As she glanced at the dessert menu and once again found her sweet tooth on vacation, it made her wonder why she couldn't take the risk and commit to David.
From across the small width of the table, she examined him. As always he was totally manscaped. His hair was neatly trimmed and not one lock was out of place. Beneath his cashmere sweater, the pristine white of his collar was visible and she knew if she peeked beneath the table, his khakis would have a knife-sharp pleat and not one wrinkle.
The dark blue of his sweater accentuated his light blue eyes and as he smiled at her, she was reminded once more of what an attractive man he was and how lucky she was to be dating him.
But somehow, she didn't feel quite so lucky.
In the back of her mind the thought came again that there had to be more.
* * *
Anthony the architect studied the plans and let out a low whistle. "I'm impressed and that's not easy to do."
Bianca examined his face and his eagerness was obvious. "You think this is the right way to go?"
Anthony flipped the bulky pages of the blueprint back and forth again, reviewed the sketches Rey had done, and nodded emphatically. "I'm embarrassed I didn't think of this for you. I knew you were on a tight budget and everything, but for the life of me, I couldn't imagine how to open up the room without having those support girders and columns."
Bianca sat on the edge of the desk in David's study and glanced down at the sketches Anthony continued to hold in his hands. He smiled and ran his hands over one of the drawings almost in a caress.
"So you like what he did?"
He nodded and when he looked up at her, his gaze was brimming with emotion. "Before we came here, my family lived in this little house on the beach in Cuba. It was closer to a shack than a house, but it was home."
Anthony stopped, pointed to the sketch, and ran his finger down the drawing of the shutters Rey had drawn in on the front façade of the building. "When Los Nortes -- "
"What's that?" Bianca asked, unsure of the term.
Anthony laughed sharply. "Sorry. I forget that this little Cubanita was born and raised here. During certain months of the year in Cuba we would get this really rough weather and winds from the North -- Los Nortes."
"Worse than a hurricane?" Bianca questioned, remembering her own experiences growing up in Miami with the sometimes violent weather.
"Nah," Anthony replied, shaking his head. "Hurricanes were worse, but on the shores and near the seawalls, Los Nortes would drive the waters high with their winds. Huge gusts whipped the waves into immense whitecaps that would shoot into the sky," he said, motioning with his hands to explain the tumult of the waters.
"Every house had these big long shutters, like the ones your contractor has included here." He singled them out again on the sketch. "When Los Nortes got really bad, or we had a hurricane, we'd drag those shutters closed to protect what was left of the windows, but still let in some air."
Anthony let out a reflective sigh and then gently gathered up the sketches and blueprints. "It's not often I remember Cuba and it's a good memory. The changes are great and the imagery they present is amazing."
"I'd be right to go with him," she finished and Anthony didn't hesitate for a moment to confirm it.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to drop by the site once he gets started and see how things are going. If his manual labor is as good as these sketches, I'd love to have him work for me on some of my projects." Anthony stood and handed the materials back to her.
"Thanks, Anthony, but you know we can't really afford to have you supervising the project." The budget was way too tight for that kind of vigilance and she was certain that between her and her two partners, they could oversee the work being done. Plus, she sensed she could trust Rey to do the right thing by them.
Anthony nodded. "I tell you what, Bianca. I'd like nothing more than to help you guys out. If you're willing to have me and my wife over for a free dinner one night, I'm yours."
"I'd planned on inviting you to our pre-opening bash. You're a friend, after all." Granted he was more David's friend than hers, but from the few times they had worked together on the plans, she sensed Anthony and his wife were decent and honest people.
"I'd love that, Bianca. And I'd love to drop by and see how the work is going as well as meet this artist of a contractor you've lucked into. I want to see if he's as good as he seems," he replied, giving her a hug as they exited David's study and returned to the living room, where about a half dozen or so people remained from the dinner earlier that night.
"Trying to steal my girl?" David teased as she and Anthony walked in arm-in-arm.
"Nah, David. I've got a beauty of my own," Anthony answered and hurried over to his wife, who smiled and shifted on the couch to make room for him.
David approached Bianca, hugged her, and then escorted her to the other sofa, where they sat together, holding hands.
The conversation with his friends was fun, although as she sat there, she realized that David really didn't participate. He was more of a listener and watcher, throwing out something every now and then to either get the conversation going again or turn it in a different direction.
It was an amazing skill which she hadn’t noticed before. It was also a little unnerving. It let him avoid any real involvement in what was going on. A different side of him for sure. When she was with him, he was all too eager to talk about himself and listen to her. She realized now that even though this was supposed to be a meeting of friends, that it was all-business David who sat beside her, taking notes on these people. A little weird and almost troublesome, she thought, half-wondering if when he was with her he was doing the same thing, but on a slightly different level.
Was he listening to her because he was really interested or because he was trying to learn how to get her to do what he wanted?
The remaining couples lingered for only another hour or so, but it was still well past one in the morning before they were all gone. Bianca wasn't looking forward to the end of the evening for a number of reasons, chief amongst them that she suspected that David would raise the issue of sleeping together again. He must have sensed her mood since when the time came he didn't press.
