Page 23 of Twice as Tempting

“Ok, then.”

They ordered a pizza from Rudy’s Market in downtown Clarkston, bought some beer to go with it, and took it to the park. It was the end of August, still warm but with a hint of fall in the air. Summer was winding down, which was always a letdown to Kelly, who loved the warm weather.

They sat across from each other at a picnic table under a large oak tree and dug into the pizza and beer. Other than a few murmurs about how good the pizza was, they didn’t talk much, but it was a comfortable quiet, and Kelly enjoyed it.

“So, how’s the car shop coming along?” Kelly asked once they had finished eating.

“Not bad. Jim’s been teaching me the business side of it, so I haven’t been able to get my hands dirty yet. He’s working on a custom Corvette job right now, and I’m dying to get under the hood.”

Kelly smiled at his description and at the way his eyes lit up when he talked about cars. She might not know much about them, but she understood his enthusiasm. She felt the same way about her job.

“I should bring you there sometime—show you around.”

“Get my hands dirty?” she teased.

“Or maybe you could just hand me the tools,” he teased back.

“I could do that.”

“Wouldn’t want you to break a nail,” he said and reached across the table for her hand.

Her traitorous hand slipped into his of its own volition. Kelly watched Damian rub his thumb back and forth over the top of her hand a few times and then looked up to find him staring at her.

Uh-oh. There was that look again, and she was fairly certain that the look on her own face matched it!

“We should probably go,” Kelly said, but she didn’t pull her hand away.

Damian nodded but made no move to get up. “Kell,” he began.

“No, Damian. Don’t say anything. This has been… nice. Let’s just leave it at that.”

He nodded again, but this time, he pulled his hand away, and Kelly instantly missed his warmth.

They were silent on the short drive back to their apartments. Before Kelly could open the passenger door to get out, Damian said, “Let me help you down.”

He hurried around to her side and gave her a hand while she carefully stepped out of the truck. “I need a stepladder to get out of this thing,” she said, smiling up at him.

“Not if you’ve got me,” he replied and smiled back.

They stood close together, wedged between his Chevy and the SUV parked next to him.

“Thanks for hanging out with me,” Damian said, and in a swift movement, he bent down and kissed her cheek.

It was a far cry from the kind of kiss he’d given her in her dreams, but it thrilled her in a different way, and she appreciated the gentlemanly gesture.

“It was…fun,” she replied, borrowing his word from earlier.

Just then, the owner of the SUV approached and motioned to his vehicle. Kelly and Damian broke apart to let the man get in his car, and the moment was lost.

She gave Damian a brief wave, turned, and walked across the road to her building. She didn’t look back until she was standing outside of her door with the key in the lock. When she glanced over her shoulder, he was still there, in the middle of the road, his hands tucked in his pockets, watching her.