Chapter 16
It had been a while since I’d been on a date. It wasn’t a choice or on purpose, more so that I had put my career above everything else. I’d been driven by my passion for baking, decorating cakes, and matching the perfect cake with each customer who stepped through my little shop. Now with my business on the rise, it was time I gave some energy to my love life.
“I’m here,” I said to Sherry who I called as soon as I got in the car. She was still at work, putting in extra hours to make sure Laurent and Phoebe’s wedding was the definition of perfect. Before I called, she’d been reviewing the menus one last time to make sure there was an option for every dietary restriction.
“You got this,” she said. “Get out of the car and go strut that hot ass of yours into that restaurant, forget about my stupid brother, and have fun.”
“I got this,” I repeated.
“Yeah you do. Go. And call me later.”
“I will.” I ended the call and got out of the car.
A swarm of nervous butterflies fluttered in my stomach, but I ignored them as I opened the restaurant door and stepped into Don’s Bistro. When Damian had confirmed the location for our date, I almost suggested a place a little farther out of town. Don’s was directly on Main Street and a hangout for the locals. We were guaranteed to be the newest gossip come morning.
But after a second, I decided to keep my suggestions to myself. I had no reason to hide. Damian was cute and funny, and he was close to his sister, which spoke volumes. And what better way to announce my foray back into the dating pool than dinner at Don’s?
“Lainey!” Clyde called from behind the bar. His full head of white hair was brushed to the side, and his big smile lit up the room as it had my entire life. “How are you, kid?”
“I’m fantastic, Clyde. How’s the knee doing?” He recently had been complaining about it.
“Got a cortisone shot, and I’m back on the dance floor.” He busted out a move, spinning around before throwing his arms out.
“You take it easy for a bit. Don’t need you blowing a knee while in the middle of the twist.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “You sitting at the bar?”
“There’s a free seat here,” Simone, Vine Valley’s very best realtor, said with a wave. Her office was two doors down from my shop and almost every morning we bumped into each other at Espresso Yourself for our morning caffeine fix. She pointed to an open chair between her and Bill, who owned the gas station and mechanic shop and whose wife was the very best waitress at Don’s.
I glanced toward the dining room and spotted Damian. He rose from his chair and offered me a smile that accentuated his already handsome face. I smiled at Simone and tilted my head toward Damian. She glanced over, and her eyebrows rose before giving me a not-so-subtle thumbs up. “I’m in the dining room tonight,” I said to Clyde.
“Good on you! Silvia will be over with a menu soon.”
“Thanks.”
I ran a hand down the front of my fitted long sleeve black top that was snuggly tucked into an olive green, high-waisted mini then made my way to Damian.
“You look beautiful,” he said as he pulled my chair out for me.
“He compliments and gets my chair. What a gentleman. Thank you.” I slid my bag off my shoulder and looped it over the back of the chair. I eyed the half-finished glass of wine on the table. “I hope you haven’t been waiting long.”
“Oh no. I’ve been here for maybe ten minutes. I wanted to get a lay of the land first.”
“Bathrooms in the back to the right. Bar you passed on the way in and then here we are in the dining room. That’s about all you need to know. Oh and there’s a backdoor if by ‘getting a lay of the land’ you meant staking out your exit strategy.”
“I got you to agree to a date. There is no way I’m leaving. Only an idiot would.”
My smile crested downward as memories of waking up alone in a hotel room slammed into me, but I quickly shook those thoughts from my head. Tonight wasn’t about Nero. “Lucky for me, you’re not an idiot.” I picked up my menu even though I had it memorized from top to bottom.
His brown eyes peered over his menu. “What’s good?”
“Everything, but there are a few you can never go wrong with. I’d say the chicken Milanese, the marinated filet…” My gaze drifted over mozzarella sticks, and the urge to throw my menu almost overtook me. I cleared my throat. “Or you can’t go wrong with a good ol’ fashioned burger.”
I knew it was a date, and Damian would most likely pay, but I didn’t want to be presumptuous and assume, so I was mindful of the prices. With Nero paying for the car repairs, it was one less expense I could worry about at a later time. I had every intention of paying him back, but I knew I had time.
“What are you getting?” Damian asked.
My attention kept getting pulled to the burger. I loved burgers, but a burger from Don’s? Well… there was nothing better.