Like the gentleman that he usually was, the other night notwithstanding, he accompanied her down to street level where his doorman flagged a cab. After a kiss that did nothing to up her pulse, he helped her into the cab and waved as she drove away, leaving Bianca more confused than ever before about where this relationship was headed.
Chapter Five
Bianca stared at her laptop, wishing for a change in the numbers entered into the spreadsheet. No matter how she worked them, it still added up to them being short nearly twenty thousand dollars for the renovations, even given the low bid that Rey had submitted.
There was little room for slashing on the other items, since it was kind of hard to run a restaurant without pots, pans, dishes, and of course, the food.
They were lucky to be spared the expense of setting up a full bar and wine collection. There were a limited number of liquor licenses in Jersey and Eduardo's uncle had already sold his license off a long time ago. For the moment therefore, their restaurant was going to be strictly BYOB - bring your own bottle. That was actually a really good thing since diners could have a nice meal out without spending a fortune on the alcohol.
Because of her concerns about the money, she had called Rey that morning and left a message for him to come by so they could discuss the bid. It was late morning, nearly lunchtime, and he still hadn't called or shown up. She wondered if he would or if he had changed his mind about the project.
Her cell phone sat silently on the top of the bar where she was working. She picked it up, dialed his number again, but only got the message for his voice mail. Hitting the end button, she dropped the phone back on the bar and powered down the laptop. She had to get to work in the kitchen area. Eduardo and Diane would arrive in the early afternoon with some friends so that t
hey could clean up at least one of the stoves, the large center work area, and a small marble pastry chef's island.
Stowing the laptop in her leather knapsack and placing the bag behind the bar, she was headed to the kitchen when a knock at the front door stopped her. She walked to the door and opened it.
Rey had finally arrived.
He wore a faded denim shirt over a red muscle shirt and those too tight jeans again. A thick brown belt encircled his lean waist and a large set of keys dangled from his belt loop. Unlike the other day when his work clothes had been clean and pressed, it was clear he had been hard at work today. A line of sweat marked the upper edge of the muscle shirt, along with some stray sawdust. The jeans sported assorted stains and more sawdust and dirt.
"You called?" he said, interrupting her inspection.
"Yes, thanks for coming by. I wanted to talk to you about the bid," she said and motioned for him to enter, but he shook his head and looked at his watch.
"I've got about an hour before I need to get back to one of the work sites. Lunch is a prime necessity 'cause I am starving. Mind going with me to get a bite?"
She glanced at her own watch and realized she had more than enough time. At least two hours before her partners showed up with some of their friends. "Sounds good. Can I just get my bag?"
He nodded and she left him waiting at the door while she retrieved her knapsack from behind the bar.
When she returned, Rey took the time to appreciate again how pretty she looked in her natural state. Once more she wore low rise jeans that hugged her hips and reached to just below her navel. The shirt she wore didn't quite reach the waistband of her jeans, exposing an enticing bit of skin. With the summer heat it made sense to have your arms and shoulders bare, but if she wore outfits like this one around the site, he'd be hard pressed to keep his concentration, and that of his crew, on the job and not on Bianca.
Still, he said nothing to her, wanting to appreciate all her femininity. When she asked if he was ready, he led her to his truck where he helped her up into the high cab.
"I may get a nosebleed," she teased him and grinned as she settled into the seat.
He walked around and slipped behind the wheel.
"Sorry, Princess. I forget you're probably more used to limos and such," he replied, trying to create distance again because she was way too tempting.
At his comment, the grin immediately disappeared from her face and her grey-green eyes flashed with annoyance. "You know what, Rey. Since we're going to be working together, why don't we try to settle some things."
He shrugged as he started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot. "Sure," he replied, although it didn’t sound very convincing.
"You may think I'm a CAP -- "
"A what?" he jumped in, uncertain of the phrase.
"A Cuban-American Princess," she explained and he laughed sharply, but she continued.
"Contrary to what you might think, I've worked hard for everything I have."
"Princess, no offense. But you don't even have a clue what hard is," he shot back, and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "You and your brother, who is really nice by the way, haven't lacked for anything from what I can see."
"Even if that’s true, why should it matter to you? It's not as if what Alex and I had was at your expense, right?" she challenged and he had to give it to her.
"Knocked that chip off my shoulder real fast, didn't you?"
She smiled with satisfaction and his gut tightened because he could imagine that satisfied smile in another scenario.
He took a deep breath and reminded himself that she was his new client and Alex's little sister. He couldn't let her intrigue him.
"So what did you want to talk about?" he asked, trying to change the topic.
"The bid you gave us is really reasonable," Bianca answered. "But we might be a little shy of cash."
"Bianca, money is like pregnancy. You either are or you aren't. There is no in between. Either you have the money or you don't."
He pulled up in front of a small sandwich shop on Bergenline Avenue and any discussion ended as they left the truck and walked in. It was clearly a place that catered to the working man. The chairs at the counter and the booths were filled with men in work shirts or uniforms.
