Lucky 7 Bad Boys Contemporary Romance Boxed Set (8 page)

"Like how cheap?" Bianca pressed.

"Like free. If we can get assistance with things like the demolition, clean-up, and

painting, I'd be willing to put one less guy on the crew and do some of the work myself."

"But you said you still need to make a profit, Rey. I don't want to cheat you." Like he had said, he was almost like a member of her family since he was her sister-in-law’s buddy. He deserved to be paid for his work.

Rey put down the last little bit of his sandwich, looked up at her, and grinned. "I didn't say you wouldn't pay for it, just not with money."

Bianca’s breath left her body as it occurred to her what he could mean. She refused to believe that he could expect her to. . .

"Cook for me," he quickly said, clearly realizing that he had been misunderstood.

"I get home late a lot, and just wolf down whatever I have handy. It's generally a sandwich or a TV dinner and it would be nice to have something good to eat.”

"I guess I could. I mean, if I'm not working myself I don’t see why I couldn’t make dinner for you," she said, but he quickly explained.

“I'm just a few blocks from the restaurant. I'm okay with coming in to grab a bite, if that's okay with you.”

Which meant that she wouldn't have to cook for him alone. At his house. Where they might even eat dinner together. Get to know more about each other.

A part of her experienced a moment of disappointment, but then common sense kicked in. He had given her the best possible alternative.

"It's a deal," she said and held out her hand to seal the bargain.

He took hold, but she was once again unprepared for the feel of his calloused palm and the heat it generated throughout her body. She met his gaze and he seemed as reluctant as she was to release her hand.

"Rey?"

"Bianca? We need to do something about this."

"Like letting go?" she asked, but didn't release his hand. On the contrary, when he twined his fingers with hers, she maintained the contact, relishing the comfort and sensuality his presence brought. The feelings she was having were unsettling, but she was hard pressed to run from them as confusing as they were. As bad as they were given that she was supposed to be dating David.

David, she reminded herself and finally found the strength to remove her hand from Rey's. His look as he met her gaze was questioning and she felt she had to set the record straight.

"I'm dating someone."

"Is it serious?" he asked, breaking eye contact with her only long enough to take the bill from the waitress and hand her a twenty.

Before meeting Rey she might have answered "Yes" if anyone had asked her. But she knew in her heart that she couldn't have these feelings about Rey if what she had with David was meant to be the real thing.

“I'm not sure,” she finally admitted, voicing the conflict that had been growing in her since the first time she had set eyes on Rey.

He nodded and softly said, "I won't press, Bianca. If and when you decide what you want. . . ."

"I'll let you know."

Chapter Six

A small gathering of people crowded onto the first floor of the restaurant and surrounded Eduardo, Diana, Bianca and him.

"Ready?" Rey asked and at the nod of the three partners, he smiled and handed sledgehammers to Diana and Bianca. "Ladies first."

Bianca met Rey's gaze and she shook her head. "I think Eduardo and Diana need to do this together."

Rey nodded, appreciating her selflessness in letting the husband and wife celebrate this special moment. He took the sledgehammer from her, handed it to Eduardo, and motioned to the others who were circling around.

"Get the bottles and cameras ready, folks."

Eduardo muscled the tool up onto his shoulder, but Diana struggled with the weight of her sledgehammer. "I can't do this by myself. Eduardo come help me," she said as Eduardo handed his sledgehammer back to him.

“Whatever you want, my love," Eduardo teased and stepped behind his wife, encircled her in his arms as they wrapped their hands around the handle of the tool and raised it.

"Ready?" Eduardo asked Diana, and then quickly glanced around at everyone else who was waiting to capture the moment for posterity's sake. When the group egged him on and waved their cameras and smartphones in the air, Eduardo leaned close to his wife and whispered something in her ear.

Diana laughed heartily, kissed him and shouted, "Let's do this!"

A moment later, their combined swing brought the sledgehammer against the wall, breaking through brittle sheetrock and rousing a chorus of loud cheers from the crowd.

Rey noticed the struggle the couple was having yanking the tool from the hole they had just made and he grasped the handle and easily pulled it out with one hand. He turned and passed the tool to Bianca.

"Think you need help, Princess?"

Bianca thought about how the other couple had been spooned together to swing and quickly answered. "No, Rey. I think I can handle this one, but don't think you're going to get off so easy."

Rey leaned on the handle of the second sledgehammer and as he snuck a peek at the crowd. He noticed the interested gazes of his sister, Daisy, and of Bianca's brother and his wife. He opted for some discretion, biting back any comment bound to raise speculation.

"Whatever you say, Bianca."

Bianca stepped aside, made room for him to join her before the wall to which her friends had just taken the hammer.

"Since you're the head honcho on this project, and since it was your great idea to take down this poor wall we are about to demolish, I think you should join me."

Rey was a little unnerved by all the attention, but realized the honor Bianca was bestowing.

"Thanks." He raised the sledgehammer and motioned for her to do the same.

"On three," she said and when he nodded, she began the countdown.

On three, they both swung with all their might.

The sledgehammers smacked into the wall with resounding thuds, but then he heard Bianca's muttered curse as the sting of the contact traveled up the handle and into her hands. He yanked his hammer out of the wall and grasped hers before it could drop and hurt her.

"You okay?" he questioned, leaning close.

She rubbed the palms of her hands together and looked up at him. "Stings like heck. How do you do it?"

He held out his hands, displaying his work-hardened palms, but was unprepared for her to reach out and run her hands across the surface of his. Heat raced up his arms from the contact and he pulled away quickly.

To take the attention of the crowd away from them, he quickly rattled off jobs for each of the attendees to do.

