I had to do a double take on Nick too, because I had never seen him in a suit before. And damn it all to hell, after seeing how sexy he could be all cleaned up, I really didn’t want to go to dinner anymore. Damn… I really wanted to head back to my childhood room and toss that place upside down, because somewhere in there were two years worth of formal pictures I was missing out on.
I literally dropped my jaw over Kettle Fusion. The exterior was nothing more exciting than the rest of the block, but the inside… Holy hell. It was of modern design, sleek with steel and filled with vivid shades of cranberry, midnight blue and dark orange, which were really soothing to the eyes in dimmed lighting. The seating was so plush it looked more comfortable than the bed I sank into every night. And the walls had the strangest art deco from a local artist, who liked to work with a variety of metals and glass.
Nick greeted the hostess Sarah, who immediately sat us. Turned out we weren’t eating in the dining room, and we were taken up the elevator to a hidden veranda, where only three tables were available for select clientele. I wanted to smack myself for scanning as many faces I could as we passed, always seeking that particular one I never wanted to see again. And after flipping through so many at the police station, I confirmed my worst fear: his image was beginning to blur. I could remember what his distinct features were, but not the picture itself anymore. What if I did come across him one day? Would I even be able to recognize him at that point? And it made me worry more, continually rechecking the men around me, making sure there was no possible way each and every one of them couldn’t be him.
I forced a smile to budge my mind from the thought. Stepping out of the elevator, it was a short, straight walk to our destination. A structure of glass protected us from the elements and it was so clean there wasn’t even the tiniest smudge to distort our view. The other two tables were occupied, already eating, and they politely nodded as we took up the third.
“Wow, Nick. This is really nice.”
“It really is. Hopefully I can put in a few years here.”
My head turned towards him, but he continued to stare off at the skyline, completely unaware that his mother told me he was considering a move to Seattle for my benefit. Little did he know, I’d fight him to the death on that. He’d already sacrificed too much for me.
As I scanned the menu before me, I couldn’t help but notice that the wine section had three times the pages than the dinner section. And sadly, I had no idea what was up with the entrée choices. There were foods I had never heard of before in food, like sea beans, dandelion greens and Adirondack blue potatoes. And there were descriptions that explained their preparation, but I honestly had no idea what to expect if I ordered a meal that included words like reduction, au jus, or fricassee. I finally cried uncle and told Nick to just order my dinner for me. He teased me, but obliged my request. I don’t know what he ordered and I didn’t ask, but when Tara, our waitress, placed the unusual stack of colors and textures before me in all its weird glory, maybe I should have. But he had never steered me wrong in terms of food before, so I reluctantly forced a bite into my mouth.
He actually chuckled when my face went from cringing, expecting the most God-awful taste, to blissful elation. Who knew all those funky colors slammed together would be so yummy? I still didn’t know what it was, but after reading that menu, I figured it was best not to ask if I was swallowing pureed duck eggs with a chili hollandaise sauce or whatever.
Ever determined to put some weight on me like my mother, Nick ordered a chocolate soufflé for dessert, saying we’d share it, but of which he hardly touched. “Do you not like chocolate?” I asked, because that soufflé was the best thing ever.
“I’ll eat it, but I prefer my chocolate to have more of an espresso taste.”
Which totally explained why he’d rather sip on his coffee than indulge in the plate I was about ready to lick clean. “Ahh, thank God. Because chocolate’s a deal breaker for me. Diss the chocolate and I’ll diss you,” I threatened playfully, giving him a little wink.
“Don’t worry. I’ll bake whatever you like. Just don’t expect me to eat it with you every time.”
“You mean you’re going to make me a special chocolate treat and then never try to split it with me? You’re the best boyfriend ever,” I mused.
“You can have your chocolate. Just give me my coffee and we’re square.”
“Deal.”
I was just finishing up the dessert when a new face entered the veranda, smiling and making a beeline for us. “There’s a perky blonde heading over.”
