Drew
There was no such thing as love at first sight. It was as illogical as Drew had always thought it. But clearly, there was such a thing as lust at first sight. The man was beautiful, even if only on the surface. Even Allison had told her enough about him that Drew knew better than to get any ideas about a guy like him. Doing so was a big fat no-no, even if she was single and able to do so.
No matter how fun flirting with the bad boy had been, Drew had put an end to it, and it was the right thing to do. As innocent as it was, she was engaged now, and she’d begun to enjoy it a little too much. But she could do this. She could deal with being around him—a guy she’d begun to daydream about a little too much about—without any dire consequences.
She opened her car door and stepped out in front of the shop, taking a deep breath. “Just walk in and ask for what you need then walk out,” she whispered to herself then added, “ASAP!”
Praying he wouldn’t be there, she walked into the noisy greasy auto repair shop, looking around. Allison had told her they’d since picked up more employees, and Drew was suddenly full of hope that maybe none of the owners were there this late.
One guy eyed her then smiled. “Can I help you?”
“Yes.” Drew took off her sunglasses. “I’m a friend of Allison’s, Leonardo’s wife. I’m here to pick up her purse. She left it here yesterday.”
He looked lost and glanced around at the other two guys washing their hands at a sink. They both shrugged; then one of them made her heart stop when he yelled out, “Nine!” God no. “Someone’s here for Beast’s wife’s purse?”
Trying not to look like she might faint, she stood there chin up as she glanced around at the far more fancier shop than she expected. To her horror, the guy she’d been greeted by and the guys washing up at the sink, started getting their things together, turned off the loud music that had been blaring when she walked in, and shut down some lights.
“He should be coming down in a bit,” the first guy told her as he wiped his hands off then glanced upstairs. “Nine, we’re out!”
Thankfully, Drew’s phone dinged, distracting her for a moment. She clicked on the text from Brad and read it.
Meet you tonight for a drink at Moby’s? I should be done here in about an hour. You don’t have Chelsea tonight, right?
Despite her drumming heart, she smiled and responded.
No, she’s with her dad until tomorrow morning. I should be good to meet you in an hour.
She’d barely finished typing up her response when she heard the footsteps coming down the stairs. Hitting send on her phone, she closed her eyes before taking a breath and glancing up at the sight of Nine coming down the stairs in jeans and a wife beater, displaying his heavily tatted muscles with that smirk she was sure she was in love with now.
Lust. Just lust, Drew. Nothing more. You got this.
“I was beginning to wonder if I’d ever hear from you again.”
“I, uh . . .” She took a few steps around the motorcycles in the middle of the shop. “Allison asked me if I could stop by and pick up her purse. She left it here last night.” Drew shrugged with a smirk. “Wacky pregnant brain and all.”
Nine eyed her playfully from top to bottom like he always did: unrestrained, unabashed with that gleam of approval. “Yeah, Beast said someone would come by for it today.” He got to the bottom of the stairs and headed away from her to what appeared to be an office. “If I’d known it was you, I could’ve planned something. We could still go grab a bite or a drink or something. That is, of course, if your boyfriend wouldn’t mind.”
“My fiancé.” She wasn’t sure what hurt more, correcting him or turning him down, but she had to. “And thanks, but I’m actually meeting him for drinks in a little bit.”
He slowed so much she thought he might stop, but then he kept walking, grabbing something just inside the office door. Taking a second to examine the purse, he finally turned around to face her.
“Is that right?” he asked, walking back toward her.
Drew nodded but said nothing more. She couldn’t, not when he looked at her in the way he was looking at her now. The smile was gone, but he didn’t look upset or angry, and why should he? Drew felt stupid for even making note of it. He was just peering at her with intense curiosity, and that was normal. Well, the curiosity anyway.
“So, you’re getting married now?”
“I am.” She tried to smile as genuinely as she could.
“Is that why you stopped returning my texts?”
He was close enough to hand her the purse, but he still took a few more steps even closer to her. Drew gulped but had the presence of mind not to flinch and embarrass herself. “I’ve been really busy.” She shrugged, refusing to let him rattle her like he always seemed to do. “So much . . .”
She paused with a gulp when his eyes went straight to her lips, and he licked his. The man had features any woman would envy, from the perfectly shaped and arched brows to the long thick lashes and those naturally full and crimson lips. Yet, everything else about him oozed of carnal masculinity.
“So much going on,” she went on even as her voice began to trail.
“I guess congrats are in order.”
She nodded, not sure what that meant until his arms were around her and she felt the warmth of his breath at the side of her head. “Congratulations,” he whispered without pulling back. “I’m happy for you.”
To her surprise, he kissed her cheek, making her freeze even as she’d begun to hug him back. Her hand stopped on his upper arm as he pulled away to look at her. Just touching him was something else. She’d been privy enough times to the sight of his big tatted muscles, but feeling how hard they were and being this close to him had her breath catching.
He was staring at her now as if he knew what that harmless little kiss had done to her. As if he’d known for weeks now what he did to her and now her trembling body was proof he’d been right. He licked his own lips then glanced down at hers again.
NINE
Boyle Heights #3
2018
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