"Where"s he at?" Gina asks, interrupting my thoughts. "It"s almost quarter after seven."
I push down the threatening irritation, glancing down at my black sparkly top and picking off a piece of lint. I finally decided on a top that shows off a lot of skin without looking s.l.u.ttish. Because I don"t want to tempt Gage or give him the wrong message. I refuse to have s.e.x with him again tonight.
And if he keeps me waiting much longer, we will most definitely not be having s.e.x tonight. Or any other night.
"So he goes from Rat Boy to Boy Toy?" I ask her, wanting to change the focus of our conversation. If we keep going on about how late he is, I"m just going to get madder.
"Oh, yes." She smiles. "Rat Boy is quite handsome, so that"s a bit of a stretch for a nickname, you know? He"s got that pretty face I"m sure you enjoy staring at."
I feel my cheeks heat but don"t say anything. I do enjoy looking at that pretty face. She knows me too well.
"And who wouldn"t? I don"t mind looking at it either." Her smile blossoms into a full-blown grin. "Has your mama met him yet?"
"G.o.d, no," I mutter. "She"d flip out and have us engaged within minutes."
Gina laughs. She knows it"s true. "She"d probably be picking out your wedding china patterns and prepping the baby announcements."
I laugh with her. "She knows I"m going out to dinner with him, but I told her it was nothing serious. That it"s just business."
"Business, huh?" You know, the more I think about it, I find it hard to believe. He"s a charmer, that man. I think you might"ve fallen under his spell." Gina raises a skeptical eyebrow, but I ignore it.
"Really, Gina. This has nothing to do with his charm and everything to do with talking to Archer Bancroft about your desserts in his hotels. Remember?" When she nods reluctantly, I continue. "He"s good friends with Archer. We"re going out to dinner with him and his fiance. I hope to present my idea in the next week or two, but tonight will help break the ice."
"Ah, such a wonderful idea. Truly." Gina takes off her dirty ap.r.o.n and tosses it into the laundry hamper, then comes toward me and wraps me into a big hug. "Such a smart girl you are, Marina. I wish your parents could see how much you love the bakery. I"m afraid they"re going to sell it."
My heart sinks into my toes, reminding me of the other reason Gage is in my life. He plans on taking everything away from me anyway.
Makes me wonder why I"m trying to get in with Archer"s hotels when the bakery might eventually disappear. "I wish they could see how much the bakery means to you, too."
Gina shrugs as she withdraws from my embrace. "Perhaps we should make a presentation to the family as well. Convince everyone that we need to keep the bakery for the both of us."
That sounds like an impossible feat. The bakery is right smack in the middle of the block of buildings that my family owns. I really doubt they"d sell all around it and let us have this s.p.a.ce. "We can try, right?" I ask weakly.
She cups my cheek, giving my face a little shake. "Don"t sound so defeated, girly. We could turn this around. Don"t think we"re already beat."
Hard to do, considering I feel like the both of us are working toward an impossible goal. "Yeah, I know." The bell above the front door jingles, indicating someone"s entered the cafe. "I should go check who"s here." It"s probably Gage, and my heart starts racing just thinking about seeing him.
I have got it so bad. And it is so wrong to feel this way.
"Don"t keep your new man waiting," Gina teases and I stick my tongue out at her.
Someone clears their throat, drawing mine and Gina"s attention. We both turn toward the front of the kitchen to find Gage standing in the doorway, looking downright sinful clad in jeans and a charcoal-gray sweater. He smiles at us, but I see the apprehension in his eyes.
He looks nervous. I think it"s cute. Plus, his discomfort eases mine.
"Well, look who finally decided to show up," Gina declares in her booming voice as she moves away from me. She strides toward Gage, grabs him by his broad shoulders, and pulls him into an easy hug.
He looks startled, patting her back awkwardly. "Nice to see you again, Aunt Gina."
"Great to see you, too. You do casual very well." She pats his chest, her fingers lingering.
Oh, good lord. Talk about embarra.s.sing. And are his cheeks turning pink?
"Look at him, Marina. Your Boy Toy is extra pretty tonight." Gina takes Gage by the hand and leads him to me.
"Boy Toy?" He raises a brow, stopping just in front of me. His full lips are curved into a secretive smile and a rush of memories floods me. How those lips feel on mine. How excellent he is with his hands. The smell of his skin, the way his soft hair curls around my fingers . . .
"I"ve upgraded your nickname. Thought Rat Boy was a little rude," Gina explains.
His expression goes solemn, though his lips twitch. "I appreciate that."
"Well, you two best be moving along. You"ve kept Marina here waiting long enough." She pushes the both of us, hurrying us out of the kitchen. I grab my purse from where I left it beneath the front counter, slinging it over my shoulder as I watch Gina bustle around the cafe, checking everything before locking up. "You two have fun tonight, all right?"
"Need any help?" I ask, keeping my voice low when I grab hold of her elbow before she can escape me again.
She flashes me a smile. "I"ve got this, sweetheart. You go have fun."
