by Linda Verji
His lips curled up into a slow, lazy smile. “Is Thursday good for you?”
She started to nod then remembered, “Um… I’m working on Thursday.”
“Oscar can cover dinner service for you,” Greyson countered smoothly. “After all, you covered for him today.”
With that he demolished her final excuse. Snow should’ve felt annoyed; Greyson had practically backed her into a corner and ambushed her into acquiescing to a date. But annoyed wasn’t even close to what she felt. No. She was excited, and nervous, and curious… definitely not annoyed.
TRUE TO HIS word, Greyson kept everything completely business-like in the kitchen. No one could tell that just hours ago he’d been busy making Snow’s heart flutter and her nerves dance. It wasn’t easy to mimic his ability to partition his work and personal life so seamlessly, but somehow she managed to push through dinner service without anyone noticing how hyperaware of him she was.
The only ones who knew that something was going on were her friends, and she managed to quell their curiosity by saying that Greyson had only called her to his office to talk about the next day’s menu. She wasn’t sure why she didn’t tell them about the date. Maybe it was because she already knew what they’d say; April would say that this was a big mistake and give pro-Charlie advice while Vina would say something derisive about Charlie before encouraging Snow to jump Greyson’s bones. Maybe it was because this time she wanted to figure it out for herself without her friends pulling her this way and that way.
As usual the restaurant closed at eleven. Snow bid her friends goodbye and was about to hail a taxi when her phone rang. Greyson was calling.
“Hey.” His deep voice alone was enough to send an excited thump through Snow. “I thought I was supposed to drive you home.”
“You were?”
“Have you forgotten?” There was thread of amusement in his voice as he reminded her, “You came at me for making you waste money on buses and cabs when we live in the same direction.”
“Oh!” Now she remembered. But being alone in a car with him, when she was so conscious of every little move he made, wasn’t a good idea. She didn’t trust herself not to jump him so she could get another taste of his delicious kisses. Making her own way home was the best thing to do right now.
She said, “I’m sorry, I’m already in a cab.”
“You are?” The disappointment in Greyson’s voice was so palpable that she almost confessed that she was lying. Almost.
Instead, she offered, “Maybe tomorrow?”
“Sure, tomorrow then.” He paused as if he wanted to add something more but finally ended the call with a quiet, “Goodnight.”
Feeling a little guilty for lying, Snow hailed a cab. Thirty minutes later, the cab came to a stop in front of her complex’s gates. As soon as Snow walked through the gates, she noticed the black sports car parked outside her building and that her living room lights were on. Charlie.
A few months ago, maybe even a few weeks ago, her instinctual reaction would’ve been excitement. This time her heart sunk. Ugh! She’d been on her feet the whole day and was tired. The last thing she wanted to do was deal with his nonsense. Heaving an annoyed sigh, Snow turned the doorknob and pushed the front door open.
Charlie was sprawled out on her couch, his jacket thrown carelessly on the carpet, an opened pack of beers on the coffee-table in front of him and a football game blasting noisily from her TV. As soon as he saw her, his eyes lit up and he grinned widely. “Hey, baby.”
Like nothing had happened.
Snow stared at him for a long moment before stepping to the side and opening the door wider. “Out!”
He must’ve been expecting a warmer welcome because surprise shone in his eyes and his grin slipped. “What?”
She motioned towards the outside of her apartment. “Get out.”
It took a while for her orders to penetrate Charlie’s delusions of everything being okay, but even then all he did was sit up straighter on the couch. “Yo, you’re still mad about what happened on Saturday?”
Snow let her piercing glare do the talking. What do you think?
He protested, “But I already had the couch cleaned and you used my card to get the kid a new bike.”
“Thanks for all of that.” Struggling to keep her voice calm despite the annoyance roiling inside her, she added, “But could you please get out of my house.”
Charlie clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth in annoyance. “This again!”
What did that mean?
“This is why we have so many problems.” He helpfully explained, “You can’t let go of the little stuff. Every little molehill’s gotta be a mountain for you. You drag out arguments until you’ve sucked out every little drop of blood from them.”
This boy! It took everything in Snow to keep from pulling her purse off her shoulders and hurling it at his stupid face. She gritted out, “Could you please get out of my house?”
He heaved a sigh before bending to pick his jacket and standing up. “Fine. I’ll give you a few more days to cool down then come back.”
“Please don’t.” Snow calmly reminded him, “Like I said, we’re over.”
That stopped Charlie in his tracks and his jaw dropped. “You were serious about that shit?”
“Yes, I was serious about that shit.” She glared at him. “You and I are done, and I’d appreciate it if you stopped coming to my house.”
He stared for a long, silent, tense moment before striding toward the door. She thought he was leaving but all he did was push her hand away from the doorknob before slamming the door shut, effectively trapping her in the house with him.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Snow tried to pull the door open again but she was no match for him. Within seconds, Charlie had situated himself between the door and her with his back to it.
