3. Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Nate
F rom the corner of my eye, I see Adalie approaching. I’d be lying if I said I haven’t been watching her this whole time. Ever since she came over to me. I’d assumed she was going to try to kick me out. I don’t exactly look like the other people here tonight with my leather jacket and tattoos down both arms to the backs of my hands. When I’d told her who I was, I’d expected her to change her tune, but I hadn’t expected the relief, like she was glad I was in the right place.
And the feeling of her hand in mine, so small and fine, had caused instincts to stir within me. Something sat up and paid attention, telling me this tiny woman needed me to protect her. Which is absolutely ridiculous. I date women who aren’t afraid to take what they want, not tiny, timid women who remind me of flowers with soft, easily damaged petals. Even if said woman has porcelain skin dotted with light freckles, and fiery red hair coiling around sparkling green eyes I could get lost in.
What am I thinking?
Adalie stops next to us, offering my brother a smile and her hand.
“Hi, you must be Taylor. I’m Adalie. I missed you when you were here before.”
Taylor shakes her hand and something inside me growls at the idea of him touching her. Which is also ridiculous. They’re shaking hands, for fuck’s sake.
And after about two seconds, they’re not anymore. Like a normal handshake. Not like the one I shared with her when I held her hand for almost a full minute.
I’ve completely missed Taylor’s response in my moment of possessive insanity and Adalie has turned her attention to my daughter.
“And you must be Dani. I’ve been told you love art.”
“I do. I’ve been practicing some digital art on my tablet lately, but there’s some things I’m not quite getting.”
They talk for a while about stuff that doesn’t make any sense to me: sketching, lighting, shadows, colour mixing, perspectives. All the while, Adalie is doing something to the easel, making sure it’s the right height for Dani, and laying out paints for her. Some other staff members come over to help me and Taylor and the other guests, but Adalie is completely focused on my little girl, and damn if it’s not a little bit hot.
I don’t introduce women to my daughter, so I’ve never noticed how nice it is to watch someone so interested in Dani’s happiness. Of course, Katie is, but I don’t have any romantic feelings towards my daughter’s mother at all.
Not that I have romantic feelings toward Adalie, either.
I cross my arms over my chest, staring at my blank canvas until Taylor nudges me.
“You’re glaring,” he says, and I consciously relax my features so I’m not anymore.
The class starts and Adalie takes her place at the front. Suddenly, all nervousness drains away from her. When she’d come up to talk to me before, she’d put on a good show, but I could tell she was uncomfortable. It was even a little fun watching her become flustered by my lack of responses. Yet in front of the whole room, she looks as if she knows exactly what she’s doing and how to do it.
“Good evening, everyone,” she begins. “Thank you all for coming out. Before we get started, there will be staff walking around with the appetizers. Don’t be shy if you see something you like. Others are available if you want any drinks. One drink is included in your ticket. After that, there is a cash bar, but we can keep a tab open for you. We’ve also included a special treat of a sundae bar tonight, so I hope everyone will take advantage. All right. Let’s begin.”
She explains the first steps of the painting, which brushes and colours to use and when. I try to follow her directions, but it isn’t long before I fuck it up. Dani glances over at my project and laughs at me before hopping off her seat to come help me. She rinses off the brush I’ve been using and grabs a different one, dipping it into the paint and covering a splotch I’d added where it didn’t belong. Adalie comes over as well, looking over Dani’s shoulder as she fixes my mistakes.
“That looks great,” Adalie says. She points out a couple other things Dani could do to my painting and also to her own. She doesn’t mention anything about how I messed up. In fact, she doesn’t speak to me at all, focused entirely on Dani. I don’t know why that bothers me so much. I don’t want her to talk to me. Do I?
Then Adalie walks away to check on the other paintings, stopping for a moment to admire Taylor’s and offer a few pointers, which causes jealousy to flare in my chest. Which is, again , ridiculous. None of the other men make me jealous, but they’re all here with someone. Like me, Taylor is completely single.
“There,” Dani says, drawing my attention back to my easel. “All fixed.”
“Thanks, pipsqueak. Where would I be without you?”
“A mess,” she says plainly.
“Hey!” I grab her, pulling her toward me and tickling her amidst a fit of giggles.
“Dad! Stop!” she squeals.
I do, but it still takes her a few minutes to calm down and return to her painting. When she does, I glance up to find Adalie staring at me with a deer-caught-in-headlights expression. When she sees me notice, she quickly turns back to her easel, but I wonder what she had been thinking. Why did she look at me that way? Is she feeling the same pull toward me as I have toward her?
Not that it matters. I try to pay attention to what I’m doing, as well as what’s going on around me. I’d come here to decide if Taylor is right. Should we partner with this business? They’re going to want huge orders this summer and if we sign the contract, our business name will be entwined with theirs. Is that something I want?
There’s nothing I see that would make me hesitant. The night runs smoothly. The staff are friendly and seem genuinely happy to be working. They even have a rainbow flag sticker on their front door that matches the one we have at Hops Scotch.
By the time we’re done with our paintings, Dani has had three of the virgin drinks, we’ve all had a sundae, and I’ve made my decision. I stand off to the side with Taylor as my daughter talks with Lis, the chef, and Adalie.
“All right,” I say to my brother.
“All right? You’re in?”
I dip my chin in a nod.
He grins. “Excellent. Let’s go talk to Derek.”
I go to Dani first. “I have to go talk to someone,” I tell her. “It shouldn’t take long.”
“Can I stay with Lis and Adalie?” she asks.
“I’m sure they’re busy, pipsqueak. This is their job.”
