Rev Me Up Read online

  Except for the tiny fact that she’d managed to make Nico mad at the end there, it had been perfect. He was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen in real life, second only to her movie-star crush Chris Bowman from the Rubberman superhero movies. The way Nico had kissed her was thrillingly scandalous, all thrusting tongue and firm lips. And the way he pressed against her on his desk. Nothing like it had ever happened to her. No man she knew would’ve dared touch the Spencer heiress like that.

  She headed toward the glass conservatory at the back of the house, where her dad liked to relax with the paper after his Friday afternoon golf outing. She planned to return to Nico’s shop tomorrow with the excuse of an apology for wasting his time and a desperate hope that he’d kiss her again. She sighed dreamily, imagining it. He’d see her, his eyes would light up across the room, and he’d rush to take her in his arms. “Lily,” he’d say in that deep, masculine, sexy voice, “kiss me.” Or better yet. “On my desk. Now.” A delicious thrill ran through her at the thought.

  “Did you get a car?” her dad asked, startling her from her fantasy. He stood and gestured for her to take a seat in the hard, uncushioned teak chair next to him. He was dressed in what he considered casual evening wear—a sport coat with patches on the elbows, button-down shirt, tailored pants, and loafers. He was a large man, six foot four, solid, very dignified. His gray hair was neatly parted and perfectly smooth. He looked down his patrician nose at her, though she always told herself he wasn’t trying to look contemptuous, he couldn’t help it if he was tall with a patrician nose. He had to look down his nose at her from that height.

  Lily’s cheeks heated, thinking of what she got that was so much better than a car. She took the offered seat. “I haven’t made a final decision. There were so many cars.”

  His lips pinched tightly together as they often did before he spoke. It wasn’t just her. He spoke like he’d sucked a sour lemon to just about everyone, unless he was trying to broker a deal that required smooth persuasion, then he could smile, however insincerely.

  He took his seat again and finally spoke. “Did you tell Nico who you were? He should be giving you the VIP treatment.”

  “Oh, he was,” she said, unable to help her small smile.

  Her dad grunted. “He’s the man I hired to restore your grandfather’s Mustang.”

  She straightened. “He is?” She’d recently inherited her grandfather’s house and old Mustang out in California.

  “Yes. He’ll be heading out next Saturday to retrieve it. Long before your trip, so you won’t have to deal with the car at all. Then he’ll handle the auction. Maybe I’ll buy it if it’s anything special.”

  Lily had a flight booked to Los Angeles in three weeks to go through her grandfather’s things with a brief detour to Vegas to deal with something that had nagged at her for weeks now. It was her grandfather on her mother’s side. Someone she’d never met. Neither had her dad, for that matter. But she’d wanted to go through any family mementos that might be stored in the house. She knew very little about her mom’s side of the family.

  “Have you started studying for the bar?” her dad asked.

  The bar exam was at the end of July, and she wasn’t ready to get back to studying so soon.

  “I just graduated a week ago. I need to decompress.” She stood and kissed his cheek, knowing it would fluster him enough to give her an escape. He was extremely uncomfortable with affection. “I’m going to help in the kitchen.”

  “We have staff for that, Lily. How many times must I say that?”

  She laughed. “I like cooking.” She headed out.

  “Spencers don’t cook.”

  She turned. “Spencers don’t hug trees either, but look what happened!”

  He took a deep breath, in through the nose, out through the mouth. “Kent is more than happy to take you on at his firm.” Kent was one of her father’s Yale law school buddies.

  “I have a job.”

  His lips did that sour-lemon thing again. “I hope you’ll change into something nicer for dinner. I invited the Wilsons.”

  “Thanks, Dad. I hope so too!”

