by Lisa Dyson
Nick raised an eyebrow, words unnecessary.
“Here we go,” Gabriella said as she expertly carried several plates and placed them on a table for them. Then she put a hand out to Nick, “I’m Gabriella Carrera and you must be the fantastic Nick.”
He grinned at her compliment, maybe even blushed a little. It was difficult to tell in the dim lighting.
“I don’t know about the fantastic part. We’ll see if I can make suggestions that will help your business.”
“Excellent. I’ll leave you while you taste the food and I’ll be back after I check on something in the kitchen.”
When Gabriella was gone, Nick gestured to Bree to take a seat. They were in the same intimate booth as last time, the curved tufted seat giving them ample opportunity to be either right next to each other or to sit across from one another. Unlike Tuesday, they sat as far from each other as possible.
“Are you feeling okay?” he asked after several minutes of silence while they tasted the food.
She nodded. “I am. A few little twinges since I left the hospital, but the doctor said that’s to be expected.”
“Good.” He took a long drink of water. “You’re not working too hard?”
“I’m fine.” Was he going to be this solicitous of her every time he saw her? His words of concern didn’t exactly match his cold tone of voice. “Work’s the least of my problems.”
He gave her a questioning look. “Are you referring to me?”
“No, no.” She waved a hand at him. “You, I can handle.” She debated confiding in him and figured why not? Together they’d made a baby that he was probably going to raise, so why not give him some of her family’s background? She lowered her voice so no one would overhear their conversation. “When I found out I was pregnant, I hired a private investigator to find my mother. I feel that knowing her medical history is something I should pursue. The PI called last night to tell me he’s come up empty so far.”
“So now what? Is he giving up?” Nick asked.
“Not exactly. He wants me to get information from my dad. See if there are missing pieces to give the PI a better lead.”
“Do you think he’ll be helpful?”
Bree shrugged. “I don’t know. His story about her has changed over the years and I don’t know what to believe.”
“So your dad raised you by himself, or did you have a stepmother?”
Bree chuckled. “I’ve had several stepmothers over the years. None of them lasted very long and I wouldn’t call any of them very motherly. I always had a nanny to take care of me, though.”
Nick nodded. “Will you tell your dad about the pregnancy, since that’s why you’re interested in finding your mom?”
“I guess I’ll just see how it goes.” She hadn’t considered that she might have to tell her father about the pregnancy. With the length of time they usually had between visits, she could easily give birth by the next time her father wanted a face-to-face get-together. “If I can avoid telling him, I will. Besides, he’s got his own new arrival coming. That should keep his focus off why I want to find my mother.”
“New arrival?” Nick’s eyebrows shot up. “Isn’t he, what? In his midsixties or something?”
Bree smirked. “Yeah, but if you marry someone in their late thirties, then it’s not a problem.” She knew she sounded snarky, but she couldn’t help it.
“Wow, you’ve really gotten hit from all sides, haven’t you?”
She gave him a slight smile, appreciating that he understood how topsy-turvy her life had become recently. “So what about you? Have you told your mom yet?”
He frowned. “Funny you should ask.”
“Why’s that?”
“Remember when she helped you at the tapas pop-up? She thought you might be pregnant then.” He paused and narrowed his eyes. “You didn’t know that night, did you?”
Bree shook her head quickly. “No, I didn’t have a clue. I thought maybe I was sick from something I’d picked up on the island. Pregnancy wasn’t even a consideration.” She paused. “So...have you or haven’t you told your mom yet?”
“Not yet. I decided I needed a little more time to figure things out before I tell her.”
“That’s probably a good plan.” She didn’t ask if he had decided definitely that he would raise it. They still had a few months to work things out.
“When was the last time you saw your mother?” His change of focus back to her was pretty obvious.
“I don’t remember.”
His brows furrowed and he scratched his bearded cheek. “It’s been that long?”
Bree nodded. “She was very young when she got pregnant with me, and my father didn’t marry her. Instead, he got full custody of me, and shortly after I was born she was forbidden to see me until I turned twenty-one. But she never even came to see me when she was finally able to. For all I know, she might be dead.” Bree tamped down the fragile emotions that were bubbling to the surface. Damn these pregnancy hormones. “I’ve got one old picture of her and that’s about it.”
“You know, I can’t help noticing that the agreement between your parents sounds vaguely similar to our situation,” he said wryly.
“Are you saying you’d ban me from this child’s life like my father did to my mother?” She didn’t like where this conversation was going.
“Of course not. But you’re the one who doesn’t want to raise him or her. Are you saying you’ve changed your mind?”
“No, I’m not saying that. I just don’t like the idea that you might go to that extent to keep me away.”
“No decisions have been made yet,” he said. “I don’t see any circumstances where I’d forbid you to see the child.”
She didn’t know what else to say after that.
The next few minutes were painfully silent until Gabriella and her bright personality returned.
“Was everything to your satisfaction?” she asked, folding her hands at her waist.
