Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Dante stood in the foyer of his sister’s house in front of a mirror and straightened his tie, mildly amused to find his hands shaking.
What was up with him today? Maybe he was dehydrated. He hadn’t drunk nearly enough water to recover from the Olympic feats of sex he’d had last night.
“You are extra smiley tonight,” Jaylyn observed as she approached with a glass of scotch for him. “You’re never this happy. What gives?”
He shrugged. “I like being back in Chicago.”
Her entire face brightened. “Didn’t I tell you that you would love it? Now all you have to do is sell your LA home and move into my building. We can ride together to family events.”
He sipped his drink, noticing he had to drop his smile to do so. Damn, she hadn’t been joking. He was “smiley” tonight. A night of nonstop sex with Honesty had made him feel lighter in every way imaginable.
“Do you want to sit?” She gestured toward her living room, where a pair of candles burned softly next to an open sketchbook.
“For a bit. I have an appointment in an hour.”
He drifted over and lowered himself into a chair rather than sink into the cushy sofa.
He had a dinner date to keep. He didn’t want to get too comfortable.
An open sketchbook sat on the coffee table, a pencil on top of it.
He admired the careful drawings of various rings, pendants, and symbols. She’d always been an amazing artist.
“New designs?” he asked.
“Sort of.” She shrugged.
“For a client?”
“Not this time. I was thinking of… I don’t know. I was just doodling.”
“Your designs are more than doodles. Ask Reagan.” It’d been J who had created the unique tree design of Reagan’s engagement ring.
Jaylyn spun the skull ring with gemstone eyes on her middle finger—another of her amazing designs—she was never without. “Thank you. Let’s talk about you. What’d you do last night? You ignored me.”
“I wasn’t ignoring you. I was busy.” She had texted him asking if he wanted to have a cocktail, but he’d been ordering room service at the time. He hadn’t responded. For good reason.
“Busy doing…” Her dark eyes vanished behind her lashes. “Honesty?”
Dante leaned back in his chair, resting his glass on one knee and his hand on the other. He would not allow his baby sister to rattle him. Even if she was only three years younger than him. “We saw each other, yes.”
“I knew it!” She pointed at him. “Spill.”
He took a leisurely sip from his glass before telling her the bare minimum. “I helped her with her nonprofit. We shared some wine. And then we went up to my room and had dinner.”
“You slept with her.”
His smile reappeared without his permission.
“That’s why you’re so smiley!” She smiled too, but it was brief. “Are you sure that was a good idea?”
He let out a breath. This was what he wasn’t going to discuss with J. “We have an understanding. It’s not a big deal.”
“Does she know it’s not a big deal?”
“Yes. She cosigned, Jaylyn. Who do you take me for?”
“A guy who is sleeping with a woman he used to be in love with.” She quirked her lips. “You didn’t make her sign a contract, did you?”
“No. Jesus.” He stood.
“I thought you were going to marry her back then.”
“We never talked about marriage.” He paced the short distance to the kitchen and poured another splash of scotch into his glass.
But a future between them had been implied. He’d known it. She’d known it. They’d never made plans because they’d assumed they’d have time to make them after graduation. Then his grandfather had died, and suddenly, they had run out of time.
“What do you think would have happened if she’d gone to LA with you?”
“We’ll never know.” And wasn’t that the truth. “We might have burned hot for a few months only for her to return to Chicago anyway.”
His gut pinched at the lie.
“I was consumed with the foundation. My mom needed me.”
He felt that in his temples—a slow ache calling him on his bullshit. No, he would never know for sure what would have happened, but if last night had been a clue, he and Honesty could have worked through whatever would’ve come up. It had seemed insurmountable at the time.
“History has a way of repeating itself until we learn our lessons,” J said. She often sounded wiser than her years. She was what one might call an old soul.
“When I left the first time, things were…unresolved. So maybe us being together, on our terms and knowing the expiration date, is a good way to resolve it.”
“Or maybe you’re playing with fire and one or both of you will get burned.”
“Okay, single lady. You’re not one to be handing out relationship advice.”
“The plumber’s pipes are always leaking.” She let that confusing statement linger a moment before she explained it to him. “I am an expert at repairing other people’s sinks, even though mine is perpetually leaky.”
“If anyone should be unclogging a sink, it’s Reagan.” Their sister-in-law-to-be was a handywoman.
“Ha-ha. Is your ‘appointment’ tonight with Honesty?”
“We’re having dinner to recap on the luncheon she had today with a potential donor.” Plus, he had an offer for her. The idea had hit him like a lightning bolt this morning when he’d been taking a shower.
“I’m glad you’re helping her. You’re great at what you do. You help a lot of people.”
“Thank you.” The compliment rang tuning-fork true in his soul. He was great at helping people. He prided himself on it.
“You’re not that great at helping yourself though.”
“I helped myself plenty last night,” he mumbled into his glass.
“I am talking about what you really need, not sex.” Jaylyn walked to the kitchen where she poured an inch of scotch into a glass for herself. “What if things work out this time?”
He paused, his own glass halfway to his lips.
She returned to her seat on the sofa and traded her glass for a kneadable eraser. She started pulling it like Silly Putty. “Think about it. You’re both older and smarter. Maybe two weeks leads to two more weeks. And then you would be here. In Chicago.”
“You are tireless.”
His sister grinned. “Thank you.”
“I’m going to go. Thanks for the drink.”
