Chapter 3
CHAPTER
THREE
The cool breeze swept over my skin as I swayed to DJ Love’s old school R soft round bulbs illuminated the area as hookah smoke filled the air.
From the overhead speakers, D’Angelo’s “Brown Sugar” poured through, adding to the lounge’s sultry, laid-back vibe.
The large panoramic windows were open, giving us a better view of DJ Love on stage.
She bobbed her head, smiling at the reaction from the crowd forming in front of her.
While Sadé and Raven enjoyed their hookah, I ate my egg rolls, smiling inwardly at how fast they’d been delivered to our table.
I continued watching patrons enjoy their night.
My gaze landed on Summer as she moved through the room.
She couldn’t visit us on the patio because of the smoke, but she waved when our eyes met and I returned the gesture.
I couldn’t help my smile when I found Nadir walking toward the DJ booth.
His gait was casual, but he exuded confidence as he worked the room.
I tipped my chin to get a better view of him at the booth.
He leaned in close to DJ Love, saying something to her while handing her a bottle of water.
She smiled appreciatively then accepted the drink.
We’d been here for almost an hour, and as expected, I hadn't seen him yet. The bouncer, Mel, greeted us, and told Peyton, the hostess, where to take us. As he promised, our table was ready and the food and drinks were on the house. My eyebrows wrinkled as I recalled the last time I visited Ray’s.
At one point, I was here every week. And if Terrence and I were fighting, I spent every free evening I had at Ray’s.
I knew the staff by name, the menu from front to back, and even had a special table near the bar.
We couldn't sit there tonight since Raven and Sadé wanted hookah, but this table was just as good.
“How was the tasting?” Sadé asked as she followed my line of vision.
“It was great. We narrowed down the selections and wine pairings.”
Raven smirked. “Great. So when can we get an exclusive tasting?”
“You’ve had the dishes before.”
She rolled her eyes. “So? You promised me and Starling.”
I knew the only reason Raven was pushing so hard for this was because she missed our brother. He spent most of his time between San Francisco and Chicago, managing our parents’ restaurants.
“Fine. I’ll text the chat and see when he’s free.”
Raven’s smile broadened as her eyes met something behind me.
“I’ve been looking for you,” Nadir said from behind, sending chills through me. I smiled as I turned to meet his gaze. “What y’all doing out here?”
I nodded toward the hookah on our table. “Abiding by the house rules.”
He chuckled, then greeted Raven and Sadé. After hugging them, he switched into manager mode, asking, “Y’all good? Need anything while I'm here?”
Raven shook her head. “We’re good. Thanks, though. Princesa, do you need anything?”
Pursing my lips, I ignored the way she wiggled her eyebrows. “I’m fine.”
My gaze met Nadir’s and my belly rolled.
“Actually, can you come with me? I want to show you something.”
“What is it?”
He cracked an easy smile. “Come and find out.”
I looked at Raven, then Sadé, both urging me to leave. Nadir held out his hand for me as I stood from my seat.
“I’ll be back in a minute,” I told Raven, earning a wave from her.
My eyes met Sadé’s briefly, catching the amusement dancing there.
I bit my bottom lip to hide my growing smile while turning away.
As we entered the bustling lounge, he gripped my hand tighter.
The possessive hold Nadir had on my hand sent waves of heat through me.
From my peripheral, I saw Summer coming our way.
Tugging at Nadir’s hand, I prompted him to stop.
“Robyn,” she squealed. “It’s so good to see you. How have you been, girl?”
“I’m good. How are you and the baby?” I released Nadir’s hand to give Summer a side hug and rub her stomach.
“Kicking my ass,” she replied while shaking her head. “I’m fine,” she told Nadir when he took a step closer to her. “He’s moving a lot these days.”
“Making room for his arrival?”
Summer held her lower back. “Eleven more weeks, but who's counting? Nadir, I think I’m gonna leave a little early tonight.”
He smiled. “Please do.”
Summer turned to me. “I gave Shiloh your number. She’s looking for a caterer for the baby shower.”
With a nod, I replied, “Can’t wait to talk to her.”
Summer’s phone vibrated in her hands. She held up her finger before checking her messages. She looked around in search of someone after reading a text. Seconds later, the cutest smile appeared on her face once she spotted Ryder.
“See you later, Sunny,” Nadir tossed over his shoulder, making us laugh.
