CHAPTER 9 (2)

“Money is no object. And I’ll pay to have it as quickly as possible.”




“You understand I will have to coordinate my work with commissioning the engine, transmission,

and other parts. It is not a small undertaking, Mr. Spencer.”




“That’s why I’ll pay you whatever you need to get it done. We can start with the chassis and sheet

metal pieces. Then I’ll need to lay in all the wiring. You can take longer to get the engine and

transmission. Tell your crew I’ll give a bonus for early delivery.”




The older man wagged his head, staring down at the schematics Darius had sent. “These will have

to be modified for what you want.”




During the past couple of days, Darius had combed the Internet for a similar racing model. What he

wanted, though, was much more specialized. “You’re the only man who can do this.” It wasn’t

flattery, it was true.




“I will try, Mr. Spencer, but my shop has customers.”




Manuel’s shop was damn near a factory. He was the largest employer in his small town. He had a

reputation for overseeing every project like a hawk. Darius had a feeling the man would be so

intrigued by the project that he’d do a lot of the work himself.




“I’m willing to pay to get this design first in line. I’ll even pay your customers a wait fee, if that’s

what it takes.”




“You make an offer a man cannot refuse. But what is the penalty if I discover I cannot deliver on

time?”




There was always a penalty clause. But Darius was asking for a miracle. “No penalty. Just give me

your honest estimate, and I’ll work with that. Keep in mind that this is a present for a teenage boy.

And I don’t want him disappointed.” Which was why Darius would approach Nathalie about the car

after it was a done deal. He didn’t want to get Zion’s hopes up only to crush them later.




Manuel nodded gravely. “Your son is a lucky boy.”




“Not my son. A friend.”




“Then he is very lucky to have a friend like you. I will do my best. You will hear from me by the

end of the week.”




Darius was the lucky one. For the first time in years, he felt major excitement stirring in his gut. It

was partly the new project. It was partly doing something that would mean so much to someone

else. It would be the look on Zion’s face when he invited the kid to help build the Maserati Alfieri

1960.




But most of all, it was Nathalie.




* * *





Working from home, Nathalie’s Thursday morning had been so full with phone interviews and follow-ups for her recruiting company that she hadn’t even folded the weekend’s laundry. Too often, she didn’t finish putting away the previous week’s clean clothes before she had to wash the current week’s dirty ones.




She pushed her hair out of her face as she stared in dismay at the mess in the family room. On the

coffee table, Zion’s coloring book and crayons were a hodgepodge of color. The kitchen bar was

littered with papers, lists, notes, and several days’ worth of junk mail. She really needed to weed out

the important stuff and toss the rest. But housecleaning was always at the bottom of the to-do list.




This afternoon, she told herself. And this time she meant it.




Now, where was the Sevilla resume? She could have sworn it was on the dining table, which served

as her desk. Back in the dining room, she sat down at her computer to reprint the resume.




She hadn’t been quite this disorganized in the past when she’d gone into an office every day, but at

home things sometimes got away from her. Zion often dropped his notebook on top of her work,

and he’d been known to accidentally grab her papers along with his homework. He’d also been

using the computer to email Darius, who had come up with the brilliant idea to use Skype, too.




Darius.




He always told Zion to tell her he said hi, but Nathalie hadn’t spoken directly to Darius since their

dinner at Martini’s. Not since she’d thrown herself at him by the water temple...and then completely

freaked out.




She was still embarrassed at the way she’d acted on their first—and only—date. Throwing herself

at a man, and then flip-flopping back to being stone cold, wasn’t like her at all. She wanted to

apologize for her behavior at the same time that she wished she could forget all about it.




In any case, it was very nice of Darius to continue corresponding with Jeremy even though he

didn’t want to go out with her again. And it was all for the best that they didn’t become more deeply

involved, of course. It was taking everything she had to keep her and Zion’s life together as it was.

She didn’t need to add a complication like Darius Spencer to her personal life.




Unfortunately, just because she didn’t need something didn’t mean she didn’t want it...




“Okay, stop thinking.” Especially when her thoughts were going round and round in circles about a

man she could never have. “You’ve got work to do.”




She’d just found the resume buried deep in her email inbox and was about to print it out again when

the doorbell rang. She glanced at her watch. Had she forgotten an appointment? Or maybe it was

Tanya?




Nathalie opened the door to find Darius standing there, beyond scrumptious in a dark suit, charcoal

shirt, and black tie. He had been mouthwatering in jeans, but in a suit and tie...oh my...he was

downright edible. She felt the impact, and the heat of him, low in her belly.




Like a match striking to life with a sizzle and a hiss.