Chapter 8
Still reeling after kissing Vi—correction, after she’d kissed him and then he’d kissed her—Blake entered the restaurant at her side. She smelled faintly of something that reminded him of a field in the spring when new flowers perfumed the air. And that addictive mouth. Soft and generous, it’d begged for more than one kiss. He’d gladly obliged. She’d ignited a spark in him he hadn’t felt in a long time, since the night he’d proposed to Sammi some four years ago. They’d mistaken passion for love. That and an uneasy feeling he’d never shared that he wasn’t ready for marriage. Wouldn’t let that happen again.
Delicious smells of freshly grilled fish, fried clams and other foods filled the air. At five o’clock, the place was almost full. Malcom had been right to score a table early, and he and Caroline had a good one with a view of Simms Bay out the window. Too bad the sunset was several hours from now. Watching the sun sink over the bay would’ve been spectacular.
“They’re over there,” he told Vi. Her faint nod was subdued and calm, a welcome change from tension. On closer study, she looked as if she’d been soundly kissed. He hoped the grandparents didn’t notice.
“Hey,” he said, leaning in and talking close to her ear so she’d hear him over the chatter and clatter in the room. Despite the food aroma, he caught a whiff of her scent and wanted to pull her close for more. He quickly stifled the urge. “Put those kisses behind you and smile.”
“What are you talking about?” She frowned at him. “I don’t know where you get the idea that I’m still thinking about what happened. I’m not.”
“Your dreamy expression says the opposite.” That did the trick. The disgusted look she threw him obliterated all traces of the brief glimpse of passion she’d revealed in the back seat.
“Over-confident much? This is why I don’t get involved with guys like you. There they are,” she said, and strode ahead of him toward the table.
Guys like him? Smarting from that and aware of both Malcom and Caroline watching them, he forced a bland smile. As he approached the table a few steps behind Vi, Grandpop squinted a fraction, then murmured something close to Caroline’s ear. With a curious look, she glanced from Blake to Vi.
“Hi, Gran, Malcom,” Vi said loudly enough to be heard over the din. “Sorry we’re a few minutes late.”
“Your face is flushed,” Caroline noted. “You’re not coming down with something, are you?”
Paying no attention to Blake, Vi shook her head. They both knew kisses had put the blush on her cheeks. She took one of the two empty chairs, leaving the one beside her for him.
“Well, why are your cheeks so flushed?” her grandma persisted.
Blake didn’t care for the scrutinizing looks the grandparents directed at them. “It’s chilly out there,” he said, “and we parked a bit away from the entrance.”
Caroline seemed surprised. “That’s odd. We had no trouble parking close to it.”
“Didn’t I tell you this place fills up quickly?” Grandpop said. “How are you two?”
“Fine, thank you.” Vi picked up the menu. “I haven’t eaten here in years. What do you recommend, Malcom?”
“Whatever suits you. It’s all good. Caroline and I are in the mood for fish and chips. As we get further into fishing season, everything will be fresh caught.”
Moments later, a college-age male server took their orders. Four cocktails, four salads, four fish and chips. They made small talk, Blake tiptoeing around the engagement and prenup. Vi shifted restlessly beside him, signaling her impatience to get to the point. “Relax,” he reminded her under his breath.
She held off until the drinks arrived and the server delivered the meal. Then, shooting a quick glance at Blake, she spoke. “Are you still interested in the unit you mentioned the other night?”
Malcom nodded. “Yes, but it’ll be another few weeks before we can move in.” He took a healthy sip from his neat Scotch.
After a few minutes’ silence, courtesy of digging into the meal, Vi wiped her hands on a napkin. “This is delicious, even better than I remembered. In the prenup agreement, who will own the unit if something, uh, changes?”
What had happened to subtle? Blake elbowed her. “Ouch,” she said, none too softly. “I’m curious.”
“We haven’t discussed that—I haven’t seen the agreement yet,” Grandpop said. “My lawyer should deliver it sometime in the coming week.”
Caroline tapped her finger to her lips. “I hadn’t thought about a prenup.”
She and Grandpop exchanged looks, and Blake caught his breath, waiting for a troubled expression that with any luck would drive a wedge between them.
But, no, she smiled. “I think it’s a good idea, Malcom. That way you know I’m not marrying you for your money. I’m marrying you because I love you.”
Looked as if the prenup wouldn’t be a problem. Blake’s hopes deflated like a leaky bike tire. He and Vi shared a now-what? look. The besotted seniors, busy with way too many brief kisses, didn’t appear to notice. Blake was uncomfortable with the spectacle, and Vi muttered something about public affection.
“Stop it, you two,” she said.
Make that ordered, not that it changed anything.
“What’s wrong with a few light kisses to show our affection for each other?” Malcom asked.
Vi shared her opinion. “That kind of thing should be private.”
Caroline’s glare shocked her. “If you don’t like it, look the other way.”
“Come on you two,” Blake said. “People are staring.”