Folding his arms over his chest, he said, “Fine, what do you want this time? A vacation to resolve our issues? A visit to the couple’s therapist? Or are you trying to get a proposal this time because it doesn’t seem like our relationship is going anywhere?”
The derisive note in his voice as he threw the options she’d given him in the past back at her was like a slap in the face. Any man in his position would’ve started the conversation with an apology and a plea for forgiveness. But not Charlie. He was too good to apologize over a ‘molehill’. His attitude was enough to sweep away any shred of hesitation she might have had over breaking up with him.
Snow snapped, “I don’t want anything from you other than for you to get the hell out of my life. For good.”
He watched her for a moment before his lips lifted in a smile and he took a step forward. “Aw, come on, baby-”
“Don’t ‘come on, baby’ me,” she cut him off as she took several quick steps back. “Just leave.”
“Are you seriously doing this?” He shot her a disbelieving look. “After everything we’ve been through.”
“It’s because of everything we’ve been through that I’m doing this,” she threw back at him. “I’m tired of your bullshit.”
“I’m tired of your bullshit… wow!” He seemed genuinely shocked as he added, “Those are the words coming out of the lips of the woman I’ve given everything in my life to.”
“I’m sorry, you’ve given me what?”
“Everything!” Charlie insisted. “Or have you forgotten how I stood by you when you and your dad were fighting? For Pete’s sake I paid your tuition fees.”
Trust Charlie to use the one time he’d acted like a decent boyfriend to back his argument. But he’d used that same event so many times to emotionally blackmail her into staying with him that she’d grown immune to it.
Snow shook her purse from her shoulder, opened it and too out her checkbook and a pen. Dumping the purse on the floor, she strode towards the coffee-table. A few scrawls on the checkbook later, she stood up. She strode towards Charlie and held out the check. “There. That’s the tuition yo
u paid. Thank you and please get out.”
His cashing the check would take a significant chunk out of her savings, but if that’s what it took to get rid of him permanently then it was worth it. She shook the check again. “Take it.”
He stared at the check but didn’t take it. “You think I want money?”
“I don’t care what you want.” Snow carefully folded the check in half. “I just want you out of here.” She took another step forward until she was close enough to tuck the check into his jacket pocket. Patting the pocket, she said, “There. Now leave.”
Charlie stared at his pocket then back at her before shaking his head. “You’re unbelievable.”
How many times did he want her to tell him to get out? “If you’re still here in the next five minutes, I’m calling the police.”
“Please!” He snorted derisively. “Empty threats.”
She strode to her purse, picked it up and rifled through it to come up with her phone. She wiped her finger over the screen, going straight to the keypad. “Nine-one-”
He drew a sharp, shocked breath. “Snow,”
“-one.” She pressed call but within moments Charlie had snatched the phone from her hand, ended the call and tossed the phone to the couch.
There was no denying the anger that shone in his eyes as he stared down at her. She stared right back at him, daring him to keep testing her if he wanted to find himself pleading his case to a cop instead of her. Something in her eyes must’ve gotten through to him because he surrendered. “Fine. I’ll leave.”
He strode towards the door, opened it and stepped outside. Instead of leaving, he started, “But Snow, this isn’t over. I’ll give a little more time then-”
She moved forward and slammed the door shut, effectively cutting off his words. She heard him say something through the door but with the wood between them, his words were thankfully muffled. Kissing her teeth, she headed to her bedroom only to find a duffel bag on her bed. A quick rifling through it revealed that Charlie had brought more of his stuff, as if he expected to be forgiven.
This dude! Snow shook her head as she carried the bag to the living room where he’d see it the moment he showed his face again. And he’d show his face again – of that she had no doubt. She heaved a tired sigh.
CHAPTER 7
Greyson was more nervous about their date than he thought he’d be. Since Thursday was his off-day, he often spent the day helping out at the construction site of his and Roman’s newest restaurant. Usually that was enough to keep him preoccupied, but today Snow was all he could think of. He kept checking his watch and internally pleading with time to move faster so he could see her. Temptation finally got the better of him at around three in the afternoon and he called her if only to hear her voice.
“Yes, Chef?” she answered on the second ring sounding a little breathless. He could hear the hissing of food cooking in the background
“Still in the middle of lunch service?” he asked.
“Mm hmm.” Her breath hitched slightly. “A group of tourists just walked in and it’s a madhouse here.”
“How many?”
“About thirty.” She rushed on, “Did you need something or do you need me to put Oscar on the phone?”
“No, that’s okay. I’ll let you get back to w-” Even before he finished the sentence she’d already ended the call.
He should’ve been happy that she was so eager to go back to work, after all that meant that she was making him money. Instead, he felt deflated. He didn’t know what he was expecting; maybe some excitement at hearing from him, maybe a little flirting back or forth. He wouldn’t even have minded some of that stammering she did so well when she was ruffled. At the very least she should’ve asked him what time he was picking her up for their date. But it seemed like she’d forgotten that there was even a date.
