Desert Heat

  Absentmindedly he reached his hand to her once again. Only this time, before he could pull it back, she took it. Feeling her soft, dainty hand in his felt nicer than he’d expected. Their eyes met for a moment as their fingers laced together. He had no idea what to make of her going along with his slip this time, but he wouldn’t ruin the moment by addressing it. Instead he asked her what he had a feeling had made her nervous enough to want to hold his hand. “You ready to meet the stars of Vintage Desert Heat?”

  She squeezed his hand. Her puckered lips and widening eyes instantly confirmed that somewhere between the security gate and where they stood now, she had lost a bit of her swagger and was now a little nervous. “You think they’re both here?”

  “I don’t know about Dimitri, but I saw my old man’s truck parked out front.” They started toward the massive open doorway to the main shop, and he squeezed Bethany’s hand, glancing back at her. “Don’t worry. He’s not nearly as crabby as he seems to always be on the show.”

  Bethany laughed nervously. “That’s not what I’m worried about. I just can’t believe I’m here in the VDH shop, and I’m about to meet Mace Santiago!” Swinging their intertwined hands as she turned to him, the unabashed excitement all over her face, she continued, “Up until I moved out here, because I don’t have cable in my apartment and my Internet service is too weak for live-streaming video, I’ve followed this show from day one.”

  He smiled taking that last statement in. It only added to his already growing curiosity about her situation. She’d explained about Desert Informer, but it didn’t make a whole lot of sense. Small-time presses like that were all over the place and likely short of interested interns. He was certain she could’ve found one nearer to home that was just as good, if not better. He’d lived here his entire life and not once had he heard anything exemplary about the Desert Informer. Now the Vegas Sun-News he might’ve understood her leaving her home behind to come all this way for and live in her crummy neighborhood. They were by far the biggest press in Vegas. But then she was also here for the opportunities in showbiz, so that kind of made sense.

  The sound of a door opening loudly coming from the back of the shop as they walked in blasted him right out of his line of thinking. His old man smiled the moment he saw him.

  “Hey, whatta ya know? Two of my desert rats come by this week to see me.” He eyed him suspiciously. “You guys know something I don’t? First Dominic come down all the way from New York unannounced just to say hi and now you?”

  “Nic was in town?” Damian asked, wondering why he hadn’t heard about it.

  “Yep.” His dad reached for a rag and wiped his hands. “Just two days ago.”

  “Is he still here?”

  “Nope.” His dad shook his head, glancing at Bethany. “Blew in and out like a desert gust. Stopped by, said hello, hung out for about half-hour, then said he had a flight to catch.” He brought his attention to Bethany and smiled. “So who’s this pretty little thing?”

  His father’s question interrupted his thoughts about how his brother Dominic hadn’t bothered to so much as text him in weeks. Now he flew in and didn’t even think to let him know he’d be in town? Damian hadn’t seen him in months. “Oh, sorry,” Damian said glancing at Bethany, who was already smiling nervously. “This is Bethany, Dad. A friend of mine and big fan of the show.”

  Damian didn’t miss the way his dad glanced knowingly at their intertwined hands before looking up and smiling at Bethany. He was sure his dad was already curious about what kind of friend he’d be holding hands with and bringing to meet him out of the blue. “Bethany,” Damian turned to her as he felt her squeeze his hand, “I think you know who this is.”

  “Yes. Wow.” She nodded, letting go of Damian’s hand to shake his dad’s. “It’s such an honor and pleasure, Mr. Santiago. I’ve been a fan even before you had a reality show.”

  “Call me Mace,” he said, “everybody else does, and really?” Mace beamed as expected. “A young girl like you a fan? That’s kind of surprising. Usually the only reason we get young girls watching is because of the boy.”

  Bethany explained briefly about her uncle and how much he’d told her about Mace and VDH way back when they were still touring all the classic-car shows. Damian stood back and watched as Bethany and his dad immediately hit it off. Her love for and knowledge of classic cars was obviously a big selling point for his dad.

