Chapter 16
Second Location
Ivy
I ended the call, grabbed my purse, and ducked my face while I put my phone away.
“I’d ask you what he said to make you blush so hard, but I’m pretty sure I can guess.”
I turned to Ryan and tried not to glare. “You shouldn’t gloat.”
His smirk looked almost boyish. “I’m not gloating now, but I damn sure will later.”
“Ryan!”
A food runner put our plates on the table and I’d never been so happy to be interrupted before.
I heard his quiet, rumbly laugh before he said, “You’re fucking adorable.”
I stirred my drink. “Did you call me adorable?”
“Yep.”
I sighed. “The last person to call me that was Jeff.”
One of his eyes narrowed on me. “Is he the person who ruined ‘Ives’ for you?”
“No, not at all.”
He nodded once. “Didn’t you say your step-dad’s name was Jeff? He passed away.”
I took a deep breath. “Right. It’s been hard for Mom. Much more than either of us expected.”
“Was his death expected?”
I nodded. “Cancer. We thought the treatments were working, but it somehow spread.”
He reached out and grabbed my hand. “Say no more, Ivy. Cancer fucking sucks.”
“That’s the understatement of the century,” I muttered.
“Yeah. Why did Jeff call you adorable?” he asked in an exceedingly gentle tone.
I shrugged. “Mostly how I am with Mom.”
As much as I loved thinking about Mom and Jeff, it had a somber feel I didn’t want to mar my time with Ryan.
I picked up a french fry and dipped it in ketchup. “If you and your brother live at the clubhouse, where does your sister live?”
He swallowed a bite of his sandwich and sipped his drink. “She just finished her degree this past spring. Her campus apartment lease ended. She’s recently moved into a double-wide near the bar.”
“Is she renting?” I asked, paused, and held up a hand. “Sorry, don’t answer that. I slipped into work mode.”
He grinned. “It’s okay. Yeah, she is renting because she wants to wait until we know where the second location is going to be.”
“Second location?” I asked.
He nodded. “The goal is to build enough business at the bar that allows us to invest in another spot and have three to four bars in town. If they all do well, then Mick wants to get into franchising.”
I forked up a bite of my grilled chicken. “That’s ambitious.”
As I chewed my food, he shot me a look. “What were really you going to say?”
“That is what I meant to say, though I left off the part that it’s also very risky. The restaurant business is in general.”
“That’s for sure,” he muttered.
“Is there a time line for this? And where do you and your brother fit in?”
He stared down at his drink for a beat, then met my gaze. “If we get the number of locations we need to make franchising possible, I’d be going to different markets and scouting locations and verifying applicants. But that’s five to eight years down the road at least.”
I nodded. That was most likely the real reason he didn’t want a woman. He’d be out of town – if he even made Florida his home.
I sipped my gimlet. “That’s exciting.”
He shook his head and smiled. “That’s funny because you sound anything but excited, Trouble.”
With a sheepish grin, I conceded the point with a head tilt. “No, really. I would imagine between the three of you—”
“Four of us, Lark’s got a heavy hand in this plan.”
I did a slow nod. “Ah, well, I’m sure you’ll be very successful.”
He polished off his drink and chased it with some water. “Time will tell. Lark’s made it clear not only does the market change, but our goals will change too, with time.”
“Wise words,” I murmured, and put the last bite of my chicken in my mouth.
Mom and Jeff had given me similar advice after I passed the real estate exam.
I swallowed my food and glanced around the tavern. “How did you find this place?”
“One of the brothers lives within walking distance.”
My brows furrowed. “But your clubhouse is on the Westside. He has to cross the ditch and the river.”
Most of the people who lived at the beach referred to the Intercoastal waterway as the ditch. The way Ryan grinned at my words, I knew I didn’t need to explain to him.
“Yeah, but his woman loves her place and he loves her… So he’s willing to make the drive – or ride, depending on the weather.”
I nodded. “That was another occupational hazard coming out again. I’m all the time thinking about where people work and the commute time around here.”
“I bet, but Vamp knows how much Killian and I love crab cakes and it’s not every day you find a place with good crab cakes and a variety of craft beers on draft.”
I leaned toward him. “But you didn’t order a beer.”
He matched my lean. “No, because I wanted to share the same drink as you.”
That was rather sweet.
“You’re blushing.”
I pressed my lips together, willing my blood to stop rushing to my face. “I’m just surprised how sweet you can be.”
A contemplative expression filled his eyes. “If it weren’t for last night, and learning you’re a vodka girl, I wouldn’t have even known that about you. So …I don’t know. I guess you can call it sweet, but I just like that we have that in common.”
