Chapter Twenty-Three
Chance
“Here’s your table, sir,” the hostess says, stopping in front of the U-shaped booth I reserved for tonight.
“Thanks.”
Carly slides in one side of the booth and I sit across from her as the hostess lays our menus down in front of us. When she leaves, I glance out the large floor-to-ceiling windows that look out over the Mississippi Rover with the lights of Port Allen shimmering on the water’s surface. Thinking over what I have planned tonight, I can’t help but smile. Hopefully, Carly has never heard of this place and she’ll be surprised. When I originally asked her out, I wanted to wow her but now I’m just hoping to take her mind off Ivy for a while.
She spent all last night torturing herself with what-ifs and wondering what she could do to help her sister but we both know the truth. Until Ivy decides she’s ready to leave, there isn’t anything anyone can do. But when the time comes, I’ll be there to help and the club will be behind me one hundred percent. It kills me to see the pain in her eyes and I would move mountains for her but right now, I’m stuck and I hate it.
“This is nice,” she whispers, like she’s surprised I could plan such a nice date and I choose not to take offense, laughing as she opens her menu. We haven’t been on an official date until now, but she’ll learn I can be a romantic guy when I really want to be.
“What did you expect?”
She shrugs, glancing up with a gleam in her eye that I fucking love. God, this woman has me mesmerized. “Honestly? Pizza and beer.”
“I’m hurt, Princess. That actually hurt.”
She leans forward, her eyes zeroed in on my chest and I tilt my head to the side as I try to figure out what she’s doing. Finally, she leans back and shrugs again. “Doesn’t look fatal.”
I bark out a laugh, unable to stop myself and I’m greeted with her full smile – the one that takes my breath away every time – and my gaze trails down her neck to her chest. The dress she wore tonight hugs her tits tightly and I wish I had gone with pizza and beer instead, so we could be at her place right now. Naked. It’s been too fucking long since I’ve been able to get her underneath me. But that’s my own damn fault.
I pat the white button up shirt I wore tonight and smirk. “Yeah, but, at least, I dressed up for this.”
Her eyelids droop for a moment before she meets my eyes again. “Yeah, but I think I’d like it a whole lot better if you were dressed down.”
“Careful, Princess,” I growl, my jeans feeling a little tight. “That comes after the date, remember?”
With a sigh, she rolls her eyes. “Fine. I guess I’ll wait.”
What Carly and I have started out as just sex and call me crazy, but I wanted to give us a chance to really get to know each other before we jumped back in bed. I wanted to make sure we did things differently this time but honestly, it’s been killing me. All I can think about when I’m around her is slipping my hands up under her shirt or bending her over the nearest surface. And it doesn’t help when she’s just as intent on making me eat my words.
The waitress stops at our table, snapping me out of my daze. “What can I get y’all to drink?”
“A glass of moscato, please,” Carly says and the waitress turns to me, her smile changing as her gaze drops down my body.
“I’ll just get a beer.”
She nods. “Any preference?”
“Nope. Whatever is on tap works.”
“Would you like a glass of water with it, too?” she asks, batting her eyelashes and completely oblivious to the glare Carly is throwing at her right now.
“Nope. That will be all.”
She scribbles it down on her notepad before laying her hand on my arm. “Coming right up and I’ll be back in a moment to get your order.”
As soon as she leaves, Carly rolls her eyes and scoffs but doesn’t say anything and I bite back another smile. Is she jealous? This is new and I can’t say that I’m not enjoying it. She has nothing to worry about, though. How could any other woman steal my attention when I have her sitting in front of me?
“So, I was thinking we could try something a little different tonight,” I prompt and she quirks a brow at me.
“Oh? And what was it you wanted to try?”
“Well,” I say, rubbing my hands together. Why do I feel nervous all of the sudden? “I have questions for you and since you promised to stop fighting me, I’m hoping you’ll answer them.”
Her quick intake of air worries me. “I don’t know about that.”
“This is what people in relationships do, Princess. They get to know each other.” I’m going out of my fucking mind, dying to know what it is that makes her act the way she does but I have no intention of asking that tonight. That’s something we’ll have to ease into. But there are so many other things I’ve wanted to ask since the moment I met her. She sighs, thinking it over for a moment before she nods.
“Okay, I’ll play along but I still reserve the right to veto any question I don’t feel like answering.”
I nod, hating the nerves lacing her voice. She should know by now that I would never intentionally do anything to upset her. “Sounds fair.”
The waitress stops at the table with our drinks and she sets them down before turning her attention to me. “Are you ready to order?”
“Yes, we are,” Carly snaps and I bite down on my fist to stop myself from laughing. Yeah, it’s decided. I definitely love that she’s a little jealous. The waitress turns to look at Carly.
“What can I get for you, ma’am?”
“I’ll take the baked ziti.”
It doesn’t slip my notice that she forgoes the “please” this time and I wish we were closer, so I could run my hand up her thigh to distract her from her anger. The waitress turns back to me and smiles.
“And for you?”
“The burger, please.”
She writes it down and looks like she’s going to say something else before she glances at Carly and decides better of it. As she scurries off, I chuckle.
