BEFORE WE LEAVE NEW ORLEANS for the hour and a half drive back to Baton Rouge, we stop back by the building for one last look. Alex and I agreed we need to have a game plan and a rough idea of what needs done first, so we can get to work on the remodel as soon as possible.
After our meeting and dinner last night at the pub, Dani seemed happy, but reserved. However, once we were back in our hotel room, all reservations fell to the floor as Dani and I celebrated the contract signing with some hotel sex.
I don’t know what makes hotel sex so appealing, but there’s just something about defiling a room that’s not yours and that you don’t have to clean that has an added appeal. Dani was insatiable, which was met with zero complaints from me, but it got me wondering where it was all coming from. After a busy day of walking around the Quarter and meeting with Alex and then the contract signing, I figured she’d be tired and ready to call it a day.
This morning was a lot of the same. She woke me up with a blow job, again, no complaints, but it’s not something that happens every day. We had sex again this morning in the shower, almost making us miss our eleven-a.m. check-out and our eleven-thirty meeting time with Alex.
As we walk down the street toward the building, Dani’s head is on my shoulder and her arms are wrapped around my arm.
I kiss the top of her head and breathe her in, feeling grateful for the chance to spend a couple of days, just the two of us, in one of my favorite places on earth.
“Tired?” I ask, taking a sip of my coffee we picked up from the coffee shop near our hotel. We left the truck parked and decided to walk, soaking in sunshine and semi-fresh air of the day. It’s a well-known fact that the streets of New Orleans are hosed down at night. Thanks to that, the air is a lot cleaner earlier in the day—the booze and filth from the night before washed down the drain.
“Mmmm.” She takes a sip of her own coffee before continuing. “Just happy and not ready to go back yet.”
“I wish we could stay another night, but you and I both know the kinda shit we’d be in if we missed Sunday dinner.”
“I know,” she sighs. “I just . . .”
She trails off, not finishing her thought and I want to ask her what, she just what? But we arrive at the building and Alex is standing at the front door with a smile.
“Good morning. Thought you might be standing me up.” She quirks a grin from behind large-rimmed sunglasses and walks in ahead of us as I hold the door open for Dani.
“No, just got a slow start this morning,” I tell her, winking at Dani.
Alex catches the interaction and I’d bet money she’s rolling her eyes under those big, dark sunglasses. With a huff, she pushes them on top of her head and walks over to a table, collecting a folder and pen.
“So, let’s get down to business, shall we?” she asks, brushing past me. “Dani, feel free to go out and play, if you’d like. I’m sure Micah and I will be busy for a while.” Between the intentional contact and the tone she’s using with Dani, I start to say something, but Dani beats me to it.
“Well, Micah and I have a family dinner we can’t miss.” She walks over and places her hand on my chest. “So, we can’t stay long.” She puts a heavy emphasis on we and she and Alex enter a staring contest, before I decide to break it up.
Clapping my hands together, I walk between them. Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad Dani spoke up and put Alex in her place, but we really don’t have time for another pissing contest.
We spend the next hour going over floor plans, decor, kitchen needs, dining room layouts, and set a date for demolition.
“So, you’ll be here a week from Monday for demo, right?” Alex asks as she gathers her notes and files them away in her binder. I have to say, I’m impressed with her organization. I didn’t really know what to expect going into this. The Alex I knew was a flirty, flippy rich girl. This business side of her is surprising, but it does set me at ease and gives me hope that this business deal will be a success.
Thinking about the schedule at Grinders and knowing Deacon really isn’t going to be happy if I start missing my shifts, I test the waters of her commitment. “I really can’t be here for demo. Do you think you can handle that?”
“Look at me, Micah,” Alex scoffs, halting by the door. “Do I look like someone who can handle demo?” The disgust on her face is humorous and I try not to laugh. The sleek white pants and low-cut black blouse, finished off with sky-high heels definitely does not scream demo. It screams “I just walked out of Saks with my daddy’s credit card”.
