Chapter 6
Chapter Six
D amon had called, and tonight was the night.
Audra checked her appearance in the bathroom mirror. Black slacks and a purple top, her hair in large curls that rested like dark clouds on her shoulders.
Am I showing too much cleavage?
No, she decided. Considering some of the clothing she’d seen women wearing in the photos with Damon, this outfit was pretty demure.
She turned out the light and went into the bedroom. Kerilyn was lying on her stomach on the bed, playing a video game on an old phone Audra had given her.
Audra picked up her purse. “How does Mommy look?” She turned in a slow circle.
Her daughter’s eyes brightened. “Pretty! Are you going on a date?”
“I’m going out with a friend.” Audra tucked the purse under her arm. For the most part, she didn’t share her romantic life with her daughter and had never introduced her to any other man.
Kerilyn sat up. “Is it a boy or a girl?”
“It’s a boy, but boys and girls can be friends,” Audra patiently explained.
“Are you going to kiss him?”
“Kerilyn!”
Her daughter giggled.
“I’m going to kiss you!” Audra smothered her face with kisses, enjoying the sound of her daughter’s laughter as she wriggled in her arms, pretending to want to get away.
Finally, she looked down at her. “I’m going to leave in a few minutes. Be good for Grandma and Abuelo .”
“I’m always good.” Kerilyn hopped off the bed. “Can I have ice cream later?”
“You can, but not too late, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Bye-bye. Love you.” Audra bent down and gave her daughter one last kiss.
“Bye-bye. Have fun!” Kerilyn raced off toward her grandparents’ bedroom.
Audra took a deep breath. She hadn’t been on a date in a while, and Damon made her incredibly nervous.
She descended the stairs to the first floor and climbed into the car she had hired for the night. She greeted the chauffeur, an older man with graying hair, before sliding onto the backseat.
As the driver headed down the driveway, she did another check of her appearance in her compact. “You look fine,” she muttered to herself.
“Excuse me, ma’am?” the driver said, meeting her eyes in the rearview mirror.
“Nothing. I’m talking to myself,” Audra said with an embarrassed laugh.
Damon had chosen the restaurant Prime Table, a small, intimate establishment known for its steaks and lobster mac and cheese. Audra was surprised he had been able to get a reservation on such short notice. She had only been there once and was looking forward to visiting again.
When she arrived, she gave her name at the front, and the hostess escorted her toward the rear of the building where Damon was waiting. He came to his feet as she approached, and her eyes absorbed every inch of him.
He looked delicious in a dark plaid sport coat paired with a light-colored shirt and dark pants. The fit of his clothes was perfect, emphasizing his broad shoulders and physique. With his hair and beard freshly trimmed, it was hard to keep her eyes off him.
He seemed to be having a similar problem, casting an appreciative gaze down the length of her body. “You look amazing.” His voice was as smooth and rich as melted caramel and made between her thighs quiver with longing.
As Audra lowered into her chair, Damon stepped behind her and gently pushed it in place.
“Thank you,” she said over her shoulder, catching the appealing scent of his aftershave.
He returned to his chair, and she folded her hands in her lap. Calm down , she chided herself. She was way too excited and aroused.
Since she and Kerilyn’s father split, she’d been on dates, but nothing serious. Spending time with Damon caused nervous energy to spike inside her. Tonight with him felt more momentous—for lack of a better word—than the dates she had been on since her breakup.
“This arrangement was a bit odd for me,” Damon said.
“What do you mean?”
“Having to meet you here. I’m used to picking up a woman or, at the very least, sending a car for her.”
“You’re a very popular man, and as I explained, I’d rather not show up in one of those online articles about you. I have family members who are famous and semi-famous, and I’m familiar with how misinformation can circulate about celebrities and those close to them.”
“I understand that you don’t want that to happen to you.”
“I definitely don’t.”
The waitress arrived to take their drink orders and then left them alone again. Damon sat back and watched Audra with undisguised interest, his eyes practically boring into her soul. “What kind of misinformation do you think would crop up about us?”
She shrugged. “We’re here as friends, right? But I’m sure if people saw us together, they’d make assumptions.”
“Such as?” he prompted.
“They might assume we’re a couple and that we’re… you know.”
“Sleeping together,” he supplied.
“Yes.”
“And we’re not yet,” Damon said.
“Exactly. We’re—” She stopped abruptly. “ Yet ?”
“Did I say yet?” he asked, looking unrepentant.