“You’re jealous,” I accuse and she huffs, crossing her arms over her chest.
“So, what if I am? You’re here with me and she’s practically jumping into your lap every time she stops by the table. It’s fucking trashy.”
I can’t help but laugh as I reach across the table and grab her hand. “I kinda like you jealous but you’ve got nothing to worry about, baby. I couldn’t even tell you what she looks like ‘cause I’m too busy watching you.”
“Those lines don’t work on me,” she shoots back at me, but her gaze softens and I laugh again.
“Whatever you say, Princess.”
She rolls her eyes. “Don’t you have questions to ask me?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Well, get to it then.” She looks so damn beautiful all pissed off and I remember the first time I showed up at her apartment to ask her out. She was so stubborn and I love the fire in her eyes whenever she argues with me. God, I love her attitude. It’s one of the biggest things that attracted me to her because there’s no way in hell I could be with someone who didn’t put me in my place every once in a while.
“What’s your first question?” she asks, softer this time. Thinking over all the questions I’ve wanted to ask her since the moment we met, I decide to start with something easy.
“When was the last time you went on a real date like this?”
Her shoulders tense again and she drops her gaze to the floor. Okay, maybe that’s not such a safe question. “Twelve years ago.”
I blink. Jesus… she was only… “When you were sixteen?”
“Yes. And I don’t want to answer any more questions about that.” She refuses to meet my gaze and her fist is clenched on the table, her knuckles turning white. Fuck, what the hell happened to my gorgeous girl?
“Okay, I won’t ask you anything else about that.”
The relief on her face kills me. Everyday it’s a struggle to not push her to tell me about her past, to not pry the information out of her. I know something happened to her, something so bad that it broke a part of her and I would do anything to fix it if I could.
“Thank you. What’s another question?”
I think over my list again, choosing a safer topic. Or, at least, what I hope is a safer topic. “What’s the deal with your apartment?”
“Huh?”
“When I came over the first time, you looked disgusted with it but it’s seriously the nicest place I’ve ever been in so what’s the deal?”
She sighs, twisting her wine glass in a circle. “That apartment is a product of my mother. She conned it out of husband number four along with a place for my sister and promptly left him with her chunk of his money. I wasn’t even allowed to decorate it and I hate pretty much everything in there.”
“Where do you want to live?”
She smiles, the kind of smile that makes my heart stop for a second, as her eyes glaze over. “I want a cottage right on the water. I want something I can make my own, kind of like I’m doing for Mercedes.”
“Mercedes?” I ask, arching a brow. The name sounds familiar and I can’t remember if I’m supposed to know who that is.
“My boss at the blog. She’s given me free reign to design this apartment she just bought as a rental and I’m going to write about the experience.”
Her face lights up when she talks about her work and I want to keep that look on her face as long as I can. “You sound like you really love it.”
“Yeah, I do. It kind of snuck up on me but I’m excited about where I’m heading in my career. I’ll be responsible for the entire design page and its contents.”
“Do you like it more than writing?”
She shakes her head. “No. Writing is my first love. I found it at a time in my life when I desperately needed it and I love the way words can move people, save people.”
“How so?”
“About a year ago, this woman came into the newspaper office where I used to work and told me this story about these corrupt cops. She said her life was in danger and no one at the precinct would help her. I felt moved to help her and I wrote an article about the whole thing even though it got me in trouble with my boss.”
My eyes widen and I sit forward. The story she’s telling sounds a whole lot like Emma’s. “Was her name Emma Harrington?”
“Yeah,” she exclaims, smiling. “How did you know?”
“The club helped her through that whole thing and Nix is Blaze’s son.”
She shakes her head. “Wow, small world. Why didn’t they ever tell me about the club helping them?”
“Dunno,” I say with a shrug.
“Well, how are they doing? I always wondered but I didn’t want to pry into their lives.”
“They’re great. Got married and had twins.”
She laughs, looking genuinely pleased to hear everything worked out for Emma and Nix. “That’s good.”
“I love the way your face lights up when you talk about your work,” I say, reaching across the table to grab her hand. A blush creeps up her cheeks and I grin.
“You know, before you came along, it had been a long time since anyone made me blush.”
Why the hell does that make me want to beat on my chest like a cave man? “Good.”
The waitress approaches our table with our food and sets it down in front of us before turning her gaze to me again. Jesus, can’t this girl take a hint?
“Is there anything else I can get you?”
Carly scoffs behind her.
“We’re good,” I reply, making sure I emphasize the “we’re” part. Her smile is a little forced as she nods and leaves. I take a sip of my beer and watch Carly as she glowers at the waitress’s back. Finally, she blinks and turns back to me.
“All right, any other questions?”
“Are you up for some more?” I ask and she’s quiet for a moment before nodding.
“Yeah, it’s not as hard as I thought it would be.”
I laugh just as the waitress stops off with a bowl of dinner rolls. She places it in front of us and turns to me, completely ignoring Carly again.
“I’m so sorry. I totally forgot to bring these to y’all earlier. Can I get you anything else?”