“Ugh, fine!” She tromped over to see him to the door. “I’m here for you, bro. Even when you don’t want me to be.”
“Don’t I know it.”
“Love you or whatever.”
“Love you or whatever too.” He winked and then exited her apartment.
Dante arrived at the restaurant five minutes ’til the hour and scanned the hostess area for Honesty. The older hostess behind the stand tucked a strand of gray hair behind her ear and greeted him. “Do you have a reservation, sir?”
“Yes. Crane.”
Her eyes lit with what might have been recognition, but she banked any response save a professional one. “Party of two?” When he nodded, she said, “Your guest is seated. Right this way.”
So, she’d arrived early. He wasn’t sure what that meant, if anything. That she was eager or that she’d been nearby—could have been either one. The hostess led him through the dimly lit dining room and around a maze of tables dressed in crease-free white linens, a single flickering candle on each.
The low light and black and gold palette whispered old money. Luxury. Dante had thought that the lush setting and chef’s menu would be the perfect backdrop for meeting with Honesty tonight, but as he glanced around at the stiff suits and stately crowd, he worried he might have overshot the mark.
Then they rounded a wall and he caught sight of Honesty and every thought shot out of his head like a rocket.
She was seated at an intimate corner table, her hair up in the back with long tendrils framing either side of her face.
She looked up from the menu as if sensing him staring.
Her lips lifted into a soft smile. Her skin appeared golden and glowy in the candlelight.
She wore a satin slip dress with a cream blazer over top and an understated gold necklace.
He’d had her in his bed less than twenty-four hours ago and already he wanted her again.
Right now. Fuck dinner.
Jaylyn’s warning crawled out of the back of his skull. Or maybe you’re playing with fire and one or both of you will get burned.
He silently rebutted now with, If we burn, then we will rise from the ashes—both of us.
Like the mythical Phoenix that crowned the Van Heusen hotel downtown. Burning didn’t have to equal destruction. Sometimes it meant transformation. Alchemy.
Coming together, in this case literally, might even make them stronger.
Knowing that, he could stand here and want her with every fiber of his being, and it wouldn’t scare him away. It was the ultimate indulgence, not holding back, but being able to walk away when it was over. Without regret, and leaving both of them whole this time around.
He leaned down to kiss her cheek.
“I think I’m underdressed,” she whispered. “This jacket is too formal, but the dress alone is too informal.”
“You’re gorgeous. Enviably so. If anyone is judging it’s because they’re jealous.
” He lifted her hand and helped her to stand.
He turned her in a small pirouette, as her eyes darted around the room.
When she completed the spin and faced him again, he dipped his head, nodding his approval.
“Perfect. And you’re not going to be wearing it long anyway. ”
He capped that sentence with a kiss to her hand, and she threw her head back and laughed.
After she sat back in her chair, he sat down across from her.
There wasn’t a lot of space at the table, which was nice.
He wanted to be as close to her as possible.
He hadn’t come here for the seven-course meal.
He’d come here to make her an offer that would guarantee growth for her nonprofit.
“How did you sleep?” he asked casually as he spread his napkin in his lap. A sommelier materialized out of nowhere with a bottle of red.
“1984. An excellent year,” Honesty said with a smile. After she’d tasted the wine and approved, the sommelier filled their glasses and left them alone.
“You were paying attention last night.”
“I sure was.” She winked. “I’m buying dinner tonight, by the way. It’s a business write-off. Plus, we’re in this fifty-fifty.”
“No deal.”
“We are equals in this agreement, Dante. Plus, I am the one coming to you for help. This is a separate issue than…” She waved a hand. “Our other issue. I can’t let you pay for everything.”
“I appreciate the gesture. I do. And I am not trying to insult you by not accepting. I know you can afford it.”
She tilted her head while he talked, her face open. She was so beautiful he nearly lost his train of thought.
“I’m still paying. But I swear you will keep your autonomy over these next few weeks. I will not conflate the idea of paying for dinner as control over our…situation. Or you.”
“I know that.” She sighed. “You used to pay for everything when we dated. I didn’t want this to mimic that.”
And harken back to a time when they had been each other’s forevers. If he’d only known how long forever would have actually lasted…
“It won’t. This is something different. We are different.”
She hummed as she drank her wine. He thought he’d convinced her, but couldn’t be sure.
“How did the luncheon go today?” he asked.
She seesawed her head. “Okay, I guess. She promised money once I have some money and structure. Oh, and a name for the nonprofit. I assume it’s normal for people to be skeptical of a newcomer.”
“I don’t like that she’s creating hoops for you to jump through. You don’t have to answer to her.” He frowned, more sure of his decision now that he knew what Honesty was up against. “This is your pilot, not—whatever her name is.”
“Beatrice Banks. She founded By Banks cosmetics.”
“Never heard of her.” He hated when barely rich people acted like they had control over not-as-rich people.
It pissed him off. Anyone could say what they wanted to say about the Cranes and their billions, but he had never been raised to take advantage of anyone.
Being business savvy was almost a requirement in their family, and when there were people in need, they stepped up.
“I’m not giving up. I can meet with donors one-on-one and ask them for checks individually. I mean, it might take a toll on my company, but Gabby is great. She’ll pick up the slack. If I work around the clock for a while, maybe I can do it all.”
“What if you didn’t have to work twenty-four seven to make it happen? What if you had a financial backer?”
“You mean like a fairy godmother?” she joked.
“Not exactly. I mean me.”