  Another thing his dad did that Damian had fully expected was offer Bethany a tour of the shop. Her excitement of course had Damian beaming just as much as his dad. The fact that she’d slipped her hand right back into his when she was done shaking Mace’s hand was another thing that had Damian feeling strangely excited.

  The tour was a longer one than usual. Damian suspected that was because aside from Lana, whom he actually lived with for nearly a year, Bethany was the only girl he’d ever brought here. No doubt Mace was already making more of this visit than his just dropping by with a friend.

  They were nearly done when Mace got a call. He’d had a few others during the tour that he’d ignored, but this one he said he had to take and walked off into his office. Damian decided to finish off the tour himself. “And this of course is where it all happens,” he said raising his arm toward the open shop. “Not really. There’s a lot viewers never get to see that happens in the other warehouses, but this is where most of the drama for the show unfolds.”

  She squeezed his hand, then surprised him by bringing it up to her chest. “Feel my heart,” she said. “It’s been pounding like this from the moment I realized what this place was.”

  Staring into her bright eyes, he couldn’t hold back anymore. “My heart’s been doing a lot of pounding today, too.”

  Her smile weakened a little as a reaction to his comment. He realized now it was probably too soon to be letting her in on what she did to him. But just as he had little to no control over the inexplicable smile that planted itself on his face whenever he was around her, he’d had no control over keeping this thought to himself.

  She took a deep breath, and Damian braced himself for her response. “Maybe—”

  The loud Dixie horn, like the one from the old Dukes of Hazzard show, and the even louder revving engine of his brother’s car interrupted them. They both turned to see an impeccable replica of the General Lee coming toward them. It pulled right up to the warehouse door. His brother Dimitri was at the wheel, and Lazlo, their head upholstery guy, rode shotgun. Just like in the show, they both had to jump out of the windows, because the doors didn’t open.

  “Damian.” Dimitri laughed. “What’s with the surprise visits this week?”

  “Yeah.” Damian nodded. “Mace told me about Dominic. I had no idea he was even in town. At least he dropped by to see you guys.”

  Lazlo walked off, talking on his phone, waving at them to excuse himself, apparently needing some privacy.

  Dimitri smirked as he walked up to them, holding a cardboard box of what looked like takeout. “Dominic’s always been the beatnik of us desert rats. Never knows whether he’s coming or going.” He reached out his fist to Damian’s, and they tapped fists, then he glanced at Bethany, who seemed once again to be speechless. “If I’d have known we were having company I would’ve brought more food. But as usual I bought way more than we’re gonna eat, so there should be enough for everyone.” He stopped long enough to take in Bethany from top to bottom. “You gonna introduce me to your little friend here or you want me to do that myself?”

  Squeezing her hand gently, he lifted it toward his ever-flirting brother to make sure he understood Bethany was not someone he should be eyeing the way he was. “Bethany, I’m sure you know who this guy is. My kid brother Dimitri.” Turning to his brother, who was already smirking at him deliberately as he lifted a brow, he said, “This is my friend Bethany.”

  “Friend, huh?” Dimitri leaned over to shake Bethany’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Bethany,” Dimitri practically murmured. “My brother here doesn’t br
ing too many friends around.”

  Damian and Bethany exchanged glances, but she didn’t seem fazed by Dimitri’s insinuating comment. “It’s very nice to meet you, Dimitri. I’m a big fan.”

  “Really?” He glanced at Damian as he walked over to the counter where he put down the box of food and turned back to them. “You watch the show?”

  Damian knew what his brother must be thinking. Most girls who claimed to be fans of Dimitri’s didn’t know the first thing about cars. Diego and Dimitri both had lots of female “fans,” and while Diego’s fans seemed genuinely interested in his music, they all knew what these girls were really admiring. In Dimitri’s case, it wasn’t the cars he was famous for restoring.

  “Not as often as I used to,” Bethany responded, regaining a little of that swagger. “But I did when I had cable. Now I can only watch when I’m somewhere with a decent Wi-Fi connection.”

