Blueprint for Love (9 page)

Did men like Gabe even exist anymore, she
wondered? Ronnie didn’t get out of the office enough to meet
anyone. Well, no one that held her interest.

Except Vic.

Her stomach flip-flopped thinking about the
rugged and outspoken hunk. In many ways he reminded her of Gabe.
Tall, dark and alpha. And he’d saved her from possibly being
ravaged by some guy on a lonely dark road.

Only so he could ravage you himself.

When she thought about it, Vic was really
her knight in shining armor. Only his armor didn’t have that
spit-shine sparkle. It had a little rust, and some dents and nicks.
Definitely rough around the edges.

Her thoughts wandered to the night her dress
got caught in the door of his SUV. She’d worn her new panties that
night. She wondered if he could see the new lace underwear she’d
bought on a whim the day before from a popular lingerie store. He
hadn’t mentioned the incident. Most women would have been overcome
with embarrassment. She was also, to an extent. Another part of her
was secretly thrilled. She wondered if Vic liked what he saw. Was
she sexy to him? Was she the type of woman he’d go for? The man was
pure testosterone in a bottle. She wouldn’t mind uncorking it and
having a taste.

“
Mom!”

Ronnie turned, feeling guilty, hoping her
son couldn’t read her thoughts. “Yes?”

“
The pancakes are
burning.”

Damn!
She was so busy fantasizing she forgot about the flapjacks
she’d been making. She grabbed the spatula and began flipping the
batter that had fluffed up.

“
You had that far away
look in your eyes,” Jovan said. “Like you were
daydreaming.”

“
Yeah, um,
I…was…uh...”

The doorbell rang, saving her from any
further explanation.

Ronnie padded barefoot to the front door,
dressed in a pair of warm-up shorts and an oversized t-shirt. She
figured one of her sisters had dropped by for an impromptu visit.
She was shocked and strangely delighted to see Vic when she looked
through the peephole.

“
I’m sorry,” he told her
when she opened the door. “I overreacted yesterday.”

He looked damn good. From his mud-caked
jeans to his steel-toed boots to the day-old, dark stubble on his
chin. The man exuded sexiness.

“
Would you like to come
in?” she asked.

His six-foot-five frame loomed in her
doorway. “I’m dirty. Don’t want to get mud all over your floor. I
just came from the site.”

Ronnie glanced over his broad shoulder to
see his SUV parked at the curb. A generous helping of mud coated
the tires and the fenders. She laughed. “Yeah, both you and your
truck could use a bath.”

A rakish grin spread across his handsome
features. “I got the truck covered. You offering to take care of
the mud on me?”

A rush of warmth spread through her like a
heat wave on a Texas summer day. Vic’s pants were as dirty as the
thoughts she was having of him. Before she could come up with a
flippant reply, she heard a voice behind her.

“
Hi.” Jovan’s voice
interrupted her erotic conversation.

Shame took over as Ronnie
struggled to pop back into
Mom
Mode
.

But Vic didn’t miss a beat. He held his hand
out to shake Jovan’s. “I’m Vic,” he offered.

Vic’s massive palm swallowed her son’s small
hand.

Ronnie made the introductions. “Vic,” she
said, “this is my son Jovan. Jovan, this is Vic Romano.”

Jovan pumped Vic’s hand. Ronnie was so proud
of him. Only twelve years old and acting like a grown-up.

Vic chuckled. “That’s a strong grip,
partner.”

Jovan beamed. “Thanks!”

“
Ever thought of playing
baseball?”

Jovan’s eyes lit up with that remark. Then,
just as quickly, the spark died when he saw the look of disapproval
on Ronnie’s face. “I want to, but Mom says sports are too
dangerous.”

Vic’s eyes shot to Ronnie’s. “Aw, that’s too
bad. I could teach the boy a thing or two,” he told her. “Baseball
is my game.”

“
Are you a friend of my
mom’s?” Jovan asked Vic.

Ronnie jumped in. “Vic and I work
together.”

“
Well,” Vic corrected,
casually slinging his thumbs through the dirty belt loops of his
jeans. “It’s more like I work
for
her. Basically I just do what she tells
me.”