“Delicious,” Nick said succinctly as he wiped his mouth with his napkin.
Her nervous expression turned into a smile. “Gracias,” she said. “Opening this restaurant has been a dream of mine since I was a little girl, and to know that you don’t think the food is why we’re not making a profit makes me very happy.” She sat down on the bench, forcing Bree to scoot closer to Nick.
Bree glanced at Nick, but he was concentrating on making points to Gabriella about portion sizes and food costs.
“I’d like to see where you’re spending your money,” Nick said. “And whether you’ve hired too many staff members for the amount of business you’re doing.”
“Absolutely. Let’s go back to the office, and I can pull it up on the computer.” Gabriella rose.
“I have nothing to add to the discussion, so I’ll leave and let you two do what you need to do.” Bree was going to take the opportunity to make a quick getaway. She turned to Nick, “You can call me and let me know what you find.”
“I will,” he said. “And good luck with your dad.”
“Thanks, I’m afraid I’m going to need it.”
* * *
AFTER BREE LEFT Gabriella’s restaurant, Nick kept thinking about Bree and her mother. Maybe, if she got her questions answered, she might be able to see things more clearly in regard to her own situation.
He had a difficult time concentrating on Gabriella’s finances, but he forced himself to figure out what her problem might be. After he had spent time looking over everything, the two of them carried Gabriella’s laptop and files out to a table in the dining room to spread them out.
Nick took a piece of paper and began writing numbers. He pointed to them as he explained to Gabriella. “Right here, using your empanadas as an example, I’m seeing that this is what it costs for the actual food, an
d this is what you’re charging. That leaves you only twenty percent to pay for overhead.”
He went on to explain how much she should be making on each meal and how she should either make smaller portions or charge more.
“Which way would you go?” she asked.
He thought about it and what he’d learned in his time as a restaurateur. “I would pay attention to how much food people take home. If most people box up their leftovers, then I’d do smaller portions. Otherwise, you need to charge more for the food.” He thought of another idea. “Or you can do both.”
“This is very helpful information,” Gabriella told him. “How did you learn so much?”
“Part of it was from experience,” he said. “But before I opened my restaurant, I earned a business degree and then went to culinary school. I worked as an assistant manager and then the manager of a DC restaurant. Both were good experiences and taught me a lot.”
“Oh, my!” She shook her head. “I don’t have any of that. My restaurant started as a food truck, and we did so well that I thought it would be a natural thing to open a restaurant. But there’s so much more to consider now.”
She wasn’t the first inexperienced person to open a restaurant when the only thing they knew was how to make good food.
He could see she was overwhelmed by everything he’d told her, so they planned another meeting when he could come and watch the staff to see if she had the right number of employees.
She walked him to the exit. “Thank you so much, Nick. I’m learning a great deal from you.”
He smiled. “I’m glad I can help.”
“Bree’s lucky to have found you. Smart, good-looking, and you two make a very cute couple.”
“What?” He thought maybe he’d heard her wrong. “Oh, no, we’re not a couple.” Maybe they were a couple of idiots, but that’s not what Gabriella meant.
She winked at him and gave him a broad smile. “I’ve seen you two together, how you look at each other. Take it from me, I know these things. Maybe you’re a couple and you don’t even realize it.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
ON THE LAST DAY of bartending class, Roxie made sure to show up at The Fresh Pantry before the students were done for the day. She wanted to congratulate them and make sure they updated their résumés. She also had referral letters for them to present when they interviewed with prospective employers.
What she hadn’t expected, when she walked into the restaurant, was for Pete to also be there.
“Hey, Roxie, good to see you.” Pete flashed his sexy grin. He was dressed casually in jeans and a black henley that accentuated his broad shoulders and muscular physique.
She smiled back, slightly hesitant. “Hi. What are you doing here? Don’t you have to work today?”
“I’m on my way to the airport,” he explained. “I have a business trip to Chicago. I just needed to drop off something for Nick first.”
“Taking any time for fun?” Who was she kidding? Of course he was going to take time for pleasure. That’s how he rolled.
“I might have a little time one evening, but most of my schedule is booked with meetings.” He leaned closer and lowered his voice, “Hey, can we talk a minute?”
“Um, sure.” She agreed only because she was curious.
“Step back here.” There was a hallway that led from the dining room to what Roxie assumed were back offices, as well as where the restrooms were located.
He stood close to her, close enough that she felt the heat come off his body. She fisted and unfisted her hands, trying to keep herself from reaching out to touch him while plastering her back to the wall.
“I wanted to talk to you about this situation between Nick and Bree,” he said. “I’m concerned. What do you think about what they’re planning to do?”
“About what?” She wasn’t going to be the one to verify Bree’s pregnancy.
“The baby. What else could I be talking about?”
She nodded. “Just checking.” This was a subject she didn’t mind talking about. “Truthfully, I think Bree’s nuts. If she’s not going to raise the baby, then she should put it up for adoption. There’s no way she can let Nick raise it. They live too close to each other, and she’s bound to run into Nick and the baby.”
