* * * *
Ben was hiding in his office later when he heard the bell over the front door ding. He set his can of Dr. Pepper on the desk and sighed before he plastered a smile to his face and forced himself to head out and be social.
Candy was ushering an older, gray-haired woman down the hall to the classroom and his eyes widened in surprise. They certainly didn’t get a lot of elderly students, and he estimated she was on the far sideof eighty. The bell dinged again, so Ben pulled his gaze away from the woman and walked out into the showroom.
“Welcome to Makowski’s,” he greeted the two young men standing at the counter. “You men here for the class?”
The guys both nodded eagerly while the blond offered his hand. “I’m Seth and this is Randy.”
Ben grasped his hand and shook it heartily. The blond was sexy. Muscular, broad shoulders, blue eyes, stubble on his cheeks. But too young. Definitely too young. Ben let go and gestured with his head for them to follow him through the door.
Candy showed back up and both guys’ eyes nearly popped out of their heads.
Ben chuckled to himself. It was a really good thing his sister wasn’t here.
“Hi,” Candy said, her voice nearly a purr.
Ben shot her a warning look she completely ignored. “I’ll show them to the class,” she told him, eyestwinkling as she turned around. Ben bit back a laugh as the two young guys followed her like little puppies with their mouths gaping open. Then he pictured them tripping over their tongues and chuckled low.
He heard the bell, indicating another student had arrived, and glanced over at the entrance, ready to welcome them to the shop. Instead, his breath hitched and his eyebrows flew up at the sight of the beautiful man standing in front of him.
The stranger was tall, probably only an inch shy of Ben’s 6’3”. He was thin—too thin, if the loose shirt was any indication of what was hidden underneath. Ben drank him in, from the shock of unruly red curls to the porcelain skin with only a few stray freckles sprinkled across his nose, just above a pair of full, pink lips. Jade green eyes stared into Ben’s and he met the man’s gaze, swallowing hard.
The door opened and the woman entering nearly bumped into the still nameless man staring back at him. Ben jolted to his senses. “Welcome,” he said, his voice cracking. He cleared his throat and reached out a hand. “I’m Ben Makowski. Are you both here for the class?”
“Angus Winter,” the man said quietly, clasping Ben’s hand and shaking.
Electricity shot through Ben and he nearly gasped aloud. What the hell was wrong with him?
“I’m Susan. Susan Miller.”
Ben looked at her and then down at Angus’s hand still in his. He dropped it quickly and smiled at her. “Welcome to Makowski’s.”
He heard Candy enter the room but still couldn’t tear his gaze away from Angus’s. It was like looking into the deep green sea and finding treasures hidden there. He found himself lost in the swirls and swore he felt the water rising around him. Ben’s chest tightened as he felt himself falling under.
“Um, why don’t you two follow me?” Candy gestured toward the door.
Ben blinked a few times as he turned and watched Angus go, feeling a strange hollowness he couldn’t understand. He shook himself and tried to figure out what had just happened. Hell, Angus wasn’t his type. Not by a long shot. And yet he felt a strong pull to be near the man again.
“So that makes five, Uncle Ben,” Candy informed him as she breezed back into the showroom. “Just one more.”
“Huh?”
“For the class. That you’re teaching?” she gently prodded. “Um, are you okay?”
He stared at her, still shaken by what had just happened.
“Uncle Ben?”
He cleared his throat. “Um, yeah. I’m…I’m going to head into the classroom. Send the last one in when he gets here.”
“Will do,” she promised and crinkled her brow as she watched him.
Ben swung by the break room and grabbed a bottle of water before he made his way to the classroom. He gulped down the cold liquid and tossed the bottle into the recycling bin just outside the classroom.
Conversations stopped as he entered the room and all eyes turned to him. He moved quickly to the front and grabbed a red dry erase marker. After he wrote his name and the words Basic Rider Information, he turned to face the small group of students.
“Welcome to class,” he said, his gaze landing on Angus. “We’re still waiting on one more person, but it’s already a few minutes past six so I’d like to get started.” Reluctantly, he looked away fromAngus and smiled at the rest of them. “Tonight we’re going to cover the basics—familiarizing yourself with a motorcycle, including the focal parts and vital controls. We’ll also discuss safety procedures and road rules.”
The hot blond guy—what was his name?—raised his hand.