Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
A s Antonio drove through the streets of Cincinnati, Scarlett gazed out the passenger window, still hyped from the show. She forgot how much she enjoyed modeling, especially runway modeling. Not only did she get to wear gorgeous clothes, but she also earned a nice amount of money for a few hours of work. Besides that, Jada was wonderful to work with, and they were kindred spirits when it came to fashion.
“Where are we going?” Scarlett asked when she realized they were in Antonio’s neighborhood. “I thought we were going for Italian tonight?”
When they first discussed having dinner out, Antonio had mentioned an Italian restaurant with a view of downtown Cincinnati. Maybe he’d needed to stop home for something first.
“Change of plans,” he said when he pulled onto his street and pushed the garage door opener. He didn’t say anything further until he parked in the garage. “I thought we’d have dinner here tonight.”
Surprised by the change, Scarlett tried to school her disappointment. She had her heart set on some gnocchi or chicken cacciatore and bread. Lots of bread and oil. She’d been thinking about food all day and how she’d planned to make up for practically starving herself for the last couple of days. Besides that, the white dress she was wearing was way too fancy to be worn to dinner at home.
Jada had insisted on Scarlett keeping the first outfit she had modeled in the show, and Scarlett had been looking forward to wearing it out. Then again, the way Antonio’s gaze had eaten her up when she met him in the Art Center’s lobby had been priceless. The dress had served its purpose. There’d been a moment when she thought the man would ravish her body right there in the main lobby.
After closing the garage’s overhead door, Antonio turned to her. “I need to blindfold you.”
His words were the second surprise Scarlett had received in a matter of minutes, and she sat stunned. When she thought of blindfolds, kinky stuff like whips and chains immediately came to mind, and she almost laughed. Why was she even thinking along that line? Antonio hadn’t said a word about sex. Yet, that’s where her mind had taken her.
Probably because my body wants more of him.
She couldn’t wait to feel his mouth on her heated skin again. Or the way his large hands caressed every inch of her body, and the way his fingers ignited a—
“Scarlett?”
Scarlett’s gaze leaped to his eyes. His brows had dipped into a frown and concern marred his handsome face.
“Is that okay?” he asked.
“Oh, sorry.” She flashed an embarrassed smile as heat spread to her cheeks. Clearly, she needed to get laid again. “Yes,” she said, shaking off thoughts of getting naked and allowing excitement to take its place.
Giddiness bubbled inside of her when Antonio instructed her to face the passenger side window. As he carefully tied a scarf around her eyes, she couldn’t stop the giggle that burst free. Her mind immediately started trying to figure out what he had planned. Maybe it involved whipped cream, chocolate sauce, and his huge—
Crap. There I go again .
She shook all sexual thoughts from her brain and instead tried to determine what type of surprise was in store. He’d had to work earlier and had been at the fashion show all evening. When did he even have time to do anything?
He probably had help.
Mahogany . She and Ben had returned from their honeymoon in Hawaii the other day, and if Mahogany found out Antonio was trying to do something sweet, she would’ve been all in. That’s probably why she asked if Bella could spend the night. She claimed Jayden missed Bella and wanted her to go skating with him and Ben. Then Bella would also go to Jayden’s baseball game in the morning. Scarlett had thought it perfect timing, now she knew it was all planned.
Antonio helped Scarlett out of the car and into the house, careful not to let her bump into anything. The moment she stepped across the threshold, instrumental Italian music played in the background and enticing aromas wafted to her nose. It smelled as if they’d stepped into an Italian restaurant.
She inhaled deeply. Oregano, basil, sage, and even the smell of fresh bread permeated the air.
Oh, yeah. She couldn’t wait to eat.
“I hope you’re hungry,” Antonio said as if reading her mind.
“I am. I’m starving.” She hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast for fear she’d be too bloated for the outfits Jada had lined up. Good thing too since one of the dresses left her midsection bare.
After Antonio helped Scarlett into the kitchen, she started to take off the blindfold, but he gently swatted her hand away.
“Ow!” she said and chuckled.
