Chapter 22
“I’ll drive,” Blake offered as he and Vi signed out and left the 709.
Vi was fine with that. “I’ve never kissed anyone in an elevator,” she admitted on the way to the Mercedes dealership.
He grinned at her. “Sure was fun.”
“I thought so.” But sticking to kisses, period, was frustratingly unsatisfying, like starving for days, then sampling a mouth-watering appetizer with no other food in sight. If she weren’t careful, she’d throw caution to the winds and have sex soon, when she wasn’t ready.
Or was she?
Ready or not, the way she ached for him meant holding off much longer was doubtful. Now that she and Blake were in a relationship of sorts, it made sense. As long as she remembered not to expect any promises of a future together, which she didn’t, she ought to be okay. This was not the time to decide, and she shoved her thoughts and longing aside until later.
Traffic was light, and they soon passed the first of three different dealerships. “The population here is about twenty-five thousand,” she said. “I’ve always wondered how these dealerships survive.”
Blake shrugged. “No idea, but they do. There it is, up ahead.” He nodded at the tall blue sign with the three-pointed star and pulled into the lot. “Let’s go find Grandpop.”
Locating him wasn’t difficult. He was seated at a table, engaged in an intent conversation with a salesperson. The man left and headed for someone’s office. “Hey, Grandpop,” Blake said.
Malcom’s frown included both him and Vi. “What are you two doing here?”
“Yes, it’s good to see you, too,” Blake said as if the man had greeted them with a pleased smile. “If you’re out and about, you must be feeling pretty good.”
“Still sore, but much better.” He nodded at Vi. “Hello.”
“Hi, Malcom. I’m trying to find Gran.”
“We don’t know where she is, and you hung up on me before I could ask. At least you answered the phone. What’s the deal?”
“I’ve been busy.” Suddenly, Malcom’s face lit up. “Here she comes.”
Vi followed his gaze, saw Gran and was shocked. “You two made up?”
“We did.”
Blake looked stunned. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
“You didn’t ask.”
“How could we, when you refused to answer your phones?”
“Well, hello.” Gran nodded at them. “What are you two doing here?”
“Malcom asked us the same thing,” Vi said. “The better question is why are you, Gran?”
“I’m keeping Malcom company while he negotiates a better price for his new Mercedes. He’s really good at that.”
Malcom beamed. “Almost as good as you.”
Whatever that meant. “The last time you and I spoke, Gran, you and Malcom were still mad at each other,” Vi reminded her. “What changed?”
Her grandmother squinted at her as if she’d asked a ridiculous question. “We talked it out and made up, like any couple does. The day my insurance check arrived, I signed it over to him.”
He nodded. “We went to the bank and deposited it.”
Without a word to Vi or Blake. “All this time, I worried about that check, Gran. When did it come, and why didn’t you tell me?”
“On Tuesday. How was I supposed to know you expected a call. Why would I? It’s my business, not yours. As soon as Malcom deposited the money, we went straight to the finance department at the 709 and signed the documents for our new unit.”
“Back up,” Blake said. “What brought you around, Grandpop?”
The man gave Blake a you-have-to-ask? look. “I love her, I missed her and I can’t live without her. I’ve always appreciated a challenge, and she drives a hard bargain.” He winked at Blake and Vi. “She’s tougher than I am.”
“That’s why you love me,” Gran said, beaming.
“One of many reasons.”
They shared a brief kiss. Vi hoped they behaved better than they had at the Sea Captain’s Table. To her relief, they settled down.
Clearly, they didn’t appreciate her and Blake being there. She wanted to leave and process their abrupt about-face. “They’re conducting business, Blake. We should go.”
“Not until they clarify a few things.”
“Such as?” Malcom asked.
“I don’t buy the excuse that we didn’t ask so you didn’t tell. What’s your real reason for keeping us in the dark?”
Malcom gestured at Gran to answer. “You two are so dead-set against us getting married, that frankly, we didn’t care to deal with your attitudes.”
“That’s not true,” Vi said. “Well maybe at first, because you’d just met and were moving so quickly when you barely knew each other. But we came around. Of course, you didn’t know because you couldn’t be bothered answering your phones.”
Gran opened her mouth to say who knew what, but Blake spoke first. “When are you two getting married?”
The seniors clasped hands and smiled at each other like besotted lovers. “A week from today,” Caroline said, then lowered her voice. “The 709 has agreed to let us move in together a few days before the wedding, as they need to get our current units in shape for new residents. We have a lot to do to get ready.”
“Are we the only ones who didn’t know?” Vi asked. With Malcom suddenly fascinated by the nondescript floor and Gran wearing a guilty expression, she had the answer. “We were.” That explained the cryptic smiles at the 709 earlier. “Are we invited to the wedding?”
Blake narrowed his eyes. “You damn well better say yes.”
The salesperson headed toward them. “We’ll talk about this later,” Malcom said, dismissing them with a flick of his hand.
“Fine. Let’s get out of here, Vi. Apologies for Grandpop’s behavior,” he said on the way out. “At times, he’s rough around the edges. But you know that from the call I made from the new store about meeting them for dinner.”
