Chapter 7
Two hours later, not full on two measly mozzarella sticks, but on the burger and fries, my car was hitched to the back of a tow truck and driven off into the sunset. This day was definitely not going according to plan. Anxious energy flowed through me, and I shifted as Nero and I stood on the sidewalk.
“You ready to check in at the hotel?” he asked.
I had this dream many times before. Nero and I being stranded, having to share a bed. Him realizing how awesome I was and falling madly in love with me. Except this was no dream. If anything, it was a damn nightmare. What if I snored? What if my boob fell out of my shirt while I was sleeping? They took on a mind of their own when I closed my eyes.
Maybe he got two rooms. Then again, paying for one was more than enough, and if I was going to pay him back, one room sounded better.
“Sure.” I forced a smile to hide the uncertainty in my tone. “It’s not too late. You can still head home.”
Nero’s eyebrow arched, head tilted, making him look more adorable than usual. “I already told you. I’m not leaving you. We’re in this together.”
“You’ve already laid out so much money.”
“Lanes, I have more money than I’ll ever know what to do with. I’d rather spend my money on someone I care about and not just crap that’ll sit in my garage.”
My treacherous lips curved upward. I tried to swish them together to hide the smile, but it was no use. Heat exploded in my cheeks, and I knew I looked like an over ripened strawberry. It was stupid. I knew he cared. He always had. It just wasn’t in the way I had always hoped.
“Okay?” he said, tilting his head again, and holding my gaze.
“Okay.”
“And I know you’re dying to sleep with me,” he said, and my body froze. “But I got us two beds.”
“Oh damn. I was really hoping to try out my seductress skills,” I joked, fluttering my eyelashes for good measure.
“You don’t need to try.” His tone deepened. “You’ve already mastered it.”
My lips parted. The world faded around us, and I knew I should have said something. Anything. I was quick, witty, always able to go blow for blow with banter, but he thought I mastered my seductress skills.
Now would be the time to show them off. But my lips were stuck in position, brain malfunctioning. I wouldn’t be surprised if smoke was swirling out of my ears as my brain tried to jump start itself.
Finally, my lips and brain remembered how to function. It felt like a year, but only seconds had passed. “It was the way I ate those mozzarella sticks, wasn’t it?”
“Oh yeah. The grease dripping down your chin really sold it.”
My mouth dropped open. “I did not drool.”
He held up his thumb and pointer, squeezing them close. “A little.”
“For the price of those things, they should not have been greasy. Also, for that price, someone should have sat beside me and blotted my face. Just saying.”
“The price is really bothering you.” He pressed his lips into a thin line. “You’re going to hate the hotel.”
“Nero Francis, what did you do?”
“You’ll see.” His long fingers wrapped around my hand, and he pulled me toward the street. Warmth flowed through me as his thumb brushed softly against my knuckle. “You okay to walk? It’s not far,” he asked and dropped his hold.
I immediately wanted to grab it back. “A walk sounds nice. Have to walk off the burger and those two mozzarella sticks.”
He snorted and guided me to the edge of the sidewalk, waiting to cross. We made our way across and down the street, moving at a comfortable but brisk walk. At least for me. Nero seemed as if he was struggling to keep a slower pace. It wasn’t my fault I wasn’t blessed with long legs.
The warm sun beat on us, and in an hour or so, it would set, letting the approaching fall air cool down the night. It was my favorite time of year, and I would make any excuse to go outside no matter the time.
My phone buzzed and I slipped it out of my bag. A text from Sherry flashed on my screen.
Sherry: Rhone just said your car broke down and you’re stranded there with Nero!? He better keep his lips to himself this time.
I bit back a laugh and tapped a reply.
Lainey: I can handle your brother. Car has been towed. Will know more in the morning.
Sherry: Do you need me to come?
Lainey: No.
Nero’s hands landed on my shoulder and he maneuvered me to the left. I glanced up and realized he saved me from walking head first into a telephone pole.
