“And what about you?” she asked. “What do you care about?”
“Building custom homes that allow families to live their lives in a safe, secure community.”
“Sounds like a viable mission statement.”
“The difference is that I believe it and work it every day.”
“Maybe I’ll get to meet your brother one day.”
“No, you won’t. I want to keep you all to myself.”
“Now who is being selfish?” she teased back.
“Do you have any brothers or sisters?” he asked.
She took a sip of beer. “I’m an only child.”
“Are you a little emperor?” he teased, referring to the stereotype that only children were selfish because they had no siblings and never learned to share.
“No, but I’m the master of my own destiny.”
“And what do you see in your future?”
She tapped her index finger on her lips. His question took her by surprise. Since high school, she’d had her life mapped out. Her plan had been to graduate from college, audition for a major dance organization, be accepted and spend the rest of her life onstage, retire early and then teach.
Somewhere along the way, as reoccurring injuries kept her sidelined, causing her to lose some key roles, she was forced to face a new reality. She knew that audiences were fickle, but didn’t know that they could make or break a season. Many of her friends had gone on to other careers, because being a dancer simply wasn’t sustainable. She never thought she’d be one of them, but here she was, back in Bay Point, living in her father’s house.
“Let me see. I’d like to pass your class and get home in one piece, does that count?”
“I have it on good authority that both will come true.”
“Are you a magic genie?”
He laughed. “No, just a man who has complete confidence.”
After they finished their meal, Sonya excused herself to use the restroom while Trent paid the check. Outside, she gave him directions to her home. When he tried to help her with the helmet, she nudged his hand away.
“I think I can do this by myself now.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “Suit yourself.”
Sonya noted the hint of disappointment in his voice and figured that a man with his reputation wasn’t used to having a woman say no. She wasn’t helpless, just confused about all the feelings swirling inside of her.
When they arrived, she got off the motorcycle and handed him the helmet.
His eyes scanned over her house. “You’ve got a couple of shingles missing off your roof.”
She followed his gaze, wondering how he’d spotted them, as she hadn’t seen them before.
“I actually need to have the entire house inspected—inside and out.”
“I can give you a few names to call, if you’d like.”
“I’d appreciate that. Thanks for the ride, and for the dinner.”
“It was my pleasure. When can I see you again?”
“Next week. Outside the hardware store, remember?”
He winked. “You’re lucky I’m a very patient man.”
As she watched him drive away into the night, she murmured, “You’re going to be waiting a while.”
As long as she kept this gorgeous man at arm’s length, she could continue to figure out how she was going to live the rest of her life. Not as a dancer on a stage, but like a regular person.
No applause, no curtain calls and no encores.
Trent groaned aloud as he pulled into the parking lot, wishing he could turn around and go somewhere he really wanted to be.
He drove past his reserved spot in the front of the two-story glass-walled building, a contemporary 1980s monstrosity that housed their multi-million dollar construction and real-estate business. He didn’t like his family to see when he arrived, and he preferred to leave without notice.
He waved to a barista smoking a cigarette as he parked his pickup truck in the back of the building.
The family rented out the first floor to an independent coffee shop, and their offices were on the second floor.
They also owned and leased space in two equally large office buildings of the same contemporary style on either side.
He stayed away from the office as much as he could, but every week he had to attend a staff meeting.
Even though it was the middle of the morning, Trent grabbed an espresso before taking the elevator to the second floor. He’d rather be at the other end of a dental drill than at the weekly staff meeting or, even better, spending time with Sonya.
Trent chuckled to himself, and could hardly believe he was actually looking forward to teaching the home repair class, rather than dreading it.
He was still smiling as he pulled open the glass doors to the office. His brother, who was chatting with the receptionist, shot Trent a look of disdain.
“Couldn’t you have changed your shoes before coming to the office?”
Trent glanced down at his muddy construction boots.
“I wanted to install a shower in the office, but you decided you needed your own personal bathroom with a full-length mirror and a jetted tub.”
Steve spread his arms and grinned. “I’m here in the office so much it’s practically my second home. Too bad I can’t say the same for you. Where have you been? I was trying to reach you all night.”
“I was busy having a life. You could take notes from me.”
Steve was older than Trent by two years, but he’d been blessed with a baby face complemented by dark caramel skin, which made him scorned by most men and desired by many women. It was his job to scout and acquire land for custom-home projects. On the side, he bought foreclosed and distressed properties for rehabbing and reselling, which fueled his habit for designer clothes, luxury cars and lavish vacations around the world.
“Ha ha. But seriously, I need you to hop on a plane to New Mexico.”
Trent almost spit out his coffee. “What? Are you nuts?”
“Don’t act like you didn’t know that we’re planning on expanding our portfolio to Albuquerque. I need you to go there and look at a plot of land.”
“Sorry, no can do.”
“Why not?”
“First of all, you know I can’t stand flying. Second, I would never leave my projects halfway done, and last, I’ve got a class to teach.”
“What class?”
Trent shot him a look, and Steve rolled his eyes.
“Oh, that one. Can’t you skip it?”
“Like you did? Not a chance.”
Steve patted him on the back. “I knew you could handle it, little bro.”
They walked into the conference room where Lawrence and Agnes Waterson were already seated at opposite heads of the table.
His father was on a phone call, so Trent just shook his hand, and then he walked to the other end of the table to reach his mother.
He