“As you heard, Gran isn’t always agreeable, either. That doesn’t bother me, but the way they cut us out but told other people hurts my feelings. We don’t even know if they plan to invite us to the wedding.”
The few daysfollowing the surprising news from Malcom and Caroline were busy for Blake. Now that spring had hit, business was through the roof at the original BW Bikes. If that wasn’t enough, there was still plenty to do before the second store opened. Vi was constantly on his mind. She was equally busy, learning the ins and outs of her new job. Despite the long hours that stretched from early morning till late at night for both of them, they managed to keep in touch by phone and text.
In the middle of the week, she called him before noon, a first. Had something happened? “Everything okay?” he asked.
“Not really. I’m dealing with nonstop questions and problems I’m not sure how to handle. My secretary Linda is a big help, but she has her own work to do. I’m sure I’m driving both her and Todd nuts with questions of my own. For the sake of my sanity, I need to get out of here. I’m leaving early today, and I’d love to see you. Can we get together, or are you too busy?”
Music to his ears. “Forget busy. This is a day made for a bike ride. Let’s do it. I was just thinking about you.”
“Oh?” She sounded pleased.
“I’m at the original bike store right now. You can meet Joanie, who’ll be my second-in-command at the new store once it opens, and Ross, here to help with the nonstop flow of customers. He knows the ropes. They’ll be fine without me. The sun sets tonight around eight, and I doubt you’ll want to ride in the dark. Meet me here a couple hours before then, or earlier if you can. We’ll ride and have dinner after.”
“That sounds perfect.”
“If you need cycling clothes, we have a great selection here.”
“I found that out on Sunday, when I came in and picked up a few things.”
“I wish you’d called and let me know. I’d have met you here.”
“I needed to do some thinking by myself.”
About what? She’d tell him if and when she wanted to, he figured. She arrived shortly after two in heels and a killer spring dress that showed off her sexy legs. He loved looking at them, loved looking at her, period. After a second or two, he pulled his gaze to hers and cleared his throat. “You’re earlier than I expected.”
“Too early?” she asked, touching the back of her head, where she’d fixed her hair in a fancy twist at the nape.
“Let me introduce you to Joanie and Ross. Meet Vi.”
Joanie, who was roughly ten years older than Vi, and Ross, about their age, smiled at her. “Good to meet you,” Joanie said.
“You, too. Blake has mentioned you. You’ll be his second-in-command at the new store.” She turned to Ross. “He’s talked about you, too. You’re the new HR person, and you guys ride together.”
“That’s me,” Ross said. “I’ve heard good things about you.”
She blushed a little, then showed Blake her gym bag. “Where should I change?”
“Use one of the empty fitting rooms.”
In the bathroom, he donned his standard biking attire, then waited for her. Moments later, she emerged from the fitting room in a red and black cycling jersey and black padded shorts.
Slender with soft curves, she had a body made for the snug clothing. The outfit turned him on, but then, most things about her did. By Ross’s appreciative look, he also liked what he saw. Good thing he was involved with someone or Blake might’ve felt threatened.
“I finally heard from Gran about the wedding,” she said as they wheeled the bikes outside. “We’re invited. So are Rose and Peter. Gran said she’d call you next.”
“She did, but I was away from my phone. She left a message.”
“Did she give you the details? The wedding starts at two on Saturday and will be in the back garden—I don’t think we saw that when we took a walk around last weekend, although I may have seen it from Gran’s window. Anyway, during the ceremony, that section of the grounds will be closed.”
“Too bad Whitney can’t make it,” he said. “I promised to take photos and a video or two.”
Standing in the sun outside, they donned helmets. By now, he recognized when Vi was on-edge. “Nervous about the ride?” he asked.
“A little, but more excited. I’m so looking forward to forgetting about work for a while.”
“That bad, huh?”
“Nonstop phone calls and—never mind. I don’t even want to think about it, okay?”
“You won’t, guaranteed.” He gave her the Bad Boy and used an older bike he liked, and they set out.
They stuck to an easy bike trail. He didn’t travel too fast, and she had no trouble keeping up. “There’s a rest stop just ahead,” he said some twenty minutes later.
“Thank goodness. I need a break.”
While they rested, she drank what was left in her water bottle and refilled it from the fountain provided for anyone in need of it, then used the facilities. “I’m ready to go now.”
“Having a good time?”
“This is wonderful. I wish I were in better shape so you didn’t have to go slowly.”
Nothing wrong with her shape. “I don’t mind at all. Ride regularly, and you’ll get there.”
“Define regularly.”
“Once or twice a week if possible.”
“If I can squeeze in the time, I will.”
“No reason you can’t ride Saturdays or Sundays or after work. I’ll go with you. Let’s stop for today and head back.”
At the store, they parked the bikes and went inside to collect their clothes.
She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t want to change until I shower.”
“Same here. I have two full bathrooms at my place, remember? We’ll clean up there, then go have dinner.”