Help Wanted (12 page)

“I missed you,” Jim whispered against her mouth before stepping back. “I came looking for you when we brought the van here, but you were gone.”

Keira wondered how Jim could even form a sentence when her mind and body were still buzzing from their kiss. She was having a hard time trying not to kiss him again and he wanted to carry on a conversation.

“Keira, are you going to answer me?”

“I was at the mall with Charisma shopping for a birthday present for Dave. She called about forty minutes after you had left.” She speculated why Jim had come looking for her. Did he want another replay of yesterday and this morning? Or had he come looking for her about something else?

“What did you want?”

“I wanted to ask you out on a real date. I know that we’ve done things a little differently. So, how about we try it the correct way? After I get the motorcycles dropped off at Dante’s place I can go home, change and pick you back up around six o’clock,” he suggested. “I know this perfect out of the way restaurant that I’ve wanted to take someone to. I would like for it to be you.”

“Don’t you think all of this is happening pretty fast? Maybe we should rethink going out with each other again.”

 She was trying to back away from Jim, but he was one step ahead of her. Keira could tell he was going to put up a fight instead of backing off like she hoped he would. Her interest in Jim was piqued as well as her curiosity about him. She was eager to see what new side of him might show itself surprising her more than he already had so far.

“No, I’m not going to rethink anything,” Jim said as he pulled her closer. “Furthermore, I’m rejecting your feeble attempt at telling me to back off.  I’m going to be at your house tonight. You better be ready or you’ll wish that you had taken my invitation seriously,” he threatened softly.

“What will happen if I don’t agree?” He wasn’t about to do anything to her.

“Baby, you don’t want to test me and find out,” Jim teased giving her another kiss before patting her on the ass and then moving away.

Keira stood motionless in the middle of the room as she realized how excited she was about going out on another date with Jim. She was intrigued by what thrilling something else he might offer her.

If she said yes right now and made a decision quicker than she thought she would, Jim might think he had the upper hand on her. She should make him work a little bit harder at getting her to go out with him again.

Spinning around, she caught sight of Jim as he grabbed his helmet and keys off the counter. Her eyes wandered over his back remembering how tight his ass was when he was walking around naked in her bedroom. It was a sight that she could get used to seeing more often.

“I’ll be ready and you better be a man of your word. I expect to be impressed by you.”

Jim stopped in his tracks on the way to the door. She knew that he’d heard her and she was counting the minutes until he told her what he thought about her comment.

“I thought I proved last night that I was a man of my word. I guess if you need a refresher course in my skills, I’m more than happy to give you another class anytime you want, sweetheart.” Jim continued on out the door leaving her to think about what he’d just told her and making her wish it was already time for their date.

Chapter Twenty-Three

“Dante, I want to thank you again for watching Trevor. I thought Kathy would be at home tonight, but she has a date with another new guy. I swear I have to get my son out of that house and away from that woman and her circus of men.”

Jim snatched his jacket off the back of the kitchen chair and shoved his arms into the sleeves. He couldn’t believe that he was actually still talking about his ex-wife while getting ready for another date with Keira. He was excited and a little nervous about tonight. He wanted things to go really well, but it wouldn’t if he didn’t get his mind off Kathy and all of her nonsense.

“Kathy isn’t going to change, so why waste time worrying about her? Trevor is with me tonight. He’s going to have some of my famous spaghetti and meatballs. After dinner I told him I would play a video game with him. There’s nothing for you to be worried about. You only need to focus all your energy on your gorgeous date; unless, you’d rather I step in and you stay home with Trevor. I’ll give Keira your apologies.”

Jim knew Dante was only trying to test his patience and it was working. Women were constantly throwing themselves at his friend, but he wasn’t going to allow Keira to get that close to Dante.

“Thanks for the offer, but I think that I can handle going out on a date with Keira without any help from you. I think you have enough women dying to date you.” Jim left the kitchen and stopped to check his reflection in the mirror by the door one last time. He wasn’t the type of guy to go over how he looked, but he did want to look especially good tonight. This would be his first ‘real’ date since his divorce from Kathy.

“Hey, you can’t fault me for trying. I thought you might tell me no, but I asked anyway.” Dante followed him into the room. He picked up the remote control off the table before taking a seat on the couch. “You better get going before you’re late. Keira doesn’t seem like the type of woman who would appreciate you standing her up.”

“I’m leaving,” Jim said, opening the front door. “Don’t forget to make sure Trevor has finished all of his homework before he plays any video games. Hopefully, he won’t still be mad at me and take it out on you.”

“Trevor will get over you going out on a date with Keira. He was only mad because he couldn’t go with you. I’ll talk to him about it over dinner if he’s still mad at you.”

Pausing in the open doorway, Jim looked back over his shoulder at Dante. Doubt about going out with Keira tonight eased into his mind. He didn’t want to let Trevor down like his mother constantly did by breaking his promises to him.

“Maybe I should stay at home. I’ve never seen him act out like that before. Trevor is usually so tough and independent even at seven years old because of growing up around Kathy more than me. He counts on me because he knows that he has no one else in his corner. No, I’m not going. I’ll call and cancel with Keira. She’ll understand.”

He wasn’t about to bail on his little boy not even for a date with Keira─ no matter how much he was planning on showing her a good time. He was a parent first and anything else in his life came second including
Choppers
.

“I know you aren’t serious,” Dante said, tossing the remote control down on the cushioned seat next to him.  “Trevor was only trying to make you feel bad and he’s doing it. He’ll be okay with me for a couple of hours. Go out. Have some adult fun and conversation. Leave me here with the kid. Now, I would leave before Keira changes her mind and not even open the door when you show up.”