Jovan nodded. “Yeah, I know what you mean.
She does me the same way.”

Ronnie smirked as the two of them laughed at
her expense. “Both of y’all need to quit,” she admonished. “Neither
one of you listen anyway.”

“
Okay.” Vic held his hands
up in mock surrender. “Mama knows best, young man. Always listen to
her. Maybe then she’ll let you play a game of catch with
me.”

“
Can I, Mom? Please?
Paleeasse?” Jovan drew the word out into two syllables.

Ronnie capitulated. “We’ll see.”

“
Thanks!” Her son squeezed
her hand in a rare display of affection. “See ya around, Vic!”
Jovan called out as he bounded away.

Ronnie watched as Jovan practically skipped
back into the house. Any other time she couldn’t get that child to
budge unless there was some skillful negotiation involved.

“
Fine boy you’ve got
there,” Vic complimented.

“
Thank you.”

“
I really don’t mind
playing catch with him. You should think about letting me teach him
the fundamentals. Sometimes a boy needs a man around to help with
those things.”

She folded her arms over her chest. “You’re
assuming there isn’t one around?”

“
Is there?” His green eyes
held hers captive, like Wonder Woman’s truth lasso, demanding total
honesty. Damn, how did he always manage to call her
bluff?

“
No,” she
admitted.

Vic rewarded her with another one of his
lazy grins. “I’ll see you on Monday, Ronnie.”

“
Oh, wait,” she started.
She cracked the door behind her and lowered her voice. “Um. My
sister is having a birthday party for her fiancé, Gabe, this
weekend. It’s just some close friends and family. Would you…? If
you’re not busy…”

She struggled to find the right words. She
glanced at her bare feet then up at him. His amused gaze focused on
her. She could do this.

“
We’re celebrating Gabe’s
birthday down at the marina,” she said. “It’s casual
attire.”

“
What time?”

“
Seven p.m.”

“
I’ll pick you up at
six.”

“
Okay.”

Butterflies fluttered in the pit of her
stomach. She was a woman in charge. She helped run a profitable
business. She dealt with men all day. So, why was this one rattling
her nerves so much?

Ronnie shut the door and leaned against it
with her eyes closed. Vic was a take-charge guy, too. He’d sensed
her shyness and immediately figured out what she wanted. She liked
the idea of a man who could read her mind. She was tingling from
her toes to her fingertips. She smiled. For the first time in
years, she had a date! They hadn’t agreed it was a date. But it was
a real date.

“
Hey, Mom?”

Her eyes flipped
open at the sound of Jovan calling her. She
jerked her head upright to find him staring at her.

“
Yes?” she
answered.

He shot her one of his
smart-aleck grins. “I haven’t figured out what all women want, but
I know what
one
woman wants.”

Her breath caught. She was mortified her son
noticed the spark between her and Vic. She fumbled with an
explanation, but before she could come up with anything believable,
Jovan laughed and jogged off toward the kitchen, leaving her alone
with her thoughts.

# # #

Saturday came sooner than Vic expected. He’d
worked hard all week. He was ready for some down time. This was
supposed to be the day he took Andrea bowling. He’d surprised
himself by asking if he could take her on Sunday instead. It worked
out, since Andrea wasn’t feeling well anyway. Normally, Vic
wouldn’t have made the suggestion. He knew Andrea looked forward to
getting out of the house. Maria was very particular about who she
kept company with.

Vic’s change of plans was due to Ronnie.
Standing at her door earlier this week, Vic was mesmerized by her
shapely body and long legs. She’d looked so vulnerable, working up
the nerve to ask him to go to the party. He couldn’t say no to her.
And he didn’t want to say no either.

He’d never felt this type of slow burn for
any woman. No, it was more than a slow burn. What had started off
as a harmless spark had grown into a full-blown blazing
attraction.

The question was, what were they going to do
about it?