“Well, I’ll try to see if I can move things around and be here, but I can’t make any promises. I’m sure they won’t make you lift a manicured finger, though. All you have to do is be here and make sure they don’t tear down anything they’re not supposed to.” Maybe her overseeing demo is out of her comfort zone, but it’s not like she’ll be swinging a hammer.
The three of us walk toward the front door and I hold it open for her and Dani, locking the place up with my key. Somehow, the fact I have my own key makes all of this so much more official. “Oh, and don’t wear those,” I add, pointing to her white pants.
She huffs, just like she always does when she doesn’t get her way. “Fine,” she says, stopping by the curb. “I’ll try to be here, but if you can make it work, I’d be forever grateful. Don’t worry, I’ll pick up the slack when it comes to design. I’m really good at spending money on pretty things.”
This time, I feel Dani let out a deep sigh beside me. I know her, she’s probably biting her tongue so hard right now, not wanting a showdown with Alex and knowing we really do need to get on the road.
“I’m sure you are,” I tell Alex, taking Dani’s hand and trying to sooth her with gentle strokes of my thumb. “But remember, we need to keep this remodel in check. We can’t blow all of our money on getting this place open. We also need to keep it open until we start turning a profit.”
“Yeah, okay.” Alex pushes her sunglasses back down on her nose, ending the conversation.
I can already tell our biggest arguments are going to be about money. She’s also not a fan of being put on a leash, but there’s no way in hell she’s getting free rein.
This is when I need Deacon. Normally, he’s super diplomatic in situations like this, with this uncanny ability to help people see the bigger pictures. Bottom line, Deacon is a born leader, and he’s always been the leader in our joint projects, but now it’s all on me.
I don’t know if I have it in me. But I’m here now. The contract is signed and my money is on the line. So, this has to work. I’m going to have to watch Alex like a hawk and be involved in every decision made until I know I can trust her.
“I’ll be here for demo,” I tell her. “I’ll make it work. This needs to get off on a good start.”
“Agreed.” She smiles widely, offering me her hand, pleased with herself for getting her way. “We’re going to get along just fine.” The purr of her words makes Dani tense and I roll my eyes, taking my hand back as quickly as possible.
“We’ve gotta go. I’ll talk to you soon.” I take Dani’s hand and begin to walk away.
“I’ll call you,” Alex calls after us, walking to the curb to hail a cab.
On the walk back to the truck, Dani is quiet.
She’s also quiet as we make our way out of the city and onto I-10.
When we’re thirty minutes up the road and she still hasn’t said a word, I reach across and grab her hand, forcing her to look at me.
“What’s up? What are you thinkin’ about?”
She replies with a heavy sigh and worry creeps in.
“What?” I ask again when she turns her head to look out the window.
“Nothing.” She shakes her head, looking out the window. “I think I’m just tired.”
“Bullshit,” I tell her, remembering she was going to say something earlier and never finished her thought. “What were you going to tell me when we got to the building earlier? You got cut off.”
“I don’t like her,” Dani says abruptly. “Alex, I think she’s . . .”
“What?” I’m not going to let her put this off. Whatever she needs to say, she needs to say it now. We might as well get this all out on the table before we get home. I don’t want her stewing and things boiling over later.
“I think she likes you, not like a friend, like she wants to get in your pants.”
I can’t help the smile. I know she’s being serious, but she’s so damn cute.
“It doesn’t matter.” I take her hand back and kiss it, because it’s the only thing I can do while we’re driving down the road. “I’m not gonna let her. Whether she wants to or not, it’s a moot point.”
“But I know women like her. One second she’ll have you thinking everything is professional and the next she’ll be dropping her panties for you.”
“And if she does, I’ll walk away.”
Dani growls in frustration.