Bianca dropped back, warmth traveling to her face as she realized she had nearly made a fool of herself in front of her friends and family. She grasped her hands behind her back and focused on the laces of her sneakers as Rey issued instructions to his crew and those who had gathered to help with the initial demolition and clean-up.

As people scattered to do their chores, she somehow managed the courage to look up at Rey and found him studying her intently. "What would be a good time to have some food ready for everyone?"

He took a step closer and grinned, displaying that wicked dimple. "Princess, the food is your domain. Whenever you want it to be ready, let me know and I'll schedule shifts so that we lose as little time as possible."

Bianca nodded. "I'll let you know. Thanks for letting us provide some of the muscle."

"I'm always ready to please a client, Bianca," he teased and warmth spread to her cheeks again at the double meaning behind his words.

"Rey," she warned, but it lacked any sting and he seemed to know it. He grasped her shoulders and turned her around in the direction of the kitchen. With a swat to her backside, he got her moving.

Like a mother duck leading its little ducklings to the water, Bianca gathered together the women in the group and headed them toward the kitchen.

At the doorway, she lifted the heavy plastic sheeting that had been hung there to avoid the spread of the dirt from the work into the kitchen area. She held the sheeting out of the way as her, niece, sister-in-law Maya, and Maya's mother passed through.

Rey's sister Daisy and their mother came next, and finally Diana. Making sure to tuck the plastic back into place, she paused to observe the kitchen, still unable to believe that her lifelong dream of having her own restaurant was finally coming true.

The kitchen smelled of the lemon-scented cleaner they had used to scrub down the one large stove, floors, and the countertops. The women bustled about as they readied the food for Rey's crew and the volunteers who were helping with the initial demolition. She glanced beside her and noticed that Diana had paused by the door as well and was smiling broadly.

She met her friend's gaze and grinned back, grabbed her hand, and led her over to the stove, where they directed everyone on what was to be done.

"Maya, you are going to take it easy," Bianca said, gently guiding her nearly five-month pregnant sister-in-law to a stool by the large center work area. She ran her hand across the swell of Maya's belly and the other woman held her hand there.

A flutter registered beneath the palm of her hand.

"Was that -- "

"Your new little niece or nephew. He or she is getting quite active," Maya said and held out her hand to her mother who came over and joined Bianca.

"It's so hard to believe I'm going to be a grandmother soon," Maya's mother said, a teary look in her eyes.

"And I'm going to have a little brother or sister," Alex's daughter, Samantha, chimed in, wrapping her arms around Maya's leg.

"Right, Aunt Bianca?" Samantha asked, peering up at Bianca.

Bianca knelt and held out her arms to the little girl, who left her stepmom and flew into her arms. "Yep, Samantha. Are you ready to help your auntie make lunch for everyone?"

The five-year-old smiled and hugged her hard, nearly unbalancing her. "Yes. What do I do?"

"You can help your grandmother make some fruit salad," Maya's mom said.

Samantha smiled and followed her step-grandmother to the marble pastry chef's counter at the far end of the main work table.

Bianca watched them go and turned her attention to Maya and Daisy, who waited for instructions. "I know you two can handle making the sandwiches and putting out the salads while Diana and I take care of the rest, right?"

"Definitely, Bianca. We'll be sure to make plenty 'cause I know how hungry my brother and his crew can get," Daisy said as she turned to the worktable and pulled out one of the long loaves of Cuban bread that had been delivered that morning from the local bakery.

"Not to mention Brad," Maya chimed in, referring to Daisy's newlywed husband.

"Brad definitely looks like he could pack a lot in," Bianca replied as she walked over to one of the refrigerators and hauled out the meats and cheeses they had bought the night before.

"Yep. Just like Rey, Brad can work up a hunger, trust me," Daisy confirmed. "Big men with big appetites," she said offhandedly.

Bianca wouldn't offer a comment, afraid that if she did, it would open up a whole line of conversation she preferred to avoid. "Well, let's be thankful for all these men who are willing to help us out in exchange for a little grub."

Her partner, Diana, came over at that moment and draped an arm around Bianca's shoulder. "Speaking of men. Where's David?"

Bianca flushed as the head of every woman in the kitchen turned her way, with the exception of Samantha who was too busy playing with a handful of watermelon for the fruit salad.

She glanced down and murmured, "David's working this weekend. He does that sometimes. To catch up on the foreign markets, he says."

"It's a shame he couldn't make it. It would have been nice to get to know him better," Diana said and Bianca appreciated the break her friend was giving her after having brought up a touchy subject. Like Eduardo, Diana didn't like David much, but the last thing she wanted was for her friends and family to get the wrong impression.

"Yes, it is. Maybe he'll be able to make it next time," Bianca replied and looped her arm through her friend's. "Ready to make some soup and chips?"

Diana nodded and the two women walked around to the side of the worktable closest to the stove to prepare their contributions to the food. They had thought that the men would need more than just the sandwiches to fill them after a morning of hard work, and so they had planned to make a cold
gazpacho
soup in deference to the summer heat. As a side dish to the sandwiches, in addition to the cold potato and macaroni salads they had made the day before, they were frying up a batch of chips from a variety of tropical tubers and vegetables. The soup and chips would also give them the opportunity to try out some of their recipes on the crew.

While Diana prepped the plum tomatoes for the
gazpacho
, Bianca got ready to make the chips. She peeled the skins off the plantains,
yuca
,
malanga
, and yams. Taking a break from the peeling, she got a large pot of oil heating on the stove, then returned to the worktable to start slicing the vegetables and tubers with a mandolin. Over and over she ran the pieces across the razor sharp edge, and slowly a large pile of chips grew beneath the mandolin.