Chapter 9
Wes
Pasta, Anyone?
It had taken me a week to do it, but I’d made it happen.
Smiling, I stood off to the side as Clare walked into the restaurant. When I told her to meet me at Menton at eight tonight, she had texted back asking me if I made enough money to buy her dinner there. Little did she know, I wasn’t going to be the one paying for the bill.
The hostess smiled brightly and motioned for Clare to follow her. I watched as Clare took everything in. From French linens to the finest of china. It was a classy, upscale restaurant that looked like it could be straight out of Europe.
They made their way back to the chef’s table, with its view of the kitchen. It normally sat twelve, but tonight it would only be seating for two.
Clare walked into the room that was decorated in grays and came to an abrupt halt when the man at the table stood. She turned to the hostess.
“Um, I think there is a mistake. I’m here to meet with a man named Wes Ward.”
Brady Thompson, former quarterback of the best football team in the nation, moved forward and reached his hand out to Clare. “Clare Monroe?”
She nodded and mumbled something that made him laugh.
“I’ll be your date for this evening, I hope you don’t mind.”
A weird sounding laugh slipped from between her lips, and she slammed her hand over her mouth before she composed herself.
“I don’t mind at all. Not at all.”
He turned and held the chair for her while she took off her coat and handed it to the hostess. She sat down and Brady pushed the chair in, then looked up at me and winked.
I took my seat at a table where Clare couldn’t see me, but I could see her. After placing my food and drink order, I sat back and watched the scene play out. Clare was so damn animated when she spoke. At one point she stood, acted like she was about to throw a football, then plopped back down in the seat. Brady had been in stitches and seemed to be enjoying himself as well. If the guy wasn’t happily married, I’d be worried.
My drink stopped right at my lips, and I frowned. Why would I be worried if a guy liked Clare? I set the drink down. Then let out a humorless laugh. I was just worried that if she started dating some guy then she wouldn’t be able to date me. Fake date me. That’s all it was.
Wasn’t it?
After two hours of sitting at the restaurant, I tipped my waitress double since I took up her table for so long, then quickly slipped out of the restaurant. I pulled out my phone and pulled up Mark’s name. I worked with him in New York. Brady was his cousin, and he was the only reason I was able to pull this off. He owed me a favor after I told him to buy stock in a certain company and ended up making his clients a hell of a lot of money. I had paid for everything, Brady’s flight in, and the meal.
I hailed a taxi and headed back to my condo. Forty minutes later, there was a knock on my door. Opening it, Clare slammed her body into mine and hugged me. She let go and rushed into my place, tossing her purse on the kitchen island and spinning in circles in the living room. I couldn’t have stopped the smile on my face if I had tried. There was something about knowing I had made her this happy that warmed my insides.
“I can’t believe you did it! How in the hell did you get Brady Thompson to agree to having dinner with me?”
“Did you have a good time?”
“Did I have a good time?” She turned and faced me. “Wes, it was the best night of my life. He is so nice and showed me all these pictures of his kids and his wife. They are going to Australia for Christmas! I asked him a million-and-one questions about what it had been like playing professional football and he was so patient. He even asked me what it was like working for the Red Sox.”
I grabbed two beers out of the fridge and made my way over to the sofa. Handing her a beer, I sat down and took a drink.
“The way everyone was looking at me when we were leaving! I bet I end up in the gossip magazines. I can see it now, who was the brunette on Brady Thompson’s arm?”
“The gorgeous brunette,” I added.
Clare took a drink of the beer and sat down in the chair opposite the sofa. When her eyes met mine, my heart fucking jumped in my chest.
Holy shit. What is happening?
“Thank you, Wes. You must really want Mandy back to go through all of that.”
I forced a smile. Mandy had nothing to do with it, if I was being honest. I had wanted to do it for Clare. Sure, a part of me knew if I hadn’t been able to make it happen, Clare would most likely still help me out. She was that type of friend. I had done it for her and her alone. And that realization had me second guessing everything now.
“When do we go on our first official date?” she asked before taking another drink of the beer.
Suddenly, I didn’t want to do this plan anymore. But, if we did it, then I could spend more time with Clare. It wasn’t like I was falling in love with her. We were growing our friendship and I honestly liked being with her. Nothing wrong with that.
