Page 10 of Until Kendal
Helping me had made him my hero. I’d never had one of those. I wasn’t even sure Joel should be that. My mind raced with questions even as my heart whispered that he was trustworthy. I sighed. “Who's Arman?”
“He’s my brother and my business partner.”
His brother’s name made sense. Joel looked more like an old school British-ancestor type. I raised my eyebrow and asked, “And you’re last name is Norouzi?”
“I was adopted," he said. "Best thing that ever happened to me, because suddenly, I had parents and siblings who cared about me and watched out for me.”
And maybe that was all he was doing—helping me because others had helped him. He was paying it forward like helping others was normal. My heart sank.
“That’s great," I said. "Every child should have a solid upbringing.”
“The day the judge hit the gavel and my legal name became Norouzi, I knew I’d been blessed with a second chance.” His gaze softened—he clearly loved his family.
I relaxed in my seat. “Miracles do happen. I see that living here, and so many of the people I know end up having horrible lives but then find love and romance.”
His gaze narrowed like I’d shocked him. “That happens in Murfreesboro?”
I laughed. To everyone but me, it seemed. I nodded. “All the fucking time. It’s crazy.”
He lifted his chin. “Then I’m glad I came here.”
My lips curved higher. In another universe, maybe I would wish for more with him. Narrowing my gaze, I asked, “Why did you come?”
He quickly said, “I was born in Kentucky, but it seems my birth family had a trail here. So I wanted to come before heading back to Manhattan.”
My ears rang, telling me there was more to the story. “Trail, as in horses?”
He shook his head, and his cheeks turned red. “No. I’m cleaning up the forgotten life I had and realized I had to stop here on business. I hadn’t intended to be long, though I am looking forward to our dinner.”
I stood, as it was time to figure out how to make myself physically beautiful enough to be seen with him. It was my job with others. I’d never cared about looks for myself, but I kept that to myself. “Me too, but first, I need to ensure my mom is settled in.”
His phone rang, interrupting us. I blinked, then he showed me caller ID, which read "Broken Eagle Garage." He waved for me to join him and put his phone on speaker. “Wes, what’s going on with our cars?”
“For yours," Wes answered, "I need to get an order of some parts, so it’s going to take a few days.”
Joel didn't even blink. “That’s fine. What about Kendal’s?”
“Hers is going to be a lot of work. If we’d called insurance, they’d have totaled it.”
My heart pounded. Buying a new car would destroy my plans. Tears formed in my eyes. “I can’t afford a new car.”
Joel patted my shoulder.
“I can make this better than new," Wes said. "Don’t worry about anything.”
Somehow, I had to make this right, but being near Joel made me forget myself.
“Thanks for calling,” he said.
Then we were alone again. I massaged the back of my head and raised my eyebrow. “So I guess this is more than just one night’s dinner.”
He put down his phone and walked me to the door. My heart hammered. I wanted more, but he said, “Good things are worth waiting for, Kendal.”
I batted my eyelashes. It was like he meant that comment about me. I wasn’t sure what to make of Joel. He stirred my blood, and I ached for him. As a rich guy, though, maybe he was waiting for me to make a move. My stomach fluttered. I had a hunch he was a gentleman. If my gut was right, I had no defenses against niceness. But he let me go, and I returned to my room to get dressed.
ChapterSix
Joel