“Thank you.”
“Austin asking you a million questions?”
“No, it’s Sherry. Rhone told her about the car. She’s offering to come here.”
“Anything to keep me away from you.”
“You did kiss me.”
“If I remember correctly, you kissed me back.”
Heat spread through my cheeks and I put my attention back on my phone screen.
Sherry: Are you sure?
Lainey: Positive. You’re busy with Phoebe and Laurent’s wedding and all the other events coming up. Focus on that. I’m good. I’ll call you tomorrow.
I could practically hear her grumble through the three dots that kept appearing and disappearing before she finally typed a simple okay.
I slipped my phone into my bag, and a few blocks later, Nero stopped. “Here we are.”
“Where?” I glanced around, and Nero pointed across the street.
My head snapped toward the building, my eyes scanning all the way up the many stories of windows to the sky. “The Four Seasons, Nero. Seriously?”
He shrugged and stepped aside to let me in. A man with dark, sleek hair greeted us and whisked us into a glass elevator. The world around us zipped by. My ears popped, and before I could take anything in, the elevator dinged, and we were let out into a lobby filled with gorgeous flowers of purple and yellow.
“You are ridiculous,” I mumbled to Nero at the grandeur surrounding us, but he just smiled.
I glanced at my stained shirt and shifted at how out of place I felt. My fingers dug into the hem, hoping to hide the mess. How long had I been walking around like a badly frosted cake?
Nero’s hand landed on mine as he untangled my fingers from the material of my shirt. “You belong here as much as anyone,” he said, as if he suddenly could read minds.
“I wasn’t thinking that.”
His head tilted, eyes drifting to my ear and… damn it. I let my hand fall, yet his still held on to my other.
“I have frosting on my shirt,” I whispered.
“It’s not even noticeable.”
“And I’m the liar.”
We approached the check-in desk, and I stood aside while Nero checked us in. “Do you have any bags?” the blonde with big brown eyes and a pretty smile asked.
“Nope. This was an impromptu stay.”
“Spontaneity keeps life interesting.”
Nero glanced over at me, his eyes locking on mine. “Yes, it does.” He stuck his hand in his pocket, retrieving his wallet, and handing over his credit card, never looking away from me. “Very.”
“I need you to sign here.” She slid a receipt across the white marble, and Nero turned to sign.
I drifted away to admire the flower displays. The colors of purple and yellow complemented each other so well, and different ways to incorporate that in cake form zinged through my mind. A three-tier cake with purple and yellow gum paste flowers cascading down the center and exploding in a pool of blooms at the bottom. I was almost tempted to present the idea to Phoebe, but after weeks, she decided on her and Laurent’s wedding cake. I wasn’t about to make her second guess her choice. I would save that in my back pocket for another occasion.
“You ready?” Nero asked, standing beside me.
“I haven’t really had a choice since my car died, now have I?”
“Lanes, you always have a choice. Always.”
Swatting at the air, I turned toward him. “I know. I was kidding. Let’s go.”
I followed him, continuing to admire the flowers, floor to ceiling windows, and the people who looked much more put together than myself. If I didn’t forget to put the sugar in the damn cake, I would at least be showered. Maybe I could shower in the room. But the thought of Nero being on the other side of the door terrified and excited me. A weird combination, but one that was making my lips tingle. I bit down, hoping pain would divert my attention.
We arrived at our room, and Nero stepped aside to let me in first. As I crossed the threshold, I gasped at the floor to ceiling windows looking out at North Philly. I hurried toward the window, spotting the Schuylkill River and Eastern State Penitentiary. A smile tugged at my mouth as memories of when Dad took me and Austin for Austin’s birthday. He had watched the Godfather and became obsessed with old school mobsters, especially Al Capone. Dad wanted him to see Al Capone’s prison cell. As a kid, I thought it was cool. Now I wondered if Dad was just trying to scare Austin from a life of crime.