“No, he’s good,” Carly snaps and I drop my head down to hide my smile. I fucking love that she’s getting territorial and at this point, this chick is just asking for it. The waitress leaves and I start laughing. “Not a word.”
“Okay, why did you think it would be hard to answer my questions?” I ask when my laughter fades, curious why it’s so hard for her to talk about her past. I’ve never met anyone as closed off as her before and sometimes I wonder how I’m ever going to break down those walls.
“Because I’ve never done this before, Chance. I haven’t let anyone see me for twelve very long years and then you just bulldozed into my life.”
“I’m not going to apologize for that,” I tell her, completely serious and she nods.
“I wasn’t going to ask you to.”
“Let’s see, what’s my next question?” I muse and she scoffs, giving me some more of that fire I love.
“Why don’t I get to ask you anything?”
“Baby, you’ve always been able to ask me anything. You just haven’t wanted to.”
She bites her lip. “You may be right about that.”
“Can I get back to my questions now?”
“No, I actually have a question for you.”
I nod. “Okay, shoot.”
“Will you tell me how you met Trixie and ended up married to her?”
Shit…
I take a deep breath and nod again. “Uh…yeah. Well, I met her at a strip club where she was working. I had been starting to wonder if I was ever going to find you and I was tired of being alone, so I thought I could force things along. We ran off to Vegas and got married on a whim. We were terrible for each other and things went downhill pretty fast. I wanted to have kids, but she wouldn’t stop stripping and when I found out that she’d been sleeping with anyone that would give her a second look, I left.”
“I’m so sorry,” she whispers and I shake my head.
“I’m not. It wasn’t a fun time in my life but it taught me what it was that I really wanted and I finally found you so all things considered, I think it worked out pretty well.”
A deep blush stains her cheeks as she stares down at her plate.
“Can I get back to my questions now?” I ask with a laugh.
She gestures for me to continue as she stabs her pasta with her fork. “By all means.”
“Will you tell me about your dad?” I ask softly. It’s something I’ve thought about a lot since she first talked to me about it and I’m dying to know what she was like as a kid. I expected her to be upset by my question but a soft smile spreads across her face.
“He was… everything you could want in a dad. I’ve never met a more understanding, compassionate, friendly man in my life and he was so strong, too. He worked two, sometimes three, jobs just to give us the life he felt we deserved but he was never absent from our lives. It was always a priority of his to carve time out of his schedule for his family.”
She’s smiling but I can hear the pain in her voice and I reach across the table, grabbing her hand. “He sounds really great.”
“He was,” she agrees, her voice cracking.
“What happened between him and your mother?”
The tears shining in her eyes quickly vanish and she scoffs. “What happened is my mother became obsessed with all the things she didn’t have instead of focusing on the beautiful family and home my father had built for her.”
“She cheated on him?”
She nods. “Yeah. They started fighting a lot and even as a kid, I could see that it was tearing my dad apart. One day, I came home from school and she was shoving all our clothes into suitcases. He came home to find her loading up the car and he started crying, begging her not to take his family away. She was so cold…” Her voice trails off and my chest constricts for her as anger simmers in my veins. I didn’t like her mother when I met her but seeing the pain in Carly’s eyes, I know I won’t hold back if I ever see her again.
“Mom shoved Ivy and I into the back of the car and as we pulled away from the house, I stared out of the back window, watching my dad fall to his knees in the front yard. That was the last time I ever saw him.”
“How did he die?” She already told me he died on her sixth birthday, but she never said how. Although, I think I probably already know. A tear slips down her cheek and she quickly wipes it away.
“He shot himself.”
“Oh, baby, I’m so sorry.”
She nods, dropping her chin to her chest and I grab her hand and give it a tug. Peeking up at me, I offer her a smile and point to the center of the booth.
“Come here, Princess,” I whisper, scooting along the booth until my back is to the window and I pat my leg.
“Here? Everyone will look at us.”
I shrug. I couldn’t give a damn. She’s upset and I’m not going to let our location stop me from comforting her. Besides, we’re in the back corner so it’s not like we’ll draw that much attention to ourselves. She glances around again before scooting over to me. When she reaches me, I wrap my arm around her shoulders and pull her legs into my lap. A few people glance over before quickly turning back to their dinners but it’s not near the scene she assumed it would be.
I slip my hand into her hair and massage the base of her neck as I press my lips to her forehead. She lets out a breath and once again, I wish we were alone. Why the hell did I think this would be a good idea?
“Ladies and gentlemen,” a voice booms over the speakers scattered across the restaurant. A hush falls over the crowd and Carly turns to me with questions in her eyes. “As many of you may have heard, this restaurant is well known for being…haunted and now, as part of your dinner service, we’re going to lower the lights and see if anyone wants to reach out from beyond the grave and speak to us.”
Her eyes light up and a smile slowly stretches over her face as they dim the lights in the dining room. Excited whispers echo around us and she beams at me.
“You brought me on a real-life ghost hunt?” she asks and I nod, pulling an excited giggle out of her that makes the blue balls I’ll be suffering from for the next few hours worthwhile.