“How about the cooking class. They’re doing some Thanksgiving thing.”
She nodded. “That sounds like fun. Are we cooking a whole meal?”
I shrugged. “I’m not sure.”
“Well, I like surprises, so that’s a plus.”
Smiling, I leaned forward and rested my arms on my knees. I wanted to tell her she looked beautiful tonight, that her blue eyes seemed so bright they nearly blinded me. But all I did was say, “It’s a date then. The class is tomorrow afternoon. I’ll pick you up at eleven, and maybe we can grab something to eat beforehand, just in case we botch what we’re supposed to be cooking.”
She returned my smile with one of her own. “That sounds like a plan. I’m going to head on home,” she said as she pulled her phone out of her purse. “Hopefully I won’t have to wait long for an Uber. Brady gave me a ride here.”
Grinning like a schoolgirl at her phone, she was typing away.
“I’ll take you home.”
Her head lifted. “Are you sure?”
“Positive. I’ve only had the one beer so I’m good.”
Clare stood. “Thanks! I’m going to go pee real quick, be right back.”
She practically bounced her way to the bathroom. When the door shut, I stood. Something was changing between us. Was it just a friendship we were building? I’d never really had a girl hang-out friend. That’s what the strange feeling was. It was simply something new.
I nodded, grabbed her beer bottle and tossed them both in the recycle bin. Clare practically floated out of the bathroom, still on her Brady Thompson high.
“Ready?”
She nodded and grabbed her purse. “Ready!”
? ? ?
“Oh my gosh, this is the best hotdog I’ve ever had in my entire life!” I said with a mouth full of hotdog.”
Clare pointed her hotdog at me. “I told you! Best hotdogs ever! And all the different ways you can get it. I mean, come on.”
I nodded. “Fully agree with you. I can’t believe I didn’t know about this food stand.”
She shrugged as she chewed. Once she swallowed, she said, “You’ve had to have walked by this place before.”
Wiping my mouth with the napkin, I shook my head. “I don’t ever walk this way. And if I’m going to the office, I drive so I wouldn’t have seen it.”
Slowly shaking her head, Clare sighed. “You’ve missed out for so long. You’re welcome. I’m glad I introduced you to it.”
“Me too,” I replied, shoving the last bite into my mouth. “It’s fucking freezing. I feel like we’re going to have a bad winter.”
Clare glanced up at the sky as we stood, then started toward our cooking class. “I hope we have a white Christmas.”
“What do you usually do for Christmas?” I asked.
“We used to go to my parents. By we, I mean me and my brother. The last couple of years they plan a family Christmas dinner a week before Christmas, then for Christmas they travel somewhere. It was always hit or miss if my brother got leave. Last year they went to London. This year it is San Francisco. They always invite me, but I don’t want to be the third wheel.”
“What about your brother when he is on leave? Do you spend Christmas together?”
“He’s still a bachelor, and if he is home on leave, he will usually go somewhere with his buddies. He has invited me a few times, but you have no idea what it is like to hang out with a bunch of Marines when you’re the only girl there. It’s not fun.”
I laughed. “I imagine your brother warns his buddies not to hit on you.”
“Oh, they all think of me as one of the guys. What every woman wants to be thought of.”
We walked for a few feet in silence before I said, “You should come to my parents’ house on Christmas. They would love to have you.”
She waved me off. “Nah, I’m okay being home. I normally make myself something simple to eat, grab a book and spend the day reading. I do wish I had a fireplace, though, it makes it so much cozier.”
“Do you put up a tree?” I asked.
“A little one in my bedroom. My place is so small I can’t put a large tree up. I miss going and picking out a live tree, then coming home and decorating it.”
“Yeah, that was one thing I loved doing as a kid. Getting the tree.”
“Do you put up a tree?”
Laughing, I shook my head. “No. It’s just me so I don’t decorate at all.”
“Not even a little Charlie Brown tree?”
“Nope.”
I looked down at her staring up at me. “That’s kind of sad, Wes.”
I shrugged. “I get my fill of Christmas at my parents’ house so I’m okay with not having a tree.”
“What about New Year’s Eve? I suppose you have some fancy group of friends you go and hang out with.”
