Chapter Eleven
“Claire, you look hot. Like don’t-touch-the-fire-or-you’ll-get-burned hot.
” Nick pretended to burn his fingers on an invisible grill.
He knew he’d given her the same compliment twice already, but as they drove to the restaurant, he couldn’t believe his luck.
He wasn’t quite sure how he’d ended up with this incredible woman in his car, but he was happy to have her there.
“If you keep saying that,” said Claire, “my head will inflate.”
“I doubt it.”
On their short drive, he kept sneaking peeks. She already took his breath away when she wore slogan T-shirts, jeans and rubber boots. Tonight? He couldn’t even remember how it felt to draw a proper breath.
Dude, relax.
What had begun as the prologue to a casual hookup was starting to feel monumental. He was beginning to think he was a little too invested in how this date would go.
After an extensive online search, he’d discovered there was a nice Italian place about a twenty-minute drive from her house.
Most of the restaurants Nick frequented had rolls of brown paper on the table for wiping up chicken wing sauce.
The Italian eatery was definitely a step up, a cloth-napkin-and-candles kind of place.
Claire had been up for it, though. She knew the place and had warned him about the dress code.
Considering that he got to see her all dressed up for the occasion, he wasn’t complaining.
She wore a cute turquoise dress with flowers all over it.
It hugged her figure and showed off her knees.
She had heels on, sexy ones that looked like they were barely being held together with their little straps.
Her dark hair was shiny, so pretty that he wanted to pull over, bury his hand in it and bring her mouth to his.
His cock danced as he imagined it.
Easy, little buddy. Hold that thought. Save it for when it counts.
“You look very nice too.” Claire gave him the side eye, a long, lingering one.
He’d rushed out and bought a new pair of slim chinos and a casual blazer. Seeing her admiration made him want to go back to the store and tip the teenaged clerk who had helped him choose the outfit.
Thank God for teenagers with style sense.
They made a bit of chit-chat on their way, but Nick couldn’t help noticing that they were both operating under a case of nerves. His mind was racing, and Claire kept playing with the strap on her purse.
He arrived at the restaurant, parked and turned to her. “I don’t want to sound weird, but I’m a bit nervous.”
She smiled and released the tension in her shoulders. “So, I’m not the only one who feels that way?”
“No. I, uh, haven’t dated for a while. To be honest, I haven’t gone out very much at all these past few months.”
“Because of the bad breakup?”
“Yeah, so this is kind of a big moment for me.”
“I hear you. As for me,” said Claire, waving toward her dress, “it’s been some time since I made this sort of effort for a date.”
“You mean the banker and the soccer dad didn’t get to see you in this incredible dress?”
“No. This may have been a recent impulse purchase.”
“It was a very good purchase, and I’m glad I’m the one who gets to see you in it.” If all went well, he’d get to see her out of it too.
“I wanted to look nice for you. I like you, Nick.”
“I like you too.” He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, taking a second to breathe in her powdery perfume. “Are you hungry?”
She turned, her face so close to his. She rested her hand on his thigh. “If I answer that right now, I’m going to sound like a perv.”
They both laughed. Nick had to discreetly bite his lip hard to administer a jolt of pain, because right now, his body’s pleasure centers were going off like the fireworks display at a Canada Day picnic.
They headed inside the restaurant. The place was small and pristine, and there was an armada of well-dressed wait staff at the ready.
Every table was filled with diners, and candles flickered between them all.
Out of habit, Nick waited a beat, expecting snickers or pointing fingers.
Luckily, no one noticed him. Maybe they didn’t recognize him out of his dirty jeans and work boots.
Good. He didn’t want anything to ruin this night with Claire.
Hopefully, this night would be the beginning of a whole new period for him.
Funtown. You’ve got this.
The host brought them over to a table in the back and handed them a couple of menus. Nick checked out the food, but couldn’t focus on any of the descriptions.
All he wanted to do was look at Claire.
She seemed to be feeling it too. Their gazes kept meeting over the top of the menus, like a couple of puppies in neighboring yards, checking each other out over a fence.
Only now, they weren’t trying to hide it.
Each time Nick caught Claire looking at him, and vice versa, they held those looks.
