Chapter 4
four
I mani lifted her wine and took a sip. This had to be one of the best dates—days—she’d had in a long while.
This is not a date , she reminded herself.
Will had been a complete gentleman the entire time. She had been shocked that he’d taken her to the Palace of Fine Arts. With one glance at him, she wouldn’t have considered him to be an art and history buff. He was actually very knowledgeable of Rome. She had been thoroughly impressed by the history lessons he’d shared with her. He had been her own little tour guide through the exhibit. After they had left the Marina district, they had ridden his bike down to Pier 39, a popular attraction where she was able to snag some cool souvenirs for herself and her parents.
The views of the bay were breathtaking. Her favorite activity had been catching wild seal lions resting and sunbathing on the rocks. Imani had snagged tons of pictures and videos of the beautiful wild creatures.
“Are you sure I didn’t mess up your day?” She turned to Will who was sitting beside her in their booth. She positioned herself where she could see him. Their booth was a half-circle and allowed them to be near each other. This had to be the second or third time she’d asked him this question. He had been patient with everything she had wanted to do and see. After they’d left the pier, he’d driven them down to a dive bar and grille. From the outside it hadn’t looked like much, but once they went in she could tell it was a local favorite.
He glanced over at her and took a swig from his longneck. She hated to think he might have had something else to do.
“I’m positive. If I would have had something to do, I wouldn’t have offered to chaperone you around the city,” he replied. His warm gaze met hers and she relaxed a little. Their food had recently come out and had confirmed that this was a place Imani would want to visit again. The portions were heaping and piping hot. “Tomorrow I’ll take you over to the bridge.”
Imani stabbed her fork into her chicken parmesan before gathering a little of her alfredo sauce drenched pasta with it. The flavors exploded on her tongue and had her holding back a moan. Chewing bought her a little time in responding to Will's offer to continue to take her around his town. She definitely wouldn’t mind continuing to see him while she was in town. They would have to go in the afternoon after her day at the conference was completed.
“Don’t you have to work?” She arched an eyebrow at him. She didn’t want to seem too enthusiastic about spending another day with him. The attraction between them was there. She could almost put her finger on it.
“Well, you see, when you’re the boss you can work when you want to and leave when you feel like it.” He smirked, leaned back, and rested an arm behind her on the booth. His t-shirt stretched out highlighting his muscular physique. Imani had already had a chance to feel that hard abdomen underneath her touch while on the back of his bike. Her core clenched at the thought of how the rest of him would look and feel—naked.
“Oh, you got it like that,” she chuckled. She quickly took another sip of her wine, needing to wet her suddenly dry throat. “It must be nice. For us regular people who work for someone else, we don’t got it like that.”
“Then you should start your own company.” He shrugged and took another swig of his beer. She rolled her eyes at that notion. She loved her job, but starting a company was not for her. She liked being able to go on vacations and not have to answer a phone. She had a high paying job, and a nice office, but being a boss was not something she wanted to do.
“So tell me all about you,” she said. She realized that all throughout the day she had spoken about herself and her family, but he hadn’t said too much about himself. She was curious. Who was the real Wilheim Rusek?
“There’s not much to tell.” He reached for the last of his fries and popped them in his mouth. His entire demeanor changed. The sexy slight grin disappeared and his muscles tightened. Imani grew more curious than ever. He’d gone from laid back and flirty to now almost closed off.
“Did I ask something off limits?”
“There’s just me and my brother.” He flagged down the waitress and motioned for another long neck. Imani took another bite of her food, sensing that he was going to continue. “I started sweeping floors at the bike shop when I was sixteen to save money. I worked a lot of odd jobs, but bikes were my thing. I loved everything from the sound of the engine down to the feel of the oil on my hands. When I was eighteen, I got my own place and made technician at the shop.”
Imani remained quiet and continued working on her food as he went on to tell his story. His gaze grew distant as if he were reliving his past. She wanted to reach out and take his hand in hers. Something about the way he had closed off at the question led her to believe that he hadn’t had the best childhood.