Smiling, he quietly replied without turning to acknowledge her. “That’s probably my boss, Anne. She’s the manager here.”
She was wearing a sleek, dark gray, pencil skirt, a black sleeveless satin top with a scooped neck, and had fancy jewelry draping around her neck and dangling from her ears. Once she got to our table, her left hand immediately went to rest on Nick’s shoulder as her blinged out right hand extended to shake mine. “Hello, Megan. I’m Anne. So nice to finally meet you.”
We couldn’t have been more opposite. Where I had boring brown eyes, had my brown hair pulled back in a sleek ponytail, and wore minimal makeup and jewelry, Anne was a wavy blonde with blue eyes, long legs, a sprayed-on tan and probably used every product ever made to paint her face. But still, the whole package was extremely attractive. “Hi. Nice to meet you, too.”
She leaned and dipped her head just inches from Nick’s, confirming that there weren’t any problems with the meal. Maybe Nick answered, but I was too busy wondering why she was comfortable enough around him to be leaning that closely to notice. Determined not to let her attentiveness get to me, I pretended to be enthralled by the assortment of potted plants that grew along the glass. When Nick asked, “Right, Megan?” I whipped my attention back their way. Guessing at what he asked, I enthusiastically replied, “Dinner was delicious. The chocolate soufflé was absolutely perfect.”
I guess I said the right thing, because her smile lit up even more. And call me slightly jealous, but her hand was not only still on his body, but had now drifted closer to the back of his neck. Seriously, I wasn’t sure how to react. Part of me thought normal girlfriend behavior would be to get mad or territorial, but one, she was Nick’s boss, and two, I really wasn’t that jealous. After everything Nick went through to get me back, cheating on me with a girl that’s been there while I wasn’t, just didn’t cause a whole lot of worry on my part. I glanced into Nick’s eyes to ascertain his opinion of Anne’s actions, and I caught his somewhat annoyed expression and the infinitesimal head nod that asked me not to say anything.
“Wonderful! I do hope you come back again.”
“Oh, you can count on it,” I replied cheerfully, trying to cover the disdainful curiosity I felt for her at this moment.
“Great. Well, you two have a good evening, and Nick, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Good night, Anne,” he replied cordially.
Anne’s hand finally let go, but only because her body progressed far enough back it had to if it wanted to remain attached to her body. I planted my elbows on the table and clasped my hands together beneath my chin, sucking in the right side of my cheek. He loosely crossed his arms, his lips forming a less than amused expression. “Is she gone yet?” he asked quietly.
My eyes drifted to the elevator. I kept a smile on my face until the door shut behind her. “You know, when you said you got the executive position because your boss loved you, I thought you meant that metaphorically. But that is a woman with interest.” And a little cheeky too.
“I’m sorry. I can’t believe she just did that. Sort of childish, in fact.”
“What?” I asked teasingly. “You really expect me to believe this was the first time she’s been super friendly with you?”
Nick sighed. He clearly didn’t want to have this discussion, but no way I could let him off the hook now.
“She showed interest when I first began working here and that was the same time I showed my disinterest. I told her about you and why I had no intentions of dating anyone else for a very long time.”
“You didn’t date anyone while I was gone? Like ever?” Please say no.
“Are you kidding me? No!” His arms uncrossed and hit the table as he leaned forward. “I never… I couldn’t...” He closed his eyes and groaned lightly. “There were a few people who thought I should try dating someone. Anyone. They said it would help me move on.” He shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Dumbasses didn’t know what they were talking about. It’s not something you can just move on from. I did well just to get through the day. If they couldn’t show me a body…then I wasn’t giving up on you.”
Great. Now I felt like crap. Was I seriously expecting a guy I didn’t even remember seven weeks ago to never date anyone once I went missing? “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked that. Even if you had dated someone it’s not really my business. I was gone, and statistics pretty much prove girls like me don’t come back, so I could never be mad at you for trying to pick up the pieces and move on.” Though I probably would’ve hated it if he had.