  Dimitri continued to eye her even as he began pulling some of the food out of the box. He turned to Damian for a second. “I got sandwiches from Earle’s, but I also got some wraps if you’re on one of your health kicks.”

  Damian shook his head quickly. As good as a wrap sounded, he was done sharing Bethany with his brother and his dad. She said she had an article she needed to work on, so the longer he hung around here the shorter his time would be once he got her alone again. “I’m good.”

  Holding up a sandwich at Bethany, Dimitri smiled a little too sweetly. “How ’bout you, beautiful . . . uh, I mean Bethany.” He grinned sinfully. “You want something? Sandwich? Wrap? I got some pasta salad, too.”

  “No, thank you.” Bethany smiled, and Damian let out a sigh of relief.

  Beautiful had done it. He knew his smartass brother was doing it on purpose. His way of getting Damian to admit she was more than just a friend. If she was, he’d admit it, but at the moment he had no idea what was happening. All he knew was they hadn’t stopped holding hands since they got there, and she was about to say “maybe” about something when his brother’s crappy timing had interrupted them. Now he was dying to know what that “maybe” was about.

  “We actually gotta get going,” Damian said, already starting to walk.

  “Dude!” Dimitri said, holding his hand out. “I haven’t seen you in weeks.”

  “I know, I know,” Damian said, feeling a little guilty. “I’ll be back again soon, I promise.”

  Dimitri frowned as Bethany tugged at Damian’s hand. He turned to her, still holding her hand, as she was walked over to the Charger Dimitri had driven in on. Leaning over to check out the grille, she turned to Dimitri. “Sixty-eight,” she said, her lips curling into that lazy, smug smirk Damian remembered from the speed date. “Has the divider on the grille.”

  Dimitri’s jaw dropped. Obviously she’d picked up on his suspicion about her being an actual fan of the show. Maybe this was her way of showing his a-little-too-full-of-himself kid brother that she wasn’t watching the show just to watch him go off on one of the rampages he was so famous for, in his muscle shirts, showing off his tats and big arms, as most of his female fans were.

  Lazlo walked over to Dimitri just then, handing him his cell phone. “He wants to talk to you now.”

  Taking advantage of his brother’s distraction, Damian began walking back to his own car. “That was perfect,” he said, squeezing her hand but not explaining why.

  “I know,” she said, laughing softly.

  Damian turned to her, surprised that he’d hit it on the nose. She had done it on purpose. Able to hold back this time from saying what he really wanted to, that she was perfect, he addressed something else instead when they reached his car. “So maybe what?”

  He was certain he was going to have to explain what he was asking, but before he could begin to she smiled. “Maybe my heart was pounding for other reasons as well.” She dug her teeth into her bottom lip with a very sweet smile before adding, “Maybe my heart’s been pounding from the moment I realized it was you knocking at my door today.”

  He stared at her now, wondering when she’d stop adding to the already incredible impression she’d made on him so far. She’d been thinking about her unfinished statement this whole time, too, otherwise there was no way she would’ve understood his question so quickly. But her response to it left him speechless, not to mention a bit breathless. And since he couldn’t think of a more appropriate way to respond to that, he stopped fighting his need to do what he’d ached to do since he’d sat at her show, mystified by this beautiful woman who stood before him. He leaned in and kissed her.

  Chapter 9

  Even as her brain was screaming No! What are you doing? an even more convincing voice deep inside her was telling her to just go with it. You deserve this. God, but Bethany hadn’t anticipated this being so good. His kisses were magical. His tongue moved flawlessly in rhythm with hers, almost as if they’d been kissing each other for ages. It was exhilarating. Every nerve ending in her body had come alive at the first touch of his lips to hers.

  Halfway before they even got to the shop that far more convincing voice had pretty much convinced her to just go with it. Whatever it entailed. She couldn’t be sure at the time, but one thing there was no denying was the incredible attraction they were feeling for each other. For her it was more than just that. Just like last week, that undeniable chemistry was still there and growing stronger with every moment they spent together. Even after her show, when they’d gone to eat and both of them played things down, not mentioning what had happened during her performance, the sparks were still there the whole time. She felt it as she spoke enthusiastically of Salvadoran food, saw the very thing she’d seen all through her show in his eyes still. Yet their unspoken agreement not to verbalize this secret thing they were both experiencing continued. Why say it when they could just feel it? And it felt so good she was willing to risk everything for it.