There was so much more to the Ice Queen than
what was on the surface. She was warm and compassionate inside. She
cared about people. He liked her spunk. Her sassy tongue. The way
she kept him in line and didn’t crumble at his sexual innuendos.
He’d like to think he’d had an effect on her ability to let loose,
too. The other day she actually made a joke. The woman was making
progress.

Vic owned plenty of shorts and t-shirts, so
finding something to wear to the party was no hardship. He picked
Ronnie up in his Explorer at exactly six o’clock. After he’d opened
the door to the passenger side for her and slipped behind the
wheel, she laughed.

“
The view certainly looks
a lot different from the front seat,” she said.

He chuckled. “You can ride in the back if
you want, but that section is strictly reserved for changing
clothes.”

“
No, thanks. I’m
good.”

“
Great. ‘Cause I think you
look amazing in that outfit.”

She pulled on the hem of her short, pale
blue dress. “Thank you. Let’s just hope what happened last time
doesn’t happen tonight.”

His eyes met hers and he felt the heat of
her gaze. Was it embarrassment or passion? In either case, he
wanted her to feel at ease. “You don’t have to worry,” he promised.
“As much as I enjoyed the show, I’ll make sure no one else gets to
see what I saw.”

“
Did you say you enjoyed
the show? Goodness, that’s two compliments from Vic Romano in the
span of sixty seconds. Let me put this on the calendar.”

He’d wanted to tell her how hard his cock
had been for most of the drive home that night, just thinking about
her. But that was too much power for any woman to have over him. He
had to keep his feelings in check.

Instead, he said, “Oh, yeah. I very much
liked what I saw.”

She crossed her shapely bare legs, drawing
his attention to the nude high-heeled wedges cradling her pretty
toes, accented with vibrant red toenail polish.

He smiled when she remained silent. “What?
No smart ass comments?” he asked.

She shook her head, a mischievous grin
pressing against her glossy lips. “No comment needed. You’ve said
it all.”

He laughed and put the car in drive. This
was going to be some kind of interesting night.

The party was just getting started when Vic
and Ronnie got there. There was a small crowd, consisting of
Candace and Gabe’s family and friends. Some funky, upbeat music
played at a respectable level. People mingled freely, dancing and
eating barbeque. Ronnie introduced him to her sisters, and her
cousin, Toye, the lady he’d met the night he dropped her at the
Eden Roc. Vic thought the way Toye’s grey eyes boldly raked him
over from head to toe was a little flirtatious, but he reserved
judgment. Maybe she was just being friendly.

Other than that, from the moment Vic set
foot on the boat, he felt at ease around everyone, especially since
the event was casual. Shorts and flip-flops. He’d been to places
where he’d felt like he didn’t belong. He was glad this wasn’t one
of them.

He finally met the guest of honor, Gabe
Hunt. Candace’s fiancé was a down-to-earth guy who welcomed Vic to
the company and the party.

“
I’ve heard really good
things about you,” Gabe told him.

“
Likewise,” Vic answered
politely. He thought back to the day Ronnie told him about how some
guy named Gabe had made sure she had a spare in her car now. This
was the dude he’d thought was her man. He was glad to learn Ronnie
was free and single. “Thanks for taking care of Ronnie’s spare,”
Vic told Gabe. “She told me how you handled up.”

Gabe nodded. “Those jerks at the dealership
won’t be screwing with her anymore. She has free oil changes for
the next two years.”

Vic chuckled. “Way to take care of
business.”

“
Thanks. And by the way,
congrats on your promotion to crew leader. Just be careful,” Gabe
warned. “When you’re good at something, these ladies won’t let you
live it down. It’s like drawing blood from a turnip. They’ll suck
you dry, man!”

The three sisters stood in
a circle around the two men, laughing and making good-natured
comments.
Candace playfully punched Gabe
in the arm. “Don’t scare Vic away,” she teased. “You make it seem
like we keep you locked in the basement working on home improvement
projects.”

“
Besides,” Marlowe
laughed, “you’re the one who makes us take on half the projects we
bid for, Gabe.”

“
And you know you love
it,” Ronnie added.

Gabe grinned. “True.” He looked at Vic. “I
forgot to tell you, you can’t win when all three of them gang up on
you.”