Page 3 of Moving to Love
“Ah, no. No boyfriend. I…just can’t.” Joci took a step back and started to turn to leave his office.
“Call me if you have any questions, Joci. I’m excited to get this logo implemented. It’s something that’s been missing for a long time now.”
Chapter 2
Joci nodded once, turned, and walked out the office door. Her palms were sweaty, and her underarms were moist. She could feel her scalp dampen and prickle. His aftershave was still teasing her nostrils as she walked down the stairs to find Gunnar. At the bottom of the stairs, LuAnn stepped in front of her, causing Joci to stop on the bottom step. “Don’t get any ideas about him. He’s mine. Understand?”
“Really? It didn’t seem like he was yours when he asked me out.” Joci met LuAnn’s stare with one of her own. She hadn’t come here to catfight. Besides, if Jeremiah and LuAnn were an item, he had no business asking her out. She had already been with two cheaters in her life; she wasn’t going down that road again.
“You just watch yourself. You come in here with your big fucking ideas,” snarled LuAnn, using air quotes. “‘You need a logo.’ Only I know what he needs, got it?”
Joci’s heart hammered. This was one pissed-off woman. “Got it. Now step aside.”
Joci pushed past LuAnn and, with shaky legs, headed to the garage to find Gunnar talking with the guys.
“Mom, check it out. Ryder built this fan.” They all looked up, and Joci saw four windshields mounted to a ceiling fan motor, making a very cool fan for a bike shop.
“Turn it on, Ryder,” someone yelled.
Ryder hit the switch, and the fan began rotating, creating a very nice breeze.
Joci started laughing, “That is so cool. Did you think of that on your own? You’re very creative, Ryder.”
Ryder blushed and ducked his head a bit.
“Ryder is the shy one, but he’s creative as hell,” JT stated. “I’m the good-looking one.” His smile was contagious, and Joci grinned at him.
Gunnar snorted, “Since you’re twins, I don’t think there is a ‘good-looking one’ between you two. The good-looking one would be me.”
“You’re so full of shit, Gunnar.” JT punched him in the arm. Ryder smirked and shook his head. Jeremiah walked into the garage at that moment, and Joci’s breath caught. As he walked toward them, she could see him fully. She saw the muscles bunch in his thighs as he walked. His broad shoulders and chest stretched the t-shirt he was wearing to its limits. Tall, broad, and beautiful, wow. But, clearly a player, not wow.
“What’s so funny?”
The boys relayed the conversation, and Jeremiah smirked. “I see you got it working. Looks great; nice job, son.” Jeremiah wrapped his arm around Ryder’s shoulders and squeezed.
Ryder smiled at his father’s praise. Joci noticed a slight bit of pink tint his face. She looked over at Jeremiah and caught his stare. She blinked a couple of times and took a step back, “I have to get going. Boss man gave me a lot of work to do.” She smirked as she waved her notebook.
Everyone laughed as LuAnn popped up behind Jeremiah and wrapped her arms around his waist. “What’s so funny?”
Jeremiah squeezed LuAnn’s shoulders once and pulled away. “Nice meeting you, Joci.”
She looked him in the eye, nodded once, and turned to look at Gunnar. “I’ll see you in a couple of days, honey.” Joci hugged Gunnar and turned to leave with a wave at everyone. She got on her bike and headed for home, her thoughts running the gamut from Jeremiah to the logo, back to Jeremiah, to the boys, and to Jeremiah again.
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Walking into the garage, Jeremiah saw Joci standing with his boys and Gunnar laughing. Her smile was mesmerizing. It was clear where Gunnar’s dimples came from. Sweet little body, tight little ass, perfect breasts—everything about her called to him. Smart, talented, beautiful—fuck. She said, ‘she can’t’ go out with him. He was going to have to find out what that meant.
Watching her walk to her bike, with the little bling on the pockets of her jeans catching the light, his stomach fluttered. She climbed on, started it up, and pulled away. He felt oddly sad. Looking over, he noticed Gunnar watching him. He nodded to Gunnar and turned to trek back to his office. A couple more things to finish up tonight and he could head home.
Jeremiah sat at his desk, looking over the notes from the meeting, but his mind kept wandering back to the beautiful, sandy-haired, gray-eyed woman he had just met. Sleep wasn’t going to come easy tonight.
Chapter 3
Joci clapped her hands together in front of her as she stared at the wall. “That looks fantastic!” Four months had passed since she had designed the logo for Rolling Thunder Motorcycles, Inc. The logo was all black, featuring an inferno motorcycle in the middle and flames shooting off the back of the bike. ‘Rolling Thunder’ was in orange and yellow on either side of the motorcycle, and ‘Motorcycles, Inc.’ was painted under the bike. The bold colors and design were stunning.
