Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
W hen she asked him to drop her a block away from the shop, Alex refused. He pulled his flashy Ferrari right in front and clasped her hand.
When will I see you again? he asked.
Her brothers read all those comics where the superhero s heat vision melted metal. Alex s gaze seemed to work only on her panties.
T-tonight? The reason they were sitting in front of the business had melted away, too. Why couldn t she go home with him right now?
He leaned across the console and kissed her, soft and lingering. Should I pick you up here? he murmured against her lips.
Here? Where was she, anyway? She glanced over her shoulder and saw the script Forza Elite Motors painted on the door. Shit. Her brothers were in there. She hoped they hadn t seen her kiss Alex.
She pushed away from him. No. I ll meet you at your office. Give you an excuse to stop working on a Friday night.
Perfect. I ll leave a keycard at the front desk.
A…keycard? The idea of a hotel hookup made her skin prickle.
I live in the penthouse. You can come straight up.
A nervous titter escaped her. Of course you live in the penthouse. She d forgotten for a moment this wasn t her friend from high school who knew all the video game cheat codes. He was a stranger who owned an entire hotel and was about to buy another.
But the beach had been fantastic. She d get to know the new Alessandro Villa. Who lived in a penthouse.
He stroked the inside of her wrist. Or I could meet you at your place.
Shivers raced up her arm and down her spine. While she liked the control he exerted in the bedroom, it was too much anywhere else. She d have more power if they went to her place. Yeah. I ll make dinner.
I don t want to make you cook. I ll bring takeout.
Okay. Then I ll make breakfast? What would it be like to wake up next to Alex in her bed?
Sounds perfect. He leaned in for another kiss.
She backed away. Let s, um…keep it on the down-low in front of my brothers, okay? For now?
He glared at the building over her shoulder. You think they ll object?
Let s just say I wouldn t want anything to happen to your new nose. I ll see you tonight. She pushed out the door and breezed into the shop like she d just stepped out of her Corvette and not a car that belonged on the set of the Fast & Furious movies.
Three stares met her. One incredulous and two infuriated.
What. The. Fuck? Michael was the first to roar.
So much for the down-low. Look, Alex thought I needed some rest. So, he took me to the beach. And we…reconnected.
Re? Connected? Evie s eyebrows disappeared under her bangs. I ve never known Alessandro Villa to date the same woman twice.
He isn t dating her twice, Michael growled. Because the first time, he stood her up. She cried for weeks.
Mary s face went hot. He had a good reason.
Rafe shook his head. I don t know what he told you, but there s never a good reason to break a promise. Michael s right. He was around all summer before you went to college. He didn t try to talk to you once, did he?
Because you broke his nose and told him to stay away! Mary could get loud, too. And right now, she didn t care that they d dragged her assistant into their family fight.
Rafe stepped closer and squeezed her arm. If he really cared, he wouldn t have let us scare him away.
She winced. Her brother had a point. They d gotten so close back then. She d told him her secrets, including the selfish one about not wanting to rent cars for the rest of her life. He should have called her.
That was a long time ago. She lifted her chin. He s changed. Matured.
I don t know about that, Rafe said darkly. He came in here and threw those photos in my face.
He said he got the nude deleted. You haven t seen it online anywhere, have you?
God dammit, it wasn t a nude! Rafe s eyes flashed. No. They gave it to me with the others so I could use it in my…my portfolio. He ducked his head.
Your portfolio? Mary waited until he met her gaze. You re going to do more modeling?
He grimaced. I don t know. Maybe? It was easy money. We could do a lot with the extra income.
Enough about Rafe s side gig. I want to get back to Alex, Michael growled. You know what he does with the women he dates. A few weeks, then on to the next one. I don t want that for you.
We don t want that for you, Rafe said, his gaze open in a way Alex s never was, not even when he told her about his dreams for the Paradise.
It was hard to square Alex s past with how he d been with her at the beach. How caring he d been. Sure, he d tried to boss her around, but he d done it because he wanted to take care of her. He d washed the freaking dishes and roughed up his manicure. That had to mean something.
Thank you, she said. I ll be careful. I promise.
Michael scowled. We ve got your back. And this time, I get to land the punch to his nose, got it, Rafe?
I call his kidneys, Rafe said.
No! No, Mary said. No fighting. I m a grown-up, and I can look out for myself. Besides, he s got lawyers now. It won t be some no-consequences schoolyard scuffle.
At the same time, Michael and Rafe crossed their meaty arms over their coveralls. They looked almost like twins if she ignored the grooves of worry on her older brother s face.
Go back to the shop, she said. We ve got a busy weekend.
They shot her matching mulish glares before clomping in their steel-toed boots through the door to the garage.
Now, Mary said, we ve got a liquor license problem to solve, Evie.
I scheduled a couple of phone calls for you tomorrow morning with vendors I ve used before. You should be able to work it out pretty easily, Evie said. I could ve done it for you.
No, you wanted to take a break from weddings. I ll take care of it. Thank you for setting the appointments.
No problem. Evie bit her lip. You ll be careful, though? With Alex. Your brothers are right about his dating history. I wouldn t want you to get hurt.
Was it na?ve to trust him? She couldn t forget the honesty in his gaze when he d told her why he never showed on prom night. He might wear custom suits and live in a penthouse now, but inside, he was still the same boy she d known and loved.
He was worth a second chance.