“Oh, all right,” Caroline grumbled. “We’ll make up for it later.” She kissed Grandpop again.
Vi’s groan of disgust let Blake know what she thought of that. He was pretty grossed out himself. “This has been fun,” he said, “but it’s time I took you home, Vi.”
The lovebirds didn’t seem to notice or care.
As Blake was about to signal for the check, Vi held up her finger to hold on. “Wait’ll Gran finds out about the down payment,” she said, loudly enough that Caroline finally pulled away.
“What do you mean, Vi?” she said, frowning.
“Malcom has decided to foot the entire down payment on the bigger unit. He won’t let you pay anything.”
The frown deepened. “I don’t understand. Is this true, Malcom?”
“It is.” He gave Blake a dirty look. “Why did you tell Vi?”
“Why didn’t you tell Caroline?” Blake shot back.
“Yes, why did you hide it from me?” Caroline’s fists settled on her hips, a challenging pose impossible to ignore.
“Because it was supposed to be a surprise, my wedding gift to you.” Grandpop’s voice had risen to shout level.
Heads turned toward the table. “Well, I reject it,” Caroline replied with equal heat. “I’m not a charity case, and it’s important to me to pay my share. Which you know. We discussed splitting both the down payment and the monthly fees.”
“You don’t need to do that, and you will accept my gift.”
“Don’t you dare tell me what I will do,” Caroline returned. “I won’t.”
No sign of affection now, not the way their eyes shot daggers at each other.
“Please, keep your voices down,” Vi told them. “People are staring and it’s uncomfortable.”
Blake stood up. “Excuse me—I’ll be right back,” he said, but neither of the seniors seemed to have heard him or Vi.
He headed to the front of the room and quickly paid the bill. When he returned to the table, they were still going at it, although their voices weren’t as loud. “Let’s go,” he told Vi, and they slipped out.
Upset that hercomment had caused Gran and Malcom’s very public shouting match, Vi shook her head as she and Blake neared the Lexus. “I feel bad about sneaking away like this, but they left us with no choice.”
“We didn’t sneak, we told them we were leaving. They were too wrapped up in their fight to either know or care. Pretty awful, huh??”
“I’m sure they’ll figure it out, especially when the server tells them I paid the bill. What made you bring up Grandpop’s plan to pay for the full down payment and not let Caroline chip in?”
“I didn’t intend to, but it popped into my head and out of my mouth. Gran has always insisted on paying her own way. True, at first she agreed that I could use my bonus to make the down payment on her unit, but by the time I delivered the bad news about the company’s bankruptcy she’d already changed her mind.”
“Saying what you did was a smart move, Vi.”
“Was it?”
She must’ve looked as appalled as she felt, because he said, “Don’t feel bad—it’s good they’re fighting.”
“Not to me. I hate fights.” She wrapped her arms around her waist. “Reminds me of my parents.”
“Our goal was to change things up between them so they’d slow down and think more about what they really want. And we did, thanks to you.”
“Only I didn’t expect a yelling match.” She’d never seen Gran so mad. “I figured they’d talk it through, maybe even argue, but not with such anger.”
“Grandpop gets loud when he’s rattled and always has. That’s why I elbowed you when you brought up the prenup like it was no big deal.”
“And I was right, it didn’t faze either one of them. But someone had to get the conversation going again, and you didn’t say a word. Now, if you’d warned me about his temper, I might not have been so straightforward.”
“I probably should’ve. I kept quiet because I wanted to ease into the subject. I didn’t want them to get mad and walk out. What a surprise when Caroline was fine with it.”
“My comment about the down payment didn’t work out so well. Instead of getting mad and leaving they got mad and stayed, and you and I walked out. The whole thing was mortifying.” Vi shuddered. “I can’t get over Gran getting that angry. I’ve never seen her like that.”
“Never?”
“Not even when Rose or I did something she disapproved of.”
“She probably knew you were traumatized from how your parents carried on in front of you. Maybe the fight will open their eyes to how little they really know about each other, and they’ll rethink rushing into marriage.”
“Let’s hope.”
“Don’t look so miserable, Vi. You did great.”
She had no answer to that, and he threw her a look. “‘Thanks, Blake.’ That’s all you need to say.”
“Thanks, Blake. If they had to fight, why didn’t they wait till they were alone instead of going at each other in front of the entire restaurant?”
“On the plus side, they’re not in la-la land anymore. Mission accomplished.” A few minutes ticked by in silence, then he glanced at her with a teasing glint in his eyes. “Wanna go get dessert somewhere?”
Still unsettled and face it, super attracted to Blake, she hesitated. “I have to go to work tomorrow and should probably get home.”
“Aw, come on. It’s early yet, and you deserve it. We both do. Let’s go to Melissa Ann’s Bakery.”
Her mouth watered. “They make the best treats in town. But I doubt they’re open Sunday nights.”
“They are, though. The schedule changed a few months ago. They’re open until ten o’clock Friday and Saturday nights. Other nights, including Sunday, they close at eight.” He glanced at the digital time displayed on the dashboard. “It’s barely seven.”
