Opposites Attract (3 page)

“I’m so—” he started to apologize.

“I can’t believe you would say that, Randall. You of all people,” she snapped.

“Me of all people,” he repeated. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? If I recall correctly, you dumped me because you wanted a rich man to take care of you. Tell me, how is that working out for you?”

Francesca stood up, placed her hands on her hips, and leaned forward slightly. As much as he hated it, his focus darted in for a peek inside her shirt.

“I’ll have you know that I’m not the gold digger you think I am,” she argued.

“I bet you refuse to date any man whose income level doesn’t meet your standards. Tell me, why haven’t you married one of them yet?”

“Why aren’t you married? Can’t find a girl who will have you as a husband?”

Randy stood and stepped around the desk. “I haven’t found anyone else who can start my engines the way you could.” He rubbed the back of his fingers on her upper arm. “Haven’t you found a rich guy yet who can kiss you breathless?”

* * * *

Francesca jerked her arm away. “And here I thought you were going to be sweet.”

He laughed. “Honey, I’m not here to make your life easy.”

“Just fix my damn car so I can get out of here.”

He stepped closer to her again, and she knew her cheeks were flushed. As much as he angered her, having him so close made her want to reach out, grab a hold, and kiss him.

He leaned into her and glanced out the window. “Do you have a ride waiting on you?”

“No.”

“Well, you better call someone. Your car’s going to be here for a few days or longer. Depending on how fast I can get the parts in.” He stepped back and sat on the desk, crossing his arms.

“It won’t be ready today?”

“No, didn’t you hear me on the phone? You’ve got some extensive damage.”

Francesca let out a sigh. “I guess I need to call about a rental.”

“I’ve got a vehicle you can use.”

“Really? Great.”

“Follow me.” Randall led her through the garage and out the back door where she saw some junk cars and a few that looked like they might be drivable. In the back of the lot, a vehicle sat with a blue tarp over it. He was headed toward it, and she hoped that since it was covered, it was going to be some fancy sports car.

She stood back as he pulled the tarp off. Once it was revealed, her mouth dropped open. It was his truck from high school. The truck where they had their first kiss, and where he made it to second base for the first time. It was the same truck where they had decided they were ready to move to the next level and give each other their virginity. Of course that didn’t happen in the truck, but there were other times they had made love in there.

“Do you remember this baby?” He smacked the fender.

“Yeah. It still runs?”

“If you take care of your vehicles from the inside and out, they’ll last a long time.” He opened the driver’s side door. “Climb in.”

She hesitated, but did it anyway. He followed, causing her to scoot over to the passenger side. The key was already in the ignition. The truck started immediately and Randall smiled, rubbing his hands along the steering wheel. “I loved this truck.”

He picked up the remote to the radio and touched the
on
button. The lights lit up and she heard a CD start to spin. The next thing she heard was her and Randall’s song come from the speakers. She looked at him and saw he was already inching closer. Before she knew what she was doing, her hands were wrapped around his neck, pulling him toward her.

She saw passion flood his eyes, and it took him no time to touch his lips to hers. She froze a moment from the intensity, but as the soft kiss began to heat up, she yanked his body into hers. His tongue thrust inside her mouth, and her world stopped. He could still take her breath away and make her feel complete with just a kiss. It had been so long since she had felt as whole as she did when Randall kissed her. As he pressed his body into her, one hand gripped her waist possessively.

“Oh God,” she whispered against his lips, breaking the kiss momentarily.

“You taste better than I remember.”

He gazed down into her eyes and as she stared back, she saw the only man she had ever loved. The one man who could make her want nothing more than to feel his arms wrapped around her each night before bed. Randall leaned in to kiss her again, but she stopped him.

“We can’t do this.”

He sat back in the seat and nodded. “You’re right. It didn’t work out the first time. There’s no way it will work this time.”

She wasn’t so sure about that. She had a feeling things would work out rather nicely between them.

“Anyway, if you want to use the truck, you’re welcome to. I know repairs are expensive on your car, and this isn’t a luxury car, but it will get you from point A to point B.”

