Twice as Tempting
Susan Coventry
Text copyright © 2017 Susan Coventry
All Rights Reserved
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover Design: Woodchuck Arts
Edited by: FirstEditing.com
Also by Susan Coventry
A New Chapter
See You Then
Starring You and Me
To my faithful readers. Thank you.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Epilogue
Chapter 1
Kelly Cruise rushed toward the bank of elevators, her heels clicking loudly down the hospital corridor, but Damian caught up with her in a few short strides.
“What’s your rush? he asked once they reached the elevators.
“I told you. I have to get back to work. We have a new employee who just started a few weeks ago, and I don’t want to leave her alone for long.” Kelly glanced impatiently at the numbers above the elevator door, willing the elevator to hurry up and reach the maternity floor.
“What are you doing tonight?” His tone was casual, but his eyes were intense.
“I have a date,” she snapped, and she waited for his reaction.
Damian just stared at her for a few beats until she filled in the blanks. “What?” she asked. “Did you think I would just sit around and wait for you to come back to Michigan?” The sarcasm dripped off her tongue, and she cursed herself for losing her cool.
Mr. Strong and Silent continued to stare at her, but his mouth remained shut.
“You did, didn’t you? You expected me to wait around for eight months until you came waltzing back into my life. Well, it doesn’t work that way, Damian. My life didn’t end just because you weren’t in it.”
“I…” he began.
The elevator bell rang, and the doors opened. Kelly and Damian had to step aside to let a stream of passengers out, and then Kelly stepped in, expecting that would be the end of their conversation.
She was wrong. The big lug stepped into the car with her, and the door closed with an ominous groan.
“Look, Kell. I’m sorry that I didn’t call you after I left. My life was kind of in upheaval, and I had some stuff to work out. But now I’m back, and I’d like to go out with you again.”
Why is this elevator so damn slow? Kelly glared at him with one hand on her hip. “Why? So we can have sex for a while and then you can take off to California again?”
“I’m not going back,” he said just as the elevator reached the ground floor.
The doors slid open, and they both stepped out. Kelly was rendered speechless, and the ground felt shaky beneath her feet. Her footsteps slowed while they walked toward the hospital lobby. “You’re not going back to California?” she asked, just to make sure that she had heard him right.
“No.”
“Never?”
“Well, it’s hard to say never, but no, I don’t plan on it.”
They had reached the lobby, and Kelly leaned against an overstuffed chair for support while Damian stood before her with an inkling of a smile at the edge of his full lips.
“How long have you known this?”
“For a few months, but I’ve actually been thinking about it for a lot longer than that.”
“Yet you didn’t see any reason to tell me before now?” Her voice rose, and Damian’s smile instantly disappeared.
“Kell…”
“Don’t Kell me.” She stood up straight and tried to contain the fury that threatened to burst out of her. “It doesn’t matter anymore. You’re not allowed to walk in and out of my life at will and expect me to lay down and spread my…”
Damian placed his hand firmly on her elbow and half-dragged, half-pushed her out the lobby door into the bright sunshine. He manhandled her down a path that snaked around the hospital grounds until they were alone.
“It wasn’t like that, Kelly.”
“The hell it wasn’t!”
Damian paced in front of her with anger emanating off him in waves. “Yes, we had sex, but it was more than that to me.”
Kelly’s fists were curled so tightly that her red nails dug into her skin. “How do you expect me to believe you when you never called me. Not once in eight months. Eight months, Damian!”
Damian’s shoulders slumped, and he shook his head from side to side. “I made a mistake.”
“No, Damian. I did.” Kelly turned on her very expensive heels and stalked off, unwilling and unable to look back lest Damian see the tears that streamed down her face.
Kelly was so rattled from her run-in with Damian that she almost cancelled her date with Ken, but then she decided not to let Damian ruin her evening.
For a few months after Damian had left, she lost her mojo. She hadn’t even been able to look at another man without thinking about him, and she’d fallen off her game. Well, now she was back, and Damian could just take his place at the end of the line!
Kelly changed from her work clothes into her date night clothes, which, on that particular night, consisted of her most form-fitting jeans, a white off-the-shoulder peasant top, and strappy heels. She layered on a few silver bangle bracelets, added some dangly earrings, and fluffed up her hair. Kelly had been blessed, or cursed as she thought of it sometimes, with a curvy body, and she liked to show it off. Her chestnut brown hair was long and wavy, and she often wore it up in a high ponytail, but tonight, she kept it long and loose. Thanks to her Latin American heritage, she had caramel-colored skin and golden brown eyes that were large and expressive. Kelly had learned how to use her assets to her advantage back in high school, and she wasn’t above using them still, at age thirty.
