At the end of a slow night, Candy took her apron off and came out from behind the bar. “Susie, I’ve had an idea lately that I’d like to present to you. I know you’re busy getting ready to leave and all, so feel free to turn me down.”
She put an arm around my shoulder. “No hard feelings.”
“What in the world?” I smiled at Candy. “Out with it, my friend. Ask away.”
“I loved the mural you painted for Fran last year, and I was wondering if you could possibly do one for me? I have this blank wall here and it needs something badly.” She scrunched up her nose. “If you’re not too busy.”
She was referring to the divider between the restaurant and the bar, and a mural would work perfectly.
“Are you kidding me? I’d love to.” I had painted the mural for Fran when she was cooped up for a month with pneumonia, and it had brightened her rooms considerably. Her entire apartment had been a boring builder’s beige, and she only had a few cheap prints on her walls.
The mural had given her living room a much-needed designer touch. Now when you entered her apartment it was like being in a hilltop villa overlooking the Adriatic Sea.
Candy gave my waist a squeeze. “Cool! This is so exciting. Now, I’m going to leave this totally up to you. Whatever you decide is okay with me.”
“I don’t have any ideas right this minute, but I’m sure I’ll come up with something unique. It needs more than just a pretty landscape.”
“When do you think you could start?”
“Let me work on ideas for a few days. I’ll come up with a drawing or two, and you can tell me what you like best.”
I figured a job like that would take a couple of weeks, and that we’d have to put a screen around it and block it off from view until it was done. I spent several days drawing up ideas to show to Candy. We couldn’t reach an agreement and I was getting heated. “This is the third drawing I’ve done and it’s really good.”
Candy took a drag out of her cigarette and blew the smoke out of the side of her mouth. “I know I told you I’d leave it up to you and I mean that, but I don’t think the right thing has clicked yet. We will both know it when it does.”
“You’re right. Back to the drawing board.”
“I’m sorry,” Candy said. “I’m being a pain in the butt.”
“No, you’re not. This is important. I want it to be special.” The next day I showed her some more ideas and she shook her head.
“Still not right. I want something that’ll smack you in the face.”
How about my hand, I thought, when she added, “What if we make it a magical theme? I don’t mean fairies floating around, but something relating to the ancient Indians who inhabited this place? Think you could work something along those lines?”
“Candy, girl, I think you nailed it.” I hugged her. “You think outside the box, that’s why this bar is such a success.”
* * *
I made the big move and invited Brett over for dinner. He said he would be delighted to come, and so I bought a couple of filet mignons, a Caesar salad kit, a package of Portobello mushrooms, and a baked potato for him.
Simple, safe, and a no-brainer. He arrived with a lovely flower arrangement, and I placed them on the small table set for two. Brett opened the bottle of Merlot he’d brought over, poured us both a glass, and I gave him the two-minute tour.
My apartment isn’t large, but it has a bright kitchen with an alcove for the small table, an open floor plan with ten-foot ceilings, a good-sized balcony that has a partial view of the Intracoastal, and two bedrooms.
The larger room has the best light so I use it for my studio. My queen size bed, an armoire and a small dresser fit into the other room, and I have a bathroom down the hall. I also have some nice sculptures and my artwork hung everywhere.
He walked around studying the paintings. “Please don’t tell me these are yours?”
I blushed, and nodded.
“And you think you have no talent? Are you nuts? These are excellent. Not that I’m a big art critic or anything, but I like what I like.”
He nodded to a couple of my favorites that I’d done recently. “Take this one. It leaps right out at you. Geez,” he looked around, “they practically steal your breath away.”
“Steal your breath away.” I moved up closer. “I like the sound of that.” I was close enough to catch the subtle scent of his cologne and it made me want to get closer still. “Nobody has ever said anything as nice about my work before.”
“It’s time a lot of people did.”
“One’s enough for tonight.” I moved a step closer and we were almost touching.