“Actually,” Adalie says, “Lis and I are pretty much finished for the night. If you want, she can stay with us downstairs in the staff lounge while you talk.” She smiles at Dani. “You can maybe even meet Cerberus.”
Adalie meets my eyes, waiting for my decision. Dani looks up at me imploringly.
“It’s fine by me,” I say.
Dani bounces and grabs Adalie’s hand. “Is Cerberus a dog? You know, that’s the name of Hades’ dog. He guards the gates to the underworld.”
She skips along beside the two women as they chatter about mythology, painting, and art. I also hear the word photography mentioned, but soon they’re too far away for me to make out what they’re saying. Just before they head down the stairs, Adalie turns, looking at me over her shoulder.
“Ready?” Taylor says.
“Yeah.”
I follow him down and into one of the offices, which he walks into without knocking. Derek is sitting at his desk, while a woman, her black hair tied back in a neat bun, points at some papers they’re looking at. He glances up when we enter, standing with a grin.
“Well? Did you have a good night?” He picks up the papers and leads us out of his office. “We’ll have more space in the meeting room,” he says, as the black-haired woman follows.
When we arrive, someone else is already there. I’d met Spencer earlier in the evening and seen him a few times throughout the night. We all sit around a large table, and Derek introduces us.
“You met Spencer before. He’s our event coordinator. And this is Vic. She’s our fearless leader.”
There’s a round of handshakes.
“You three own this business,” I say, to confirm.
“And Adalie,” Derek says. “The teacher tonight. I meant to introduce you guys earlier, but when I went upstairs, you two were already talking.”
“I didn’t realize she was another owner,” I say. I think of the tiny woman who had seemed so nervous when talking to me. She doesn’t seem like the type to help run one of the most popular event venues in Vancouver, let alone be an owner. Then I consider how composed she’d been in front of the class. She’s definitely more fascinating than I’m comfortable with.
“She’s also our human resources coordinator. Here’s the contract.” He slides it across to me and Taylor, who picks it up.
“Shouldn’t she be here if she’s another owner?” I ask.
“To be honest, I don’t need Spencer or Vic here,” Derek says. “They just came to meet you officially. This is my deal, and I have full support from my fellow owners. Besides, Adalie is chilling with Dani, isn’t she?”
Spencer nods. “They’re with Lis in the lounge. When I left them, Dani was asking about the cooking night next week, what Lis is going to be making.”
Taylor hands me the contract and I skim it, trying not to think about fiery red hair and startled green eyes.
Finally, I set the papers down. “This contract looks fine to me. Have our lawyers looked at it?”
Taylor nods. “I took care of that three weeks ago. All that’s needed now is for you to be on board.”
I consider my brother for a moment. He really wants this deal. He believes it’ll be good for business. He hasn’t steered us wrong before. “I’ll sign. I’ll need to go over a few things to get you the numbers. And I won’t be doing that until Monday.”
Derek holds up his hands. “Absolutely. Your taproom is closed on Mondays, so I’ll come by after work Tuesday. Have a couple drinks. We can finish up our business then.”
I nod, standing. Everyone else stands as well. After a round of handshakes, we file out of the meeting room. I stop in the lounge where Dani is sitting on a couch, her back to me. A corgi sits on the couch with her, his head in her lap as she pets him and talks to Adalie about something. Lis is watching them, her hands wrapped around a steaming mug. Spencer brushes past me, leaning down to kiss her.
Adalie sees me then, her eyes locking with mine. For a brief second, they drop a fraction, and I realize she just looked at my mouth. Is she imagining kissing me? Wondering how my lips would feel pressed against hers? How my tongue would feel when I invade her mouth? Or is it just me who’s wondering?
Then she looks away, back at Dani.
“Your dad and uncle are here. I think it’s time for you to go.”
Dani stands, glancing at me over her shoulder before turning back to Adalie.
“I had a lot of fun tonight. Thank you for teaching me.”
Adalie’s eyes brighten and she clasps her hands together in front of her. “Oh, Dani. It was my absolute pleasure. You were a delight to have. In fact, you were so amazing, you gave me an idea for future paint nights.”
“I did?”
“Yes. If the rest of them go well over the next few weeks, we’ve talked about what we want to do to expand them going forward. Because you were so awesome, I was thinking about having an earlier class specifically for younger people to join. I figure this is a little late for you.”
Dani nods solemnly. “It is past my bedtime. But Dad said it was okay.”
“I have another couple of friends who are a bit older than you, but not quite adults yet. Having an earlier event would be good for them as well, since they’re still in high school.”
“You’re thinking of Lacey and Tanner’s niece, what was her name?” Derek asks as he comes into the lounge, pulling on a jacket.
“Juliet,” Vic answers. She’s also come in, making the space a little crowded.
“They had a lot of fun at the cooking night a few weeks ago,” Adalie says.
“Would you be up to two events a night?” Derek asks next.
“Sure. It’s just once a week.”
Lis nods next. “I’d be down. These have been fun.”
“We’ll talk about it at the quarterly wrap up,” Vic says. “We’re the last ones here. Everyone go home.”
We start toward the door as Derek offers a ride home to Vic and Adalie. Lis is holding the dog’s leash and Dani bends to give him one more head scratch before I lead her to the car. As we’re driving home, she doesn’t stop talking about Adalie, her new favourite person.
Taylor doesn’t interrupt her so I get a twenty-minute play-by-play of everything Adalie said to Dani tonight. She had been exceptionally nice to my daughter, and I can’t help but admit, she’s a lot more intriguing than is probably safe.