“Sorry, but don’t touch the blindfold. I’ll remove it when I’m ready.”
“Oh, okay,” she said and let him slowly guide her farther into the house. He stopped and spun her a couple of times, and Scarlett cracked up. “Tony! You’re making me dizzy. It’s a good thing I haven’t eaten anything, and my stomach is empty. Otherwise, you’d be cleaning up barf.”
He had her by the waist, and her hands searched blindly for his arm, hoping that could help her head stop spinning. She was more than disoriented and had no clue of what room they were in.
“Wow, you’re really doing up this surprise,” she said, when she finally felt steadier on her feet.
“Yeah, I want tonight to be memorable.”
“Well, whatever you’re up to, I’m sure I’m going to remember it.” As an afterthought, she added, “And I’m sure I’m going to love it.”
“Okay, here we go.” Antonio slowly removed the scarf, and when he did, Scarlett blinked several times as her eyes adjusted to the dimness of the room.
She glanced around, taking in the large space and feeling as if she had stepped into an Italian bistro.
“Oh, Tony. How…” she breathed, her hands going to her mouth as she took in the transformation of his family room.
Gone was his sectional, sofa tables, and all the other furniture that was originally in the space. Clear lights were strung from one wall to another, and there was a lamp in the far corner, giving the room a romantic ambiance. A table, covered with a white tablecloth, had two place settings along with four votive candles in the center that added to the romantic vibe.
Even though it might be a little warm to use the brick fireplace, there was a crackling fire going that made the whole space feel cozy.
“You thought of everything,” she said as her gaze continued around the spectacular space.
There were also several large plants, almost the size of trees that had been brought in, and vines hung above the windows. Scarlett couldn’t remember what type of artwork was originally on the walls, but even those had been switched out. Now there was a sunset in Venice painting, and another one with a large basket of bread with wine, cheese, and grapes on a plate in front of it.
The amount of work he had to have put into this surprise was so touching.
“Tony, I don’t know what to say. This is unbelievable and amazing.”
Scarlett gasped when she felt someone step to her left. Then she almost swallowed her tongue when she realized it was Martina. The woman seemed to come out of thin air, and what was she wearing? Scarlett took in her long sleeve white button-up shirt, black tie, black vest, and a long white apron over black pants. Across her forearm was a linen napkin and in her hands was a bottle of red wine.
“Oh. My. God,” Scarlett said and howled. She laughed so hard she was sure the neighbors down the street could hear her, and she couldn’t stop. Tears blurred her vision, and she stumbled backwards as she continued cracking up. Had it not been for Antonio, she was sure she would’ve lost her balance and crashed into something.
“Just so you know, I’m doing this under duress while you’re over there laughing,” Martina grumbled.
Laughing and crying, Scarlett struggled to pull herself together. She couldn’t ever remember laughing this hard and for this long. Even Antonio, who rarely laughed, joined in.
Martina set the wine bottle on the table and picked up a pitcher of water from a nearby stand. “It’s not that funny, and you two are going to owe me big time for this,” she said and filled the water glasses before she left the room.
Wiping her eyes with the heel of her palm, Scarlett finally turned to Antonio.
“How in the world did you get her to go along with this?”
“She owed us,” he said and pulled out the chair for Scarlett. “I told her this was the least she could do for freaking you out at the reception. She didn’t agree initially, but she eventually came around.”
“Tony, this is absolutely gorgeous,” Scarlett said when he sat across from her. “No one has ever gone to such trouble for me before, and I’m… I’m… Thank you . Thank you so much for doing all this.”
“It’s my pleasure, baby, but I had a little help.”
Martina returned and picked up the bottle of wine. She lifted Antonio’s wine glass, poured a swallow into it, and nodded for him to taste it. He did with the seriousness of being in a fine-dining establishment.
It took all the control Scarlett could muster to not start laughing again. She had no idea how they could do any of this with a straight face. She’d seen actors who couldn’t pull off what they were doing.
Once Antonio approved of the wine selection, Martina went about pouring both of them a glass.
