Chapter 1 #3
“Nice key chain.” Biting my lip to suppress a giggle, he shoots me an annoyed look that’s laced with humor. It’s the first time I catch a glimpse of the color in his eyes. They might be green or maybe blue. It’s hard to tell with the lighting.
“It makes it easier to remember what the key is for.” Ace opens the door and holds his hand out to help me down the two small steps to reach him.
“Such a gentleman.”
“Not always.” He throws me a wink, and my stomach dips slightly.
Jesus, he’s hot.
The key clicks into place, and the knob turns.
The citrus smell of what must be some candle or cleaner invades my nostrils.
My eyes take a moment to adjust, and I notice the rustic, classic Italian feel of the place.
He hasn’t turned the lights on, so I can only guess by touch and the little bit of light that’s peering from the streetlamps that the walls are made of brick.
Ace shuts the door behind me and walks straight to the back.
In less than a minute, the light in the back of the restaurant is on, and I’m able to see the red bricks I’d touched lined with decorative and elegant plates hanging on them.
The sleek wooden tables hold nothing but unique saltshakers and candleholders.
Doing a quick sweep of the room, I find out how long it is, and to my surprise, it opens onto a much bigger space in the back.
On my way there, I pass the bar with pieces of colored ceramic lining the wall across from it, where a brick-oven pizza maker stands.
The spacious room I find is decorated similarly and is just as cozy as the one in front. It’s the exact kind of restaurant I’d want to eat in—what looks like a hole-in-the-wall, but is so much more once you’ve explored it.
“What’s your drink?”
Ace’s voice causes me to jump. Turning, I find him behind the bar.
His suit jacket’s off, and the sleeves of his white dress shirt are rolled up, showing off his forearms, which, of course, have those hot veins you only see in movies or read about.
Again, something that isn’t sexual, but turns me on nonetheless.
Shrugging my silk shawl off, I sit on one of the stools. “Vodka soda, with a slice of lime if you have it.”
Nodding, he prepares the drink. As much as I appreciate him trusting me enough to show me one of the places he owns, I keep my eyes on everything he does. Ever since last semester, when a friend went through something traumatic, I haven’t left a drink unattended or let it be made without watching.
As I keep my eyes on his hands, I try to make some small talk. “So, is this your move?”
He looks up, confusion lining his face. “My move?”
Biting my lip, I nod. “You know, bringing a girl to your restaurant, impressing her, making her favorite drink, all that?”
He places the vodka bottle down for a moment and crosses his arms, leaning back as he looks directly at me. “You’re the first woman I’ve ever done this with, and it isn’t a move.”
Tilting my head, I observe his expressive eyes and find nothing but sincerity. “Why me?”
Ace doesn’t hesitate. “Why not you?” And with that, he resumes his work. Well, that wasn’t really an answer. “You’ll know my move when I make it.”
He says it so quickly, I barely catch it. “What?”
“What do you think of the place? I had to keep the front light off so people wouldn’t think we were still open. We closed much earlier than usual today.” He cuts a perfect slice of lime and drops it into the glass, then adds a small black straw.
Ace slides it over, and I push it back a bit. “You first.”
His left eyebrow lifts a fraction, but he follows my instructions. After a short staring contest when nothing happens, I take the drink and smile.
He hums. “Smart.”
Nodding, I turn on the stool. “I love it, by the way. I can’t believe I’ve never seen the place before.”
I hear him making his own drink. “I wasn’t lying when I said they were holes-in-the-wall. They just happen to do very well.”
Turning back to him, I incline my head, unsurprised. “The people trying to buy them just to change them are idiots. It’s rare to find a restaurant with good food that isn’t sleek and modern-looking nowadays.”
Ace turns with a whiskey on the rocks. No bullshit drink, I appreciate that in a man. “Agreed. It’s the restaurant I come to the most often and the first one I ever opened.”
Thirty-one years old, and he has multiple restaurants? Color me even more curious. “How old were you when it first opened?”
He swallows a sip of his drink and averts his gaze. “Twenty-six.”
My eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets. “Twenty-six? Shit, I feel like I’m way behind in life.”
