Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
The people Kendrick knew turned out to be movie stars, though he didn’t say which ones exactly.
But he’d made a call and Samantha pieced the conversation together enough to know that whoever he was talking to had agreed to make a call, as well.
It worked.
By the time they arrived at the swanky restaurant right off Hollywood Boulevard—sandwiched between some not-so-swanky buildings—they had a table waiting for them.
It was like a dream come true!
As if she was becoming Tonya in real life.
Once they were seated, she looked around and covered her mouth. It was even more amazing than she’d dreamed!
The booths were made of rich, dark wood and looked to be hand carved. Matching beams ran at various points across the slightly curved ceiling. The bar that lined part of one wall was the same wood.
The seats themselves were red. Part of the walls were gold, but the top part contained wallpaper that depicted tasteful, muted scenes of nature.
Every table had a pristine white tablecloth draped over it.
The sounds of soft conversations and tinkling glasses and shifting ice all melded together as Samantha looked around to see if there were any celebrities.
She didn’t spot any, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any tucked away in some of the more private spaces of the restaurant.
It was exactly the type of place where they would hang out.
Maybe Leo really was there. Of course, he wouldn’t actually ask her out. Not that she’d want him to, anyway.
She was on a date with Kendrick. And it was magical.
Better than time with any movie star.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
She was embarrassed when she realized she was still covering her mouth. Lowering her hand, she said, “Yeah. I’m sorry. I just… always dreamed of being here.”
Across the table, Kendrick’s smile was warm. “Well, I’m glad I could make one of your dreams come true. We’ll see what we can do about the others.” He winked.
She giggled.
Another thought struck her, and she leaned in a little, speaking in a low tone. “Am I way underdressed?”
She doubted anyone else in there had bought their clothes at a thrift store.
“If you are, then I am too,” he replied.
He had a point in his jeans, sneakers, and black polo-style shirt. It wasn’t like he was in a suit and tie or anything.
No one in there really was. There were a couple of guys in dress shirts with their sleeves rolled up. Samantha figured they’d probably worn ties earlier in the day but had shed them at some point that evening. Other than that, the dress was surprisingly casual.
Again, she was probably the only person wearing thrift-store finds. But it wasn’t as if anyone knew where she’d bought her clothes.
The server came, made pleasant conversation with them for a moment, and then took their drink orders. A moment later, they had a bottle of wine on the table along with their glasses of water.
Once the waiter had retreated again so they could study the menu, Samantha accidentally said, “Whoa!”
“You okay?”
Her eyes darted up from the menu and across the table. “Sorry. Just… the spaghetti and meatballs is thirty dollars!”
She felt foolish. Tonya wouldn’t care about that. In fact, she’d probably say something like, “Oh, it’s only thirty dollars? That’s nothing. One time I had spaghetti in…” And would then launch into a story about an even fancier restaurant she’d eaten at, probably with a celebrity or something.
Kendrick was smiling, but not in a way that indicated he was laughing at her or mocking her.
He clearly found her cute.
The realization forced her embarrassment to recede. A warmth took its place.
“Is that what you want?” he asked.
Samantha nodded.
“Then get it. We’ll order some garlic bread to go along with it.”
She found that on the menu. It was fifteen bucks.
“What are you getting?” she asked.
“New York Strip.”
She found the price. It surprisingly wasn’t as expensive as she’d figured it would be. Though steak at the diner wasn’t fifty-plus dollars.
“Oh,” she said as she flipped the menu over and continued to look. “All the sides are extra.”
“Yeah.”
“Everything comes together where I work.” She laughed at the comment. “But I bet these servers make way better tips.”
Stop talking, Samantha. You sound pathetic! Act like you belong in this world. What would Tonya do?
Tonya would scare Kendrick away, she thought. In fact, he’d never take her out in the first place.
She decided to find the happy medium.
The waiter came back and took their orders. Once he’d left, she took a sip of wine and sad, “Do you come here a lot?”
“No.”
“Have you ever been?”
“Yeah.”
“But it’s not your favorite?”
“Oh, I like it. But to be honest, I prefer my own cooking to anyone else’s.”
“You cook a lot?”
He nodded. “I like to. Everyone at the mansion gives me crap about it. But they love it. And, not to brag, but it is pretty good.”
This was her opening, she realized. While she knew about his living arrangements, he didn’t know that she did. At least, she didn’t think so. Her mind raced trying to remember what all she’d revealed she knew.
She didn’t think it was too much.
So, now was the natural time to ask.
“You live with other people in a mansion?”
“Yeah. Not like in weird cult commune way. But… well, you’re a Little. Have you ever heard of the Daddy Guard?”
“Yeah! Word has kind of gotten around town. Y’all are even on the internet!” She realized that in her excitement her Kentucky accent came out strong. She normally tried to mask it.
He looked pleased, but whether it was over her accent or the fact that she knew about the Guard, Samantha didn’t know.
She just knew she loved his smile. There was something about a guy with dimples…
“I’m part of the Guard. We actually all live together in a mansion. The other guys have Littles and they live with us too.”
“That’s cool! Where is it?”
Samantha hoped she was being convincing enough. She knew good and well where the mansion was. She’d shown up there on Halloween night to throw eggs at it—and the Littles who lived there.
“South L.A.”
In the rich part of town, Samantha thought. But she kept that comment to herself.
The conversation continued while they waited on their food and after they received it. She continued to ask him questions—some she already knew the answers to and some she didn’t. He asked her a lot, too. By the time dinner was over, it felt as if they’d known each other for years.
It had kind of felt that way even before they’d lingered at a table for over an hour, chatting.
They’d just sort of had an instant connection, Samantha noted to herself.
Could it be? Was this her Daddy? The one she was destined to find?
Or was stuff like that even real?
Probably not.
That only happened in the Daddy Dom romance novels she read. Right?
It didn’t really matter, either way. Because the minute he figured out she was actually Tonya, there was no way he’d want to be with her. Ever!
Of course, if he never found out…
It was going to be a delicate act. Perhaps she could just retire the Tonya persona forever.
But Tonya had friends at the nursery. Not many. A couple of other Littles were devoted to her, though. She couldn’t just disappear and ghost them forever. Though that did sound exactly like something Tonya would do.
It could raise lots of questions, too. Then people would start poking around and stuff. Investigating. What if that led to them uncovering the truth?
The best way was to make at least one more appearance as Tonya, she decided. Wrap things up. Perhaps a story about her moving away would do the trick.
As her magical night with Kendrick stretched on, she began to formulate a plan.
Maybe, just maybe, she could make this all work.
Perhaps she’d get her fairytale ending after all.