She still didn’t get it, still hadn’t realized he didn’t plan on letting her go. Ever.
But she would.
“You’re the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met, you know that? And that’s saying something with the sisters I have.”
She laughed, soft and sweet, and his heart squeezed in response. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
He rolled his eyes, purposely trying to bring back the fun from earlier in the day. “You would, you little tyrant.”
“I take my job very seriously,” she said, attempting to sound serious, but the glint in her eyes gave her away.
“Hmm, and what job is that?”
She nipped his lower lip, then sucked and licked the abused flesh, making him groan. “Driving you crazy.”
He slid his hand over her ass and gave it a squeeze. “You need a pay raise then, because you’re already a fucking expert.”
She threw her head back and laughed, a full belly laugh that had him mesmerized. He couldn’t take his eyes off her.
No, Alex Franco, I’m never letting you go.
Chapter Fifteen
Alex watched the Ford Mustang roll out of the parking lot and emptied her lungs in a rush. “Holy. Shit.”
Rusty planted her hands on her slim hips and grinned at her, green eyes bright with excitement. “Can you freaking believe that?”
Alex shook her head, still stunned. “Nope. Maybe we’re on a hidden camera show and some dude with a microphone’s gonna jump out laughing his ass off and screaming, ‘Suckers! We’re only messing with you!’”
“This is what we were hoping for, what we said all along would happen, but still…” Rusty brushed her auburn hair back from her face. “Poaching one of R.I.P. Classic’s customers? We get this one right…” She shook her head. “Shit, we’ll be jumping in the deep end with the big boys.”
Alex rubbed her suddenly sweaty palms on the sides of her shorts. “I think that’s what it means, right?”
Rusty’s spine straightened, determination transforming her entire face, making her even more stunning, if that was possible. “That’s exactly what it means. We screw this up, we might not get another chance. We have to kill it.”
Alex bit her bit. “Right. No pressure then.”
Rusty gave her a sharp nod. “Nope. None at all.”
“Okay. Mr. Cannon’s Charger should be ready for the painters day after tomorrow. Then you and me can concentrate on the Mustang, and Pipe can pull on a pair of coveralls and do the small jobs already booked in.”
“Sounds good.” Rusty looked down at her boots, and when she looked up her eyes were dancing, her grin barely contained. “We’ve so got this.”
“We’ve more than got this. We fucking own it,” Alex said, trying to keep a straight face.
“We’ll fucking own it and spank its ass for good measure.”
Alex crossed her arms and nodded. “We’ll spank it till it purrs, force-feed it rocket fuel, then wheel spin that bitch into R.I.P. Classic’s workshop, screaming, ‘This is how we do it at West Restoration, bitches!’”
They gave up trying to keep it together after that and doubled over in a fit of nervous, hysterical laughter. They were still giggling when Piper came back with lunch.
She stopped in front of them, hands on hips, looking annoyed. “What did I miss this time?”
Alex and Rusty just laughed harder.
“Someone better tell me what’s going on. I always miss the good stuff stuck in that goddamn office.”
Alex slung her arm around Piper’s shoulders. “Well, my friend, we’re gonna need you to dust off your coveralls. That quote you did for the Mustang…”
“No,” she whispered. “R.I.P. Classic’s job. We didn’t?”
“We did.”
Piper’s face lit up. Out of the three of them, she was the one with the best head for business, and lately had only been used occasionally in the workshop. They planned to change that when the place got busier. They’d hire a part-timer for the office and have Piper back out with them full-time, but they weren’t there yet.
Rusty quickly filled Piper in.
“So I’m back in the workshop?” Pipe was beaming now.
“Yep.”
“About damn time.” She slid her arm around Alex’s waist and gave her a squeeze. “I was starting to worry if I didn’t get some grease on my hands again soon, I’d morph into Deacon.”
Rusty tugged on her sister’s blond ponytail. “God, I hope not. One suited control freak in the family is enough, thank you very much. Besides, having to shave every day would seriously put the brakes on your love life.”
At the mention of Deacon, a rush of guilt and longing moved through Alex at the speed of light. She hated keeping secrets from her friends, but what choice did she have? They wouldn’t understand—how could they? And if she was honest with herself, she knew this was the only way to work Deke out of her system. Their night together six months ago hadn’t let her go, no matter how hard she’d tried to forget it, forget him. At least this way, they both got what they wanted.
Piper snorted as they headed to the office. “What love life?”
They took their seats around Piper’s desk while she handed out sandwiches. Rusty slumped back in her chair. “Yeah, the only one getting laid around here is Alex.” She waggled her eyebrows and took a massive bite of her ham and cheese on rye. “How is Jarrod?”
Piper slapped her sister’s knee. “Gross. No wonder you’re not getting laid with table manners like that. Don’t talk with your damn mouth full.”
Ah, crap. “Yeah, fine.”
“Fine?” Piper shook her head. “Oh, no, you don’t. We want details. This is the first serious boyfriend you’ve had. So spill. And don’t skimp on the details. I have to live vicariously through you.” She scowled at her sister.
Piper had a record for picking total losers, or assholes who decided they liked her big sister a whole lot more. So Deke and Rusty took it upon themselves to terrify the crap out of any man who showed an interest in their baby sister, testing them. They had to prove their worth if they wanted to date her. Poor, sweet-natured Piper didn’t stand a chance.
They were both staring at her, waiting for her to spill her guts. Jesus. She had to give them something. “It’s just casual, you know? Just sex.”
“Mmm-hmm.” Rusty was wearing her I-see-all expression, which meant she was in serious trouble. “How good is the sex, then? Must be pretty spectacular to hook up as much as you and the suit have this last week. You’re hardly home.”
She took a bite of her sandwich and chewed slowly, stalling. “I guess.”
Rusty grinned. “Well, is the dude hung or what?”
Alex was in the middle of drinking her soda and sucked her mouthful down the wrong way. Piper jumped up and pounded on her back. Alex scowled at Rusty, who was now giggling her ass off.
Her friend shrugged. “What? Piper wants to know as well.”
“She does not.” Giving her friends intimate details of their brother’s anatomy did not sit well with her. Not at all. They’d be scarred for life if they ever found out.
“Well, yeah, I kinda do,” Piper said as she took her seat again.
Alex stood and stomped to the door. “Enough talk about my sex life. Go get one of your own.” She pulled the door open. “And if you ask me how hung he is one more time, I’ll stick dead rats in both your beds.”
There. Ha! She spun around and slammed on the breaks, mouth dropping open. A customer stood there, eyes round as saucers. “Shit. Um…I mean…what I meant to say was…” She took a steadying breath. “Your car’s ready, Mr. Porter. Please follow me.”