He gave me a slow smile that set my pulse racing, and put a hand on the back of my neck. His finger spread out in my hair, massaging my scalp. His eyes never left mine. “I’d like to kiss you right now. Would you have any objection to that?”
I thought about Samantha and I knew beyond doubt that she didn’t love him. Not as deeply, as completely, as selflessly as I could love him. Would I have kissed him anyway? Probably.
“Not a one.” I turned my mouth up for his kiss. My heart was humming in anticipation, and I was not afraid. I knew everything would turn out right.
Samantha, him, me, this one kiss would resolve all our problems and make sense of it all. I leaned in for the kiss. It was a very sweet kiss, but it didn’t satisfy my soul and I yearned for more.
I adjusted my body to fit into his and slowly deepened the pressure of my lips. His hands slid down my back, drawing me near, and I felt the full length of him.
He had a wonderful body and the most amazing hands that were pressuring me just a little bit, but not nearly enough. My emotions were intensifying, rippling through me, and I didn’t want the pleasure to stop. My mouth opened to give him better access and still I caught my breath as his tongue slid in. Our tongues touched lightly, and I felt a tremor of excitement, a minor explosion, that gave me a hint of what things could be. As much as my body craved intimacy, I knew we had to wait.
The timing wasn’t right. He had to figure out why he wanted me, and what he was going to do about Samantha before I gave myself to him. This was too important for me to mess up.
“What are you thinking?” His voice was thick and needy.
“I was wondering if men worry about things like the three-date rule, or is it just women?”
“Three-date rule? What? Then they get to kiss?”
“No. When they get to do more than kiss.” I pulled back to look at his handsome face. He had the bluest eyes and the longest lashes I’d ever seen on a man. “You must have known that.”
He laughed. “Maybe I just wanted to hear what you had to say.”
“So? Do they care if it’s one date, one week, or one hour, if they want sex with a girl?”
“Are you asking me personally, or all men in general?”
“General.”
“Let me see.” He kissed me again as if he were tasting me. Then licked his lips for good measure. “Don’t care. If they like a woman, they like her. End of story.” He pressed his lips to mine again, but they weren’t teasing this time. After a second or two, they got hotter, his body raunchier, and I could tell by the feel of him that what I’d told those stupid girls from the restaurant was absolutely true.
He had a really big hose, and it was penetrating my stomach right now.
I pulled away a moment and gasped for air. “Wow. Holy cow. You are the world’s best kisser.” His hand raced up my spine.
“It takes two, baby. I think we might be on to something.”
I pushed back. “What about Samantha?”
He groaned. “I was kind of hoping you wouldn’t remember.” He smiled woefully. “I am sorry, Susie. I shouldn’t have kissed you like that. I had no right to.”
Shit, shit, shit! Why did I have to go and mention her? She didn’t deserve him or want him. Whereas I did.
“I know. We shouldn’t.” Oh, what the hell. In for a penny, in for a po
und. I decided it was high time for me to take affirmative action. “But I kissed you too.” I looked him in the eye. “You don’t have to make a big deal out of it.”
“I wasn’t.” His eyelids looked heavy and dreamy as he gazed at me.
I smiled softly, in a teasing mood. “Was too.”
We grinned at each other, and whether it was right or wrong, we were back to flirting.
“You like to argue, don’t you?” His smile was tender. “And I think you like to win.” He took a step toward me, and I held my ground. “If I’m making a big deal out of this because I’m feeling guilty, then tell me something? Why do I want to do it again?”
“You do?” I looked up at him, and my heart began to dance.
“I do.” He kissed me lightly, sweeter than before. “I like you, Susie, and I don’t want to stop seeing you or being with you. I realized that the night you were with Todd. I didn’t want you going home with him. I didn’t want you doing this.”
He tilted my head back and kissed me so intensely I began to sway. His arms held me strong, and I didn’t resist the sweet magic of it. I’d be going to Florence soon and this might be the last kiss I’d ever get from him. I was going to enjoy it, and Samantha, be damned. “I want you,” he whispered.