“I agree. Mostly with the part about Nick raising the baby.” Pete ran a hand through his thick, dark hair. “He doesn’t have a clue how to do it, and he certainly can’t raise a baby on his own.”
“Baby?” Nick’s mom suddenly appeared. She’d stepped into the hallway from one of the doorways close by. “Nick is having a baby?” She stood with her eyes wide, waiting for Pete to reply.
“Damn,” Pete said under his breath. “Listen, Auntie Em, I don’t know what you heard—”
“I heard you say something about Nick raising a baby.” She put her hands on her hips. “I want the truth right now, Peter Mitchell Buchanan.”
Peter Mitchell? She must be pretty upset if she was using Pete’s full name.
“I think you should talk to Nick about this.” He spoke calmly, but he was obviously aware of whom he was dealing with.
“Who’s pregnant?”
“I told you—”
“I know, I know. Talk to Nick. Well, I’m talking to you right now.” She looked at Roxie then. “Will you tell me the truth? It’s your friend, Bree, right? I knew it. He was very concerned about her being sick, and then they had dinner together here at the restaurant. How long have you both known?”
Roxie looked to Pete for what she should say, but he was no help when he merely shrugged and raised an eyebrow. She turned to Nick’s mom. “Mrs. Harmon, it’s not my place—”
“You two are quite a pair. Fine. I guess I’ll have to go directly to Nick to get the truth.” She didn’t seem pleased at all. But who would be in her situation?
“Please don’t go to Nick,” Pete begged.
“Don’t worry, I won’t tell him how I found out.” She started to leave and then turned back to Pete. “Unless he asks.”
“Now what?” Roxie asked when Nick’s mom was gone. “Should we warn Nick?” Her heart was beating hard. “I feel so bad that we were the ones who spilled the beans.”
“I don’t know what to do.” Pete checked his watch. “I’ve got to get going or I’ll miss my flight.”
She’d never seen Pete this unsure of a situation, not that she’d known him for that long. “Can you call Nick from the airport?”
He nodded. “Right. I’ll call him before I get on the plane.”
“You should probably call him sooner than that. You don’t want his mom to get to him first. I’ll call Bree right now, too.”
“Good thinking.” He reached out and put a hand on her cheek. “Thank you. I’m glad you were here. This entire situation has me really torn up.” He moved his hand from her cheek to the back of her neck and he put his lips on hers for mere seconds before pulling back far enough to look into her eyes.
Just long enough for her mouth to begin to tingle.
He continued to stare into her eyes, and then he kissed her again, this time for longer than a few seconds. He deepened the kiss and it became more like a kiss hello than a thank-you kiss or even a goodbye kiss.
He finally moved away and she wanted to pull him back to continue, but she didn’t. She couldn’t put words together to either tell him he was out of line or that she wanted him right there, right now.
She was definitely confused.
“I have to go,” he whispered. “I’ll miss my flight.”
“Right,” she whispered in return.
He straightened as if trying to gather himself together. “Can we get together when I come back? My return flight is Friday night.”
She wanted to say yes, absolutely, but her good sense remained int
act. “I don’t think that’s a very good idea.” And not just because she was technically still in a relationship with someone else, even if she hadn’t heard from Jim in almost two weeks. He claimed his new job was taking over his life and she was almost getting used to his long silences.
His eyes widened. “You were right there with me during that kiss.”
Something she didn’t need a reminder about. Her lips were still singing, but she refused to give in to her attraction to him. “That may be true, but I don’t want to be next in your long line of broken hearts. And you already know that I’m in a long-distance relationship.”
“Maybe you think you are,” he said. “But deep down you know you’ve already broken it off with that guy.”
* * *
NICK HAD JUST showered after a long run when he got a text from his mom. He’d been running more often lately as a stress reliever. Not that it had helped very much.
Where are you? Need to see you.
He replied, At home. Everything OK?
Instead of answering his question, she wrote, I’ll be there in ten minutes.
She actually arrived at Nick’s Alexandria condo in less than that, appearing extremely agitated.
He was in the kitchen when she walked in the door. “Something to drink?”
She shook her head. “No, we just need to talk.”
“Sure. Do you want to sit down?” He headed to the sofa and turned to her. “Did something happen at the restaurant?” She’d planned to go there today to get some things done while it was closed.
“The restaurant’s fine.” She followed him to the seating area, but remained standing. Her hands were folded and she kept running one thumb over the top of the other. “Nick, do you have something you want to tell me?”
“About what?”
She didn’t say anything more, and he knew immediately that she had found out about the baby.
“I was going to tell you—”
“Say it.”
He hadn’t been this nervous talking to his mom since he’d broken a neighbor’s window with a baseball when he was a kid. “Bree’s pregnant, and I’m the father.” He paused. “It’s not an ideal situation, but it is what it is.”