18. Mila #3
“If I help you?” I put my hand on my hip. “You’re supposed to be treating me to dinner, not me treating you.”
“A man can hope.” He winked at me. “You ready to go?”
“Yeah, just a second. Let me get my bag.” I hurried to my room, grabbed my handbag, and made sure my phone, wallet, lipstick, and a box of mints were in there.
I hurried back out of the room and paused when I saw him standing in the doorway.
“What’re you doing?” I asked him suspiciously as he just stood there, not moving out of the way to let me pass.
“We’re not about to play tonsil hockey on my bed, you know? ”
“I know.” He grinned down at me. “I was just watching you in your natural habitat.”
“Um, okay.”
“Are they peppermint or minty green?”
“What’s that?” I asked, embarrassed.
“The mints you put in your purse.”
“None of your business, Ryker Walker.” I pushed him back, my fingers enjoying the feel of his hard chest. “Let’s go.”
“Okay, we’re going.” He stepped back. “I like it when you get bossy.”
“Really now? You never seemed to like it before.”
“There was nothing you could boss me around to do before that I would like.”
“And there is now?”
“There sure is.” He flicked his tongue at me and then laughed as I blushed. “Come on, my innocent little flower. Let’s go and eat.”
“I hope you tidied up.” I laughed. “I wouldn’t want to tell your dad that your place was a mess.”
“Tell my dad?” He looked down at me with hooded eyes. “You’ve been in contact with my dad?”
“Of course not.” I wasn’t sure why he looked so annoyed, but I figured that he was fed up with women trying to come on to him to get to his dad. “I was just joking.”
“I knew that.” He laughed again, but it seemed to me as if his laugh was forced. And I wondered why. He couldn’t really think I cared about the Walker millions, could he? “Let’s go, Mila. No more small talk.”
“You want the big talk instead?”
“I don’t think you really want to know what I want, Mila.” He winked and then tapped me on the ass as I walked down the hallway in front of him.
“Nonno’s calling me, do you mind if I take it?” I asked Ryker as I pulled out my ringing phone.
“Of course not.” He shook his head. “We’ll be at my place in about ten minutes.”
“I know,” I said, smiling, then answered the phone. “Hello, Nonno.”
“Mila.” He sounded happy. “I haven’t heard from you.”
“It’s only been a few days, Nonno,” I said, exasperated.
“Well, the last call had you and Lara in tears. I want to know what happened.”
“We weren’t in tears.” I laughed. “And Lara will be fine. I think she realizes now that Parker is an asshole and not worth her time.”
“And you?”
“I’m actually in a car with Ryker right now, Nonno. He’s taking me to dinner.” I didn’t bother mentioning that dinner was at Ryker’s house. I was pretty sure Nonno would not approve of that tidbit or of the fact that I’d almost lost my virginity to Ryker at the lake house.
“With Ryker?” Nonno sounded suspicious. “Parker’s friend.”
“Yes, the one and only.”
“You’re going to dinner with him?”
“Yes, Nonno.” I sighed. He wasn’t sounding as delighted for me as I’d hoped he would.
“How did this happen?”
“How did what happen?” I could see Ryker looking at me from the driver’s seat, and I gave him a smile.
“How did you go from being upset that he had another girl at the lake house to you going to dinner with him?”
“Nonno, can I call you later?”
“Fine.” He sighed. “I was calling to tell you about your parents. Things aren’t going so well.”
“What do you mean? Are they getting a divorce?” My voice sounded shrill, even to my own ears.
“No, no,” Nonno said quickly. “I mean the business. It’s not doing well. I’m worried for them.”
“Oh, no.” I bit my lower lip. “I’m sorry, Nonno.”
“It’s fine,” he said, but I knew it wasn’t. The business was Nonno’s life. In fact, he still owned the majority share. I knew he would be crushed if it failed. “I just need you to make more of an effort to help out at work, okay?”
“Yes, Nonno. Of course.”
“Don’t let yourself be sidetracked.”
“I won’t.”
“I don’t know about that Ryker.” His voice was low. “Be careful.”
“Nonno.” I moaned. “You’ve never had a problem with him before.”
“Mila, do you have to be so loud?” Nonno sounded exasperated now. “Call me when you get home from your dinner.”
“It might be late.”
“I don’t mind. I’ll be waiting up.”
“Okay, I love you.”
“I love you too, Mia cara. I love you too,” he said and hung up. I put my phone back in my bag and looked over at Ryker, who was grinning. “What’s so funny?” I said as I looked at him.
“Nonno doesn’t want me dating you, does he?”
