He lifted his head. “Don’t say no yet.” There was a sexy, confident lift to his full lips, but underneath the swagger, she heard the plea. He really wanted her to say yes. Long fingers flexed on her lower back, and he took in her cleavage, revealed by the gaping opening of her robe. “I’ll pick you up at nine.”
Refusing to go on one date now seemed juvenile and fearful. She wasn’t afraid of Dante—afraid of her body’s reaction maybe, but not of him. “Nine it is.”
He lowered his head, but Julie quickly stepped out of his reach. He smirked and raised a brow but didn’t push. “I’ll see you tonight.” He softly hit the inside of the door with the side of his hand, then turned and left.
Julie shut the door and leaned heavily against the cool wood. She’d definitely lost this round. Big-time. She knew the rules to the game he was playing. Dante wanted to conquer the walls protecting her panties, not her heart. She was here to do a job, strengthen her business and not add to the rumors trying to cling to her reputation. She’d best remember that and get her head back on what was best for her long-term, not consider a short-term affair with a man who, without purpose, could divide and conquer both walls.
Chapter 9
As much as Dante looked forward to going out with Julie that night, he had to drag himself away from the studio with S.A.F. They’d made good progress putting music to the song he’d written and then started working on other music. If his date was with any other woman he would have canceled, but the memory of Julie in that sexy silver robe and the sweet sounds she’d made when he kissed her had him throwing up deuces to the guys in just enough time so he wouldn’t be late picking her up.
When she met him in her hotel’s lobby, he wished he’d left the studio earlier. She wore a sleeveless cream jumpsuit. The low V in the front provided a teasing glimpse of her cleavage, and the loose pants draped nicely over her curves. A gold belt cinched her waist, and red heels gave her height. For a second, he could do nothing but stare. Her amber eyes sparkled, and her sensual lips rose in a smile that made his cock twitch and his chest swell.
“You look beautiful,” he said when she reached him.
“Thank you. You don’t look half bad yourself.”
He ran a hand down the front of his outfit: white jacket, black dress shirt, fitted black pants, set off by a black-and-white-checked handkerchief in the pocket.
“I aim to please.” He held out his arm for her. She slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow and smiled at him. He felt a dead-on sensation that Julie, on his arm, going out with him, was right—like she belonged next to him and no one else.
Dante shook the thought away. Whatever happened with him and Julie would be temporary. He was nowhere near ready for anything more than a few weeks of fun. Despite her passionate response to his kiss, the way she held a part of herself back told him that she was a woman looking for forever. She wasn’t quick to fall, which meant he’d have to be careful when they slept together. He wanted her, but he didn’t want to hurt her.
He led her out to his mocha-black Mercedes AMG CLS coupe and opened the door for her.
“I hope you like sushi,” he said after getting in on his side.
“I do.”
He put the car in gear and slipped into traffic toward Arata, the sushi bar and restaurant named after the Japanese chef who had become a celebrity after a string of successful cooking shows. Dante had hoped to get to know her a little better on the drive, but she guided the conversation with updates on her meetings with the city that day. He was impressed by how much she’d gotten clarified concerning the permits required.
She turned toward him in her seat. “The architect you hired already has the renovation plans drawn up. It’s just getting them finalized and submitted to the city for review. If all goes well, we’ll have the plans submitted in a week or so, and then we just wait for the city to approve. Once that’s done, construction will begin.”
He briefly took his eyes off the road to glance at her. “That soon?”
“Yep.”
“Dang, you are good.”
She laughed. “I wish I could take all the credit, but if your architect hadn’t already been on the ball, and Sheila hadn’t known as much as she does about the city’s permitting process, things would have taken a lot longer. I don’t have all the contacts I need out here to maneuver things as quickly.”
“And here I thought you were a miracle worker,” he teased.
“I am, but I also know my limitations.”
He pulled up to the front of the restaurant and Julie’s brows rose. “Arata,” Julie said. “When I called I couldn’t get a reservation until a month out.”
She put her hand on the door, and he stilled her with a hand on her knee. “I called up Mr. Arata himself.”
She didn’t seem as impressed with that as he’d expected, but she did smile. “That’s nice.”
“I’ll get your door.” He got out and waved for the valet to wait so that he could open the door for Julie.
“Welcome back, Mr. Wilson,” the valet said, taking the keys from Dante. “I hope you and your date enjoy your evening.”
“Thank you, Marcel,” he said to the man and turned to Julie.
“You’re on first-name basis with the valet,” she said as they walked to the door. “Do you come here often?”
“It’s one of my favorite places.” His favorite first-date place because getting a reservation was so hard that most of his dates were awestruck by his ability to get them in on a moment’s notice.
“I read about this place before coming out. They’re supposed to have the best sushi in the area.”
“Well, I’m glad that I’m able to bring you here,” he said with a grin.
