twins in the background, and I didn’t want to keep him when he was home with his family.
“Tell Grace and the kids hi for me.”
“Same for Natalia. Be in touch soon.”
I ended the call and tossed my phone into the open window of my truck, then looked over the blueprints once again.
At the sound of gravel crunching beneath tires, I turned to see my brother’s classic Mustang on approach. I was grateful he’d never sold it since Dad had just wrapped up restoring it before he’d passed. It was meant to be a gift for when Anthony turned sixteen, so it’d sat in the garage for a few years until he’d been old enough to drive it.
“You summoned me?” Anthony asked after closing the door. He’d left the engine running, and the radio on loud enough I could hear the familiar lyrics from an Old Dominion song through the closed windows.
I turned and pointed to the wide-open space. “I bought this plot of land. I would’ve loved to get the same location where Dad’s place had been, but it’s a parking lot for a grocery store now.”
“You’re really doing it, huh?” He came alongside me and folded his arms, studying the empty plot of dirt about five minutes away from Mom’s house. “Bringing back Rossi’s Auto Body.” He looked at me and smiled. “Dad would be proud.”
I swallowed the lump of emotion, not expecting his comment to hit me so hard. “I’ve had a lot of free time in the last few weeks, and I decided it was time to make it happen.” I handed him the iPad open to the plans Noah designed for me. Knowing someone who ran an architectural firm up in New York—well, when he wasn’t assisting Owen and his guys in ridding the world of evil—definitely came in handy.
“Mom still has a lot of Dad’s stuff in storage from the old shop. You thinking about displaying it?” He handed back the iPad.
“Yeah, for sure.” I swiped to another image, one of a vintage Porsche 911 that could use some love. “I was thinking about getting my hands on this, and maybe we could restore it together? What do you say?”
“This your olive branch?” Anthony arched a brow. “You finally ready to forgive me?”
I walked around him and put the iPad into the truck before facing him again, needing a minute to find the right words since I hadn’t really rehearsed this moment. “Car or not, I’m going to try and forgive you. It’s what Dad would’ve wanted.”
“But is it what you want?” His shoulders fell. “I don’t want you always doing what you think Dad or Mom wants. You have to look out for yourself, too. Do what’s right for you.”