“I’ll be back to take your order shortly,” Martina said and disappeared from the room.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she’s had experience as a server,” Scarlett said as she glanced at what looked to be a one sheet menu.
“She has. Remember, her husband has a couple of restaurants. When he opened the first one, Martina, for whatever reason, went through the training with the serving staff.”
“Wow, so she helped out in the restaurant?”
“A couple of times but not because he needed her to. She said she’d mainly gone through the training in case he ever needed her to fill in.”
“That’s so sweet, and sounds so unlike her,” Scarlett whispered and chuckled.
Antonio smiled. “Yeah, she’s different with Paul. He’s the only one who can keep her in line.”
“Well, don’t sell yourself short. I have a feeling she wouldn’t do what she’s doing if you didn’t have some influence on her too.”
“You guys might as well stop whispering. I can hear y’all,” Martina said from the kitchen, and Scarlett lost it again. She laughed so hard she had to push away from the table for fear of knocking something over.
“Martina,” Antonio ground out between gritted teeth. “You promised!”
“Fine! I’ll be seen and not heard,” she snapped.
It took Scarlett a good five minutes to pull herself together and once she did, she used the white cloth napkin to dab at her eyes. “I just can’t with you two,” she said, trying not to start up again, but man, they were funny without even trying to be.
“Once she serves dinner, she’ll be out of here,” Antonio said.
For the next part of the evening, Martina served them like a seasoned pro. Bringing out one course at a time. They dined on homemade bread, salad, chicken, and gnocchi, as well as pasta pomodoro and shrimp. Dessert was cannoli and semifreddo. Scarlett couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten this good.
Throughout dinner, conversation with Antonio flowed as he shared funny stories about his family. He made growing up in a large, close-knit family sound fun, yet exhausting. He and Scarlett had been so deep in conversation at times, she had moments when she forgot they weren’t in a real restaurant. She’d also forgotten Martina was still in the house until she appeared.
“Is there anything else I can get for you two before I leave for the evening?” Martina asked. Gone was the snark from earlier, and in its place was a professional server.
“Scarlett?” Antonio said.
“No, I’m good. This was absolutely amazing. My compliments to the chef,” she said.
“Thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed everything,” Martina said, looking pleased with herself.
“Wait.” Scarlett sat up straighter. “You did all the cooking?”
“I did—except for the dessert. My cousin felt I owed him my time and my culinary skills. He’s not the only Jenkins who knows how to cook. I do all right too.”
“Well, I’m impressed. The food was outstanding, but I can’t believe Antonio had you do everything.”
“That’s the least she could do. She’s owed me for years for so many favors that I can’t even count. Not once has she had to pay me back… until today.”
Martina huffed out a breath. “He’s right, but to be honest, we’ve had each other’s back since he was a peanut-headed kid. Which is why, well before tonight, he was my favorite cousin. Now, after I’ve worked like a slave, I’m not so sure.”
Scarlett grinned. Martina talked tough, but Scarlett could tell she and Antonio had a special bond. She noticed it whenever she saw them together. They often seemed more like brother and sister than cousins.
Martina grabbed the last items on the table and started to turn away but stopped and glanced at Antonio. “Just so you know, we’re even. You can’t ask me for shit else going forward.” And with that, she was gone.
Scarlett stared at Antonio wide eyed before they both dissolved into laughter. Between great conversation, a fabulous meal, and all the laughs, Scarlett could honestly say this was the best date ever.
Once Martina said goodnight and left the house, Scarlett reached across the table and grasped Antonio’s hand. “I can’t thank you enough for the best date I’ve ever had. Tonight was so special and memorable.”
“The night isn’t over yet,” he said, giving her a smile as he caressed the back of her hand with the pad of his thumb. They sat there in comfortable silence until he said, “I’ll be right back.”
When he returned a short while later, he reclaimed his seat and placed a manila envelope in the center of the table. But when he set a small velvet box next to it, unease crawled down Scarlett’s spine.
Antonio folded his hands on the table and met her gaze. “We need to talk.”