Could she really ride around in this truck? Every time she drove it, she would be haunted by memories and her nose would be attacked by his scent. But it was either this or a rental car—an expense she couldn’t afford with her vehicle now in the shop.

“Thanks, it means a lot that you trust me to drive your truck.”

He snickered. “I wouldn’t call it trust. You break it, you buy it.”

Francesca rolled her eyes. What the hell had she ever seen in him? “Whatever, just get my car fixed soon so we can be out of each other’s lives for good.”

Randall hopped out of the car. “That’s exactly what I plan on doing. Call me mid-week for an update.” He walked back toward his shop.

Francesca scooted over to the driver’s seat. After buckling up, she put the truck in drive. A light flashed on the dash. It was the gaslight.
Seriously?
She should have expected no less.

* * * *

From inside the shop, Randy watched as Francesca drove off in his old truck. He hoped she stopped at the gas station right away, otherwise she wouldn’t be making it far. Chuckling, he turned to order the parts he would need for her car and then he was getting the hell out of this place for the day. Without parts, there wasn’t any reason to be there.

As he entered the office, the perfume she’d been wearing attacked his senses. The room was filled with her aroma and brought his mind barreling back to the kiss. Not only did she smell good, but she tasted absolutely decadent. Her tongue had been soft, but eager. Her hands had curled into the back of his neck, one finger lightly rubbing across the bottom of his hairline.

He wasn’t sure if it was her or the memories in the truck that had made him kiss her. He would love to blame it on the truck, but he had to face it—Francesca was a hot woman. She had taken care of herself over the years. The way she dressed accented all the right areas on her body, and whatever that damn scent was, he had just wanted her. There wasn’t a part of him that didn’t want to be near her.

And now she had his truck. Which meant it was going to hold her fragrance when he got it back. Then it dawned on him that her car reeked of her too. For the next week, he was going to be living with a constant hard-on.

But if he was feeling this way, there was a good chance she was too. Which meant, maybe they could have one final time between the sheets and just get it out of their system. Everyone was curious if their ex’s had gotten better over the years. Then again, Francesca had rocked his socks back in high school. If she had gotten any better, he wasn’t sure he would survive it. But there was only one way to find out. Now he just had to figure out how to do it.

Chapter 4

Francesca pulled the ancient truck into a parking spot at Hot Bods. As good as she looked today, she wasn’t going to workout. She was looking for her wonderful friend Jane. She could really use someone to talk to. And over the past few months, she and Jane had become very close. Which was great, Francesca had never had many friends of the same sex.

Climbing out of the old red truck, she looked for a remote to lock the doors. Damn, this truck was so old she had to manually lock the doors. Laying her purse and keys on the seat, she leaned across the seat to push the lock button down on the passenger side. She grabbed her purse, pressed the driver’s side down as well, and slammed the door shut. As she made her way into the gym, she scanned the parking lot for Jane’s car. Once she spotted the blue Mercedes, she added a little pep to her step and was on the hunt for her friend.

It was a Saturday afternoon and the gym was busy. Which was usual. Everyone wanted to make up for their week of either forgoing exercise or overindulging on calories. The receptionist greeted her and Francesca smiled while she walked by and made her way down the hallway to Jane’s office. She was so happy for her friend, who was now the manager of Hot Bods. Only a few months ago, Jane was the receptionist. Ever since Jane took over the gym, the place had really bloomed.

The office door was open and she found Jane sitting in her office chair, rubbing her pregnant belly.

“Hey, lady. How’s the baby?” Francesca asked.

Jane looked up and said, “Kicking the hell out of me today. And not in a good way. I’ve been on the damn toilet all day. All she does is kick my bladder. That just might be too much information, but I’m a bit tired of almost peeing on myself.”

“Uh, yeah. That’s gross.” Francesca sat down in a chair across from Jane’s desk.

Jane laughed. “How are you?”

“I could be better. My car is in the shop after it broke down during that horrible storm last night. Now I have to figure out how to pay for the damn thing.”

“How has work been?”