“I want you, too.” I felt lightheaded as happiness bubbled inside. He nibbled on my neck, and I felt his hands moving lower on my backside, just below my waist.
“Just one more kiss, Susie. One more, and I’ll stop.”
I did kiss him, but we didn’t stop. We kissed for a long, long time, and then we made the sweetest love, and I was glad. It was wonderful, it was exhilarating, and I didn’t feel dirty like I had with J.J.
Instead, I felt cleansed.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“You okay?” I asked him later. After he had exploded and I had exploded, we lay there on top of the bed sheets, breathing hard, slick with sweat.
“Uh-huh. Why wouldn’t I be?” He kissed my bare shoulder. “You think I’m gonna have regrets? Or didn’t mean it when I said I had to end it with Sam?”
One of his hands drew little circles on my tummy, and it tickled and made me smile. My heart felt so full it was ready to burst. I nodded, unable to speak. His hand moved up to cup my breast and a thumb ran lightly over my nipple. “Is that what you think? That I just told you this, so I could make love to you?” He bent over to kiss my nipple. “Want me to prove it again?”
I sucked in a breath. Hell, if he kept touching me like that I was going to climax again—for the third time in a couple of hours. “No, not really. Just checking.”
He smiled. “Just checking, huh?” He put my hand on his still-hard cock. “Then check this out. No regrets here.”
I giggled. “What are you? The bionic man?”
“It’s your fault.” He kissed my lips softly. “I can’t get enough of you.”
My eyes got all moist. No one had ever made me feel so special or loved before. “Brett. I think I’ve always loved you.” Damn, why did I say that? I sounded so pathetic and desperate. Why did I have to jump the gun and say it first?
He turned my face so I would have to look at him. He wasn’t smiling and his voice was solemn. “I think I love you, too.”
Whew! I let out a shaky breath. It was going to be all right after all. Things were going to work out between us. I was not going to blow this. Brett dozed off, and I let him snooze. I had so many mixed feelings going on inside me, my poor stomach felt as churned up as a food processor—with a little bit of this, and a little bit of that. I was so close to getting everything I’d ever wanted, but unfortunately for me, all my dreams were being fulfilled at once. I didn’t know how I was going to juggle Brett and Italy, and my art. How could I mesh all my dreams into one and not have to choose?
I left Brett sleeping, and went into the kitchen. I put together the salad and seasoned the steaks. The potato went into the microwave, and the mushrooms on the top of the stove to be sautéed.
Brett showered, then joined me in the kitchen. He was wearing only a towel around his trim waist, and looked unbelievably good. Muscular, tanned, like one of those jocks you see playing volleyball on the beach. A real hunk, but he was so much more than that. I don’t think I’ve met a kinder, sweeter man.
I jumped into the shower while he put the steaks on the grill. We sat at my kitchen nook still wrapped in towels, and drank the wine and ate our simple dinner. It was the nicest meal I’ve ever eaten in my kitchen.
* * *
He called me the next day. “Hey, you. I wanted to thank you for a wonderful dinner last night, and to tell you that I can’t stop thinking about you.” He lowered his voice. “I remember every little detail, your scent, your taste, how good you felt in my arms.”
I grinned, and felt warmed inside. “I know. I’ve been thinking about it all morning too. It was so unexpected and spectacular. I don’t regret it. Do you?”
He laughed. “You kidding me? Hardly. I do have something I need to tell you and you’re probably not going to like it, but hear me out, okay?”
“Okay.” I tensed a little, wondering what he was going to tell me that I wasn’t going to like. I figured it had to do with Samantha because nothing else made any sense.
“It’s Samantha’s birthday on Sunday, and I bought tickets for the Dolphins game months ago. I’m sorry, honey, but I called her up because we haven’t seen each other since I got out of the hospital, hoping she wouldn’t want to go. But she does. She’s a huge fan.”
