Page 93 of Twice as Tempting

Chapter 30

On the day before they were leaving for Florida, Damian came strolling into the bookstore around lunchtime.

“Mind if I borrow Kelly for a while, Em?” he asked, leaning casually against the front counter.

Kelly watched the transaction with curiosity, because, so far, Damian hadn’t even said hello to her!

“Sure. No problem.” Emma replied, smiling brightly.

Kelly cleared her throat loudly. “Sorry to interrupt, but nobody asked me,” she said, trying to sound irritated. But she had already discovered that it was impossible to stay mad at Damian for long, especially when he looked so scrumptious in his Carhartt jacket, Levi’s, and scuffed work boots. He wasn’t shaving as often these days, and the extra facial hair added to his rugged masculinity.

Damian bowed. “Oh, I’m sorry, princess. Would you do me the honor of accompanying me to lunch?”

Emma giggled, and Kelly shot her a look that said, Don’t encourage him!

“That depends. Where are you taking me?”

“It’s a surprise. But let’s not waste time talking. Yes or no?”

Before she could answer, Emma handed Kelly her coat and purse. “Get out of here, you two. I have work to do.”

When they drove out of the parking lot, Kelly tried to get the surprise out of him, but the man was as stubborn as a mule.

“Patience, Kell. You’ll see in a few minutes.”

When Damian turned off the main road onto a residential street, Kelly was bursting with curiosity. She was very familiar with the area, and there were definitely no restaurants on that road. Damian remained quiet, but a small smile graced his handsome face as they pulled into a gravel driveway that was lined with tall trees.

“Damian?”

The driveway was sloped, and when they climbed over the slight rise, a house came into view. It was a white-sided Cape Cod-style house, with black-shuttered windows and a wraparound porch. There was a two-car attached garage, but Kelly also spotted the roof of a large pole barn poking up from behind the house.

Damian pulled up close to the walkway and shut off the engine. There were no other cars in the driveway, and no one came out to greet them. Kelly opened her mouth to ask more questions, but Damian was already out of the truck and coming around to help her down. He took her hand and started up the brick-paved walkway, but Kelly planted her feet and refused to move.

“What are we doing here? Tell me what’s going on, Damian.”

“I will, but it’s cold out here. Let’s talk inside.”

He tugged on her hand, and this time, she followed him. When they reached the front door, Damian dug a key out of his jacket pocket and inserted it into the lock. Kelly’s heart pounded rapidly in her chest when she realized that this must be the house that Emma had mentioned on ladies’ night. But she was still confused, because there wasn’t even a for sale sign in the yard.

Once they were inside and standing in the foyer, Damian started talking. “So, I’ve been restoring an old Mustang for this guy, Ray. Anyway, we got to talking, and he mentioned that he was going to put his house up for sale in the spring.”

Kelly’s pounding heart was making her feel uncomfortably warm, and she shrugged out of her jacket as Damian continued.

“So, I asked him about it, and he showed me a few pictures on his phone. I told him that I was currently living in an apartment but that my lease was up in the spring…”

“This is Ray’s house, then?”

“Yes. And here’s the good part… Ray is willing to forego contacting a realtor and will sell it to me himself if I’m interested. We even discussed trading the work I’m doing on his Mustang for a down payment, although by the spring, I should be in a much better financial position, and that might not even be necessary.”

Damian usually didn’t talk this much unless he was really excited about something or he was in trouble, so Kelly knew that this was important to him, but she still wasn’t sure where she fit in.

He must have sensed her confusion, because he locked his hands on her forearms and stared directly into her bewildered eyes. “I brought you here because I wouldn’t want to buy a house unless you liked it too.”

Kelly swallowed nervously. “I’m not sure what to say, Damian. What exactly are you getting at?”

“Well, the way I see it, why should we keep separate apartments when we spend all our time together anyway? And you said that you didn’t want to live in an apartment forever, and neither do I, so…”

“You want us to live together?”