I release my hold on her, rolling my eyes as I turn to Gage. He"s watching me; his gaze sweeps over me, slow and easy, and just like that arousal trickles through my blood, heating my skin. My aunt is forgotten, the bakery, everything else, and it"s just me and him, standing in front of the door, the spot where just last night he had me pressed against the cold gla.s.s while he kissed me senseless.
"So I"m your Boy Toy?" he asks, his voice a husky murmur that sends chills down my spine.
"If the shoe fits," I tease, pleased when he opens the door for me like a gentleman should. He has manners. This is a plus.
"I have no problem with it," he teases back, his eyes twinkling. "I know you weren"t complaining last night."
Glaring at him, I tilt my head to my thankfully still oblivious aunt. "Keep your voice down."
His expression switches to serious. "Sorry. Forgot myself."
I understand. I think we both forget ourselves when we"re in each other"s presence. Easy to do, considering the obvious chemistry sparkling between us.
This is going to be a long night.
Gage SHE"S SO f.u.c.kING gorgeous I can"t get over it. All that long, tumbling blonde hair caught up in a high ponytail, showing off the pretty, irresistible curve of her neck. The neck I licked and nibbled last night, making her groan with pleasure, her hands clutching me tight . . .
Blowing out a harsh breath, I lead her outside toward where my car is parked at the curb. She stops short when she sees it, her wide-eyed gaze meeting mine. "That"s your car?"
I nod, hitting the keyless remote in my hand so the doors unlock. "Yeah, that"s my baby." I open the door to my newest purchase-a sleek, pearl-white Maserati Ghibli-and as I guide her into her seat, I can"t help but like the way she looks settled inside my car.
I like the way she looks everywhere, as long as she"s with me, if I"m being truthful.
What the ever-loving f.u.c.k?
Yeah. I"ve lost my mind. One night with a woman and I"m addicted. I think I want her even more because she"s so d.a.m.n indifferent.
"Your baby?" she asks me pointedly when I slide into the driver"s seat, gripping the steering wheel. "This is a Ghibli."
Okay. I"m f.u.c.king impressed. Most women don"t give a s.h.i.t about cars. Or they"ll be able to recognize a brand but not the model. "You"re right. I have a thing for cars. I like to collect them," I admit, starting the vehicle. It roars to life, the engine purring a low, s.e.xy rumble that seems to vibrate throughout the entire interior.
I wonder if Marina would let me bang her in the back seat. That would make this a more than memorable date.
"I love Maserati. My dad has owned a few himself. He used to collect cars," she admits, her voice wistful. "Not so much the last few years since he really doesn"t have the time. Or the money."
Guilt a.s.suages me at the money reference. But I can"t help but be excited by the discovery that I have something in common with Scott Knight. "How many cars does he have?"
"Too many for me to count." She laughs and shakes her head, her hair rubbing against the soft Italian cream-colored leather. "He had an entire shop built to store them all. Most of them are vintage American cla.s.sics mixed with a few Italian vehicles-homage to my mother"s family."
"Nice." I pull out into traffic, shifting the car into gear as I slow down, and turn right. "I have a garage filled with the cars I"ve collected over the years. I started collecting when I was twenty-one."
"Really? How many do you have?"
I"m sort of blown away that we"re having a normal conversation like normal people. No snarky remarks or rude comments. And that we actually have something in common-it"s one of my favorite things to talk about, fast and expensive cars. "I have some in storage too. I think-yeah, I have close to one hundred cars in my collection so far."
"Wow. I know my dad had more than one hundred at one point, but I"m afraid he"s sold quite a few of them." She nibbles on her lower lip, looking worried. "It makes him sad to lose them, but it needed to be done."
I can"t imagine having to sell even one of my cars because times were tough. I"d do it if I had to but . . . I wouldn"t want to. I feel for her father.
I also feel like an a.s.shole. I want to buy property from her father for a steal, so I can turn it around and make a profit. Plus, I"m dating his daughter in the hopes I can get closer to him.
Though, really I like her. A lot. I"m not with her just so I can have an in with Scott Knight. I"m with Marina because I want to be.
"I"d love to see what remains of his collection some time." I would. Not just because I could get an in with him, but I"m genuinely interested. What if he has my dream car in his shop? Not that I have a particular car I"m yearning for, but hey, it could happen.
"Um, yeah." She fidgets in her seat, looking decidedly uncomfortable. "You know I still live at home, right?"
I"m shocked. I hadn"t a clue. "You do? How old are you?"
She glares at me. Uh oh. Here we go, right into "let"s-see-how-out-of-hand-we-can-get-before-we-start-calling-each-other-names." "I"m twenty-three," she sniffs, all haughty Italian princess-like. "How old are you?"
"Twenty-eight."
"Really?" She sounds surprised. I glance at her to find she looks surprised too. "I thought you were older."
"How much older?" s.h.i.t, do I look old? I"m tempted to check myself out in the rearview mirror, but I resist the urge.