Shaking my head, I replied, “I haven’t been out on New Year’s Eve in forever. I have no desire to be out with that crowd. You?”
“Autumn and I, as well as Rory, use to go out all the time on New Year’s Eve. She’s dating someone right now and they’re planning on going to New York City. Rory’s married and has a baby now, so she’s out of the picture. I’ll probably just stay home and watch the ball drop all by my lonesome. I have been thinking of getting a cat though. I love cats and miss having one around.”
“Really? You’re a cat person?”
She chuckled. “I’m an animal person. I love dogs, cats, horses, cows, it’s really surprising I’m not vegan. I could never give up steaks, though. No chance in hell.”
I smiled. “Why don’t you have a cat?”
“I don’t know,” she said thoughtfully. “Maybe I’ll look for one in the new year.”
I stopped walking and Clare followed suit. “It’s right up here.”
She turned and looked down the street then back to me. “Ready for this?”
“Ready if you are.”
Her smile seemed forced, and I felt like a heel suddenly. Like what I was doing was the biggest dick move ever.
“Clare, if you would rather not do this, then I understand.”
“Wes, you really must love this woman if you’re going through all of this to win her back. If I can help in any way I will.”
I reached for her gloved hand and gave it a squeeze. “You really are a fantastic person, you know that?”
She shrugged. “That’s what friends are for, right?”
She slid her arm through mine, and we started toward the cooking supply store that was holding the class. I had no idea what we were supposed to be cooking and I thought it was a Thanksgiving meal or side dish or something. The only thing I knew was that Mandy would be there. If she was taking the class with Ron, I had no idea. I just assumed so.
The bell above the door rang and we stepped into the store that was offering the cooking class. They had a whole set up in one of their back rooms and according to the manager of the store who was currently talking to a customer. They also offered date night cooking classes as well as cooking with your kids.
Clare looked my way and waggled her brows. There was no sign of Mandy, and I couldn’t help but wonder if she had not had her appointments down anywhere else other than the planner she had left behind. A part of me didn’t care that she wasn’t there. Not when I saw Clare grinning from ear to ear as she put her apron on.
The chef started telling us what we would be making in the class. Homemade ravioli and tortellini. Apparently, they had nixed the Thanksgiving meal for something that wouldn’t take so long. Clare rubbed her hands together and beamed.
Clare turned to me and did a little jump. “Oh my gosh! I love Italian food! This is even better!”
As the chef was going over the process, Clare leaned closer to me. “I don’t see Mandy.”
“I don’t either.”
She frowned. “Do you want to stay?”
“Yes. We’re here, we might as well enjoy ourselves.”
Flashing me a dazzling smile, Clare focused back on the chef.
“The only thing you will need to make the pasta is a rolling pin, a knife, and a fork. So simple you will be able to make this from home,” Chef Kat said as she held up the rolling pin.
“I’m so sorry we’re late!”
The familiar voice had everyone turning around. Mandy stood there with a frustrated expression on her face as Ron came up from behind her.
“It was his fault,” she said, pointing to Ron whose face instantly went red.
Ron shrugged. “I’m sorry, I had issues with my car.”
Mandy sighed and pulled off her gloves. “We couldn’t even get an Uber and had to take a taxi.”
Everyone stared at her as she pointed to an empty table. “Is this table ours?”
Chef Kat nodded and met them at the table where she quickly went over what she had already told us. Mandy hadn’t even seen me. She snapped at Ron to take her coat when one of the employees rushed up and took both of their coats.
“Wow,” Clare whispered. “Is she always so…mean?”
Frowning, I tried to think back to when we dated. Had she always been this way?
Shrugging, I tried to decide if I really wanted Mandy to notice us when Clare called out across the small room.
“Mandy! Ron! What a crazy coincidence you’d be at this cooking class!”
Mandy’s head snapped up and she looked directly at us. A crease formed between her brows before she plastered on a fake smile.
“Wes, Christine.”
Clare laughed. “Clare, my name is Clare.”
Mandy waved her hand around. “I can’t keep up with all the women Wes dates.”
My mouth dropped open as I felt Clare instantly stiffen next to me. When Mandy turned to focus on putting her apron on, I looked down at Clare. She wore an expression I’d never seen before.
Leaning in so only I could hear her, Clare whispered, “What. A. Bitch. Are you sure you want her back?”