She couldn’t turn that down. “Then take me there, please.”
The warm grin that lit up his face took her mind off the unpleasant meal and caused all kinds of unwanted havoc inside her body. The kind that was dangerous. It was a good thing he was oblivious of her feelings. Otherwise, she’d be even more embarrassed than she’d been at the restaurant. Great kisser or not, he wasn’t for her. Anyway, she’d be crazy to think he was interested in her like that.
“What’s your day look like tomorrow?” he asked as they headed for the bakery. The sun was starting its slide toward the horizon.
Vi made a face. “To tell you the truth, I dread going in. With so many people laid off, Friday was a zoo. I expect it’ll be just as bad, only without Human Resources handing out layoff packages. At least that was handled competently and completed by the end of the day. Starting tomorrow morning, I expect we’ll get a zillion phone calls from customers wanting to leave, and our day will be spent talking them into staying, etcetera. And me with a fraction of my team left.”
“Sounds like the chaos you so enjoy.”
“You have no idea. I’m so not looking forward to the mess ahead. But as a wise friend recently said, no matter what happens, I’ll survive.”
“You heard me.” He grinned. “You learn fast. I’m glad we’re friends.” He glanced at her. “So what were those kisses about?”
Since he’d brought it up… “You helped me relax, and I was grateful. I reacted without thinking. You’re the one who turned one little kiss into more. And FYI, I did not walk into the restaurant with a dreamy look on my face. Far from it.”
“After those kisses, you sure did. You didn’t stop me.”
This was true. She gave him a dirty look. “It shouldn’t have happened. You only broke up with your girlfriend a few days ago.”
“I never said she was my girlfriend. We were dating, and yeah, I liked her, but not the way she liked me.”
“What do you mean?”
“She proposed, a first for me. We’d been seeing each other about six weeks and never used the L word or anything close. That didn’t seem to matter to her. She wanted a ring on her finger. When she asked me to marry her, I turned her down. Then and there, she resigned.”
“Is she pregnant?”
“What kind of question is that? We never had sex. And FYI, I always use protection. She saw me as comfortably well-off and wanted me to take care of her. Do I look like a fool?”
Vi wondered how many other women he’d dated and rejected. “Did she think she was your girlfriend?”
“Heck if I know. We never talked about it. Anything else you want to know?”
“I’m curious is all. If you don’t want to answer my questions, I’ll stop. I’ll bet you date a lot of women.”
“I do. But dating someone a few times is different from having a girlfriend.”
Every comment he made reinforced what she already knew. He was a player. She wanted to smack herself in the head for kissing him. It wouldn’t happen again.
“My turn.” He glanced at her. “What’s your boyfriend like?”
She was insulted. “Do you think I would’ve kissed you if I had a boyfriend? I split up with the last guy I dated ages ago. You didn’t have to kiss me back.”
“You’re not easy to resist.”
She so wanted to believe him, but… “Stop it, Blake. I’m too smart to fall for that. It was a mistake, and we’re past it now. What’s on the agenda tomorrow for store two?”
“The new floor gets installed, then the painting begins. Ross, the guy I mentioned this morning who used to work for me, has agreed to interview possible employees at the same Hastings where I got our coffee and doughnuts. I’ll be checking in with him on and off. I plan to spend time at the first store, too.”
“You’re a busy man. Will you be able to manage both?”
“Not full-time. Danika is my second-in-command at the first location. She’s great, but I like to keep an eye on things. It’s one of the first pointers Grandpop taught me about running a business. I hope he and Caroline stopped yelling and started talking.” He turned into the bakery lot.
Vi saw the crowd through the large front window. “I can’t believe the people in there.”
“This is why they’re open seven nights a week. No problem—we’ll get our stuff to go and find a place to eat it.”
The line took forever, but at last they had a box of treats and coffees packed up.
By then, dusk had fallen. “Now to find somewhere to eat,” he said.
“Or you can drop me back at my house. It’s getting chilly outside, and I really don’t want to sit in the dark.”
“I wouldn’t mind eating at your place.”
Not quite what she had in mind. She was way too attracted to the man and wanted to get away from him, savor a cookie or two, and get to bed early. “I meant that you could—” drop me off on go on your way, she wanted to say, but his Bluetooth signaled a call from Malcom.
“Now that he’s had a few hours to cool off, he’s probably calling to apologize.” Blake answered. “Hey, Grandpop.”
“It’s Caroline. We’ve been in a little accident and are on the way to the Emergency Room.”
“What?” Blake frowned. “Why isn’t Grandpop calling? Is he hurt?”
“A little banged up.”
“A little?”
“What about you, Gran?” Vi asked, worried.
“I’m—oh, dear, I have to go.”
“We’ll meet you there,” Blake said, but she’d already disconnected. “I wish she hadn’t hung up like that.” He signaled, checked for traffic and executed a U-turn.