Page 72 of Twice as Tempting

Kelly was sharing the news with Damian over dinner one night while he listened intently, a quality that she loved about him. When she had finished talking, Damian set his beer down and said, “I have an idea.”

“About the book club?”

“Yeah. What about including a man’s perspective?”

Kelly cocked an eyebrow at him. “Go on.”

“I finished that book that you lent me. The one with the rich boss and the sexy assistant…”

“You mean the book you stole from me?”

“Borrowed. Anyway, I could come to your next meeting to represent the male point of view.”

Kelly chewed on the inside of her cheek while she considered his proposal. “Are you serious about this?”

“Sure. Why not? You’ve got enough estrogen in the club—why not add a little testosterone?”

“A little testosterone?”

Damian shrugged. “Ok. A lot. But I bet the ladies would love it! How many men do you know that read romance novels?”

“I didn’t know any until I discovered that my man reads them!”

“I’ll admit it. When I first started reading, I thought it was going to suck, but then I really got into it. I was actually rooting for Hudson and Lacey to get together!”

Kelly almost spit out the slug of beer that she had just taken. “You even remembered their names?”

“Yeah. Who has names like that anyway?”

“This ought to be interesting.”

“So, is that a yes?”

“It’s a maybe. I need to give it some more thought. Besides, I’m still in shock that you would actually consider doing this.”

“Anything for you, princess,” he said and clinked his beer bottle against hers.

And the funny thing was, she was starting to believe him.

Chapter 23

Kelly should have known that the blissful feelings that she had been experiencing wouldn’t last. Just like a storm that suddenly gathers in the sky, she hadn’t seen it coming. She never could have predicted what happened at the Halloween party and how it would be connected to the conversation that she and Damian had had the night before.

They had just finished eating dinner at her apartment and were sitting on her couch, flipping through the television channels, trying to find something worth watching. After a few minutes, they gave up, and Kelly suggested that they just talk. She had learned so much more about Damian since they had been spending so much time together, but there were still some major topics that they hadn’t delved into, and one of them was money.

It had dawned on her that Damian would have needed a sizable amount of money in order to buy the auto shop, and she wondered where it had come from. Damian wasn’t a big spender, but he always offered to pay whenever they went out, and he never seemed concerned about his finances. Kelly hesitated to bring up the topic, thinking that it was really none of her business. However, if they were going to have a future together…

“Did you know that money is one of the top three topics that couples fight over?” she ventured.

“I’ve heard that. What are the other two?”

“Sex and parenting.”

“Hmm. Well, at least we can cross sex off our list,” Damian said, shooting her a toothy grin.

“Yes, we seem to have a handle on that one.”

Damian leaned in to kiss her, but Kelly pulled back. “Not yet. We’re still talking.”