  She turned and made her escape, annoyed as usual by her dad. First of all, she was already wearing a dress, but the request meant he wanted her in something more formal. Second of all, the Wilsons were there for an alliance of families. It was like some old-fashioned matchmaking between her and her childhood friend Trevor. He’d kissed her once before they left for college, an obligatory kiss, both knowing their families wanted them together. That kiss had been so chaste it was like kissing her brother. He thought so too. He actually wiped his mouth after. Jerk.

  Being the proud black sheep of her family, she wore a little black dress to dinner with a scandalously low cut in front to show off her best feature—her cleavage. Her shoes were high-heeled Louboutins with lace-up booties that resembled pink sneakers. Her father had conservative designer dresses tailored to her exact measurements stocked in her closet for all formal occasions such as these. She’d worn them exactly never.

  “Hello,” she called, crossing to greet their guests where they stood in the two-story foyer. She air kissed Mrs. Wilson on both cheeks as she knew she liked, kissed Mr. Wilson on the cheek, and turned to Trevor, wanting to hug her childhood friend, but knowing he wouldn’t like it. When they were kids, he was more fun. They used to play hide-and-seek in all the secret passageways for the staff at the country club. He’d grown up into a carbon copy of his boring, stiff dad. In any case, he had a personal space bubble that he didn’t like crossed as she’d finally realized after numerous events such as these when she’d tried to hug him, and he’d stood stiffly, arms at his sides. She smiled instead, and he air kissed near her ear.

  “Nice dress,” he whispered. He was a breast man, as every female at the club well knew. He wore a pink shirt with pink and green plaid pants. Quite hideous.

  “Nice pants,” she whispered back.

  “Thank you,” he replied stiffly. He could never tell if she was joking or not, as he’d once mentioned. At twenty-five, he was already deeply entrenched in his father’s corporation and a big hit on the golf course. He’d had a golf instructor since he was seven.

  They headed to the formal living room for cocktails, and Lily braced herself for a long, boring evening. Her father gave her a dark look and stared pointedly at her sneaker heels. Lily ignored it and sat on the sofa next to Mrs. Wilson, who smiled politely.

  “How’s the garden club?” Lily asked, knowing the question would give Mrs. Wilson plenty to say while the men talked business and golf.

  The older woman beamed and launched into a long description of their new “sunny islands” program to freshen up the small islands of grass at intersections around town. Lily sipped her gin and tonic, making sure she threw in a few well-timed mmm-hmms while she mentally returned to her time with Nico today. The way he strode toward her in the showroom, all tall, muscular confidence. That delirious moment when he unexpectedly stopped in front of her, instead of some beautiful woman behind her, and introduced himself. His smile, that perfect white-toothed smile that lit up his face, yet still screamed alpha Italian male. She crossed her legs tightly over the throbbing. Just thinking about him got her worked up. Imagine what would’ve happened if she’d actually let him—

  “Lily,” her father barked.

  “Huh? What?” She looked around the room at the curious faces.

  “Trevor asked what are your plans for the summer,” her dad said in his formal, rigid, I’m-about-to-lose-what-little-patience-I-have tone.

  “Oh!” she exclaimed. “I have some time off before I start my new job. I’m working for the Earth Defense Group.”

  Mr. Wilson frowned. “We’ve had some dealings with that group.”

  Lily smiled serenely. “I’m sure you have.” Mr. Wilson was CEO of a huge land development company. Developers and environmental advocates often battled it out over declining habitat, endangered species, and wetlands protection.r />
  “I’m trying to get her into Kent’s firm,” her dad said, “but she’s being stubborn about it.”

  She wouldn’t last a day there, and she knew it. Kent’s firm represented big agri-business. The kind of pesticide producers and genetically modified food companies that Lily was one hundred percent against. She tried to eat local, fresh organic food whenever possible. She’d toyed with the idea of going vegan, but she liked cheese a little too much. And steak. And chocolate soufflé. She really loved food.