I bit my lip. Was it okay to order a burger on a date? I didn’t see why not. But did that make things more casual? Why was I overthinking this?
“Probably a burger.”
“A burger over the filet? Interesting.”
I shifted in my seat. “Why is that interesting?”
“I thought I was the only one who would choose a burger over a filet. But there’s just something about taking it in your hands that can’t compare to cutting a steak.”
A smile pulled tight at the corners of my mouth. “Exactly.” Heat shot through my cheeks when he smiled back.
“Hey there, sweetie,” Silvia said as she placed a glass of wine in front of me, not intentionally ruining the moment. “A glass of Sauvignon Blanc, as per usual.”
“Thank you, Silvia. And since Damian already has his wine, I assume you two have met.”
“I took his order.” Silvia placed her notepad under her arm and held her hand out. “Nice to meet you, Damian.”
“Pleasure is all mine.”
“Have you two decided what you’d like to eat?”
“We’ll each have a burger,” Damian said.
“I know how Lainey gets hers. What about you?”
“Medium well.”
My lip curled, as did Silvia’s. We glanced at each other and shook our heads.
“Did I say something wrong?” Damian asked.
Silvia sighed. “If you mean did you commit a mortal sin? Then yes.”
“Medium is the only answer,” I said. “Unless you want Silas to come out from the kitchen and give you a lesson on the proper way to cook and eat a burger.”
“Medium it is then.” Damian handed his menu to Silvia.
“Thank heavens,” she said and headed toward the kitchen.
“Does it happen often?” Damian asked with an amused twitch of his lip.
“It stopped for a while, but his wife filed for divorce last month, and ever since, he’s been a little cranky.”
“And the owner is okay with that?”
I glanced over at Clyde, who was a third-generation owner. “Silas has worked for Clyde since he was fifteen. He’s not going to fire him at thirty-two because he’s going through some things.”
“That small town hospitality,” Damian said.
I smiled. “Sure is. Where are you from? I’m guessing not a small town.”
“Nope. Celeste and I were born and raised in Los Angeles.”
“As far from small town as you can get,” I said. “Do you still live there?”
I hadn’t even put that into consideration when I agreed to the date. My life was here in Vine Valley. My family, my business, my friends—
The door opened, and bulging biceps held tight to a case of Vine Valley wine. I’d know those biceps anywhere. Nero’s head turned in my direction. Our eyes locked, and the air was sucked out of the room. I inhaled, attempting to get oxygen to my lungs, but it was if my body forgot how to breathe. My pulse quickened as my heart hammered my chest.
One would think after being ravished and satiated, only to be abandoned and humiliated, I’d feel nothing but animosity toward him. There was only a little animosity, but mainly, I felt loss—loss at what we could have had. It could have been beautiful. I was mourning a relationship that never happened, and maybe that made me pathetic, but when it came to Nero Grasso, pathetic was my middle name. No matter what, he would always have a direct link to the uncontrollable muscle in my chest.
I cleared my throat again, trying to ignore the man who just walked in and gave my focus back to the man who asked me here.
“I do, but I travel so much for work, I can’t even tell you the last time I was actually there.” Damian’s dimple made an appearance as he picked up his wineglass and took a sip.
“You must get homesick.”
I tried to keep my attention on him, but Nero’s voice boomed across the room, and my ear turned in his direction.
“Not really,” Damian continued. “Celeste is always traveling, and so are our parents. We usually meet up when we cross paths.”
“You don’t get lonely?”
“My work keeps me company.”
I took a sip of wine and chanced a glance over at the bar. Nero was talking to Simone and laughing. Heat crept up my neck, and I was afraid I was going to turn into a red blotchy mess.
Nero’s gaze caught mine, and the entire world froze. His jaw tightened, and some strange part of me wanted him to come over and stake his claim, but that was ridiculous, and I hated myself even more for letting him reduce me to a puddle of desperation.
I snapped my attention to Damian. “I’m a workaholic, too,” I said. “But I try to keep a balance and find time to do other things.”
“Like what?”
“Oh well. We have a town hall meeting once or twice a month, but I guess that’s work related. I watch reruns of Sex and the City with my best friend. Oh! Three Barrell Distillery shows a horror movie outside on a big sheet every Friday from September through October, so I try to go to as many as I can.”