She clasped her hands and bounced her shoulders. He wasn’t sure if her excitement was for the food or being with him; either way, he was doing well so far. They entered the restaurant, and the hostess, Mika, looked up at them. Ah, damn, I forgot about her. He’d slept with Mika right before the concert tour. Her dark eyes widened, and a sexy grin crossed her face.
“Dante, it’s so good to see you again,” Mika said in a low and sensual voice. “I wondered how long it would be before you came in now that your tour is over.”
Dante chuckled uneasily. “Mika, I didn’t know you worked on Fridays.”
She shrugged. “When I heard we had a special guest coming tonight, I agreed to help out. We’ve got your table ready.”
Julie looked up at Dante with a cocked brow. “Your table?”
“One of my favorite spots,” he said.
Mika moved around the hostess stand. She wore the same tight black dress and obscenely high heels that made him invite her to his house for the party before the tour. “And we love that you come here,” Mika purred. “All of us.” Her voice dripped with meaning.
Julie looked between them, and understanding flashed in her amber eyes. He swallowed a groan. He’d had fun with a few of the waitresses there, as well. There weren’t many hostesses or waitresses in this town that he hadn’t invited to a party, bought a drink for or flirted with. Maybe he should have driven her to LA instead. More restaurants to choose from with a smaller likelihood he’d dallied with the beautiful waitstaff.
“All of them,” Julie said with that knowing smile of hers.
He tried to shrug off Mika’s comment. “I tip well.”
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
They followed Mika to his table in the back, sheltered from view of the other patrons and next to floor-to-ceiling windows that provided a perfect romantic view of the ocean. He waved at a few other celebrities, politicians and businesspeople he recognized. Instead of being impressed by his contacts, Julie’s knowing grin only grew as a few waitresses stopped what they were doing to greet him with blushing cheeks and inviting smiles.
&n
bsp; “You must tip very well,” Julie said once they were seated. “The waitresses love you.”
“Overly warm greetings come with the territory of being a celebrity.”
“Yeah, sure,” she said with a twinkle in her eye before looking at the menu.
“Good evening, Dante,” a woman said.
Dante looked up at their waitress and cringed. “Hello, Katie.” Of course he’d get Katie.
“I’ll be serving you tonight. Don’t hesitate to let me know if you need...anything.” Her lips curved up seductively.
Julie looked up from the menu and shot a questioning glance at Katie. Dante shifted in his seat and pretended he hadn’t heard the invitation in Katie’s voice. He once again second-guessed himself for bringing Julie here. Historically for him, when other women showed interest, the woman he was currently with clung harder. He should have realized that when confronted with his conquests, Julie would pull away.
“Thank you, Katie. We’d like a bottle of—”
“The Fallen Angel sake?” Katie finished. “I’ve already instructed the bar for you. Would you also like to start with the lobster seviche?”
Julie chuckled and studied her menu. Dante nodded at Katie. “That will be fine.”
Were his moves that apparent, that predictable? Well, it wasn’t as if he had to try very hard to be imaginative. Most of the time, asking the woman out was enough; bringing her here was just part of the pizzazz of going out with Dante Wilson.
Do you realize how shallow that sounds?
He pushed the thought aside along with the shake in confidence that being Dante Wilson wasn’t enough to impress Julie. He hadn’t had to try to impress a woman...ever.
Katie made a move to turn. “You know what,” Julie said, stopping her. “I’d like to start with the sashimi salad. I don’t particularly care for seviche.”
She gave Katie a tight smile, then looked back at her menu.
“Oh,” Katie said. “Of course. I’ll be right back with that.”
Dante looked to Julie and decided changing the subject was best. “Are you enjoying your time in Malibu so far?”
She didn’t look up from the menu. “Tell me, Dante—have you slept with every woman in this restaurant or just the hostess and our waitress?”
“Excuse me?”
“I think the question was pretty clear.”
“You know what—they don’t matter.” He reached across the table and pulled her menu away. He took her hands in his. “All that matters is being here with you tonight. I don’t want to spend my evening with anyone else.”
Some of the skepticism in her eyes diminished, but she still pulled her hands away and rested them in her lap. Damn, he needed to get this date back on track. His cell phone chimed in his pocket.
Julie glanced around. “Did you hear that?”
“Just my cell. That’s the sound when I get a text. I’ll ignore. I’m more interested in learning more about you.”
“Okay, what would you like to know?”
“What made you start your business?” His cell chimed again.
She lifted her brows as if asking if he was going to look, but he ignored it again.
“I couldn’t work for Nexon-Jones anymore.”
Dante leaned back and regarded her. Nexon-Jones was the name in nightclub development. His family worked with them, and he knew the salaries of their top people were well over six figures. “Why not? They’ve got a great reputation.”
“I was moving up in the business and could have easily seen myself being there forever. I loved it.”
“What happened?”
“We were on the line to open a club in Las Vegas. I really wanted to manage the project because everyone knew that whoever handled the opening of the Vegas club was a shoo-in for a new venue in Japan. My boss approached me about doing a job in New York, and when I brought up the Vegas club, he said he wanted me specifically on the New York club and that landing it was crucial. If I did, I’d be in charge of the Japanese club.”
