Chapter 12
Duke looked through the window as he tried to form words for a dilemma he faced. The view beyond the glass said the storm had moved on, leaving them with sunlight and blue skies once more.
He was glad, but Duke was even more glad that the storm had come through when it did. How it did. All of it had led him to an opportune moment that landed his lips on hers.
Heat roared low in his belly at the recollection. While the haphazard moment had been one for the books, Duke was ready to take charge and orchestrate a few moments of his own. And he wanted things to be just right.
“I guess what I’m saying…” Duke looked from Sebastian to his wife, Irene, then back to Sebastian once more. “…is that I don’t want it to be too much.”
The couple turned to one another and did a bit of shrugging. “What do you mean by too much?” Irene asked.
Duke paced along the length of the kitchen as he considered. “I mean, Vivi isn’t really impressed by fancy…stuff.” He spun on one heel, turned to look over the dining table, and felt that tight pinch in his chest. The same one he’d felt upon first seeing it.
The table—which seated up to a dozen—was in its six-person position with his plate at one end and hers on the other. The china had been Betzy’s contribution upon staying at his place last fall; the siblings usually left behind a token of appreciation.
As nice as it was, it didn’t represent Duke in even one sense.
Each dinner plate, salad plate, and soup bowl was crusted with diamonds that sparkled with every move.
A set of tall, matching candlesticks stood boldly at the center while fancy napkins, folded to fanned-out perfection, rested on each plate.
“We know you don’t like fancy,” Sebastian said, “but for the lady?” He lifted an insinuative brow.
“Si,” Irene added with a nod of her own. The woman’s eyes lit up. “Every woman likes to feel special. This would make me feel very special to eat on these.” She waved a hand over the setting.
Sebastian studied Irene as she spoke, a wide, appreciative grin on his face. Duke always did love the way he adored his wife. He admired that about him.
“What we’re saying is—you want it different?” Sebastian asked. “We’ll do it different. Of course. No problem. But are you sure you don’t want to keep it this way for your special dinner?”
“You’ve never entertained a woman here before,” Irene added. “We just want to make her feel like a queen.”
Duke tipped his head to one side as he glanced over the table setting once more. No. There was no way he wanted that.
“I want her to feel that way too,” he assured. “But I don’t want her to think I’m showing off, you know? Trying to impress her with expensive things.”
Irene darted a glance at Sebastian, a flicker of understanding in her eyes. “Ah,” she said while lifting a finger. “I see what you mean.”
Sebastian’s brow furrowed. “Show us how you’d like it, and we’ll fix it.”
Duke’s shoulders softened. He’d grown close to the couple over the years, considered them to be good friends as well as employees. But this was his second shot with Vivi Tripoli. It had to be perfect.
“Thank you,” he said. “Here’s what I’d like to do.” A spark of excitement crept in as he pictured the perfect atmosphere for a dinner with Viv. He motioned for the couple to follow him as he made his way through the breakfast nook. From the far corner, they could look out over the covered patio.
“It’s nice outside now. And the sun will be going down soon. I’d like to have it on the deck out there. Light the torches lining the banister, and the saucers in the pool too.”
“Oh, that’s romantic.” Irene rubbed her hands together. “Fires are so pretty, especially when they’re reflecting off the water.”
A wave of confidence washed in at the woman’s approval. He gave them further instruction regarding the stoneware and matching, rustic flatware as an idea came to mind. A way he could make use of the couple’s hard work.
Once they had a good grasp on what he wanted, Duke gave them one final piece of instruction. “Leave the other table setting up for now. I’ll make good use of it tomorrow. Can you and Irene be here around five?”
The couple nodded.
“Great.” When he got Sebastian alone, Duke would give him one final request: Dress nice and come hungry.
The couple’s anniversary was coming up, after all.
He’d bring in a caterer and let them enjoy a meal at the table setting they’d put their love and labor into.
One that would make Irene, as she’d said, feel like a queen.
With that thought settled into his mind, Duke turned his attention to another matter. His date with Vivi. His skin seemed to ignite at the thought.
He actually had a date with Vivi tonight. It was hard to believe. Had someone told Duke that his interview with Slipper Magazine would land him in Costa Rica with the woman who got away, he’d have agreed to do the feature a long time ago.
But he was here now. And Viv was too. He planned to make the very most of that. The same way he’d made the most of their moment outside the botanical center.
The stakes had been raised and Duke knew it. Vivi was a mother now. She’d be all the more guarded because of it. For good reason.
He could hardly believe she’d been single all this time.
Raising twin boys, no less. Duke and his twin, Zander, gave their mom a real run for her money when they were young.
It gave him a whole new level of admiration for who Vivia Tripoli was now.
Not only was she an accomplished writer, she was a single mother too.
A confident, high-spirited, and sexy one at that.
He nodded as he considered the details he’d requested for tonight’s dinner. Hopefully, they could keep making forward steps in their relationship. Ones that would somehow, despite their differences, continue once they got back to LA as well.