Chapter 31
James
I never thought I could love Hallie’s laugh more. That was until I heard her laugh at one of my uncle’s jokes that I’d heard a million times, the two of them in near tears by the time they’d caught their breaths again.
My grandfather unknowingly showed off for Hallie, having the kitchen send out nearly every appetizer the restaurant had. There was bruschetta and antipasto and caprese for all of us to share. I think I counted five times that Hallie sighed happily and closed her eyes after she tasted something new.
We hadn’t even gotten to the best part yet.
“What is it you do, Hallie?” Nonna asked after the appetizers were cleared and the wine glasses were refilled.
“I am a writer for a women’s magazine called Sophisticate .”
“I know it! I’ve read it for years,” my mother exclaimed. She and Hallie had really hit it off. I don’t think I could recall one time that my mother had seemed interested in a single thing Cassidy had to say. But she had also pegged Cassidy for exactly what she was far sooner than I did.
“Is that the one that you cut that dating article out of the other day?” My grandmother asked my mother. “The one about the man with the nickname?”
I think both Hallie and I stopped breathing as we realized exactly which article they were talking about.
“Yes,” my mother confirmed. “Mr. Old Fashioned. I don’t know if I can remember the name of the writer on that article.
” My mother pressed a hand to her heart.
“But it was like reading one of my favorite romance novels. The way that man treats her. She’d be silly to let that one go.
I know she had some reservations in the beginning, but she’d be blind to think he wasn’t head over heels for her.
A private cooking class? The Hamptons? I’m itching to see what next week’s article is. ”
Hallie’s hand shook as she reached for her glass of wine. She took a large gulp. “I wrote those articles,” she told them. Surprising not only me, but the entire table.
“What?” my mother asked her. Her gaze darted between me and Hallie as she pieced things together.
“But if you two are dating,” my mother started. “That would make you …” she trailed off as her eyes landed on me.
“Mr. Old Fashioned, honey,” my father supplied. “That would make him Mr. Old Fashioned.”
“You know, now that you mention it,” my aunt said, “when you take into account how James only seems to drink Old Fashioneds, and that he just got back from the Hamptons, and didn’t he use your contacts, Eloise, to get a reservation at Crepitio a few weeks ago? It makes sense.”
“So does that mean … your next article is about this date?” My mother looked back at Hallie, her expression unreadable. “About our restaurant?”
“Well, I suppose so,” Hallie murmured. She had retreated into herself. She was holding her breath as she waited for further questions.
“Well, I for one can’t wait for the article.” My grandfather spoke up for the first time since he greeted Hallie. “This is the publicity that this place needs. Didn’t we all just have a conversation a couple of days ago about this?”
Suddenly the focus was off my family realizing they knew all about my dating life as they discussed how much of a positive having their restaurant mentioned in a magazine like Sophisticate could be. I watched Hallie visibly relax as my grandfather shot her a wink across the table.
Brandon leaned over, having ditched his apron for dinner, and whispered in my ear, “If Hallie could bring some extra attention to this place, it could really give us the edge we’ve been looking for. Plus, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen you like this before. Not even with Cassidy.”
I had to give it to my cousin. He was quick as a whip and, despite his love for a good club in Dumbo, he’d do great things for the restaurant.
“I really like her, man,” I told him. Because that was the truth. Fate and a copious amount of bickering over Old Fashioneds had brought the two of us together, and I hoped it was fate that would keep us together as well.
“I can’t wait to bring Roxie to the restaurant.
I can just imagine what she’d say about the food, and the pictures she’d take.
” Hallie had been nonstop in the car since we’d left.
She’d been busy switching between writing her initial thoughts and raving about nearly every item on the menu.
“And your grandfather came up with the entire menu?”
I nodded.
“I think I want to center my article around him. How he’s built this amazing restaurant around two of the most important things in life—food and family.
” Hallie finally looked up from her phone long enough for me to see the bright flush in her cheeks and the shine in her eyes.
She looked happy, wild. “Plus, I think we owe him for saving us from a potentially awkward conversation about ‘Love on Wall Street’. I cannot believe your mother and grandmother have been following it weekly, like some kind of soap opera.”
“I’m not embarrassed,” I told her. “Honestly, I’m kind of relieved my mother basically knows the details of every one of our dates so far. That means she has less to interrogate me on.”
During the rest of dinner, there was only one thing on my mind.
How in the hell could I convince the woman sitting next to me we should date?
Like officially. With titles and everything.
Because the longer I hung out with her, the more I doubted my usual methods of charming would work.
But during dinner, I was repeatedly reminded that Hallie was unlike any other girl I had ever dated.
She didn’t care if I had the smoothest pickup lines or knew exactly what to say. Words were more her thing anyway.
“I know you just stayed over last night, but I think it would be rude if I didn’t invite you over after our fourth date.”
Hallie’s eyes lit up, relieving any worry I had.
“I thought you’d never ask. I’d love to, but it also works out pretty well.
Roxie texted halfway through dinner that she was having someone over.
She didn’t give me much detail, only asked if I could stay here again tonight because she wasn’t sure if he was going to stay over all night or not. ”
My brows drew together in confusion. Roxie wasn’t the type of girl to be shy about her conquests. “I didn’t think Roxie cared if she had someone over while you’re home.”
“She normally doesn’t,” Hallie said with a shrug. “But who knows with her sometimes? She’s been tight-lipped about whoever she’s been going out with lately.”
“Then to the Upper West Side we go,” I declared as we emerged back in Manhattan off the Brooklyn Bridge.
“This is my favorite time of day,” Hallie mused as she looked out the window as the skyline of Manhattan twinkled back at her. “There’s so much excitement brewing for the possibilities of what a weekend in the city will bring.”