Nero’s warmth surrounded me as he came to a stop beside me. He leaned over, his face impossibly close to mine, his finger taping the window. “The Philadelphia Museum of Art,” he said. “You see it?”
“I do.”
“Do you remember—”
“When your grandpa took us there?” I finished for him.
His lip quirked adorably at the corner. “Piled me, you, Sherry, Rose, Austin, and Rhone in the minivan.”
“I can’t believe he took all of us by himself.”
“He did it as a favor for my mom.” The words trickled off as if he wasn’t done, but when silence spread between us, my eyebrow rose, and I glanced at him.
“Your mom wasn’t in a good place, and my mom wanted to help, but she also didn’t want to bring us along and cause more stress. Dad was at the winery, so Grandpa gathered us up, dropped Mom off, and picked you and Austin up.”
Mom suffered from bouts of depression, and sometimes it would get so bad, she wouldn’t clean the house for weeks. Dad had done his best to stay on top of things, but with working long hours, it was hard. As the years went on, and she found a combination of meds that worked, things got much better. I barely even remembered those dark days.
I thought back to that day though, fighting the veil my memory draped over that time, trying to hide the truth, and little pieces came back to me.
How Nero had asked me if I was okay when Sherry had gone to the bathroom. He’d squeezed my hand when I told him my mom was sad and that made me sad. After, he’d acted goofy while trying to make me laugh. The smile that had formed on his face every time he succeeded will be forever in my mind.
I was ten, but the weight of the world had felt as if it had been sitting on my shoulders. I didn’t know why. I guess I couldn’t understand it completely. But I knew, that day at the museum with my best friend and her goofy, cute older brother, that weight had lifted.
“We left and came home to a clean house,” I said. “I remember all our coats hanging on the rack. The shoes were lined up in perfect pairs. The glistening kitchen tile and fresh lined vacuumed carpets… I remember the scent of PineSol.” I closed my eyes, the memories washing over me, tears pricking at my eyes. “Mom… she was showered. I remember thinking how pretty she looked with her hair blow dried and blush on her cheeks.”
Her eyes still had a distant look in them, like Mom was in there, but she was being held prisoner by her own mind. She could see me, but part of her was locked away. That look still haunted me. As a kid, I knew it all too well. As soon as the life started to fade from her irises, I would jump into bubbly mode. Maybe if I was adorable and funny enough, she wouldn’t disappear on me again. I’d help her be happy.
I know now it had nothing to do with me, but going into bubbly mode or cracking a joke at the most inopportune times was forever my default setting.
“She got better a short time later.” Only for a year to pass and for her to slip into the dark again. It happened four more times that I can remember. Each time felt worse than the last. She’d finally gotten better. Years had passed without a single episode, only to lose her to sepsis after a routine surgery.
“Your mom was awesome, Lanes.”
“I know.” And she was. It was why I easily forgotten those dark times because the other side of that, the bright side, she shined so much light that it blocked out all the dark.
She was a powerhouse of a woman who made my dad very happy and loved Austin and me with every ounce of her being. She taught me how to bake cupcakes on my fourth birthday. Taught me how to stack a cake on my sixth. She showed me the art of buttercream flowers when I was nine. And when I was twelve, I declared we would open our own cake shop one day.
I made good on that promise. It killed me she never got to see it come to fruition. She would have loved working with the customers and coming up with outlandish ideas for us to figure out. She would have definitely bitten off more than we could chew, but we’d manage to get it done. We always did with everything else in life.
Nero wrapped a comforting arm around me, holding me close to him. His lips pressed into the side of my head, and I closed my eyes as his sympathetic touch mixed with the raw emotions of losing my mom. Something I don’t think I would ever get over.
“How about we go get drunk?” he said.
“Yes, please.”
We headed for the door without skipping a beat, but I stopped before we made it.
“What’s wrong?” Nero asked, concern darkening his gaze.
