Chapter 7 #2
A couple minutes later, I heard Sterling’s name.
To my annoyance, goosebumps broke out across my skin at the sight of him in an impeccably tailored dove gray suit, the longer bit of the dark hair on top of his head styled neatly out of his face.
As he moved through the room, he commanded the attention of everyone in it, shaking hands and greeting people as he walked past.
An unwelcome jolt of attraction shot through me as I watched him, so intense that I had to press my thighs together to relieve the ache. Those glacier-blue eyes were on mine, and it seemed that was all it took for the electricity to hum to life beneath my skin.
He smirked slightly as he held my gaze, like he knew that he was affecting me, and I scowled in response. He shook hands with a crowd of what looked like mob bosses. They were all dressed in suits with golden chains.
So he’s in the mafia then, huh? Wow. Megan really threw me to the sharks, that bitch.
When he finally reached my side, his gaze raked over me slowly, very openly, but when he brought it back to mine, I couldn’t tell at all what he thought about what he’d just looked at.
“Thank you for waiting, Laney. I apologize for my delay. It couldn’t be helped, I’m afraid. Steve treated you well?”
“Sure.” Why? What are you going to do to him if he didn’t? Send him to sleep with the fishes? “Don’t worry about it.”
He chuckled, and I was pretty sure it was the first time I was hearing him do it, but I liked the low, smooth sound way more than I should’ve.
He extended a hand toward me. “Let me show you to my table.”
“ Your table?” I didn’t accept his hand, sliding off my chair perfectly fine myself. I was about to scoff and tell him that the table belonged to the restaurant, not him, but he saved me from making a complete fool of myself by giving me an unexpected explanation.
“Well, I suppose it’s not mine. I don’t own it, but they do always keep it open for me. I eat here a few times a week and they’re kind enough to keep it free in case I need it.”
Right. Right, right, right. Okay, then.
He took me to a table tucked into a private alcove in the corner and even got my chair, gracefully sliding it toward him and waiting for me to sit down. Once I was seated, he walked around to take a seat directly opposite me.
Staring straight at his face was hard, kind of like looking into the sun, except that this didn’t make my eyes water. It did cause a rush of moisture in other parts of my body, though.
I cleared my throat, waiting for him to lay out his plan for us to work together, but instead, Sterling asked a server for a bottle of wine and glanced at me. “Would you mind if I ordered our appetizers? There are some dishes here that you have to try.”
Surprised that he’d even asked, I nodded, deciding that while I was here, I might as well make the best of it. “I doubt I’d understand a word on the menu anyway.”
The corners of his lips twitched, making it look like he’d almost smiled. Not quite, but it was nice to know his mouth knew how to make the shape. “The menu is in English.”
“Oh.”
“Yep.”
The server brought our wine and poured a tiny bit in a glass for Sterling to taste, and when he nodded at her, she poured us each a glass before he ordered our appetizers. With that done, he turned back to me. “You clean up nice, Laney. Truly. You look beautiful this evening.”
Something deep inside me fluttered. “Uh, thanks. You look the same as always.”
“Thank you, I think.” He stared back at me, completely confident and at ease in our opulent surroundings. “Do you like the wine?”
I grabbed my glass and took a big sip, realizing that I’d left the wine I’d ordered at the bar without even finishing it, along with my bread. Tragic.
“This is the best Chianti I’ve ever tasted.” I wasn’t even lying. “Wow. Where’s it from?”
“It’s imported from Tuscany.” Interest sparked to life behind his eyes. “You know it’s a Chianti?”
I pursed my lips at him in an attempt to hide my smile, glad to have surprised him for a change. “Of course, I know it’s a Chianti. Although I thought it might be one of those Chianti-wannabes, but I was even called a wine snob once.”
“Just the once?” He arched a dark eyebrow at me, swirling his own wine in his glass.
I shrugged. “Just the once, but I’m still young. I’ve got my whole life ahead of me.”
“That’s a perfectly valid life goal, I suppose, to be called a wine snob again.”
I lifted my glass slightly to him. “Thank you, and cheers.”
“Cheers.” We clinked our glasses together and chatted for another little while until the server brought our appetizers, along with another basket of bread. I cheered silently.
By the time he finally got down to business, I’d let my guard down a little. The food was amazing. The wine was delicious—and Steve might’ve been right about Sterling. He wasn’t that bad.
“Why does Baby Blossom mean so much to you?” he asked, sounding genuinely curious. “I was being truthful when I said I might not take it apart, but first, I’d like to know more about it.”
“Okay, well, I guess it’s because family and tradition mean something to me,” I said honestly. “That store has been in my father’s family for eighty years and I don’t want to be the generation that destroys that tradition.”
He seemed to like that, his eyebrows sweeping up slightly as he nodded.
I decided I might as well keep telling the truth. “Plus, I’ve also… always wanted to be a mom and this is about as close as I’ve gotten”
Crap. I didn’t mean to be that truthful.
My eyes blew wide open. I couldn’t believe I’d said that out loud, so very directly, but I also couldn’t just stop there. I could not let that sit between us, so I rambled on, desperately trying to undo the damage I’d just done to my own fragile ego.
“All I mean is that I don’t date. I never have time, and honestly, I just don’t like it. Having to ask some guy what his favorite color is or whether he goes to therapy, and what for, is awful. I mean, are you fighting serial killer tendencies or do you just have daddy issues? I never know.”
Sterling smiled at me, actually smiled, and I nearly fell off my chair when he followed it up by agreeing. “I feel the exact same way. I’d like to continue that conversation another time.”
I wasn’t sure exactly what he meant by that, but since he carried on from there as if he really did plan on keeping Baby Blossom open, I didn’t see another option but to continue whatever conversation he wanted.
I was at his mercy, and as that realization fully dawned, I drained my wine. What exactly are the implications of that going to be?
“You said you were planning on going to LA to scout for options for a second location?” he asked after a few more questions about the business. “Are you still planning on doing that?”
I nodded.
“Good. I’ll come with you. We’ll travel together and my office will handle the details. I’ll have them emailed to you. Does that sound good?”
No, but I really don’t have much of a choice, do I? If I said yes, I had a chance of not only saving Baby Blossom, but finally expanding to a different city, but if I said no, Sterling and his beautiful blue eyes and commanding presence would take it all and just… make it go away.