She waited for Ken in the living room of her small apartment on the third floor of the building. This would be their third date, but he hadn’t been up to her loft yet. She had met him at the bookstore where she worked and where she had met most of the men she’d dated in the past few years. Ken was a graphic designer who had come into the store several weeks ago and bought several books on health and fitness. He had recently embraced a new, healthier lifestyle, and he’d bought books about eating “clean” and becoming your “best self.” Ken was of medium height and build, with sandy blonde hair and light blue eyes—not her usual type, but handsome in a wholesome sort of way.
He wasn’t anything like Damian, who had a rough-and-tumble appearance, with his jet black hair, stubbled jaw, and piercing dark brown eyes. Damian was tall and muscled, with strong, calloused hands from working on cars and a gruff voice to match. And then there was the tattoo of a lightning bolt on his right upper arm…
The sound of Ken’s c
ar horn broke through her thoughts, and she took a deep breath to steady herself. “Damn you, Damian Kostas. I will not let you ruin my date!” Kelly slung her purse over her shoulder and raced out the door.
They walked into the crowded new bar/restaurant that was currently all the rage in the small community of Clarkston, Michigan. It was Friday night, and the place was loud and full of people looking to have a good time. Kelly was no exception. After the day she’d had, she was ready to cut loose. Who knows—maybe I’ll invite Ken up to my apartment tonight.
The hostess sat them at a high-top table for two, across from the square-shaped bar in the center of the room. Ken immediately buried his head in the menu, and Kelly had just opened hers when she heard something that made her freeze. No way. It can’t be.
She lifted her head up, and her fear was confirmed. Damian sat at the bar facing in her direction, alongside an older gentleman with gray hair and a full gray beard. The sound that she had heard was Damian’s laughter, which had carried across the room and wormed its way under her skin. She watched him smile and laugh with the older man until…
He looked up and locked eyes with her, and his face lit up with a slow, easy smile.
“What sounds good to you, Kelly?” Ken asked, his head still bent over the menu.
A buff Greek God to go, please! “Um…I’m not sure. What are you having?”
“I’ll probably have a salad with grilled chicken and vinaigrette dressing.”
Yawn. How boring! If Kelly were eating with Damian, she would have probably ordered a fully loaded cheeseburger and fries. But that wouldn’t go over well with Mr. Health and Fitness. “I guess I’ll have the same,” she said and closed her menu. She purposely kept her eyes down and slowly unrolled her silverware from the white cloth napkin.
The waitress came over and took their orders, and while Ken was placing his, Kelly snuck a peek in Damian’s direction. The cad was still staring right at her, and this time, he raised his beer glass in a mock salute.
Kelly resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him and turned her attention back to Ken, who was asking her a question.
“Kelly? Are you ok? You seem a little…distracted.”
“Sorry, Ken. I was just thinking about a run-in I had with a disgruntled customer earlier today, and it kind of got to me, but I’m sure I’ll feel better after we eat.” She gave him her best smile and hoped that he would buy the lie. Disgruntled customer? Really? That’s the best you could come up with?
Ken reached his hand across the table and placed it on top of hers. “I hope it won’t only be the food that makes you feel better. I’d like to make you feel better too.”
There was no mistaking the intention in his eyes or his words, and Kelly slipped her hand out from under his. She gave him a weak smile and then excused herself to go to the ladies’ room. She went the long way around to avoid direct contact with Damian, but she felt his eyes upon her as she sashayed across the floor. She might have purposely swung her hips and flipped her hair back for good measure.
Kelly didn’t really need to use the facilities, so she primped instead. She teased her hair at the top to give it added volume and applied a fresh coat of lip gloss. Silly, since she would be eating soon, but it gave her something to do. When she opened the door of the restroom, she bumped right into a solid wall of muscle!
“Damian! What are you doing here?” she hissed, and she pushed on his chest to back him further down the hallway.
“It’s a free country, Kell. I can eat wherever I want to.”
She wanted to wipe that smug look right off of his exotic Greek face! “Did you know that I would be here tonight?”
“Nope.”
“Are you sure that Emma didn’t happen to mention it?”
“Positive. I came here to meet a buddy of mine about a business deal, not to spy on you.”
“Huh. Well, then why don’t you concentrate on your business deal and stop staring at me while I’m on a date!”
“Doesn’t look like a date to me. And how would you know that I was staring unless you were looking at me too?”
Arrogant, egotistical, infuriating man!
Before she could form a response, he continued. “Instead of standing here talking to me, you should get back to your date.” With that, he turned and walked away, leaving her tongue-tied in the middle of the empty hallway.
Thankfully, Damian left the restaurant shortly after their confrontation, so Kelly was able to eat her salad in peace. Well, relative peace. Her stomach was churning, and her head hurt, and it was difficult to concentrate on Ken when all she could see was the anger on Damian’s face when he told her to get back to her date.