“Megan,” he said gently, reaching his arms across the table. I dropped mine and placed my hands within his firm grasp. “Had it been five to ten years or so, yeah, I might’ve tried moving on. But not my heart, my head or my soul was going to allow me to do that anytime soon. Yeah, Anne flirted a lot, and I probably shouldn’t have let her do it. I guess in a way the attention kept me from feeling dead inside. I was never going to act on it, but I wasn’t exactly pushing her away either. I swear she hasn’t done any of that touching crap since we came back to Portland together, so I don’t know why she did that tonight. Maybe she found you threatening.”
Or maybe she thought that by planting a seed of doubt, she could create a rift between us and sour our relationship. Anne had probably spent God knows how long laying the ground work, thinking I’d never come back and eventually Nick would move on, straight into her arms. And now that I was back, she probably did find me threatening, because I had so easily what she had yet to obtain.
“But you’re right to be annoyed,” he added, breaking my train of thought. “I know I am. I’ll make sure she doesn’t do it again.”
I nodded reluctantly. In the span of like ninety seconds, our night fizzled like a sparkler left out in the rain, so I guess Anne managed to knock us off our high a little bit after all.
“Come here,” he said, beckoning me with his arms. The other two tables had already cleared for the night, so I had no problem sitting sideways on his lap with his arms wrapped around me. His hand covered my cheek, his thumb stroking it in a way that always made me close my eyes and moan in comfort. “You know I love you, right?” I nodded, my eyes still closed as I murmured my agreement. In my ear, the finest of hairs tickled as his breath whispered, “Don’t ever doubt that.”
I opened my eyes and turned his way, my mouth immediately seeking his. We kissed under the stars for a few minutes, until Tara came in to check on us one last time and caught us. I’m not sure which of us girls blushed more, and she excused herself with a huge grin on her face.
“What did I do to deserve you, huh?” I asked, stroking his face. “You’ve gone way beyond any and all expectations I could’ve ever had for you.”
“Simple. You make it easy to love you.”
Apparently his lips weren’t quite sated either, and he kissed me one final time before leading me back through the restaurant. Settling into the car and pulling out into traffic, I said, “You know what? You still owe me that memory of when we first met.”
A delicious smile crossed his face. “That’s right. I did promise to tell you that, didn’t I?”
I cocked my eyes suggestively when he looked my way, then curled up in the seat to listen to his version of our story.
Heels clacked across the surface of the floor. Though the locker door blocked my view, I could tell they were aimed for me.
“Hey, Nick,” a soft voice cooed as I closed my locker and looked to the blonde cheerleader that wore a hot pink bra under a white v-neck t-shirt.
“Hey, Nicole. What’s up?”
“Just curious if you’ve accepted any invitations to the dance yet.”
Shit. Not another. I f**king hated Sadie Hawkins.
“Why?” I teased, putting on the charm regardless. “Are you throwing your name into the pool or are you asking for Melissa?”
“Melissa?” she snapped, her nose crinkling like she smelled something foul. “She asked you?”
Oops. Guess I wasn’t supposed to mention that.
She was clearly irked, but somehow managed to bury her fury long enough to smile and sweetly say, “Yeah. I’m interested. Wanna go with me?”
“I honestly don’t know if I’m even going yet, so let me get back to you.”
“Alright.” She tried to say it seductively, tracing her fingertips down my arm as she pulled away. Ten bucks said she wanted me to reach out and pull her back in a heat of passion. But I didn’t, and she continued to clack her way down the hall, swishing her h*ps farther than natural.
I sighed, my attention then moving to the only other body in this part of the hallway. Switching out books in a locker, a girl shook her head and rolled her eyes. It didn’t take a genius to figure out why. I had to admit though, she was cute and had curves in all the right places, but she was most definitely not a senior.