“What?” This time, I practically yell it, because I just want her to say it, whatever really has her worked up. But I swear to God if she brings up my past, I’m gonna fucking blow. Because we’ve been over this a million times it feels like and now it’s like we’re beating a dead horse.
“I know what it’s like when two people are forced into a situation together. It starts out professional and then it changes into something else and you don’t even realize it until it’s too late.”
“Do you think that’s what happened with Graham?”
“I know it is.”
There’s the truth.
“I’m not Graham, Dani. And if you think y’all’s problems started the day he stuck his dick in some nurse, then you’re sadly mistaken. That was just the straw that broke the camel’s back, but you should’ve dumped his ass a long time before then.” I know my words are harsh, but they’re how I feel and if we’re telling the truth, then I’m gonna say it.
Dani sits in silence, facing forward, but I can tell by the rigidity of her profile that she’s pissed. I don’t know if it’s at me, or my words, or Alex, probably a combination.
“That’s rich,” Dani says with a humorless chuckle, but I can hear tears in her voice and it breaks my heart. Like, I literally feel pain in my chest. It’s been this way since the very first time she ever shed a tear in front of me. Her pain is my pain.
“Coming from you,” she continues. “The guy who’s never been in a relationship. Well, excuse me for trying to save a fucking relationship!” Her voice is about five octaves higher with that last sentence and I don’t know if she’s talking about her relationship with Graham or our relationship, but I pull the truck over before she has time to say anything else, possibly something she’ll regret later.
When the truck is stopped and in park, I tug on her hand and then force her over to my side, pulling her onto my lap.
“I’m sorry,” I tell her, but she won’t look at me and there are a few tears sliding down her cheeks. “I don’t have any right telling you anything about your relationship with Graham. I wasn’t there. I’ve never been there. So, it was wrong of me to say anything.”
I reach up and wipe her tears with my thumb and kiss the side of her mouth. When she still doesn’t say anything, I continue, “But I’m not Graham. I’m not going to sleep with Alex. She’s not my favorite person either, but she is now my business partner. So, you’re gonna have to trust me.”
A quiet sob escapes her and I hold her to me, letting her express her emotions, but also breaking a little with each gentle shake of her body.
“I trust you,” she whispers into my shoulder. “It’s her I don’t trust.”
I take a deep breath and squeeze her a little tighter. I wish I could take this all away—all the Alexes and Grahams and past relationships . . . all the doubt. But I can’t. “Tell me what to do.”
She takes a deep, cleansing breath. “Just promise me you won’t let her or the new restaurant come between us.”
“I promise.”
“Promise that you’ll come home to me every night.”
“I’ll try,” I tell her, because I don’t want to make a promise to her that I don’t know if I can keep. I know how restaurants go. I know there will be late nights. And I know she doesn’t want to hear this, but there will be times I won’t want to make this hour and a half drive back to Baton Rouge.
“Dani?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you want me to back out? Because if you do, I’ll do it, but you’ve gotta say something now.”
“No,” she says, shaking her head against my shoulder before sitting up to look me in the eyes. “I saw you today. I saw how excited you are and I can’t take that from you. I know this restaurant is something you’ve wanted for a long time and it makes you happy. I just want you to be happy.”
“You make me happy.”
She smiles a sad smile and climbs off my lap and back into the passenger seat. “You make me happy,” she replies, taking my hand as I put the truck in drive and pull back out onto the road.
“I’m sorry I keep bringing up the past,” she says after we’ve driven a few miles. “I know it’s not good to do that. It’s the past and that’s where it belongs.” She turns to me with a strong, determined look on her face, squeezing my hand for effect. “I’m going to let it go and trust you. I love you and I want this for you.”
God knew what he was doing blessing her with red hair. Because Dani is fire. She’s fierce and she’s not afraid to take risks. She fights her fears that rise up with determination and it’s one of her most attractive qualities.
If we weren’t running late already, I’d pull this truck onto a dirt road and show her just what she does to me—she turns me on and makes me want to consume her like a burning blaze.