  The rest of the night passed much the same. Her dad tried multiple times to shame her into toeing the line. True to form, she clung to her black-sheep label. His frustration was evident. Hers was well hidden. She’d like, for once, to feel accepted just the way she was. She was her father’s daughter biologically, but that seemed to be where the similarities ended. She knew why. She had too many of the undesirable traits of her mother. She was too excitable, too emotional, too outspoken, just too much everything. Her dad had spent a lifetime trying to straighten her out. She’d embraced the dark, rebel side as a teen and hadn’t looked back.

  The conversation washed over her at the formal dining room table as she slipped back to her Nico daydreaming. The way he’d dipped her over his strong arm. The heat of his body through the thin white T-shirt he wore, the sharp tang of oil and clean, masculine scent, maybe his deodorant, she didn’t know, but it was so hot. Those deep brown eyes that seemed heated somehow, powered by hot-blooded Italian—

  “Lily,” her father snapped.

  “Huh?”

  He scowled. Her father didn’t like when she used slang. “Yes?” she amended.

  “Trevor asked you a question.”

  She turned to find Trevor smiling tightly at her from across the gleaming cherrywood table, holding a small black velvet box in his hand. No, no, no.

  “Lily Spencer, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?” Trevor asked, opening the box to reveal a huge round solitaire diamond ring. Flawless cut and color, probably two carats. Trevor would do it up right.

  “Why?” she asked. If he secretly loved her, very secretly because she hadn’t known, she’d be gentle in her rejection.

  “Lily!” her dad scolded.

  Mr. and Mrs. Wilson whispered something to each other.

  “Because we get along well,” Trevor said. “Our families could be good for each other. And I’m prepared to sign a prenup.”

  Everyone looked at her expectantly. Her trust fund was deeper than his, so she understood the prenup mention, her father would’ve insisted on it. Hell, she would’ve too after her disastrous engagement with John two years ago. Still, a marriage proposal without one mention of love was just wrong.

  “No, thank you,” she said.

  Dead silence.

  “Would you like more time to think about it?” Trevor asked politely, still holding the ring out to her.

  She stood, knowing she couldn’t prolong his agony. “I’m just not ready to settle down. Please save that lovely ring for a woman who truly deserves it.”

  She hurried from the room and headed upstairs, but not before she heard Trevor call, rather desperately it seemed, “I’ll wait for you!”

  What had her father promised him?

  Lily paced her bedroom as the sound of angry voices carried upstairs. She had to get the hell out of Fieldridge soon. She’d planned on spending a few weeks back home before her trip to California, but now she was thinking sooner rather than later sounded pretty good. Things would be tense at home, and she worried that Trevor might think she was playing hard to get instead of impossible to get.

  She got out her laptop and started looking up flights. Several minutes into her search, she leaned back and closed the laptop as an idea hit her that had her tingling all over. Why not go to California with the man who was driving to the same exact destination next week? That would accomplish two goals simultaneously. First, she’d get a chance to see America. A road trip was the ultimate summer experience—nothing but freedom and adventure. And she wouldn’t completely blow off studying for the bar. She’d already downloaded all the audio lectures for an online bar exam review course. She could do that on the road through her iPhone easy peasy.

  And the second goal she’d accomplish? Ending her dry spell. Hopefully. Her lack of experience was embarrassing. One man. She’d been with one man in twenty-five years. An unfortunate result of her Amazon size putting off most men in her social circles and her money attracting the wrong ones.

  The Amazon-woman thing had been driven home to her early on at the exclusive prep school she’d attended. The popular girls were petite blonds with a pleasing, you’re-a-male-so-that-makes-you-automatically-wonderful attitude. She was six foot (since ninth grade) and solid, as her very solid dad always said. Like a peasant, she always thought. Everything about her was too big—boobs, waist, hips. Her fat lips, ugh. Add in the red hair and snarky attitude, and that was the recipe for a virginal existence. In any case, her dad had forbidden her from dating in high school because he didn’t want to deal with the worry of her getting knocked up. Or as he put it, “Causing a scandal that would mar the Spencer name forever.” She would’ve snuck out of the house anyway if any guy had been interested.