When I didn’t say anything, Clare pulled the mixing bowl toward us and focused on the chef.
“Let’s start with the pasta dough. We could use fancy equipment for this, but we’re going to use these.”
Chef Kat held up her hands.
“Measure out two cups of all-purpose flour.”
Clare looked up at me. “Want me to do this part and you mix it with your hands?”
Smiling, I nodded.
“Now pour it right on the table.”
Clare giggled. “Okay, this is going to be fun!”
I smiled as I watched Clare follow the directions.
Chef Kat waited for everyone to measure out their flour and put it on the table. “Now use the bottom of the measuring cup to make a little well. This is where you’ll crack the eggs.”
Clare was meticulous with her well, making sure it was perfect. I glanced over to Mandy to see she was watching me and Clare while poor Ron did all the work. I smiled and she quickly looked away.
“Okay, now that we have our circle, add two eggs and a teaspoon of olive oil.”
I cracked the eggs while Clare measured out the oil. Another glance over to Mandy and I frowned. She was attempting to crack the eggs and quickly gave up, shoving them into Ron’s stomach, instead.
Focusing back on Chef Kat, Clare and I waited for the next instructions.
“Give a good pinch of salt, and a tablespoon of water to get us started.”
Clare put the dash of salt in and the water.
“Now use your fork and whisk it. Once it is mixed, you start bringing in the flour like so with your fingers.”
Clare and I looked at each other. “If you don’t want to do it, I can.”
“No, I want to do it,” I said as I pushed my sleeves up and got to work. It was strangely calming for me to work the dough.
“Are you sure you’ve never done this before?” Clare asked as she watched me.
“Positive. However, I have made pizza dough with my mother.”
She pointed to me. “See, that probably helped. You’re mixing that like a pro!”
“Ron, you’re doing it wrong!” Mandy said rather loudly, all eyes moving to them both.
“Then why don’t you do it?” he replied.
Mandy folded her arms over her chest. “I’ll get it under my nails.”
The woman next to Mandy and Ron rolled her eyes as Chef Kat got everyone’s attention again.
“This is when you pause and let your partner who doesn’t have dough on their hands give you a drink of wine.”
We all had wine glasses on our stations, each filled with red wine. Clare picked up one glass and turned to face me. An evil little smile crossed her face. I raised my brows. “Don’t even think about it.”
“I would never,” she replied and held the cup up to mouth. I took a small sip, and she pulled the glass back then laughed. “You have wine on the corner of your mouth.”
Reaching up, she wiped it away and froze for a moment, her eyes locked on mine. My heart started to race in my chest, and I had to fight the urge to grab her hand and suck the wine off her thumb. So when she did that very same thing, sucked the wine off her thumb, I had to focus on keeping my legs from going out from under me.
“Um, I got it.”
“Thanks,” I said, barely recognizing my own voice.
We both jumped when Chef Kat said, “Okay keep kneading your dough.”
“Do we not use a mixer for this?” Mandy asked.
Chef Kat grinned. “We could, but what fun is that?”
“For starters, it would be less messy,” Mandy stated.
“I’m thinking this class isn’t for you, dear,” an older woman said as she kneaded the dough like a pro.
“Cooks are supposed to make a mess. It puts more love in the food,” the same one who had rolled her eyes earlier said.
“Don’t worry about over-kneading your dough. This is a good workout, and the rewards will be amazing homemade pasta!”
I kept working on the dough as Clare watched intently.
“Let’s keep working it until it is smooth and then we will let it rest. Now put it in a ball and smooth it. If you press down on it and the dough springs back, it’s ready to rest. Let’s cover it and let it rest for an hour.”
As we all worked, small conversations started at each table. When I glanced over to Mandy and Ron, she smiled at him as she took a drink of wine. She was now sitting on the stool while Ron finished up the dough. I waited for that familiar feeling to appear anytime I saw Mandy. The one where I missed her, wanted her, desired her. But it never came. I shook my head and focused back on the dough.
“Let’s make our cheese filling now!” Chef Kat said.
Clare bounced on her toes with excitement as she followed along with Chef Kat. She added ricotta cheese, grated parmesan, shredded mozzarella, and the provolone.