The date that she had been looking forward to had quickly turned into a disaster thanks to Damian. Kelly had no choice but to cut her losses, and after they finished eating, she asked Ken to take her home. He obliged and didn’t even bother asking her if he could come up to her apartment. The poor guy! He was probably wondering what had gone wrong, but there was no way that Kelly could tell him the truth.
Instead, she gave Ken a chaste kiss on the cheek and thanked him for dinner. “Call me?” she said as she stepped out of his car, but she wouldn’t be surprised at all if he didn’t. Thanks a lot, Damian, she hissed on her way up the stairs.
Once inside her apartment, Kelly plunked down on her cushiony sofa, kicked off her heels, and laid back with her hand on her forehead. She would have liked to lament to her best friend, but Emma was still in the hospital, having just given birth to a beautiful baby girl. She could have called one of her other girlfriends, but none of them knew about Damian. He had only been in town for six weeks, several months ago, so she’d never had the chance to introduce him to anyone else.
A few short, glorious weeks. Just long enough for the gorgeous Greek to get under her skin and ruin her for any other man.
Chapter 2
As Kelly sat in the rocking chair with baby Ava cradled in her arms fast asleep, she relayed her latest man drama to Emma. It was a Monday afternoon, and Kelly had left the new employee, Jill, alone at the bookstore, so she could pop in on her best friend.
Emma had listened intently and nodded along, and now Kelly waited for her to speak.
“You know I love you, right?” Emma began.
“Yes.”
“And you know I’m usually on your side when it comes to men.”
“Yes.” This isn’t sounding good, Kelly thought.
“But this time, I have to side with Damian, and it’s not because he’s about to become my brother-in-law.”
Kelly scowled. “So, you don’t think he’s to blame at all?”
“I think it would have been nice if he would have called you, but it’s not like you two were in a committed relationship, Kell. You said yourself you were just in it for fun, remember?”
Ava squirmed in Kelly’s arms, and she glanced down at the sweet baby girl, who fell instantly back asleep. “I might have said that, but after what we shared, I thought he would at least call.”
Emma sighed. “Why don’t you try talking to him again? Calmly this time. My wedding is only a few months away, and I don’t want my maid of honor and the best man at each other’s throats!”
“So, you think that Damian and I should try to be friends?” Kelly gave Emma a look of disbelief. “We didn’t start out like you and Zack, Em. We went from zero to one hundred in thirty seconds!”
Emma smiled and rolled her eyes. “I know, and I tried to warn you. But you could at least try to be pleasant toward him, for me and for Zack.”
Ava let out a little cry, and Kelly quickly stood up and transferred her into Emma’s waiting arms.
“Is it time for her to eat or something?” Kelly asked nervously. She loved holding her “honorary niece,” but she wasn’t too keen on the crying.
“She might have gas,” Emma said.
“Geez, look at the time! I should probably get back to work. Don’t want to leave Jill alone for too long
.”
“How’s she working out?” Emma asked as she positioned Ava on her shoulder and patted her back.
Emma was the owner of A New Chapter, the bookstore where Kelly worked as the marketing guru and second in command. A few weeks before Emma was due to have her baby, she had hired Jill, one of their best customers, to pitch in while she was on maternity leave. They had another employee, Brett, who worked part time around his college schedule.
“She’s doing great. Don’t worry. Everything’s under control.”
Emma visibly relaxed. “Thanks, Kell. I really appreciate your help, and you know I’ll be back as soon as I feel up to it.”
If Kelly knew her friend, it probably wouldn’t be long. The bookstore was Emma’s pride and joy, although now she had an actual baby with that distinction.
Emma walked her to the door. “Promise me that the next time you see Damian, you’ll try to be pleasant. Please,” Emma added.
“I promise,” Kelly replied, but inwardly she thought, I hope it won’t be anytime soon.
Later that afternoon, Kelly was teaching Jill how to close out the register when the door chimed and in fluttered Alex, Damian and Zack’s mom.
Whenever she thought of Alex, two words came to mind: flamboyant and gregarious. Quite the opposite of Damian, Kelly thought while she gave Alex a warm, welcoming smile. Kelly had met Damian’s family through Emma, and she would probably have continued contact with them now that Zack and Emma were getting married. Kelly was happy to see Alex, and she stepped out from behind the counter to give her a hug.
Kelly was instantly enveloped in Alex’s enthusiastic embrace, and the sweet familiar smell of her perfume tickled Kelly’s nose.
“What brings you here?” Kelly asked. It couldn’t have been the books, because Alex often proclaimed herself to be “too busy to sit down and read.” That left…oh no…a party?
“Well, dear, I’m just so excited to have Damian back that I’m planning a little get-together for him, and of course, I wanted to invite you.”
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