10. Per Diem #2
“I’m surprised Finn, Drew, and Wyatt didn’t show up.” Sara sets down her menu and lifts her green eyes to meet mine. “We haven’t really been separated since we got back together.”
“Do you miss them, pip?”
She smiles and glances around. “Yes and no. I love being here with you alone. But I miss them at the same time. Does that make sense?”
“Yeah, it does.” I take her hand and hold it on the table.
Her smile grows warm. “Dante Stone, are you making a statement?”
“Maybe, pip.” I return her smile and lift her hand to press my lips to her knuckles. It’s not a big statement, but there are people here who know of me and might know of Sara. I hated that Drew was the only one who got to show her off in society.
Her eyes go soft, but the server stops to take our orders. I make sure Sara doesn’t get any wine to go with dinner. Who knows what we’re going to find when we get home? The movers should be finished, but that’s only half of what needs to be done.
There’s unpacking and organizing things. Making sure everything is in the right room. Fuck. I should be there. I should have let Finn come with Sara. He’s the guy to sit in the bar and watch the girl while I’m the one who helps keep order.
Sara squeezes my hand. “Are you okay, boss?”
I focus in on her. “Yeah.” I’m exactly where I need to be. “Yeah, I’m good.”
She smiles, and just as she’s about to say something, someone stops at our table. I look up and meet the eyes of my uncle, David Stone. When my mother rejoined society, my uncle made her and me take her maiden name, so the only trace of my father was me.
“Good evening, Dante.” David looks at our joined hands, but I don’t pull away from Sara. “Ms. Morris.”
He bows his head to Sara and she nods to him. He stands stiffly before our table.
“I haven’t heard from you since your date with the Anderson girl.” David focuses his dark eyes on me.
I wonder if he hates me because I get my size and coloring from my father.
“Nancy and I had a good time. I had work that called me out of town for the past week. We just got back today.” I squeeze Sara’s hand. He doesn’t need all the details. “You remember Tom’s sister, Sara?”
“Of course.” His gaze strays to our hands again. “How is Tom?”
“Newly married,” Sara says.
My uncle studies her for a moment before turning his gaze to me. “We need to discuss something of a similar nature soon. Come by the house for dinner on Sunday night.”
My gut clenches knowing he’s still trying to sell me off to the highest bidder. What the fuck does he have planned now?
“I can’t.” I should have an excuse ready to go but he caught me off guard. This isn’t the type of restaurant he generally goes to.
“Your mother would be very disappointed if you didn’t show up.” David clears his throat. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to return to my party. Have a good evening.”
I drag in a breath as he walks away.
“Your uncle is scary.” Sara shivers and meets my gaze. “What do you think he wants?”
“For me to marry a socialite of his choosing.” I run a hand over my hair.
The server stops and gives us our dinner. Sara’s quiet but contemplative. As I’m taking the final bite of my steak, she clears her throat.
“We could do like Tom and Natasha did to escape her wedding.” Sara leans back in the booth. “I don’t mean disappear on a yacht for days on end.”
I wipe my mouth and look to see if anyone is near. James stands in the corner watching us, but there are a few other men around the dining room doing the same thing.
“Pip,” I begin.
“Yeah, that’s not an I want to get married tone. That’s an I don’t want to disappoint you because I still want to have sex with you, but that won’t work because of xyz tone.” She arches an eyebrow at me.
I take a breath, because I would marry this girl in a heartbeat if she were just mine.
“If it was just you and me in this relationship, I might take you up on that offer, Sara.” I take her hand and kiss her knuckles.
“But it’s not just us, and marriage shouldn’t be a solution or a business deal.
When I marry you, pip, I’ll do it because I love you and don’t ever want to lose you again.
But I also know it isn’t the right time.
We’ve been through a lot. You’ve been through some shit.
Our future isn’t just the two of us. We have to make it work for three others.
We haven’t even told your parents yet. Or really experienced what it will be like for us in society. ”
She sighs.
“You’re dating new money, a Mafia heir who doesn’t want to be the heir, a bastard whose father might still be out there to cause problems, and the son of a working man who, while accepted into society, isn’t at the same time.”
“None of that matters to me.”
“But it does to your mother, pip. And you care what your mother thinks. Maybe she’ll accept this, but while I’m willing to come between you and your brother, I can’t come between you and your mother.”
Sara sets down her napkin. “Will you excuse me?”
I nod to James to follow her as Sara slides out of the booth to head to the bathroom. Every word I told her is the truth, and it’s nice to play the fantasy that this is all going to work out for us. But the reality is, there’s still a chance I lose Sara in the end.