“Slow. Apparently nowadays people are doing decorating themselves. They don’t need to hire interior designers anymore.”

“It is spring. I bet a lot of people are moving. Maybe you’ll get some calls before long.” Jane smiled.

“I hope. Otherwise I’m going to have to live up to rumors and get a sugar daddy.”

Jane laughed. “Stop worrying about what everyone says about you.”

That was easier said than done. Though, she hadn’t stopped any of the stories all these years. She let everyone believe she was rich and had men just giving her money. Which wasn’t entirely untrue, but it certainly wasn’t how everyone thought it was. Rich men only showered you with money when you were servicing them, and she got tired of feeling like an overpriced call girl. She wanted to find love with one of those rich men. But it just wasn’t happening. Maybe the saying ‘money can’t buy happiness’ was true, because she certainly wasn’t happy.

“How long are you without your car? I’m sure Ben has one you can borrow,” Jane said.

Jane’s fiancé Ben had a whole garage full of cars. Why hadn’t she thought of that? “I might take you up on that. Right now I’m driving an old truck.”

“I can’t see you in a truck. I have got to take a picture.”

“Shut up. It isn’t like I’m driving the damn thing by choice. I just want to get my car back so I can be rid of Randall for good.” Francesca crossed her arms and leaned back in the chair.

“Randall?” Jane looked at her with curiosity.

“He owns the repair shop and just happens to be my first love.”

Jane leaned forward and propped her elbows on the desk. “Oh, this day just got better. My good friend, tell me about this guy. And did I hear right, you used the word love?”

“It was high school, don’t get ahead of yourself.”

“Does he have a big beer belly now, and already going bald?”

“God, do I wish. No, he is way hotter than he was back then. He’s got that perfect shade of brown hair, kinda like an almond. With matching brown eyes. He’s tall and built. The years have been good to him.”
Yes, very good.

“I see. Are you two going to rekindle?”

Francesca laughed. “I burned that bridge a long time ago.”

“You never know, you just might be able to rebuild it.”

“Doubtful.”

The young receptionist poked her head in the door and let Jane know she was needed.

Francesca stood and offered her hand to Jane to help her up. Jane’s belly seemed to grow bigger each day. Giving her friend a hug, Francesca said, “We’ll talk soon. Don’t work too hard.”

“I try not to, but this place won’t run itself,” Jane said.

Francesca waved bye and as she made her way to the front of the building, she wondered what she was going to do for the evening. There was no way in hell she wanted to spend Saturday night eating take-out again.

As she left the gym, she dug through her purse, looking for her keys. Where the hell were they? Leaning against the truck, she started to empty the contents on the hood. Dropping the purse on the hood, she peered through the driver’s side window. Shit, her keys were on the seat. Pulling at the door handle, she hoped that maybe this damn thing was so old it didn’t lock. But of course, luck wasn’t with her.

She had two options—call Randall and hope he had a spare or call a locksmith.

* * * *

Stepping out of the shower, Randy heard his cellphone ring the ringtone that let him know someone was trying to get a hold of him at the shop. He ran through the house naked and answered his phone, out of breath.

“Smith’s Auto, Randy here.”

“Randall…I mean Randy. It’s Francesca.”

“What’s up?” He walked back through the house to the bathroom and wrapped a towel around him.

“I have a problem.”

“Forget to put gas in the truck?”

“Ha ha, no. Thanks for the warning, by the way. Actually, I locked the keys in the truck.”

Randy started to laugh. Was this girl serious?

“It isn’t funny. Please tell me you have a spare set and you can come unlock the door for me.”

“I suppose I could do that.” He smiled. “But I have a price.”

“Are you kidding me? You know what, never mind. I’ll call a locksmith.” He could hear the irritation in her voice.

“I wasn’t going to ask for money. I was going to invite you to dinner.” He loved how things were working out. Maybe he could get her out of his system tonight, get her car fixed this week, and send her gorgeous self on her way.

“Is that a good idea?” she asked.

“I think it’s a fine idea. Let me finish getting dressed. You caught me right as I stepped out of the shower. And then I’ll be on my way. So just hold tight.”