Did she even want to go on a date with him? Memories of how much convincing he’d had to do just to get this one date out of her taunted him. He frowned. Maybe she’d just agreed to go on the date because he was being pushy. What was a man supposed to do in this situation? Call again to remind her at the risk of seeming like a desperate stalker-type? Or cancel it himself thus giving her an easy way out?
Fortunately for him, he didn’t have to pick either choice. Just as he was mulling over what to do, his phone beeped indicating the arrival of a message.
It was from Snow. ‘Hey, are we still on for tonight?’
Greyson’s heart skipped a beat at the message. He typed, ‘Sure. What time do you want me to pick you up from your place?’
Her reply took several minutes but eventually she shot back, ‘No need. I already packed something to wear so we can meet somewhere close to Tellers.’
Packing something to wear said that she’d been thinking about their date and him as she’d left home. Smiling, he typed, ‘Can’t I just pick you up from Tellers?’
‘Not unless you want to give the gossips a field day,’ she texted back. ‘Let’s meet in front of Malone’s. Time? Should I dress casual or formal?’
‘Seven. And I thought you said you already packed something to wear?’
‘I brought options,’ she returned simply.
His smiled widened. Options meant she’d spent lots of time thinking about their date so he replied, ‘A little formal.’
Knowing Snow’s background and who she’d dated in the past, he was sure that she was used to the finer things in life and being treated like a princess. He wasn’t planning to disappoint her. Tonight, he was bringing his A-game; an opera performance then dinner at a classy restaurant.
‘Cool. I’ll see you at seven,’ Snow said before she quit texting him.
He spent the rest of his day anticipating their date. It took everything in him to keep from getting to their meeting destination too early. Now that would’ve been desperate. At about fifteen minutes to seven he arrived at Malone’s Bowling Club and promptly shot Snow a message; ‘I’m already at Malone’s.’
She texted back almost immediately. ‘Ten minutes.’
She must’ve been closer than he thought because barely five minutes later he saw her walking down the street. If he could think straight, he would’ve been pleased that she hadn’t kept him waiting. Unfortunately, the moment he spotted her, his brain emptied of all rational thought and lust hit him smack in the face.
Holy crap! He’d known that Snow was sexy but when she cleaned up… damn!
She’d let her hair out of the tight knot she usually wore it in and now the curly shoulder-length strands framed her face, softening her features. But that’s not where most of his attention was. His whole being was focused on the jungle-green dress she was wearing. The dress should’ve been harmless given that it started right at her neck, was long-sleeved and stopped right above her knees. But it wasn’t. There was no way something so snug could be harmless. It clung to her body too wickedly.
And what a body it was. Generous breasts, cinched-in waist, lush hips… every inch of her was designed to tempt man into sin. Greyson was definitely tempted. He could already imagine stripping off that dress, revealing her perfect body inch by inch, touching every…
His phone rang just then abruptly bringing his lustful thoughts to a screeching halt. It was Snow.
“I can’t see you,” she said the moment he picked up. From his position in his car, he could see that her gaze was trained on the wrong side of the parking lot.
“I can see you,” he said as he exited his car. “Turn and you’ll see me getting out of my car.”
When she turned towards his direction he waved to attract her attention. The moment she saw him her face lit up in a dimpled smile that had his pulse kicking up a notch. She started towards him just as he moved forward to meet her.
“Hey,” she greeted once they were within talking-distance.
“Hey yourself.” He offered her a smile as he closed the gap between them. Once he was close to her he didn’t know what to do. Hug her, kiss her or shake her h
and? Snow seemed as confused as he was because she offered him a hand just as he went in for a hug. They ended up with an awkward cross between a handshake and half-hug. Laughing with embarrassment, they drew apart. Snow’s head dipped as if she was blushing which only made her more endearing.
Smiling, Greyson offered, “You look nice.”
“Thank you.” Her gaze flashed upwards to meet his then wandered downwards over his attire for the evening, a navy suit paired with a white shirt. Her eyes lit up appreciatively. “So do you. But again, don’t you always?”
Greyson narrowed his eyes in suspicion when he noticed the teasing glint in her eyes. “I want to say thanks but I’m not sure that was a compliment.”
Snow gave him a cheeky grin. “It was. Both Home & Health and I agree that you always look great.”
“Ugh!” Greyson groaned as he strode towards the passenger side of the car and opened the door for her. “Don’t mention that magazine to me.”
A couple of months ago, the magazine had interviewed him then published an article about him. The writer of the article had obviously been taken with him because the article had been so gushy that people still teased him about it.
Once he and Snow were both in the car, she held out her fist like a microphone and teased, “Tell us your secret, Chef. How do you manage to look like a million bucks even while you’re cooking in a furnace?”
Greyson chuckled then leaned towards her ‘microphone’. “It just happens. Awesomeness can’t be explained.”
That drew an amused chuckle from Snow and more teasing about his alleged awesomeness. The conversation in the car as they headed to the theater was easy and full of smiles, which was one of the things he liked so much about Snow. She was so easy to talk to and somehow always managed to make him smile. Apart from Roman, she was the only person who could pull him into conversation without it feeling like an effort.