“That doesn’t sound like a reason to leave.”
“I could only secure the project because the property owner indicated that he’d like to spend some private time with me before deciding to sell.”
Dante’s hand clenched into a fist. “He wanted you to sleep with the owner just to get the property?”
“Pretty much. When I went to HR, they didn’t believe me. Neither did his partner, or at least they said they didn’t believe me. I think the man just controls the HR department. So I left and took Evette with me. She’s my business partner.”
There wasn’t a hint of bitterness in her voice; he imagined that walking away from such a successful career had to have been difficult. “That takes guts.”
“Starting my own business?”
“No, going to human resources. I’m familiar with Nexon-Jones, and I know the culture. It’s a definite boys’ club. To take your accusations to HR was brave, doing so means the next woman he tries that with will have the history of your accusation to stand on.”
“I hope so. I knew nothing would really happen, but if he did that to me, then he’d do it to someone else.” Dante’s phone chimed again. Julie glanced toward his jacket pocket. “You probably need to check that.”
He agreed and pulled out his phone. There were several messages from the guys in S.A.F. They were still in the studio working on the music they’d started, and apparently they were having a major breakthrough on some new music.
“Damn.”
“Something wrong?” Julie asked.
He looked up from his phone. “No. Not really. I was in the studio before coming here, and the group I’m working with, the ones I want to headline at the club when it’s open, are still there. They’ve got a new track they want me to hear.”
Katie came back with the sake, appetizer and Julie’s salad. She grinned at Dante. “Are you ready for me to serve you?”
“Actually, can you give us another minute?” he said shortly.
Katie blinked rapidly, looked between him and Julie, then nodded. “Um, sure, whatever you want.”
When she walked away, he looked over at Julie, then glanced around at the restaurant. It was only popular because a celebrity chef owned it, and celebrities like Dante frequented the place to see and be seen. Everything about it was created to impress. The long waiting list, beautiful waitresses and overpriced food that barely covered the plate. All for show but showing nothing, not good enough to really impress Julie. She’d walked away from a position that would have taken her far in order to preserve her values. Despite the sparks between them, she would easily walk away from him for the same reasons.
He met her eye. “You want to get out of here?”
She dropped the menu and nodded. “Yes.”
“Good, because I have someplace I’d like to show you.”
Chapter 10
Julie expected Dante to take her back to his place or some other fancy location that he would try to astound her with, so when he pulled up in front of an old two-story brick building, she gave him a questioning look.
“What’s this?” she asked.
“It’s where I make my kind of music.” He got out of the car and jogged around to let her out.
“It looks abandoned.”
“The first floor is. The second holds a studio.”
He grasped her hand, his grip warm and steady, then eagerly led her inside. There was a small open foyer that may have once been a reception area. The dim lights and the lack of a chair or computer behind the dusty desk made her doubt that the foyer was still used. They crossed the scratched wooden floors to an elevator. The wheels creaked and groaned after Dante pressed the up button.
“You make music here?”
“Yep.” That
was all she got before he ushered her onto the elevator and pressed the second button. The sounds of creaking and groaning seemed much more ominous when she was actually inside the elevator. When the doors opened again, the muffled sound of music greeted them.
The lights were on, but it was still not brilliantly bright. He led her past a few offices on the left and stopped before a door on the right—the source of the music. Dante opened the door to what Julie could see was a music studio. One guy sat in the control room, where she and Dante had entered. Behind the glass, two men played a melodic and upbeat song on violins, another was on drums and a fourth stood behind a turntable playing what sounded like hip-hop that blended with the violins and drums.
The guy at the controls turned and grinned when he saw Dante. He clicked something and spoke into a microphone.
“Guys, Dante’s back.” The music stopped, and they all turned to Dante.
“Dante, you came back,” one of the violinists said after they filed into the control room. He had dark brown skin, a faded haircut and stylish dark glasses framed beautiful hazel eyes.
“You guys said you were making good music,” Dante said. “I thought I’d come and show Julie what I do in my spare time.”
All eyes zeroed in on Julie. The musicians all appeared relaxed and comfortable in jeans and T-shirts. She felt overdressed and very on the spot in her jumpsuit. She lifted one hand and waved.
“Hey.”
The other violinist, with the same brown skin and eyes but no glasses and a wild curly afro, put down his instrument and held out his hand.
He smiled, revealing even white teeth. “Hello, Julie,” he said.
Dante wrapped a hand around her shoulder. “Guys, this is Julie Dominick. The developer extraordinaire overseeing the opening of my new club. Julie, this is Terrance.” He indicated the man who’d come over and shaken her hand. “Tommy.” He pointed to the other guy with the glasses. “They are the lead musicians for S.A.F., short for Strings A Flame. This is the rest of the group. Joey.” The drummer raised his hand. “Lem.” The guy on the turntable gave her a head nod. “And Bobby.” He indicated the man who handled the controls.
A Malibu Kind of Romance Page 7