My bubble burst, and hurt and anger warred inside. What a frickin’ nerve she had! She didn’t want to be seen with him now that he had scars, but she didn’t want to miss the game. I was furious with the two of them. “Brett, I can’t believe you’d still take her after the way she’s treated you. She hasn’t even called to see how you’re doing, has she?”
“No, but that’s fine with me. It makes it easier. I don’t want to be around her either, but I figured I’d wait until after the holidays to end things. This gives me the perfect chance. I’ll take her to the game and when I drop her off, I can tell her in person that it’s over.”
My spirits lifted. I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of them spending the day together, but I was glad it would give him the opportunity to tell her. The sooner, the better.
“Okay, Brett. Do what you’ve got to do. I’ll be here if you want to drop around after the game.”
“If it’s not too late, I’ll do that.” His voice deepened. “Thanks for being so understanding about this. You know I’d much rather be with you, but I think it’s cowardly to break up over the phone.”
“You’re a gentleman right to the end. Most guys would prefer to take the easy way out, especially considering how badly she treated you.”
“It was already over and we both knew it. She probably realized I had fallen for you.”
I felt immensely better. “I hope so.” It wasn’t going to be much fun for him. He had to spend the day with her and be nice, pretending everything was fine, so as not to spoil her birthday. “Good luck. I’m glad I’m not in your shoes,” I said sincerely.
“I’ll call you when it’s over.”
“Do that.” I was actually smiling when I got off the phone.
Sunday came along, and I wasn’t smiling. It was an effort convincing myself that it didn’t matter. I had to work that night anyway, so the fact he was out with Samantha was easier to swallow. It wasn’t like they were alone in a romantic setting, having a candlelit dinner together, or wild sex. They were going to be surrounded by thousands of sports fans, watching a game of football, drinking beer and eating hot dogs. Nothing to worry about.
So why was I worried? At work, I kept my mind occupied by making my customers happy. The bar had a couple of small TVs, enabling the patrons to watch the news or their favorite games. I wasn’t surprised to see the Miami Dolphins on one of the channels. During a lull between orders I watched the game for a few minutes, and found myself scanning the audience rathe
r than focusing on which team had the ball. I needn’t have bothered because the cameraman did it for me.
Picking out a few of the prettiest women in the stands, he would focus on them for a moment or two. Just as I was about to serve a customer his scotch and soda, Samantha’s face flashed up on the screen. She turned toward the TV camera, looked right into the lens and waved. She flashed a beautiful smile, and in front of the entire nation, turned and gave Brett a walloping kiss.
The scotch and soda dropped from my hands and crashed onto the hardwood floor. The loud clatter of glass breaking, sounded to me, like my heart. “Dammit!” I bent to pick up the pieces so I could hide the tears that flooded my eyes. I tried to suck them up, because I couldn’t have a meltdown in the bar. It was just a kiss. That was all.
“Ouch.” I had picked up a sliver and it was imbedded in my thumb. I plucked it out carefully and continued to pick up the glass piece by piece. “No need to do that,” Josh, the bartender said. “I’ll sweep it up. Here, take this one to the customer.” He’d poured another scotch and soda, waiting for me to put it on my tray.
I stood there, too upset to speak. Candy came rushing over. “You okay, Susie? Did you cut yourself?” She picked up the larger pieces of broken glass and put them in the bin.
“A small cut. That’s all.”
“Go take care of it. I’ll look after the customers.” The moment the bathroom door closed behind me the tears kept coming. I used a tissue and patted them dry, then went to the back room where I kept my purse. I repaired my makeup the best I could. I hated to go back into that restaurant with reddened eyes, but I had no choice. I had to suck it up, that was all there was to it. For once in my damn life I was going to act like an adult and do the responsible thing. The bar was busy and Candy needed me.
I worked my tail off for the next couple of hours. It was late when I got home and I wondered if it was too late for Brett to call. Had he told Samantha? Or was he having second thoughts? Maybe he was holding her in his arms right now. They might be in bed together, and he might be kissing her the way he had kissed me.
The Candy Bar Complete - 4 book box set: Candy Bar Series Page 38