The skyscrapers of lower Manhattan and the Financial District towered over us to our left.
Random floors and offices were still lit despite the late hour.
I used to be one of those people, wrapping up business late on a Friday night.
But it had been weeks since I’d stayed past five on a Friday.
The rest of the city that never sleeps was clocking out of their day jobs and checking in for their dinner reservations or lining up outside of a club.
A few months ago, I would have just been arriving at Whiskey Locker to claim my normal corner booth with Sebastian.
But now, there were other things I wanted to taste than just my regular cocktail, things only Hallie could offer me.
I pulled up in front of my brownstone, my blood roaring in my ears as I walked around the car to open Hallie’s door.
She gave me the same smile she always did when I did something so simple for her—pouring her a glass of wine, opening her door, walking on the part of the sidewalk closest to the traffic.
I’d realized that she must have never had someone treat her with the respect and decency that she deserved.
It only made the pressure in my chest tighten, pressing down like it weighed a hundred pounds. Was I the right person for her? Could I give her what she wanted? What she deserved?
Theo Drake’s offer was at the front of my mind. If he stayed true to his word, I wouldn’t waste nights at the office away from her.
Was it even fair of me to ask her to start officially dating if I wasn’t sure my circumstances would align with what she wanted from a partner?
“Penny for your thoughts?” Hallie asked me as I locked the front door behind me.
Fuck it. Why the hell should I let someone like Hallie slip away from me simply because of a bunch of what ifs? I said I was going to make her mine. It’s time I put my money where my mouth is.
But when I turned to tell Hallie exactly that, my mouth grew dry again for a far different reason this time.
A pair of pants was the first thing I noticed. A pair of shoes. A shirt. Each article of clothing leading me toward the stairwell where Hallie stood in a black lace lingerie set. The moon shone in through the window next to her, illuminating her like she was a Renaissance painting.
Her curves were backlit, slipping in and out of shadow. I eyed the creamy expanse of her body. Nearly everything I’d planned to discuss with her slipped my mind.
“I’m not sure what I was thinking about,” I drew out, nearly stumbling over my words like a teenage boy seeing his first half-naked girl.
“You know that cannoli didn’t quite satisfy my sweet tooth.” Hallie trailed a finger up the banister as she ascended the stairs, one step at a time. “What do you think? Do you still have an appetite?”
This was a completely different side of Hallie. I’d seen glimpses of her like this—wild, and unapologetically free—but never this vividly. And the fact that I made her feel safe enough to let that part of herself breathe? That was everything.
A light, melodic giggle echoed off the walls as Hallie watched me undo my belt, slipping it slowly through the loops before letting it fall to the floor. Next were my shoes. Then my shirt, landing in a quiet heap. I was down to just my boxers as I climbed the stairs after her, chasing her laughter.
“How do you not get out of breath climbing those stairs every day?” she teased, already stretched out like a goddess across my bed.
“I work out in my home gym,” I said, suddenly struck with a strange kind of nervousness I didn’t recognize. Shy was normally never a part of my vocabulary. The woman of every dream I didn’t know I had was waiting for me, and I was frozen in the doorway like a fool.
“You have a home gym?”
“On the third floor,” I managed, willing my legs to carry me forward. Walk. Left foot. Then right foot. This isn’t a hard concept, James.
She arched a brow. “Are you going to just stand there staring or are you going to join me?”
You can talk to her about it in the morning. You will tell her how you feel in the morning.
Tonight, the only thing I wanted more than anything was to be with her.
My hands trembled slightly as I crossed the room, but there was no uncertainty in her eyes tonight. Only hunger. Desire. Trust.
She rose up onto her knees, level with me now, and the moonlight danced across the freckles sprinkled on her nose and cheeks. I traced my own patterns in my mind like a map I never wanted to forget.
Hallie leaned in and kissed me with a kind of abandon I hadn’t known I craved. Giving herself to the moment and taking me with her. There was no hesitation in her lips. We melted into each other like we’d done this a thousand times in another life.
She took the lead this time, slipping her bra straps down, one by one, with a soft shrug, then reaching for the waistband of my boxers.
“I don’t think I can wait any longer,” she whispered into the space between us. “I want you. I need you. You may have wanted last night to be about me. But I want tonight to be about us .”
She didn’t need to say anything more.
I cupped her backside, drawing her flush against me as her mouth found mine again.
Hallie drew a line of kisses from my mouth down to the hollow of my neck.
She pushed my boxers down, and we both fumbled with a laugh as I kicked them away, joining her on the bed and helping her slide off her last remaining piece of clothing.
Her laughter filled the room, and I realized it was my favorite sound.
I ran my hands along the curve of her ribs, feeling the pounding of her heart and watching her heartbeat beneath my palms. She was beautiful in every light, but under the moon, she was breathtaking.
“Are you okay?” I asked as I hovered over her, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek.
Hallie nodded, her teeth catching her lower lip in a way that undid me. Her eyes drifted over me.
“If at any time you want to stop, just say the word,” I said gently. “This is your pace. Your lead.”
Her expression softened even more, and she brought her pinky up between us with a smile that melted every ounce of restraint I had. “I promise.”
The moonlight danced across her body like it knew what a privilege it was just to look at her. Illuminating the dip of her stomach. The curve of her breasts. The slope of her neck. I felt the fire inside me surge, threatening to burn my resolve, but I held back.
I didn’t want to rush this.
I wanted to remember every second. Every sigh. Every way her body fit with mine.
“Good,” I murmured, my forehead brushing hers. “Because I want this to be something we both remember. Something that matters.”
“James,” she whispered, fingers threading through my hair, “there’s no way I could regret this.”