  The only thing Bethany worried about now was that he might think his family was the reason for her sudden decision to go with it—to tell him her heart had been beating erratically from the moment she’d known it was him at her door. Because what she was feeling had nothing to do with his family. She’d thought about him all week—daydreamed about the possibility of something like this happening, and now it was.

  His being a part of VDH was an incredibly exciting plus, but that’s not why she’d given in. It hadn’t been completely on impulse either. The question had actually been a constant source of distraction this entire week. If she ever got the chance to, would she? She thought she’d be scared. She thought she might fight it, but now all she could think of was, what was next?

  His mouth continued to devour hers as urgently as she kissed him back. The thoughts going through her mind now were very different from what she’d thought they’d be all week if she actually gave in to this. She’d thought for sure she’d regret it the moment it happened. Instead, nothing had ever felt so right.

  Just when she thought she could do this forever—when she’d even begun to scold herself for not showing him more interest last week, because she could’ve been doing this all week—he pulled away breathlessly, reminding her for the first time in the last few minutes of where they were. They were still standing in a parking lot. The very parking lot of Vintage Desert Heat. One of the few reality shows she’d ever followed closely.

  Leaning his forehead against hers, both of them still breathing a bit heavily, he smiled. “Let’s go somewhere else.”

  Her eyes went wide. “What? Why?” As perfect as this felt, she wasn’t ready to take things further. Was he, after only one kiss, suggesting they go back to his place?

  Then she heard the long, masterfully tuned whistle, so unlike Trinity’s pathetic little whistle. With their foreheads still touching, they turned to the shop. Dimitri and Lazlo were standing there chuckling. “That’s why,” Damian explained.

  “Bring your friend back soon,” Dimitri’s playful tone teased. “Delfi’s gonna be pissed when she finds out about this.”
br />   Immediately hating Delfi without even knowing who she was, Bethany tried to stay calm but still pulled away. “Who’s Delfi?”

  Pulling her back, he smiled. “My incredibly meddlesome sister.” Bethany stared at him, confused, remembering his sister’s name was Fina. “Delfina or Delfi or Fina or whatever the hell you choose to call her is the oldest, therefore she likes playing mother hen to all her little brothers.” He waved at Dimitri before opening the car door so Bethany could get in. “She’ll be back all right.”

  “Oh, yeah, she will.” Dimitri laughed again. “Delfi’ll make sure of it.”

  Bethany watched Damian roll his eyes as she got into the car, feeling a little silly over the hasty but very real jealousy she already felt about having to share this man with someone else. Silly, maybe even alarming, but she was now enormously relieved.

  “He just means,” Damian said, leaning in, so close to her face she could almost taste his mouth again, and her heart started that familiar thumping, “that Delfi will be mad she missed this. That’s all.”

  Having his mouth so close again, she couldn’t resist placing her hand behind his neck and kissing him again softly. “Okay,” she whispered.

  “Okay.” He smiled, pecking her one last time before pulling away and closing the door.

  Letting her head fall back against the seat, Bethany took a very deep breath. Was she really letting this happen? Was she actually going to allow herself to be happy for once—do something so against her better judgment just to gratify her heart’s sudden desires?

  The driver’s-side door opened, and Damian sat down next to her, smiling as he stared into her eyes in what was now becoming her favorite thing about him—those eyes and the unadulterated way they looked at her as if she were actually as incredible as he made her feel. He leaned in and kissed her once again, slowly, but profoundly. It was almost indescribable what his kisses did to her. They did the very thing she’d felt when she connected with him in such a way during her show. It was as if the very essence of him ran through every peak and valley of her soul, leaving his signature—his mark—etched deep down in places she never even knew existed. Hell yeah, she was allowing this to happen.