Jim hated that Dante was right. Trevor was only testing him and he shouldn’t fall for it. He might need to have a talk with his son tomorrow about how he was too old to throw a temper tantrum.

“You’re right. I’m leaving, but call me if you need to. I’ll come right back and deal with Trevor.”

“I doubt I’ll need to,” Jim heard as he went out the door closing it behind him.

Chapter Twenty-Four

The lyrics from
Purple Rain
filled Keira’s house as she finished getting ready for her date. The need to call Charisma and share her news was eating at her, but she changed her mind at the last second. Her hand had actually touched the phone before she snatched it back. Tonight she just wanted to have fun with Jim and not have any other worries on her mind.

It was amazing how elated she was about going out with Jim again. He had already whisked her away on one adventure by getting her on the back of his motorcycle. He challenged her and a man hadn’t done that in God knows how long. She had a good idea it would be a very long time before another man like Jim would come along.

Unlike her, Jim knew how to live life with such passion like he didn’t have a care in the world. She wanted some of his zest for living to rub off on her. She was tired of being cautious and by the book when it came to her life.

There was nothing predictable or planned out when it came to Jim Russell. He was very aware of his personal needs, wants and desires more than any man she had ever known in her life. Without a doubt, the short amount of time she had been around Jim she learned one important thing about him─ he loved being a leader and having people follow his ideas and he wouldn’t stop until they gave in.

It was almost like he was on a personal mission and he had no doubt that it was the most important thing going on. Jim had a clear vision about what he wanted for the motorcycle shop and was pursing it endlessly.

Thinking of
Choppers
as Jim’s now and not her father’s was getting a tad bit easier, but she still wished she had a part in it some kind of way. Sitting at the sidelines watching other people do the same thing she desired was hard for her.

She could tell Jim wasn’t a man who let the word
failure
enter his vocabulary. He only focused on being successful. Jim wasn’t aware that she had been watching how he interacted with the people around him. He wasn’t worried about what other individuals were doing or even what they thought about him. He only paid attention to his game plan and how to win at it.

“I’m not going to fall head first into tonight’s date with Jim,” Keira promised herself as she moved around her bedroom putting things away she’d decided not to wear. She had changed clothes four times before she picked out the white dress she was wearing now. She thought it was a mixture of temptation and sex appeal combined that was meant to slowly drive a man crazy with lust.

Girl, don’t lose your common sense over dinner and end up back between the sheets with Jim
. That was a one time incident and something that she wouldn’t allow to happen again. She wouldn’t be blindsided by Jim’s raw masculinity again.

Confusion still clouded Keira’s mind at her unexpected response to Jim’s touch and mixed feelings surged through her at the possibility of seeing where things could go between them. One minute they were at each other’s throats and now she was going out with a man who she thought was a jackass when she first met him. Life sure did have a way of tossing a person’s words back at them.

.
I hope Jim didn’t ride his motorcycle, because I’m not hopping on the back of that wearing this dress
. Picking up her high heels off the floor, Keira headed towards the living room when the doorbell buzzed. Her pulse rate jumped as she tried to throttle the dizzying current racing through her.

The memory of the last time Jim was in her house came rushing back to her full force. Running her fingers through her hair, Keira took several deep breaths to calm down the last of her nerves before she went to answer the door.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Words were lost to Keira as she stared at Jim standing on her porch step with flowers in his left hand. She was shocked at how good he looked…not that he usually looked bad, but he was a downright walking wet dream.

He stood there, devilishly handsome with his long, brown hair flowing down to just a little below his collar. The rich outlines of his muscular arms strained against the black coat he was wearing. The whiteness of his shirt made his naturally tanned skin stand out even more. The shadow of his beard slightly blended in with his goatee giving him an even manlier aura.

Jim didn’t possess the classically handsome features that most women loved, but his look tonight was definitely capturing her attention and would any other woman who looked in their direction during dinner.

“You look stunning in that dress. Maybe we should stay at home instead of going out,” Jim said, drawing her attention away from her inner thoughts. “I don’t need to get into a fight at the restaurant keeping the men away from you.”

“I have to say that you look very handsome yourself. I’m not use to seeing you in anything but jeans and a t-shirt.”

“I thought I should dress up a little since I wasn’t taking you to
Dante’s
again. Is it okay for me to come inside? Or are we going to continue to have our conversation out here on the porch?”

“Sorry about that.” Keira stepped back and waved Jim into the entranceway and then closed the door behind them. “Go into the living room. I need to turn off the music before we can leave and make sure everything is locked up.” She tried to move past Jim, but he touched her on the arm stopping her.

“Why don’t you stop in the kitchen so you can put your flowers into some water?” He handed her the beautiful roses and then planted a soft kiss on her lips.

“What was that for?” Keira asked.

“You looked so damn kissable that I couldn’t resist. I’ve been thinking about doing that since I asked you out at the shop.”

“I’ve been thinking about you too,” she confessed softly almost like she didn’t want Jim to know. She moved away from him and headed for the kitchen.

“Have a seat. It will take me a few minutes to put these roses into a vase. I need to find where I placed the one I have. It’s been a while since anyone has brought me flowers.”

“I’ll rather walk around and take a look at the place. I didn’t get a chance to notice much when I was here last time.”

The second the words were out of his mouth Jim wished he could take them back. They both knew what happened the other day when he made a surprise appearance. He shot Keira a look as she continued into the other room like she hadn’t heard him, but he knew she had.

For the rest of the night, he was going to try to choose his words more carefully and not blurt out the first dumbass thing that popped into his head. It would truly be best for him if he thought before he spoke.

While Jim strolled around, he decided to look around while Prince played in the background. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d heard 1999. He wasn’t a huge fan of the artist playing, but he was fond of some of the songs. He had to admit that the guy did have an amazing talent.