“You like horror movies?”
“Kind of. It’s more about the whole setting. Sitting outside around the bonfire as the air is starting to get that crisp, fall feeling. There’s nothing better. It really sets the mood for the season.”
My mind drifted to the last time I was around the bonfire. How Nero had sat beside me under the blanket, and I’d linked my fingers through his.
I glanced back in his direction. He was smiling at something Clyde had said. He looked devilishly handsome in a blue button up, the sleeves rolled over his forearms. Heat crept up my neck and into my cheeks.
“Is your neck bothering you?” Damian asked. “You keep turning it to the side.”
I brought my attention back to him and smiled. “Just a little. Looking down at cakes all day does that. If you’ll excuse me.” I pushed from the table. “I need to use the ladies room.”
“Of course.”
With a smile, I hurried off to the bathroom, refusing to look toward Nero. I didn’t stop until I was behind the bathroom door. I rested my hands on either side of the sink and took a deep breath. I met my own eyes in the mirror and, just as I expected, I was a blotchy mess.
Cold water on the wrists always helped, so I turned the water on and stuck my arms beneath the cold stream. I closed my eyes, letting the coolness rush through my body. I pictured Damian and his adorable dimple, allowing my focus to stay on him completely. I opened my eyes, turned the water off, and dried my hands and wrists with paper towels.
The heat dissipated, and my breathing evened out. I needed to get back to Damian before he became suspicious.
I walked out of the bathroom and went to walk down the short hallway when a hand wrapped around my wrist and yanked me into the coat closet. A scream built in my lungs, and my lips parted, but it halted before it could pass. Nero pinned me to the wall, a couple of coats on either side of us.
“What are you doing?” I demanded as his body pushed into mine.
His hand lifted, fingers tucking my hair behind my ear and lingering on my jaw. “God, you're beautiful.”
I ignored the heat his touch elicited. “Did you really need to yank me into the coat closet to tell me that?”
“I didn’t want to interrupt your date.”
“Then what do you call this?”
“He thinks you’re in the bathroom.”
“Yes, and if you don’t let me go, he’s going to think I either ditched him or am having severe digestion issues.”
“Let him.” Nero moved into me, his chest pressing against mine, his thigh pushing in between my legs.
“Nero,” I breathed. “What are you doing?”
He tilted my chin, his blue-black eyes locking on mine. “I miss you.”
My heart skittered. “You only have yourself to blame.”
“I know.” His thumb brushed across my bottom lip. “Beautiful,” he said again.
“Nero, I’m on a date.”
“But you’d rather be with me. I know, because I know you. If you didn’t want to be in this closet with me, you would have left by now. So why are you still here?”
I sucked in a jagged breath. I should’ve left. Should have about-faced it the hell out of here, but his stormy blue eyes bore into mine, holding me hostage.
His hand wrapped around my waist, his fingers digging into my curves. “If you want to go, then go.”
My treacherous body ached for his touch and bowed into him. I placed my hand on his chest, mustering the strength to push him away and head to Damian.
Damian. My date.
The soft cotton of Nero’s shirt bunched beneath my fingers and instead of pushing him away, I pulled him to me. Our mouths crashed in a fiery collision of lips, tongues, and teeth. Desire and need consumed me.
My body went limp against the wall as Nero continued his assault. He lifted my leg, steadying me, his hand slipped beneath my skirt. He cupped my ass, squeezing a handful.
I fumbled with his buttons, popping one after another, before dipping my hands into his shirt and feeling the slight patch of hair on his warm chest. I combed my fingers down, memories of our first time flooding back.
He awakened things inside me I didn’t even know were dormant. More memories slammed into me, but these weren’t sex and sunshine. These were dark and sad and lonely.
Nero had his chance, and he blew it.
“Stop,” I said firmly, even though my body was whole-heartedly disagreeing with my head.
His entire body froze. His eyes were practically black as they took me in. “Lanes.”
I shook my head. I could easily forget about Damian and fall into Nero’s charm. Let him take me completely right here in this closet just like my body desperately wanted. But my heart… it still hurt.
“My date’s waiting for me.” I stepped out of the closet. I straightened my skirt and prayed to the heavens I didn’t look as disheveled as I felt. With a deep breath, I walked away from Nero and didn’t look back.