I clear my throat as I fiddle with the cuffs of my blouse, stepping away from him.
I can’t work with this man. I can’t even stand next to him without facing a rush of memories. I gave Niki my knickers six months ago. I step away and lean against my car door. Even at this distance, I can smell him, although that says less about how much aftershave he’s used and more about my ability to seek out his scent.
I should go. There’s nothing he can say that will convince me to work for him. As far as he’s concerned, I’m a liar. He doesn’t know the real me or what my days consist of.
I pull my shoulders back and ready myself to tell him that I’ll find a way to get home and that I can’t stay any longer when he shouts, “Yep, I can see the problem.”
He looks around the corner of the bonnet at me. Flutters hit my chest. “What is it?” I stutter.
“Your car is a piece of crap, Bella,” he replies with a wink. “But lucky for you, some of the best mechanics in the worldwork here, and although their skills are with race cars, most of them grew up pissing about with their parent’s old bangers. I’ll call my mate Jacs to take a look. She’s our chief mechanic.”
“You really don’t have to.”
“It’s the least I can do for the woman who got me to return home. We can either wait here”— as if on cue, a raindrop hits my eyelashes—“in the car together, or we can head to the coffee shop and chat.”
The close proximity of my car where all I can do is breathe him in or a coffee shop where I can sit at a distance?
“Coffee shop,” I blurt. “And you can tell me about the job.”
Because prolonged silence where I’ll end up reminiscing about his mouth against mine will be a hundred times worse.
“I need you,” Niki says as soon as I’m seated in Coulter Racing’s coffee lounge.
I swear my belly warms. I’m used to my parents, Tabi, and Sasha needing me, but when he says it, I’m reminded of the man with the softest lips who makes me feel like I can offer him something no one else can. I’m not just another person who can file paperwork or tie braids. I’m talented, powerful, and valuable as me.
I bite the inside of my mouth. I shouldn’t think this when I’m preparing to decline his job offer.
“Let me rephrase, because that sounded creepy as fuck,” he says. When Niki smiles, it’s like the sun hitting oil and forming rainbows. I can’t help but smile back. “Yep, you thought it, too. Clearly, I need you as my assistant because you understand where my head is. I’ll reach my point eventually.”
I nod my encouragement. I’ve got hours until Tabi comeshome from preschool. Everything from his intermittent eye contact to his wringing hands suggests he needs to speak.
“But before I do, can I ask what was true when we met? Your name is Rosabella, hence Bella, and you were a rugby player and not a coach?—”
I hold up my palm to stop his rambling. “Niki—that’s your name, right?”
He nods. “Not Liam.”
“That night, I intended to have a quiet drink on the last night of my holiday. I wasn’t expecting to be hit on by fuckwits or be called someone’s wife.”
He chuckles. I resist the temptation to touch the chain around my neck. I need to return it.
“I also wasn’t expecting to chat to someone struggling with their future or dive into the ocean with him.”
“While we only wore underwear,” he replies.
My cheeks heat. Does he still have my knickers?
“Yeah, we don’t need to remember that part.” Even if I’ve imagined his beautifully muscled chest while playing with myself many times since. “That night, I pretended to be the person I wanted to be if life hadn’t got in the way. I don’t share much of my personal life with strangers.”
“For safety?”
I nod. “Mostly. I don’t share much about myself at work either, not that I’m accepting the job.”
“But—”
“You don’t want me as your assistant. You made it clear in Senna’s office. We’ve started in too difficult a situation. Besides, I don’t know anything about cars.”
“But you know about professional sports. You understand psychology and people. And you understand me.” The way he whispersmepulls on my heart, as if I can be the person to help him fight his demons. “Before I give you my pitch, Iwant to be clear that you can take another role here so you don’t have to work under me.”