“So do I,” I said in a quiet voice.
“Are you done? If you are, I’ll get our check because we have to go get dessert after this.”
“Dessert? Is that code for—”
“No. When I’m out this way, I always hit Whit’s. It’s fan-fuckin’-tastic, as Mickayla says.”
I popped another french fry in my mouth and washed it down with some water. “Ready when you are, big guy.”
No matter how quiet I tried to be, my exhale could be heard in the car.
“Are you in pain over there?” Ryan asked. Observant to a fault.
I felt stuffed to the point of borderline misery, but I would be all right with enough time to recuperate.
“We should have split the ice cream.”
“Custard. And no way. I’ll split plenty of things with a woman, but my custard is all mine.”
I aimed some severe side-eye at him. “Really? That’s the line in the sand for you? No woman gets to share custard with you?”
He rested his hand on my thigh. “Not on a first date. Sets the wrong example.”
I chuckled. “What example is that?”
“That I’m down with that kind of game playing. You don’t strike me as a woman who plays games. With three siblings, I know how to share and I decided a long time ago, I don’t share my ice cream. It’s better when a woman says she wants a full waffle cone as opposed to having to split it with her.”
I shot him a look as he drove us across the Fuller Warren bridge. “So it is ice cream.”
“You know what I’m saying. Are you gonna survive? Or should I stop at Walgreen’s?”
“I’m good,” I said.
“What time do you have to be at work in the morning?”
“That’s right, I forgot to tell you. My boss was at my closing, so she saw my black eye. She’s giving me tomorrow off.”
“Sweet,” he said in a low voice.
“Having a shiner is not sweet,” I muttered. “I should have put on more make up before we left earlier.”
He nodded at the road. “That’s not what I meant. Hate seeing your face like that, but I’m glad you have tomorrow off because it means I have all night to do whatever I want with you.”
Butterflies swarmed in my belly. I felt my cheeks heat and I looked out the window.
He lifted his hand from my thigh. Next thing I knew, he grabbed my hand and threaded his fingers between mine then he moved our hands to his thigh. “You’re too fuckin’ cute, Trouble.”
In no time, he turned into my neighborhood and parked in front of my townhouse.
I tried to pull my hand away, but he kept hold and faced me. “Are you nervous?”
My head tilted just a touch. “A little, but that’s normal.”
He shook his head. “Nope. You have nothing to be nervous about with me.”
I stared at a point over his shoulder as I contemplated that. Lots of things made me nervous about him, but I had to keep that to myself.
“Ivy, look at me.”
I met his gaze, and lied through my teeth. “You’re right. I’m being silly.”
His lips pulled together and he gave me a hard stare. “No. I didn’t say that. Let’s go inside.”
He had my keys and unlocked my door for us.
Inside, I hung up my purse and kicked off my shoes. From the corner of my eye, I saw Ryan tuck my keys inside my purse before he shrugged off his leather.
I turned and found Ryan right there. He grabbed my hands and pulled them up over my head, while simultaneously he backed me up against the wall. His head lowered and he kissed me hard, hot, and heavy.
At once it annihilated my nerves, it was so delicious and intense.
He let go of one of my hands, skimming his fingers down the side of my ribs and tugging my blouse free of my dress pants.
I shoved my free hand around his back and yanked his t-shirt free of his jeans.
This morning, I hadn’t had much time to explore his back.
No way I’d let this opportunity pass me by.
I slipped my hand under his t-shirt, enjoying the feeling of his warm, sleek skin and imagined the ink beneath my fingers.
He angled his head and took the kiss deeper.
I pressed toward him making him groan. He squeezed my hand that he held above my head. Then his other hand slid up under my bra and he palmed my breast.
Our kiss broke when I gasped, “Yeah.”
He rested his forehead on mine. “Not nervous any more are you?”
I hiked a leg up alongside his thigh. “No, I’m not. Your shirt needs to go.”
That earned me a deep, dark chuckle. He let go of my hand, reached behind his neck, yanked off his T-shirt, and tossed it toward the couch. “You don’t have to ask me twice, baby.”
With his chest right in front of me, I licked my lips and kissed his collar bone. Then I kissed a trail to his pectoral and took his nipple between my teeth and let it go.
“Fucking hell, Ivy. That went straight to my cock.”
I smiled and peeked up at him. “That’s the idea, Nickel.”
“Didn’t think you had that in you,” he murmured.
“I’m glad you like it,” I said, dragging my lips to the other side of his chest.
His hand left my breast so he could cup my cheeks and tip my face up toward his. “I’ll like it better when I have you naked again. Bedroom or couch?”