“That is a lot of cheese,” I said as I watched Clare put it all in the bowl.
Clare giggled like a schoolgirl, and I loved that she was enjoying herself so much. It was obvious she had completely forgotten about Mandy. “It is! I can’t wait to eat this!”
She stirred the cheese together and I took her glass of wine and held it in front of her.
“What are you doing?” she asked with a confused smile.
“I’m helping you drink your wine.”
Learning forward, she put her mouth on the wine glass and took a small sip. When her tongue swept over her lower lip, I felt my dick jump in my pants.
“You have more on there still.”
I put my finger on her chin and lifted as I brought my lips to her mouth. I ran my tongue along her lips and Clare moaned softly. When I drew back slowly, Clare’s eyes were still shut but quickly snapped open when Chef Kat spoke.
“That is what I love to see Clare and Wes!” Chef Kat said. “Cooking and enjoying one another!”
Clare’s cheeks turned pink as she took a step away. Our gazes were locked until she looked past me, and her smile faltered for one moment. I knew if I followed where she was looking it would be Mandy. Instead, I set the glass of wine down and watched as Clare started to stir the cheese mix again.
“Now add in your herbs and give it a stir. Then add your one egg.” Chef Kat said.
I reached for the egg and cracked it with one hand. Clare looked up at me with a surprised face.
“You are full of surprises, Wes Ward.”
Winking, I leaned in closer and said, “You haven’t seen anything yet.”
“You all have pasta dough at your table that has already rested for an hour. We will use this while your dough will be what you can take home with you. Call it a little starter kit.”
We cut the dough in half, and each rolled it out into a thin sheet.
Once we had the sheets rolled out thin, we dropped teaspoons of the cheese filling onto one of the rolled sheets.
Clare took water and her finger around the sheet of dough so it would stick when we laid the other pasta sheet on top.
We then pressed around the filling, cut them out and then pressed the fork around the edges.
Clare turned on the heat for the water to cook the pasta before we then quickly made up an easy red sauce.
“Take this drainer, take the pasta out and put it directly into your sauce.”
“Don’t burn yourself with the hot water,” I said as Clare carefully removed the pasta and put it in the pan of sauce.
“I am so dying to taste this!” she said as I watched her work at carefully taking the pasta out of the water. It took everything I had not to laugh because Clare had a concentration face. A serious, concentrated face. And the best part of all, her tongue peeked out from the side of her mouth the entire time she was focused, and it was fucking adorable.
Feeling someone watching me, I glanced up to see Mandy staring at me. I simply smiled then turned some so that my back was facing her. I suddenly hated the fact that she was there. It tainted the whole experience with Clare.
After plating our pasta, sprinkling fresh parmesan cheese on it, we all sat at our tables and ate a delicious meal while talking to our neighbors.
“Can you believe we made this?” Clare asked before shoving a bite full of pasta into her mouth. She let out a moan of delight and I had to adjust in my seat some.
I nodded. “It’s delicious.”
“Right?” Clare said with a giggle. “By the way, I saw Mandy staring over here a few times. I feel so bad for her fiancé, she treats him like crap.”
I shrugged. “Honestly, I was having so much fun, I forgot she was even here.”
Clare titled her head. “Really?”
“Yeah. I mean, didn’t you have fun?”
A wide smile broke out over her face. “I did have fun. More than I thought I was going to have.”
“Same.”
We finished off our meal and started chatting with the couple at the table next to us. When it was time to wrap things up, I brought Clare’s coat over to her and helped her put it on. She turned and looked up at me, those blue eyes knocked the breath right out of me.
“Do you want to keep the dough or should I take it?”
“I’ll take it and we can plan on making dinner one night.”
She smiled. “Okay.”
After slipping on her coat, Clare glanced around the room. “When did Mandy and Ron leave?”
I looked over at the table and shrugged. “I have no idea.”
Clare looked at the table, then at me. “You didn’t notice them gone?”
With a shake of my head, I said, “No, I was having too much fun talking to Sam and Debbie.”
A brilliant smile grew across her face as I held my arm out for her. “Uber or walk back to my place?”
“Let’s walk,” Clare said.
As I held the door open for her to walk out, I tried like hell to ignore how fucking happy I was she wanted to walk simply because I got to spend more time with her.