Before I knew it, my hand was back in his, with him pulling me in the opposite direction of the bar leading us down the back hallway.
“Where are you taking me?”
“My office.”
“I thought you wanted to show me something?”
“It’s in there.”
He didn’t relinquish my hand until we were in his office and the door was closed. I remained a few feet from his desk, running my hands along the curve of my hips. Nadir sat on the edge of his desk, a thoughtful expression covering his features.
“Wassup, Goldie?”
“Nothing.” I bit the inside of my cheek. “It’s busy tonight.”
Nadir pushed out a breath. “Yeah, it is, but I won’t complain. We needed this kind of night. Are you enjoying yourself?”
His fiery gaze sent a chill down my spine. Nadir never shied away from showing his attraction to me, but this stare wasn’t his usual. There were hints of desire boring from his milk chocolate-colored orbs.
I adjusted the spaghetti strap of my black sequined crop top. “I am.”
“Good, good. You deserve it. You’ve been working hard lately.” I shook my head, ready to downplay myself, but Nadir stopped me before I could. “Just accept the compliment.”
My smile broadened when he reached forward for my hand. The pads of his fingertips brushed my palm, sending jolts of electricity through me.
“What?”
He tilted his head to the side. “When someone gives you a compliment, what should you say in return?”
I rolled my eyes. “Thank you, my darling.”
“That’s more like it.” Nadir sighed, his demeanor becoming too serious for comfort. “I feel bad for calling so late, knowing all you have going on and everything. Thank you for answering.”
“What are friends for, right?”
I couldn’t count all the times I called Nadir to vent or cry over Terrence.
Out of respect for his previous relationship, I didn’t call as late as he did, but still.
Whenever I needed a listening ear, he was there.
While my siblings told me to move on and my other friends reminded me why they hated Terrence, Nadir simply listened to me whine, offered some wisdom, then made me laugh.
“Right.” He smirked.
“You okay?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I'm gonna stop reaching out. All it’s doing is fucking with my head.” Nadir’s fingers caressed my palm again as he mulled over his words.
“Last night, Sunny told me I’ve been moody and everyone here was keeping their distance from me because of it.
I can’t mistreat my staff and people I love because I'm hurting.
Especially when everyone here hasn't done anything to me.”
I poked out my bottom lip and sighed. “Aw, come here.”
Holding out my arms, I closed the space between us and hugged him. The hug was to comfort Nadir, but I felt a sense of contentment too. This was just as much for me as it was for him.
“Aight, enough of the mushy stuff,” he said, releasing my waist.
“Why did you bring me back here?”
Nadir stood, forcing me to take a few steps back so our bodies wouldn’t collide.
“Kenya and Peyton created a new drink menu, and I told them to add a few wine selections too.” He pushed off the desk then walked behind it. After opening a box, he pulled out three bottles of wine. “I ordered two cases of wine from The McBride sisters and three cases from Honey Branch Winery.”
I walked to his desk to pick up one of the bottles. While marveling at the details on the back of the bottles, I said, “Check you out!”
“I was thinking about having a wine tasting with the staff and wanted to know if you could help me with that.”
“Of course,” I replied, still looking over the bottle of chardonnay from Honey Branch Winery. “When did you want to do this?”
His eyebrows furrowed. “We’re having a group outing in two weeks, maybe we can do it afterward?”
“Sounds good.”
Nadir nodded then placed the bottles back into the box.
I sat in front of his desk and waited for him to finish.
My mind went wild with ideas for charcuterie boards.
While he carefully repacked the bottles, I watched.
My heart ached for him. His relationship with Avery was so pure.
The love and loyalty he gave her was commendable.
Their closeness reminded me a lot of my relationship with my dad.
I couldn't imagine how she was taking their separation.
“Are you sure you don’t want to reach out one last time?”
He met my gaze; the intensity in his eyes pulled at my heartstrings.
“I don’t think I can take another unanswered call or argument with Vanessa.” Nadir sat on the edge of his desk with furrowed eyebrows. “I’ll be okay.”
“Will you?” I scowled. “You’ve put on a brave face for a while now. I know this is hard for you. You can be honest with me.”
He stared at me for a beat before shaking his head. “I’ll be okay… eventually. But I’ve moped around long enough. It’s cliche as fuck to say, but life goes on.”