He chuckles and looks down. “Cooking has been my passion since I was eight years old. My parents saw the potential and put me in classes when I was twelve. The passion stuck, and I graduated from culinary school at nineteen. At twenty-one, I got a job offer in London, and I jumped at the chance to get out of Boston.”
There’s a faraway look in his eyes at the mention of Boston. “Why were you so desperate to leave?”
He shakes his head, his face taut. “I needed a break from my life there and my well-intentioned but high-maintenance siblings.” Before I can ask him about said siblings, he continues to talk about his successful career.
“Eventually, I stayed in one place and worked my way up. Once I was ‘discovered’…” He quotes the word with both hands.
“Investors came pouring in.” He waves a hand around the restaurant. “And this was the result.”
Ignoring the way he dodged my question, I decide to move on. I remind myself that I’m never going to see him again, so there’s no need to know why my question bothered him.
“How many places do you have?”
“Two. Both are in London, and they have different names and cuisines. This one is Italian and the other is Spanish.”
“You didn’t want to expand?”
Ace moves the ice cubes in his glass, still refusing to look at me.
“I used to, but I learned that it was too much work at such a young age.” He quickly corrects himself.
“I’m extremely fortunate to have accomplished all of this with a lot of luck and time on my side, but I’m exhausted.
Too exhausted to be in my thirties. And…
” He pauses as if searching for the right words.
“I want to do something different.” Then his eyes bore into me.
“I need to do something different. I’ve had the craving for a while.
” The intensity with which he says the words makes my mouth open just a little.
His gaze drops to my lips, causing butterflies in my stomach to flutter.
He then looks down at my chest, which is moving faster than usual.
The tension heightens, and I squirm under his watchful eyes.
He must notice my movements and quickly looks back at his glass.
Ignoring the heat pooling in my core, I shake my head slightly. I need to lighten the mood. “What’s your favorite book?”
His head hangs, and I can hear a breathy laugh leave him, making me smile. “My favorite book?”
I straighten in my seat, trying to sound as serious as possible. “You heard me.”
He cracks his neck. “All right, I guess if I had to pick one it’d be The Godfather.” I roll my eyes, and he scoffs. “What was that for?”
“When did you read it?”
Ace shakes his head as if he wasn’t expecting that to be my answer. He takes a moment to think about it and clicks his teeth together. “About six years ago.” He sighs.
Just as I suspected. “Not much of a reader?”
His shoulders rise. “I’m more of a crossword puzzle kind of guy.” I give him a nod, letting him know that I’m not passing any judgment. “English major?”
Shrugging, I scrunch my nose. “Something like that.” He opens his mouth to ask me a follow-up question, but I beat him to the punch.
“I have multiple favorite books, but there’s one that I always carry around with me during the summer.
” Digging through my purse, I pull out my pocket copy of The Princess Bride.
Ace sets his glass down and turns the book toward him. A slight grin graces his lips. “Why this book?”
I smile sadly, remembering the first time I read this and who I read it with.
“When a book means something to anyone as this one does to me, it’s life-changing.
It’s what got me into what I’m doing now and what I want to pursue.
I associate nothing but good memories with it.
It also serves as a reminder that no matter how many bullshit parties I go to and how many snooty people I meet, all I have to do is touch the spine of this book in my bag and it grounds me.
” When I tilt my head back up, I see that he’s holding my gaze.
Whatever he sees reflecting in my eyes must reveal everything I’m feeling because his eyebrows turn inward in understanding.
I clear my throat, confused as to why I told him that.
“I’m sorry, that was probably more than you wanted to know. ”
“It’s no problem, really.” He says it sincerely, but all I want is for him to change the subject.
There’s a silence for a moment, and then a light laugh.
“I just remembered the first time I saw the movie. My sister was obsessed with it and watched it almost every day for a month. My parents had to beg her to play with her toys.” For a moment, I’m confused, but then I follow his finger that’s pointing to my book.
I smile widely at the new piece of him and his life I’ve just learned about. “How many siblings do you have?”
Ace’s eyes widen. He just realized he’d let another detail about his personal life slip, and it clearly makes him uncomfortable. He clears his throat and looks away. I allow him to have his moment of silence; it’s the least I can do after he tried to lighten the mood the way he did.