Chapter 30 #3
“Darren is going to give me so much flack for this.”
“Because you're breaking the Don't Bang Your Nanny clause?” she asked, the tips of her ears blushing.
Just then, Bo appeared with their salads, his timing flawless, the phrase “bang your nanny” floating in the air like a devilish Cupid with a very naughty mind.
Red suited Bo's face. Good thing the kid was born in Love You, Maine. He fit right in.
Pretending she hadn't said a word, Kylie speared a piece of fennel and Parmesan, and began eating. Luke joined in. Bo disappeared.
And for five minutes, they ate in sweet harmony.
Twelve tables meant The Food Alchemist was a very small bistro, designed to be intimate and cozy, but the food–the food was anything but.
It was wild and free, uninhibited and yet carefully curated.
The way life should taste.
“Mmmmm,” Kylie moaned, the sound pleasing him. “This is heaven. What's in the salad dressing?”
Licking his lower lip, he took a moment, then said, “Lemon. And something chive-like. Green shallots? The lemon is different, like the lemons we had in Amalfi, when I was studying in Italy.”
“You have quite the palate, tasting different lemons that way!”
“I prefer plain old oil and vinegar on salad, though,” he admitted.
“Nothing wrong with that. My favorite is ginger dressing, like the kind they use at Mountain Dragon.”
“Want some wine? I could order a bottle. Or a glass, since you're having fish and I'm having beef. Red for me, white for you? Or a rosé?”
Her eyes narrowed, surprising him. “You know,” she replied slowly, lifting her fork to her mouth but pausing before taking a bite, “I think I want a clear head for tonight. Wine another time?”
“Deal.”
The rest of the salad course passed quietly, but the tables around them filled up, the other coveted spot overlooking the water taken by Tim, the postmaster, and his wife, June. They gave a wave, then huddled heads.
“I heard her say January 26,” Kylie whispered conspiratorially.
Luke just sighed and wished he had that glass of wine, after all.
Fortunately for him and Kylie, the other tables filled with out-of-towners, tourists shopping for the holidays in Love You.
Places like The Food Alchemist drew a different crowd, something that made his brother’s girlfriend, Rachel, very excited as she settled into her new role as director of business development for the town.
New business meant expanded opportunities for the tiny town.
Luke, Kell, and their family liked the emphasis on tiny.
“I thought you'd spend Christmas with your mom,” he said, venturing into a topic he'd been wondering about for a bit. “Not that you aren't welcome with us,” he added hastily.
A genuine smile greeted him. “No offense taken. Mom isn't easy to be around when Wendy's not there.”
“Ah. Right. Paris.”
“Every young woman's dream.”
“Is it yours? You ever been?”
“No. You?”
“Yes. Amber and I–” He cut himself off with a sharp inhale.
“It's fine. She's part of you, Luke. Part of who you are. I want to hear all about Paris. Amber included.”
“After what we know now?”
“Why would that change anything? She was just a kid. We were kids. I don't hold it against her.”
“Neither do I,” he said, marveling at the woman across the table from him.
“Good. So tell me about Paris.”
“It's one long blur of great wine, amazing fruit and cheese from the markets, and a shocking amount of bread.”
“Your stomach is your memory bank for the trip?”
“Of course. Same with Rome. The pasta, the espresso with lemon peel, the–”
“Sounds delicious,” Sheila interrupted, delivering Luke's plate with a flourish. “We do have great espresso for later, and I can twist lemon zest like no one's business if it'll make you feel more like you're in Italy, Luke.” The wink made him laugh.
“I'm good. I like where I am.” His eyes held Kylie's gaze for a beat.
Sheila's signature prime rib hit his olfactory nerve and he groaned as Kylie's salmon was set before her, perfectly cooked, making him jealous for a split second.
“This looks incredible,” Kylie said, and Sheila beamed before she disappeared into the kitchen.
Good food. Great company. A promising future with Kylie.
What more could he want?
Horseradish sauce, actually. Sheila had set a ramekin next to his plate.
Life could not be more perfect.
“Oh, wow,” Kylie moaned through a bite of her fish. “This is extraordinary. I haven't had salmon this good since I was in Seattle.”
“Never been. I imagine it's nothing but coffee and the world's biggest store.”
“And Pike Market! And the Cascades. I'd love to go back.”
“I'd love to go with you.”
The tilt of her head changed as she swallowed. Kylie reached for his hand.
“And you could show me Paris someday.”
“I'm going to hold you to that, Kylie.”
“Good. But we can't let these dinners get cold. That would be criminal. I'd have to perform a citizen's arrest on you, Officer Luview. Don't make me put handcuffs on you.”
He cleared his throat and said, “That's my line, Kylie.”
Fanning herself with her napkin, she laughed. “Is it getting hot in here?”
“Must be all the spice.”
Digging into the cuisine, they stopped the flirting for a while, the rhythm of their time together finding its pace between them.
Luke felt some piece of himself downshift, as if he'd been revving too high, taking too much out of him.