  By her senior year in high school everyone called her Slutty Spencer. She’d started the rumor. And she still didn’t get laid.

  Her experience hadn’t improved at her Ivy League college. She’d had to wait until law school. John had been her first. And last, unfortunately, because the way he’d dumped her in a clear case of wanting her money and not her had hurt. Like ego-crushing, self-esteem-destroying hurt.

  Looking back, she supposed a twenty-two-year-old virgin with a trust fund was ripe picking. But, at the time, she’d been so thrilled to have the attention of a charming, smooth-talking cute guy with a sharp mind. He’d been a year ahead of her in law school. After one year and an engagement that ended when she told him about the prenup, John had been especially cruel when he’d informed her that he’d had to close his eyes and imagine someone hotter when they were in bed.

  “It’s like fucking Godzilla!” he’d yelled. “Why do you have to be so tall? Why can’t you make any effort to be thin? I swear you weigh more than I do!”

  She’d kneed him in the balls, but it was a small victory. She’d left his apartment and bawled her eyes out. All of her worst fears confirmed. She was too tall, too “solid,” to ever be attractive to the opposite sex. She was Godzilla.

  She’d been so devastated she’d gained twenty pounds in consolation chocolate. It wasn’t just his cruel treatment. She’d felt close to him because he’d been her first, and the loss of that first close relationship was especially difficult because of her abandonment issues. Knowing you had issues and even talking about them in therapy still didn’t make them go away completely. Later, she’d joined Weight Watchers and eventually lost the weight, but she’d gotten bored with all the calorie counting and settled back to her normal weight. Not huge, but not skinny either.

  But that kiss with Nico had stirred up her long-deprived libido. Something about that kiss told her he might want to help her out. A road trip to California and a tutorial of sorts from the very experienced—woo! She got a hot flash just thinking about it.

  But could she really go through with it?

  She worried her bottom lip. If he turned her down, she could deal with that. She was used to not being the ideal woman in men’s eyes. But what if he said yes? Could she push herself past all her Godzilla-sized insecurities and just go for it?

  The front door slammed as the Wilsons left.

  “Lily!” her dad bellowed. “I’m going out.”

  He’d likely go to the club, down a couple shots of rare Macallan scotch, and lament what a burden she was to the discreet bartender. She didn’t answer. A moment later the house was quiet.

  Was this really her future? A soulless, loveless marriage to a man who wiped his mouth after he kissed her?

  That was it.
She was going to California with Nico. She didn’t care how difficult it was to get the words out. She’d do it and, somehow, she’d find a way to grab a hold of what she really wanted—passion, excitement, a great adventure.

  She’d tell him in person tomorrow.

  Chapter Three

  Lily returned to Exotic and Classic Restorations the very next morning as soon as Nico’s shop opened. To apologize, of course. She really did owe him an apology for the way she made him show her all those cars for no good reason yesterday, completely wasting his time, just so she could be near him a little longer. She also had to let him know about their road trip.

  Slutty vixen, slutty vixen, she chanted to herself in her own little motivational mantra. If she thought it enough times, maybe she’d come off that way.

  She parked her cute cherry-red Prius outside next to a very sporty yellow race car and headed into the showroom. She wore contacts and another dress, a flowing sundress that emphasized her best features, boobs and legs. Hopefully that would distract him from what was in between.

  Another sales guy was in the showroom.

  “Is Nico here?” she asked.

  The guy smirked. Nico probably had a lot of women show up looking for him. “Yeah, he’s in the garage.”

  “Thank you.” She went back outside and around to the repair shop with four open bays. It was Saturday and there were just two mechanics. She wandered in and found Nico bent under the hood of a car.

  “Hi,” she said softly so she wouldn’t startle him.

  He jolted and hit his head on the hood. He scowled at her, rubbing the back of his head. “I seem to get hurt a lot when you’re around.”