"I don"t know." She shrugs, glances out the window. "Early thirties?"
"You like older men?" I tease.
She turns to glare at me again. "Not at all. I usually date men more my age." Her comment is pointed. Now she"s really making me feel like a dirty, lecherous old man.
"I"m not even thirty," I mutter, shaking my head. Maybe we should quit talking. I never know what"s going on in Marina"s head. Our banter feels pretty comfortable at the moment, but we could slip into argument mode in a hot second. And I don"t want us fighting before we get to the restaurant. Ivy will pick up on the tension rumbling between us and want to know what"s going on. So would Archer probably, though he"s pretty d.a.m.n oblivious when it comes to that stuff.
Marina remains quiet, too; her hands curled in her lap, her head turned away, so she can stare out the window and watch the pa.s.sing scenery. So I remain silent, sneaking the occasional glance at her hair, loving the multiple shades of blonde and brown mixed, knowing without a doubt that she"s a natural blonde, now that I"ve seen her naked.
Thinking of her naked sends my thoughts into other directions. Dangerous, dirty, and unnecessary directions that I shouldn"t be focusing on at the moment. Thinking of the two of us together leaves me feeling needy. Vulnerable.
Hungry. Starving, more like it. All for her.
f.u.c.k.
"Can I ask you a question?" I gotta break the tension and talk about something else before I lose it and attack her.
She turns to look at me. "Go for it," she says warily.
"You"re a blonde."
A smile teases the corner of her lips. "That"s not a question."
"I thought Italians weren"t normally blonde," I say lamely, feeling like a jacka.s.s. I"m trying to make conversation, and I feel like an idiot. This woman just makes me so d.a.m.n . . . nervous. I can"t explain it.
"I"m not one hundred percent Italian, you know. My dad is what he calls a mutt," she says, her voice light. She seems to like talking about her family, and I like it too. Any tidbit I can get on Scott Knight, I can turn around and use later.
But I also like learning more about her. I"m curious. I want to know. Usually I run the other direction when a woman wants to tell me her life story. So many of them do, going on and on about their past, their family, their friends. It all starts to sound like monotonous noise after a while.
Not with this woman. She offers these glimpses of her personal life so rarely, I cherish every tidbit I learn. Which is f.u.c.king crazy, truly. I shouldn"t be that wrapped up in her, wanting to learn more, everything about her, wanting to kiss her . . .
"A mutt, huh?" I don"t even know what to say to that for fear I"ll mistakenly insult her father and p.i.s.s her off.
She offers me a secretive smile, the sight of it sending a zing straight to my heart-and my c.o.c.k. This woman twists me up into such complete knots, I don"t know if I"ll ever be able to unwind myself from them-or her. "My mother is Sicilian. There are a lot of blonde, blue- and green-eyed Sicilians out there. I happen to be one of them."
A beautiful one, too. She"s so beautiful just looking at her hurts.
Not having her in front of me to look at hurts too.
Which means at the mere age of twenty-eight, I am completely ruined for any other woman. And I don"t even care. I want to revel in the ruin.
My brain on overload, I drive the rest of the way to the restaurant in silence, taking the curves at high speed, enjoying the way the tires stick to the road, the squeal of rubber on asphalt making me smile. I downshift, the whine of the engine like music to my ears, and the faster I drive, the more I get into it.
"You"re crazy," she whispers as I gain speed, going close to one hundred on a straightaway a few miles from the restaurant.
I roll down the windows, let the cool night air wash over my heated skin. Her hair blows everywhere, even restrained by the ponytail, and a long blonde strand hits me in the face, causing me to push it away. I chance a look at her, see that she"s gripping the edge of her seat, her body on edge, her expression full of . . . excitement?
Really?
"You like it," I say, my tone practically a dare. "You"re literally sitting on the edge of your seat."
"I do like it," she quietly admits, her wild eyes meeting mine. A shaky exhalation leaves her, and she nods toward me. "Go faster."
My foot presses on the gas pedal, picking up speed. She"s watching me; I can feel her gaze on me, and I reach toward her, pushing all that s.e.xy, wind-blown hair away from her face. Before I can drop my hand, she leans her cheek into my palm, then turns and presses a hot, wet kiss to my flesh, her tongue darting out for a quick lick.
I swear.
Ah, h.e.l.l. I grow instantly hard, letting my hand fall from her cheek, but she wraps her fingers around my wrist, bringing my hand to her mouth and drawing my index finger deep inside her mouth, dragging her wet, lush lips along the length before she releases it, her eyes never leaving mine.
Easing my foot off the gas, I swallow hard. She"s going to kill me. I tear my gaze from hers, keeping my attention on the road. It"s dark, it feels like we"re virtually alone, and I"m tempted. So tempted to pull over, kiss her until she"s gasping my name, and then f.u.c.k her in the back seat just like I first envisioned.
I chance a glance at her, see the flushed cheeks, the parted lips. I recognize that look from last night. She"s aroused.