I understood his logic. It wasn’t that long ago that I was in his shoes, unsure of how to navigate heartbreak. But he was right; he’d be okay eventually.
My only concern was when eventually would come.
“Well, you know I’m here, my darling.”
Nadir smirked. “I never doubted that.”
A knock at the door interrupted us.
“Come in!” I winced at the annoyance in his voice.
The door opened slowly and music poured inside, shifting the energy of the room. Keith walked in with sympathetic eyes and a frown.
He closed the door before saying, “Boss man, I need your help with canceling a drink order.”
“What happened?” Nadir asked, his voice laced with exasperation.
“I spilled the drink on the table and had to get a new one. I would’ve asked Sunny, but she left not too long ago,” he said, glancing at me then back to Nadir.
“Aight, man. I’m coming.” Keith nodded then left the room. “It’s always something with him,” Nadir groused as he stood from his perch on the desk.
“Call me later,” I told him. “You have a lounge to run.”
He walked over and hugged me once more. After dropping a quick kiss onto my forehead, he smiled at me.
“Wait up for me.”
“I will.” I returned a smile before following him out of the office back to the bar.
Patrons occupied the small dance floor in front of the stage as they moved to DJ Love’s mix. I glanced at the bar, hoping to catch Kenya’s attention. She looked up from making a drink and waved for me to come over. I leaned over the bar and pressed my cheek against her cheek.
“Hey, girlie,” she greeted me. “I’ve been missing my lemon drop girl.”
I laughed. “I had to trade in my lemon drops for bottles of merlot.”
She continued making what looked like The Roseville, a mix of freshly muddled strawberries, simple syrup, vodka, rose water, and a splash of lemon juice.
“Well, I’m glad you took a night off. You look cute. Tryna pick up a new boo tonight?”
Shaking my head, I replied, “Hell no. It’s just me and my sisters tonight.”
Kenya poured the pink drink into a martini glass and garnished it with a strawberry slice and a thyme leaf.
After handing it to a woman at the opposite end of the bar, she came back over to me.
Like Nadir, Kenya was dressed in all black.
Her Ray’s shirt was cropped, exposing the diamond belly ring that glimmered against her coffee brown skin.
Kenya was beautiful and had a natural sensual energy about her.
Her bubbly personality and bartending skills made her a favorite around here.
“Girl, it’s been a crazy night.” She wiped beads of sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.
“I see. I heard Nadir liked the drink menu.”
She smiled. “Yes, he did! I can’t thank you enough for connecting me with Starling. He’s got me interested in mixology now.”
My brother Starling was like a master mixologist. The passion I had for wine was the way he felt about spirits.
He stayed abreast with all the trends, releases, and history of alcohol.
When Kenya expressed her desire to change the drink menu, I gave her my brother’s contact information, hoping he could help.
Starling was the busiest out of all of us. He managed my parents' restaurant in San Francisco and the one they recently opened in Chicago. I didn’t make any promises to Kenya when I offered his help, but I was happy to hear it all worked out.
“Yeah, he helped with my cocktail menu too. I wish he leaned more into it, but you know.” I shrugged. “He likes working closely with our parents.”
My mom would never admit it, but Starling was her favorite. Raven and I knew she had a soft spot for him because he was the only boy. We didn’t have a problem with it because my dad favored us just the same.
Kenya laughed. “Can’t blame him. After googling your parents, I see why he works with them. They’re royalty in the culinary community. I saw they have a new reality show, are you a part of it?”
“Nope. I want no parts of reality television,” I said with a laugh.
Carlos and Renee: Culinary Royalty would strictly follow my parents’ day-to-day lives as they managed their restaurants, made time for their marriage, and juggled their many business ventures.
Raven and I weren't expected to be on the show since we lived in Maryland.
I was sure Starling would make an appearance or two though.
“Girl, I feel you. Let me help Peyton with these orders. I’ll see you later.”
I waved bye and made my way back to the patio.
From across the room, I saw Nadir charming a table of patrons.
His smile was warm and welcoming as he spoke, but I knew deep down he wasn’t okay.
As badly as I wanted to pull him back to his office and finish our conversation, I knew it was an irrational thought.
Pushing out a breath, I shook away thoughts of Nadir’s problems. Tonight wasn’t about him or anyone else, it was all about my desire to not think about the restaurant, my upcoming exam, or anything negative. I made my way back to my table and resumed enjoying my night out.