The atmosphere around them sizzled. If he didn’t know any better, he could swear the lit candle at their table flared with the heat.
Fuck, he wanted her. He had enough experience with women to see that she wanted him too.
Despite the way his brothers used to tease him about his past exploits, Nick wasn’t the sort of guy who kept notches on his bedpost. He’d had some hookups in his time, but always with women who were on the same page.
However, when he was dating, he rarely took a woman home on the first date.
He supposed it was out of some old-fashioned sense of chivalry, and wanting to make sure his date was comfortable.
It was just how his parents had raised him.
Claire made him want to break all his rules. He still wanted to treat her like a princess, but the attraction was only growing more intense by the minute.
Resisting was becoming hard.
About ten minutes later, they settled on their meals and ordered.
Their hands met across the table. He couldn’t stop touching Claire, and luckily, she didn’t seem to mind.
Their conversation turned toward the sanctuary renovation, but Nick was dying to talk to her about a subject that had been on his mind.
“Can I ask you something? Were you the one who took the photos hanging in the sanctuary reception area?”
“Yeah, they’re all mine.”
“They’re really good. Did you ever think of getting back into photography?”
Her smile faltered. “I feel like it might be too late.”
“Claire, it’s never too late. If Haven weren’t a part of your life, what would you be doing?”
“There was a time when I dreamed of selling my images, of traveling and documenting different sites and landscapes. Oh, and architecture! I’ve always had a thing for abandoned buildings, and when I was at school, my specialty was showcasing the architecture of buildings that had been neglected and forgotten.
There’s something very haunting about those places. Weird, I know.”
“I don’t think that’s weird at all. It sounds cool as fuck. If you still have any of those pictures, I’d love to see them.”
“I could show you, I guess. But, Nick, is it worth it for me to drag that all up? I made a commitment to the sanctuary. I can’t just walk away from Haven. What would happen to my cats?”
“What if they all got adopted at the open house?”
“There’s nothing I’d love more than to see them end up in good homes, but it doesn’t always work that way.
We’ve had open houses before, and a couple of cats might find forever homes, but it isn’t as if we get inundated with offers.
On top of that, I need to ensure those cats are going to families who will take care of them properly.
It’s a commitment. I personally interview anyone who wants to adopt a cat, and if I don’t get a good vibe from a family, they don’t get one of my cats.
We also have quite a few older felines who’ve been with us for a while.
Sadly, they don’t get as much attention as the kittens.
” Her gaze wandered, wistful. “But yeah, in an ideal world, if they all got adopted into nice families, I might be tempted to start over again. I never lost the photography bug. I guess I just sort of squashed it.”
Nick’s head spun. He knew Claire loved her work at the sanctuary, but it saddened him that she’d given up her dream to help her husband in his family business.
There had to be a way Claire could live her dream, while still honoring any commitments she’d made to keep the sanctuary afloat.
They needed to make sure her open house was a huge success.
Their dinners arrived, and Nick got the sense Claire was happy to change the subject.
Instead, they talked about his new show for a while, their families, and they had a rousing discussion, making predictions about how Louie’s date with Adele would go later that week.
An hour and a half flew by, and he barely noticed the time.
They were just starting to look at the dessert menu when a woman’s voice sounded over his shoulder.
“Nick? Is that you?”
His gut twisted. He knew that voice, and all too well.
Kristy.
He turned around.
His ex-girlfriend must have just walked into the restaurant. She stood a few feet away, another woman at her side.
“Kristy.”
He hadn’t seen her since her video had gone viral.
It had bothered him to think she might have a drinking problem.
He wouldn’t have pegged her as an alcoholic, and had only seen her drink socially, but he worried her online stunt might have been indicative of a deeper issue.
Angry and embarrassed, Nick had stopped trying to help her.
If she needed help, she’d have to get it from someone else.
Tonight, she was as polished as ever, her blonde hair combed and her makeup perfect. So different from that last image that had been burned into his brain.
As Kristy searched for something to say, Nick glanced at Claire. She sat still and straight in her chair. Her sparkly lips were tight at the corners. As she stared at Kristy, her eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
Fuck.
She knew.