“Niko moved in with me a few years later. He had started coming around the shop too. George taught both of us everything we know from the bikes to business.”
Imani sensed there was more to the story. Two young boys living on their own from a young age confirmed her suspicion about his younger days. She had been lucky to grow up in a loving home.. Looking at where he and his brother were today—they’d come a long way from their tough beginning. She was sure there were so many roads they could have traveled down, but it would appear they had chosen the right path in life.
“Is this the same shop you own now?” she asked. It said something that he’d been working since he was sixteen. Imani had gotten her first job at sixteen as well. She’d always held some type of job throughout high school and college. She’d hated to ask her parents for anything extra when she knew they were struggling to make ends meet.
“Here’s your beer, sir. Can I get you two anything else?” The waitress arrived at their table. She set down Will’s beer and snagged his empty bottle.
“I’m good,” Imani smiled then turned to Will who shook his head.
“Well, let me know if you change your mind.” She strolled away leaving Imani and Will alone again.
“So how did the Rusek brothers come to own Precision Motors?” she asked. She was truly curious about him, but she wasn’t going to push about his past. This was their first day knowing each other and maybe it was too much for the first date?—
She’d done it again. This was not a date. They were just two grown people hanging out together.
He relaxed slightly, apparently this was a safe subject. She listened as he went into a story of George getting older and wanting to retire. He and his brother had apparently discussed buying the shop years before George announced his retirement. They had saved up money and George hasn’t hesitated to give them a good deal. Listening to Will speak of George, she saw a tenderness in him. This George character had obviously been like a father figure to him and Niko.
“Where’s George now?” she asked.
“The old man sold his house and he and the missus moved down Del Mar and are living the life,” Will chuckled. He raked his fingers through his hair. He was back to the same Will who had spent the day with her. She leaned over and bumped him playfully with her shoulder.
“Well, it sounds like you’ve done well for yourselves. Why are you here taking pity on a girl like me who needed a date?” she joked. She was surprised some woman hadn’t sunk her claws into him already. He and his brother’s shop was doing extremely well according to Mykeisha and Kizzie. He was drop dead gorgeous, a successful businessman, and had a love for the arts. How was he still single?
Her breath caught in her throat at the heat that appeared in his eyes. His gaze traveled down her, leaving her skin tingling as if he had actually touched her. She reached for her glass and finished off the rest of her wine. Maybe she should have asked for another glass. She set her empty glass back down the table and caught him staring at her mouth. She sent her tongue out along her bottom lip that suddenly felt dry.
“It would be my pleasure to escort you,” he murmured. He reached up and tucked some of her hair behind her ear. Her heart rate skyrocketed leaving her almost panting trying to breathe. His warm hand palmed the side of her face. She leaned into it, unable to look away from his eyes. He leaned over and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. He slowly withdrew from her. She ached to bring him back and kiss him again, but she resisted. “I don’t mind being your eye candy for an event.”
“Is that so?” Imani breathed. Her lips curled up into a grin. He was drop dead gorgeous in jeans and a t-shirt. She couldn’t even imagine what he was going to look like in a tux. His hand remained on her face. She rested hers on his hand and arched her eyebrow at him. She grew bold and figured she may as well toss caution into the wind. “Will there be more of this?”
His gaze dropped back down to her lips. He bent down and repeated the action. His firm lips brushed hers again. She inhaled, breathing in his cologne. The butterflies fluttered in her stomach.
“I’m thinking there will be,” he replied.
“How about tonight?” There was no longer any reason she needed to be shy. Imani knew without a doubt that she wanted Will. She rested her hand on his leg that was next to hers. She ran her fingers along his jean-covered thigh playfully. “I just so happen to have a king size bed?—”
“Are you finished with your meal?” he asked. He sat back away from her and captured her hand in his. He entwined their fingers. Imani struggled to keep still in her seat. She was completely turned on by him and the fire in his eyes revealed he wanted her. It had been a long time since a man had looked at her that way and she needed to explore this attraction between them.
If not, she was going to combust.
“I am.”
“Let’s go.”