Polished Rust (Wilkins Brothers Book #4)

Chapter 6

ROSEMARY

I looked at myself in the mirror and the woman looking back at me was a stranger. It wasn’t the disheveled hair that I piled on top of my head or the rosy pink cheeks after a countless number of orgasms in the last few hours. It wasn’t the messed-up make-up or the black t-shirt that hit my mid-thigh with the name of some tattoo parlor that I had never heard of. None of that made me unrecognizable. It was the truth of what I had done and the lack of remorse in my eyes.

Vinnie was not the man that I wanted to marry for love. I knew I could learn to be around him and it was a sacrifice I was willing to make for my mom and my sister. Even though our relationship wasn’t without issues, I was a cheater. I had knowingly flirted with Tate Wilkins and followed him back to his hotel room. I knew what I was doing and I did it anyway. There was no regret though. Tate made me feel like a woman alive, something I haven’t felt in a really long time.

I washed my face one last time, somehow thinking it would wash some sort of guilt away, but once again, there was no guilt. I opened the bathroom door and Tate was seated at one of the chairs at the small table. Somewhere between rounds two and three, we both agreed that we had worked up an appetite. Tate ordered some food for room service and we were quickly able to get round three in before the food was ready.

Sitting down across from Tate, I was hit with a bundle of nerves. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do or say, did he really want me to stick around?

“You should try the pancakes, they’re really good,” he points to the half stack of pancakes left. I smile and grab one for myself, cutting it up and drizzling some syrup on it. I glance up to see Tate has stopped eating.

“What?”

“I was just thinking what I can do with that syrup.”

I blush while taking a bite of the perfectly fluffy breakfast item, “I mean, it might be messy.”

“I like messy. Dirty too.”

“I’m not the least bit surprised.”

We started eating again in a comfortable silence until I speak up again. “Tell me about your family.”

He chokes for a second and then takes a drink to regain his composure. “Where is that coming from?”

“I don’t know. I guess I figure we’re never going to see each other again so anything we share is just going to stay between the two of us.”

“Okay. Um, I live in Arizona in a pretty small city about forty-five minutes outside the main Phoenix area. I have three brothers and one sister. My brothers and I own an auto shop.”

“Where you work on classic cars?”

“We do a bit of everything. The main stuff that keeps us busy is oil changes, tire rotations, basic car care. We do bodywork and mods and then of course some restoration stuff. I tend to do most of the restoration stuff because it is something that really interests me.”

“And the four of you own it together?”

“Yep, my older brother, Gruff, originally opened it by himself with the monetary help of his wife at the time. Eventually, my other older brother Maverick started working there too. When his wife became his ex, so was ready to sell the building so Gruff and Mav moved to a bigger location where they are now. I joined them soon after and then finally Jasper did.”

“And your sister? Where does she fit in?”

“Hattie is my stepdad’s daughter from his first marriage, but we use ‘step’ in our house. She’s just our little sister.” He laughs, “I say little, but she’s a grown-ass adult now and owns an art stupid in town.”