“The innocent act doesn’t work for you. Yes, you said yet.”
Damon leaned toward her, and she held her breath.
“How about we both stop pretending? You know I’m not interested in being your friend. I’ve never sent flowers to my friends or drooled when I saw them approach me in the restaurant where we’re having dinner. Let’s see how the evening goes. Because the last thing I want to do is be your friend, Audra, but if I told you what I really wanted, I might scare you off. And I don’t want to scare you off.” He started studying the open menu. “You’ve been here before. What do you recommend?”
He switched gears so abruptly, she almost thought she had imagined his intensity, but there was no imagining the breathlessness she experienced from his bold words.
Audra resettled in her chair. She could handle the change. “I, er, I had the ribeye last time with the lobster mac and cheese and broccolini.”
“Good?” Damon arched an eyebrow at her.
“Excellent. I think I’ll get that again.” She scanned the menu, in case there was something else she might want.
“I’ll get that too.” He closed his menu.
“No, we have to order different meals. At least order a different side. That way we can—” She caught herself. She was being way too familiar with him and making assumptions. He might not like to share his food.
“What?” Damon prompted.
“Nothing.”
“You want to order different sides so we can try each other’s food. Am I right?”
“Well…”
“I like that idea. I’ll order the mashed potato soufflé and the orange carrots. How about that?”
“You should get what you want,” Audra said.
“That is what I want. I was taking the easy way out because you confirmed those other dishes were good. This way we can try different things. Okay?”
She smiled. “Okay.”
The waitress returned with their drinks, and they placed their orders, and Damon included an order of stuffed mushrooms.
Audra took a sip of her red wine. “Mmm. Good. How’s your rum and Coke?”
“Strong. I think it’s rum, rum, and Coke.”
She laughed. “So tell me about yourself. I know you’re from Arkansas. Does your family still live there?”
“Yes, my parents still live there. I don’t have any siblings—” He broke off when her phone rang.
Audra checked the screen. “This is my mother. Excuse me.” She put the phone to her ear. “Hi, Mom. Is everything okay?” Her mother knew she was out with a man, so the reason for the call must be important.
“Honey, I’m sorry. I didn’t want to call you, but Kerilyn has been agitated for the past fifteen minutes. She ate a big bowl of ice cream and says she’s sleepy but refuses to go to bed without her pink blanket, and I can’t find it.”
“Mommy, where’s my blanket?” Audra heard her daughter’s distressed voice in the background. She sounded like she was in the midst of a full-blown panic attack.
“I don’t know why she’s so attached to that thing,” Audra told her mother. “It’s in the hamper. She spilled apple juice on it. There’s another blanket—the yellow one with the blue rabbits on it. She likes that one almost as much and should fall asleep if you cover her with it.”
“Oh yes, the yellow blanket. Okay, I’ll look for it.”
“It should be in the bottom drawer on the right of her dresser. I’ll hold while you check.”
“Honey, you don’t have to do that.”
“I don’t mind.” Audra shot a quick glance at Damon, who was politely averting his eyes and pretending not to listen.
“One second.”
She could tell her mother was moving through the house.
“Are you enjoying yourself?” Rose asked.
“Yes,” Audra replied, keeping her voice neutral.
“Found it!” Relief flooded her mother’s voice.
Kerilyn’s dramatic moans stopped, replaced by a squeal of happiness.
“You should see her little face,” Rose said.
“Sounds like she stopped whining.”
“She did. Thanks, honey. I won’t bother you again.”
“It’s no bother, Mom. Talk to you later.” Audra hung up and shot an apologetic smile at Damon. “Sorry about that. I have a daughter.” He didn’t blink or react to that declaration, so she continued. “My mother called—well, you heard. My daughter, Kerilyn, insisted on having her very special blanket before she would go to bed. The only time the blanket doesn’t matter is when she sleeps in my bed.”
“No need to apologize.”
Audra smoothed her palms over the cloth napkin across her thighs. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re a lot nicer than I expected.”
His eyes narrowed in amusement. “Really? What did you expect?”
“I thought you’d be kind of… arrogant. Cocky.”
“I’m both of those things.”
She laughed out loud. “Well, you’re also a gentleman, polite, and easy to get along with—so far.”
He continued to watch her.
“You’re staring,” Audra said.
“I can’t help it. I like looking at you. Your eyes light up when you smile or laugh. It’s very attractive.”
Warmth heated her cheeks. “Are you going to pay me compliments all night?”
A slow smile took over his lips. “If you let me.”