Chapter 9 #6
Hoping to brighten her spirits, Cayden brought Geordi to work with him on Thursday.
The flower shop was closed through the weekend so the owners could attend an out of state wedding.
Mrs. Wynn had been planning on spending the day with Geordi until Cayden had asked if he wanted to come to the shop with him.
Since Romero’s wasn’t Geordi’s place of work, Mr. Wynn or Mr. Jones had to also come.
They decided that Mr. Wynn would go with them in the morning, and if Geordi wanted to stay, Mr. Jones would relieve him after lunch and then would bring Cayden and Geordi back to the house.
Having Geordi underfoot was fun. He was like a big kid who could easily lift a hundred and fifty pounds. Cayden showed Geordi how to patch a tire and exchange a battery. Geordi even helped him take apart a four-cylinder piston engine to clean the couplings. “It’s like a giant puzzle, Cayden!”
More than once Cayden caught Trixie eyeing them. At one point he caught Jeff’s knowing gaze before the older man winked at him and turned away.
Geordi and Cayden brought Trixie her lunch and ate with her in her office. No one could resist Geordi’s child-like innocence. By the end of their meal, Trixie was smiling and laughing along with them.
Cayden and Geordi went back to work. Mr. Wynn texted him that Mr. Jones was out front in his car.
Cayden sent Geordi out to bring Mr. Jones in but the rehabilitation officer said he was good in the parking lot.
Geordi brought him out a sandwich and water bottle instead.
Cayden took Geordi out to the showroom floor and showed him the different rides.
Like any child, Geordi was drawn to the bright green Spyder and bright red 1966 GTO.
He didn’t see the beauty in the Aztec or the Taurus. Not like Cayden did.
The day went by too quickly. Soon Geordi was waiting impatiently by the employee door so he could go home and tell Mrs. Wynn “everything!” Cayden had told Geordi he needed to use the restroom before they left but went in search of Trixie instead.
She was bent under the hood of a Mazda Speed6. Cayden leaned against the doorframe and just watched her. Her hair was a mess, she had a dark streak across her forehead, and her hands were covered in grease. Damn, she was beautiful.
“Are you just going to stand there staring at my ass?”
He smiled. He hadn’t realized she’d caught his entrance. “I might. It’s a fantastic view.”
She looked over her shoulder and glared. “I know what you did.”
“I’ve done a lot today. I’m a fantastic employee. And if you don’t believe me, just ask my boss. So if you want to accuse me of doing something, you’ll have to be more specific.”
An eyebrow raised. “Oh, like bringing Geordi here wasn’t some elaborate scheme to mend this,” she gestured, “between us?”
Cayden crossed the bay floor. He studied her face for a moment. Her chocolate browns were a mixture of annoyed and amused. “I couldn’t take it anymore,” he said honestly. “I hadn’t seen you smile all week and I was running out of ideas.”
She turned fully, leaning her bottom against the rim.
“I know I’ve been…cold this week. I didn’t mean to be.
I’m not mad at you and, honestly, I’ve missed you like hell.
I just…” She made a face. “I couldn’t get what you said out of my head, and it hurts to think what he’s suffering through in there all alone.
” Cayden reached for her, but she jumped out his way. “I’m covered in grease!”
Cayden snorted. “I don’t care.” He wrapped his arms around her, bringing her flush against him. “I was worried you were upset I knew him. I should have known you’d only be concerned for your brother.” He kissed the side of her head. “I’m sorry I was so selfish.”
“You weren’t.” She clung to him. “I was the one being selfish.”
He grudgingly stepped back. “You still want to spend the weekend with me?”
“Three weekends to go,” she smiled widely. “And hell yes. I’m not letting you get away from me that easily.”
Cayden gripped her by the chin. “You, my beautiful gearhead, just made my day.” He bent to kiss her once. “I need to go. I left Geordi by the door and he’s bouncing like he’s on a sugar high.”
Trixie laughed. “I love how sweet you are with him. Makes me wonder…” Her voice trailed off.
Cayden raised an amused eyebrow. “Wonder what?”
She shrugged and then shook her head. “Nothing. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She turned away from him and bent back under the hood.
Cayden’s eyes narrowed. She was not putting any distance back between them, especially not when they’d just mended the one that had been there.
He grabbed her hips and thrust her back against his hardness.
He felt her gasp as he ground himself against her tight ass.
Dipping his head down, he nipped her ear. “Wonder what?”
She moaned against him. “It’s silly.” Her voice was just a gasp. “How you are with him, it makes me wonder about how you’d be with our kids.”
Cayden blinked, a small trickle of fear rolling down his spine. “You’re not—”
“No,” she giggled, obviously following his train of thought. “It was just a fleeting thought. Forget I said it.”
Cayden turned her head over her shoulder to grab her lips. “I never forget anything you say. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She smiled and nodded.
It was only after he climbed into Mr. Jones’s car with Geordi talking a mile-a-minute to the officer about his “awesome day!” that Cayden realized she’d said our kids.
Not his kids. Our. That brought a permanent smile to his lips for the rest of the night.
His housemates noticed and teased him, but Cayden couldn’t bring himself to care.
Trixie, whether she realized it or not, was planning a future with him.
And that was worth all the ball busting in the world.
Three weekends to go. His freedom with Trixie was so close he could almost taste it.