Bianca followed Rey and they sat at a small booth at the back of the place. A young waitress, barely seventeen, came over. When she realized it was Rey, she instantly went into flirt mood, making Bianca want to puke at how women responded to him.
You included, a niggling voice inside her head reminded.
She gave him credit though. He easily handled the young girl's interest without making her feel bad and gently steered her attention to Bianca so she could place her order from the lunch menu.
Bianca chose a Cuban sandwich and a chocolate shake, and Rey ordered the same, adding a side order of fried ripe plantains.
The waitress batted her eyes at Rey as she walked away and when Bianca met Rey's gaze, the amusement in his was obvious.
"Must be tough, huh?" she kidded.
"What is it with women, anyway? They see a pretty face -- "
"And body," she teased and gave him an exaggerated once over.
He blushed, reached for the glass of ice water on the table, and took a healthy gulp.
"I could be an ax murderer and it wouldn't matter to some of you," he complained.
"Well, not until you showed us the ax," she admitted and continued. "Men are even worse, Rey. A pretty face and body and they lose it. They don't even see the real woman that’s right smack in front of their face."
Rey thought that he had never seen more of a real woman than the one seated before him. Despite his earlier reservations, he wasn't about to let the moment slip away.
"So, Bianca. Since I've managed not to lose it over you, tell me about yourself. About the real you."
Her face flushed with color as she shot up a little in her seat, but then she relaxed against the back of the booth.
"We're here to discuss the bid," she said and didn't give him a moment to contradict her. She diplomatically advised him about their finances and he listened intently until the waitress came back with their sandwiches and shakes.
When the young girl left, Rey picked up his sandwich, but instead of starting to eat, he said, "That's a big chunk of money to be missing, Bianca."
"I know, Rey, and I'm sorry. The only place we might possibly be able to trim is with the renovations. Is there anything we can do to get the price down?" she asked and likewise grabbed her sandwich so she could eat.
Rey shrugged and took a big bite, giving her question some thought as he chewed. After he swallowed, he said, "Since you're almost like family, I slashed my profit as low as I could, but I can't work for nothing. I might be able to finesse some of the suppliers for better prices. I'll check on that as soon as I get back to my office."
"I hear a 'but' buried in there. You don’t think it will cover the shortfall, do you?" Bianca said, battling the dejection growing inside her.
"No, it won't, but if we could get some cheap labor that might help."
"Like how cheap?" Bianca pressed.
"Like free. If we can get assistance with things like the demolition, clean-up, and
painting, I'd be willing to put one less guy on the crew and do some of the work myself."
"But you said you still need to make a profit, Rey. I don't want to cheat you." Like he had said, he was almost like a member of her family since he was her sister-in-law’s buddy. He deserved to be paid for his work.
Rey put down the last little bit of his sandwich, looked up at her, and grinned. "I didn't say you wouldn't pay for it, just not with money."
Bianca’s breath left her body as it occurred to her what he could mean. She refused to believe that he could expect her to. . .
"Cook for me," he quickly said, clearly realizing that he had been misunderstood.
"I get home late a lot, and just wolf down whatever
I have handy. It's generally a sandwich or a TV dinner and it would be nice to have something good to eat.”
"I guess I could. I mean, if I'm not working myself I don’t see why I couldn’t make dinner for you," she said, but he quickly explained.
“I'm just a few blocks from the restaurant. I'm okay with coming in to grab a bite, if that's okay with you.”
Which meant that she wouldn't have to cook for him alone. At his house. Where they might even eat dinner together. Get to know more about each other.
A part of her experienced a moment of disappointment, but then common sense kicked in. He had given her the best possible alternative.
"It's a deal," she said and held out her hand to seal the bargain.
He took hold, but she was once again unprepared for the feel of his calloused palm and the heat it generated throughout her body. She met his gaze and he seemed as reluctant as she was to release her hand.
"Rey?"
"Bianca? We need to do something about this."
"Like letting go?" she asked, but didn't release his hand. On the contrary, when he twined his fingers with hers, she maintained the contact, relishing the comfort and sensuality his presence brought. The feelings she was having were unsettling, but she was hard pressed to run from them as confusing as they were. As bad as they were given that she was supposed to be dating David.
David, she reminded herself and finally found the strength to remove her hand from Rey's. His look as he met her gaze was questioning and she felt she had to set the record straight.
"I'm dating someone."
"Is it serious?" he asked, breaking eye contact with her only long enough to take the bill from the waitress and hand her a twenty.
Before meeting Rey she might have answered "Yes" if anyone had asked her. But she knew in her heart that she couldn't have these feelings about Rey if what she had with David was meant to be the real thing.
“I'm not sure,” she finally admitted, voicing the conflict that had been growing in her since the first time she had set eyes on Rey.
He nodded and softly said, "I won't press, Bianca. If and when you decide what you want. . . ."
Lucky 7 Bad Boys Contemporary Romance Boxed Set Page 5