Page 88 of The Millionaire's Mechanic

Slinging a wrench over her shoulder, Georgia gave him an assessing look. “I bet you were being driven around in limos as a teen.”

“Guilty.”

“Well then, you can have the teen experience now. Better late than never.”

He laughed. “Trust me, I get enough of that every time we have dinner and he gives me the hairy eyeball like he knows what we get up to once he’s gone.” He broke off with a wry shrug. “I’m hoping that part of the teenage experience ends sooner rather than later.”

“Oh I think it will—probably around the time we get married.”

“Another good reason to move the wedding up.”

“It’s next month.” She laughed. “That’s soon enough. Besides, I have a business to launch. But no worries. With Waters helping, it won’t be long before we are done with all three cars. Once they’re finished, there will be plenty of time to have a proper honeymoon.”

“That’s great, baby. But you want to know the best part of having an assistant?”

“What is it?”

Rainer threw his arm around her shoulder, propelling her toward the elevator. “Well, as the boss, you get to delegate and leave your junior assistant to wrap things up so you can knock off early.”

Guilt flashed across her expression, but she took his hand with a wry grin. “I think I’m beginning to understand how Mitch became such an ass. Power corrupts.”

His laughter trailed behind them. “Don’t worry babe. As long as you don’t make him clean the bathroom, you’re heads and shoulders above the Mitchs of the world.”

“We use the bathrooms in the lobby,” she reminded him. “And you know the cleaning service takes care of those.”

“Then half my job is done and so is yours.” He tugged her inside the elevator, then pressed the button for the penthouse. “Besides, I have a surprise for you.”

Rainer covered her eyes before allowing Georgia to walk inside the apartment.

When she saw the Bugatti W16 on the display table, she jumped up and down and screamed. “Oh my God, you found one!”

Walking around the table with her hands over her mouth, she admired the engine from all angles. She bumped into the shelf behind her, the one with a pre-Columbian Aztec Calendar and the Chinese jade carving of a phoenix.

Her exuberance faded as she looked back and forth between the two. “Are you sure you want this out here in the living room with all of these museum pieces?”

The penthouse was no longer the empty post-modern stage it had been when Georgia first arrived. At first, the differences were subtle. Adding choice pieces from his art and antiquities collection didn’t warm it up as much as he thought it would. Not without the other changes Georgia made.

Despite her assertion that she didn’t do soft, George had done just that. Only soft was the wrong word. Vital. That was a better one. George brought life to the space around her.

It was the little things, like adding things the rust-colored satin pillows that brought out the gold in the bronzed horns of a Minotaur from Crete, or the brown rug she found that complemented the wooden bowl from Oceana.

Once she was more comfortable making larger changes, they painted the monochromatic blue and grey walls over in cheerful earth tones. It made a world of difference. Each room felt warm, as if the walls had soaked in the bright California sun in different degrees. The straight lines and precise angles of his furniture blurred as they were replaced by pieces that were less edgy and more welcoming.

His interior decorator would have had a heart attack, but Rainer didn’t care. He felt more at home here than anywhere else he’d ever lived. Of course, that might just be because of the woman who was looking at the engine like she wanted to strip naked and dance around it like a pagan reveling at a solstice.

Rainer put his hands on his hips, contemplating the sweeping whirls of steel on the table. “Well, it’s either here or the bedroom, but, honestly, I don’t want to have to compete with this beauty for your attention.”

Deviltry sparked in her eyes. Georgia stepped into his arms, wrapping her own around his waist. “Take your clothes off…and it doesn’t stand a chance.”

Rainer threw his head back and laughed. “Hands down the best compliment I’ve ever gotten,” he said, squeezing her to him. “But there’s another reason I think this should stay in the living room.”

Backing up without letting go, he leaned over to pick up a box from the couch.

Georgia’s lips quirked. “Christmas lights?”

The string was the old-fashioned bulb kind, cheerfully multicolored instead of plain white. She touched a bright red bulb.

“Christmas is around the corner. We can wind the lights around the table since we won’t have a tree,” he said, tearing open the box.

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