Trixie was waiting impatiently in the bay for the rest of the employees to clear out.
The sales floor was clear. Joey and the marketing staff were already gone.
Jeff seemed to be taking extra-long setting up Monday’s tickets and Gary just had to decide that today was the day to reorganize his toolbox.
Strong arms wrapped around her middle from behind. She smiled, but still wiggled her way out of his hold. “We’re not alone yet.”
Cayden rolled his eyes. “It’s after five-thirty and I want to kiss my girl.” He cupped her face. “And I don’t give a damn who sees.”
She wanted to argue but, apparently, she wanted his kiss more. Trixie tilted her face up to him.
“Oh, wow.” His hand dropped from her face and he took a step back. Trixie’s brows touched in confusion. “Yeah, this is embarrassing. I didn’t mean you—”
Catching onto his joke, Trixie jumped him. In the bay room, in full view of Gary and Jeff, Trixie leaped onto his body and wrapped her arms and legs around him. He caught her with ease, trying to keep the smile off his face. She leaned down, grazing his lips with hers. “Better only ever mean me.”
He finally let his smile show. “Just you, only you.”
She met his smile and then kissed him. Jeff and Gary must have taken the hint because they were gone by the time Cayden and she broke apart. Either that or they stood there making out a hell of a lot longer than she realized.
Trixie rested her head against his forehead. “That was mean.”
“I had you going for just a second.”
She glared. “One second. I’ll admit to one second.”
He kissed her again. Something deepened in his voice, laced with emotion. “Just you, Trix. Only you.”
She gripped him tighter. “This week has been really tiring, and I want nothing more than for you to take me upstairs and have your way with me. Wait!” she laughed when he started walking them that way.
She pointed over her shoulder to the door leading to her personal collection.
“That way. I have something to show you.”
Cayden raised an eyebrow. “You don’t let anyone beyond that door.”
“Consider yourself a special guest,” she purred into his ear.
“Only guest?”
She shrugged. “Joey and Jeff have access, but they respect my privacy enough not to go back. But you’d be the first person I’ve ever invited back.”
Interest sparked in his eyes. “Color me intrigued. Let’s go.”
Trixie jumped down off of him and took his hand. When L and S had revamped their security, they had also upgraded her retinal scanner and added a motion sensor. She used her right eye to unlock the scanner and punched in the code to turn off the sensor.
The door opened into a narrow, cylindrical hall. She kept her vault at sixty-eight degrees, always, and used special filters to keep the air clean. There was a metallic scent in the air that always got her blood pumping.
She realized she was nervous as she led Cayden down the hall. She’d never shown anyone her personal collection. Three she’d inherited from her abuelo, but the other four were her babies. The cars up in the showroom were unique or fancy, but hers were priceless.
Cayden stopped as the first vehicle came into view. “Holy shit,” he breathed. “Is that a Yenko?”
Trixie’s smile was smug. “1969 Yenko Camaro Coupe.”
Cayden walked forward like a man possessed. He circled the shiny black car fully, his jaw dropped and his eyes wide, before he realized it wasn’t alone in her vault. “I think I died and went to Heaven. That’s a 1963 GTV!”
He journeyed to the baby blue Lamborghini. He reached out to touch it but then pulled back. “Damn, my hands aren’t clean.”
Trixie found that amusing, since his hands had just been on her ass. Apparently, they were clean enough to touch her, but not the collectible. She rolled her eyes, storing that knowledge away for future use.
“That’s an El Camino! And a Mustang Boss!” Cayden started hyperventilating. He rounded on her. “Am I alive? I mean, I didn’t inhale too much paint or maybe a jack malfunctioned?”
Trixie laughed before approaching him. “These are my babies.” She pointed to the El Camino, the GTV, and the Porsche 916.
“I inherited those from Abuelo. The Boss was my first restoration. I completed it when I was sixteen. Papá helped find me all the parts, but he insisted I was the one who did the work. I think he was trying to keep me distracted from what was going on with AJ.” She pointed to the Yenko, the droptop Ferrari, and the RX7. “I’ve completed all of these since.”
She could feel his heart thumping hard in his chest. His eyes kept jumping from car to car like he was afraid they’d vanish before he got a chance to fully look. “These are amazing. I can’t believe these have been here this whole time. I stole the wrong damn car to win our bet.”
Trixie slapped him hard on the chest. “You gave up that life, remember.” He nodded, though the want in his eyes didn’t lessen any.
She forced his face down towards her. It took a moment for his mismatched eyes to leave the cars long enough to meet hers.
“I am showing you these for a couple of reasons, but the most important is to show that I trust you, Cayden Russo. I didn’t like the distance between us this week.
I know it was my doing and I want to make sure you know that I do trust you. ”
That snapped his attention fully to her.
“It was never a question of trust, baby. I know you trust me, and I hope that I never break that faith.” He reached down for her hands.
“Your brother’s situation is upsetting. I know that, and I get it.
I felt so helpless, seeing your pain but not being able to do anything about it.
” He kissed the back of her hand. “You weren’t the only one responsible for the distance between us this week. ”
She grinned shyly. “You know… I’ve always kind of had this fantasy…”
His eyes lit up. “Oh, yeah?”
She nodded, dragging him back towards the Ferrari. “Yeah.”