“He didn’t say that.” I shook my head and clasped my hands. “Though I’m sure if he knew what happened last night and the night before, he wouldn’t want me dating you.”
“What happened last night?” he asked with a small smile.
“I’m not going to bring up the contract or anything like that. Tonight is meant to be a casual date.”
“And that it will be.” Ryker grinned as he pulled up to his high-rise apartment complex and into the parking lot. “We’re here.”
“Yes, we are.” I got out of the car, and all my nerves suddenly hit me again. I couldn’t believe I was going to dinner at Ryker’s place, and it was just going to be me. No Parker, no Lara, no parents, no nothing. Just the two of us.
“Let’s go.” Ryker took my hand and led me to the building. “Are you nervous, Mila?”
“Of course not. Why would I be nervous?” I said, and I ignored the feeling of his fingers squeezing mine as he escorted me to the elevator. We walked into the elevator, and I tried to ignore the look he was giving me. Was he deliberately trying to look sexy as hell?
“This is me,” Ryker said as we got off on the twenty-first floor and walked toward his sumptuous loft apartment.
“What’s for dinner?” I asked him, grinning as he opened his door.
“Me,” he said with a raised eyebrow as he ushered me in.
“Very funny,” I said as my stomach flipped over.
I walked into his apartment and looked around in awe.
Ryker had redecorated since I’d last been there.
His walls were all a light sand color, and he had a huge dark-brown sectional in his living room, opposite a grand fireplace. “You have a fire burning?”
“I wanted to set the mood,” he said softly as he stood next to me. “You approve?”
“It’s gorgeous in here.” I nodded, admiring his taste as I walked farther into his apartment. I noticed the bottle of champagne on his coffee table, sitting in a silver ice bucket with two flutes next to it. “Champagne?”
“And strawberries.” He grinned. “And chocolate.”
“Are you trying to spoil me?” I laughed.
“Something like that.” He nodded, and he reached over and ran his fingers across my lips. “But before I spoil you, you must eat.”
“What are you cooking?”
“I have steaks.” He looked down into my eyes. “With a red wine cream sauce and mashed potatoes.”
“Sounds yummy.” I licked my lips.
“Good.” He kissed the tip of my nose. “Have a seat on the couch, and I’ll start cooking.”
“Are you sure you don’t want any help?” I asked him as he walked to the kitchen. “I can make a mean salad.”
“No, that’s okay. Put on some music. My phone is over there by the TV, just put on Spotify and it will link to my Sonos system.”
“What shall I put on?”
“You choose.” He grinned and looked back at me from the kitchen. “Just no BTS or Jonas Brothers or whoever the cool boy band is today.”
“I don’t listen to boy bands,” I lied. Of course, I still listened to boy bands.
They were awesome. His TV was huge, at least seventy-five inches.
I’d never seen a TV so big before. I picked up his phone and searched through his music to see who he listened to.
I was surprised at the range of music he had saved and quickly pressed play on a Beatles song I’d loved as a child, “Hey Jude.”
“That’s not baby-making music,” Ryker called out from the kitchen. I laughed and walked back toward him to see how he was doing.
“How goes the cooking?” I asked as I walked into the kitchen to a huge mess. There were plates and pieces of food all over the countertops. “Or shouldn’t I ask?”
“It looks worse than it is.”
“Uh-huh.” I shook my head at him. “What can I do to help? Peel the potatoes?” I looked down at the half-cut potatoes, which still had most of their skin.
“You don’t have to do that!” He shook his head and dropped the butter knife that was in his hand. “I want you to relax.”
“So, what should I relax and do?” I asked him as he walked up to me, his brown eyes gleaming.
“Come with me.” He grabbed my hand and led me out of the kitchen and down a hallway.
“Where are we going?” I asked him suspiciously.
“I want you to relax in a bath while I cook.”
“Relax in a bath?”
“I have a spa tub.” He grinned. “I’ll put in some relaxing salts and oils, and then I’ll come and get you right before dinner’s ready so you can put some clothes back on.”
“Are you sure?” I asked him as he opened the door to his bathroom, and I stared at his huge tub.
“I’m positive.” He nodded, walked over to the bathtub, and started running it.
“I’ll let you decide on the temperature,” he said as he walked to a cupboard and pulled out a box and a bottle of something.
He poured them both into the tub and then put them on his marble countertop.
He then opened another drawer, pulled out two candles, lit them, and dimmed the lights.
“Ryker,” I said, looking at him in surprise. “This is really thoughtful of you, but I would feel really bad to take a bath while you’re cooking.”
“Don’t.” He grinned. “I want to spoil you and show you what could be yours if you lived here too.”
“Ryker,” I admonished, and he chuckled.