“I didn’t shower today.” The words shot out of me like my life depended on it. “I have greasy hair and I wouldn’t be surprised if I have cake pieces trapped in my bra.”
His lips pressed together, the corners going wide and upward. His body jolted as he held in a laugh. He cleared his throat. “Have you seen the tub?”
I shook my head. I had been too mesmerized by the view; I hadn’t even looked at the bathroom.
“Go check it out. You’ll want to be in there for a while.”
My shoulders slumped. “I’m going to get clean and then just put my icing stained clothes back on.”
“Leave that to me.”
“Nero…” This was ridiculous. What should have been a simple road trip to deliver a cake was turning into a day and night that cost more than my bakery’s rent and my mortgage combined.
He held his hands up. “Hey if you want to put on the same pair of underwear and that cake smushed bra, I won’t stop you.”
The thought of Nero in a store picking out undergarments for me was as terrifying as the Shining twins appearing in the hallway. “You are not buying me undergarments.”
“Why not? I bought you tampons before.” He’d always been good like that ever since we were teenagers. A few times when Sherry and I had a sleepover as teens, I’d unexpectedly gotten my period. Usually the house was well stocked between Sherry and Chardonnay, but Char had been away for the summer and Sherry forgot to restock. I panicked, and was embarrassed to ask Sherry’s parents to drive me to the store, especially since I didn’t have any money on me. I was fifteen. Nero had found me pacing the hallway. I lied, and he saw right through it. Now I know it was because I touched my damn ear. I didn’t want to tell him, but he figured it out. He told me to grab Sherry, and he brought us to the store. He didn’t just bring me there, either. He paid for the tampons and two pints of ice cream.
Not once did he make me feel uncomfortable. But tampons came in multiple sizes and, for the most part, it was easy to determine what size you needed on that day. Depending on the brand, the cut, the material and so many other factors, I could be four different sizes in underwear. Not to mention tampons were hidden away in a box. I did not need Nero holding up a pair of panties big enough to cover my luscious ass in the middle of a store.
“Underwear is more intimate,” I said.
“More intimate than an item you shove up your—”
“Okay!” I held up my hand as if it were a stop sign and not stopping wasn’t an option.
The jerk laughed. “You’re cute when you’re flustered.”
“Bottle that charm up and put it away. It’s not going to work on me.”
“Are your panties in a bunch? You should probably get out of them.”
“Smooth,” I said, giving credit where credit was due.
“I thought so.” He stepped toward me, resting a hand on my arm. “How about this? There are two big fluffy robes hanging in the bathroom. What about you go take a bath and put on the robe? I’ll go get a few bottles of acceptable wine, and we can rent whatever movie catches your fancy and we can get drunk here in the room.”
Hopefully the robe would cover the girls. Still, I didn’t want to be in a robe while Nero was fully clothed. “Will you put on a robe, too?”
“If that’s what you want.”
I nodded. “That’s what I want.” There was no way in hell I was going to be wrapped in a robe while he was fully dressed. It was all or nothing.
“Deal. Now go in the bath. I’ll be back before you get out.”
“How do you know?”
“Just a hunch.” He winked, then headed out.
I turned toward the bathroom and gasped as I took in the tub and the view surrounding it. The water came out in a hot stream, and I added some of the complimentary soap to make bubbles. The scent of lemons with undertones of bergamot and rosemary filled the air.
My eyes drifted to the closed door. I thought about locking it but decided not to. I slipped out of my clothes, sinking beneath the hot, deliciously scented water.
I inhaled, letting out a long breath as the weight of the day melted off my shoulders. The view made it feel like I could be on display for the whole world, but I knew up here, I was in my own world. All of my problems were sixty stories below, waiting for me to return, but for now, I closed my eyes, forgetting about the broken car, the unpaid bills, and all the other worries that followed me around on a daily basis.
I would return to reality tomorrow.