The low, steady hum of goodness he felt from Kylie was directed at him now.
Not just his daughter.
Him.
A vision of a future together made his throat go tight with emotion. Just watching her as she enjoyed dinner was a delight, in and of itself.
Could a heart really burst from too much happiness? The edges of his pressed hard against his ribs, finally unbound.
Finally ready to explore a whole new world.
“I am stuffed,” Kylie declared as she ate her last bite.
“Member of the Clean Plate Club, I see.”
“Hope you didn't want to share a dessert, Luke, because I can't.” Leaning back in her chair, she patted her belly. The movement reminded him so much of his father at holiday dinners that he burst out laughing.
“What?”
“Unbuckle your belt and you're basically my dad, every Christmas and Easter.”
“I have never been on a date before where the guy compared me to his dad.”
“I told you I'm bad at this.”
Bo quietly removed their empty plates and disappeared as Luke took a deep breath and assessed the scene. The other tables were filled with people eating, smiling, or engaged in deep conversation.
“Are you sure you don’t want dessert?” he asked her.
“You're a sadist. A food sadist.”
“Normally, people only call me a sadist when I'm issuing them a speeding ticket.”
“Let me guess. They're always from New York.”
“Nope, lots of Bostonians, or someone from Montreal. That's how I learned to curse in French.”
Just then, Blake appeared, hands on his hips. “Dessert?”
“Too full,” Luke replied.
“Coffee?”
Kylie shook her head. “Not this late. I'm good, actually.”
She was more than good.
Blake's chin jutted up. “Gotcha. Hope the meal was as outstanding as I know it was?”
“You're humble.” Luke took a sip of his water and cocked an eyebrow at Blake.
“Am I wrong?”
“No,” Luke conceded. “That's why I brought Kylie here. Best restaurant in town–best restaurant in Maine, actually.”
Magic words like that cracked Blake's face open in a genuine smile.
With a flourish, he presented the check and walked away. Luke reached for it, his hand colliding with Kylie's.
Electricity coursed through his fingers, and not just from her touch.
From actual shock.
“What are you doing?” he asked as he peeled the check out of her hands.
“I'm–”
“No.”
“Hey!”
Reaching for his wallet, Luke took care of the bill with cash. “First of all, I asked you out, so I'm paying.”
“But–”
“Second of all, if word got back to Deanna Luview that one of her sons let their date pay, she'd turn into a nuclear reactor. I don't need that kind of radioactive fallout in my life.”
“That's sexist. Does the same rule apply to Colleen?”
Surprised by her words, and trying not to concede the point, Luke stood, walked around to the back of her chair, and leaned down to whisper, “Let's not have our first fight in public.”
Amused, throaty sounds from Kylie made him smile, and he was happy to have a moment to take a deep inhale of her neck. Perfume, yes, but something more. A warm, vanilla, home-baked, delightful scent.
He could smell her forever.
“Thank you, Luke, for a lovely dinner,” she said as he pulled her chair out for her, earning nods of approval from Tim and June. Within twenty minutes, everyone in Luview would know every sip, every touch, every bite they'd taken.
Spies. Small towns were nothing but spy academies.
And Luke knew very well that his mom and dad would eat up every last morsel of gossip.
They said their goodbyes to Bo and Sheila, wrapped up carefully for the weather, then stood in the cold night, sharp air piercing their lungs. Luke took her gloved hand in his and said, “Go for a walk?”
“Sounds great. I need to burn off some of the calories.”
“You don't need to burn off anything, Kylie.” He took the chance to wrap his arm around her waist. It was a waist covered in layers of fabric, but he felt the gentle swell of her hip, and she leaned into him.
Heading out of the parking lot, they took a right, toward the smattering of shops and restaurants leading to the famous hot springs.
People walked along the sidewalk in twos and fours.
One couple was headed toward them, the man tall and imperious, the woman dressed in a real fur coat, holding his arm.
“Oh, no! Come here.” She grabbed Luke’s arm and yanked him into a small area with benches.
“What's wrong?”
“That couple ahead of us? They're Perry's parents.”
“Tommy and Kris? I know them. What's–oh. Right.” His brow tightened as his brain caught up to Kylie's reaction. “You're afraid of them?”
“No, just... it's uncomfortable. After Perry dumped me, they laid me off from my job at Nordicbeth. I think they did it because they didn't want the complication.”
“You mean they did it because Perry told them to.”
She shrugged.
Anger swelled in him. “Kylie?
“Yeah?”
“Take my arm.”
“What?”
Moving her gloved hand, he placed it in the crook of his elbow, and walked them both back to the sidewalk, jaw tight, eyes fixed ahead on the approaching couple.
“Take my arm. You have nothing to be ashamed of. We're going to continue our walk, Perry's parents be damned. No way I'm letting anyone make you feel lesser, Kylie. Never.”
And with that, they marched forward, Kylie's shoulders squaring, nodding firmly as she said:
“Right. Never.”