by April Zyon
“It will be worth it, because you’re finally truly home.” He pressed a kiss to her shoulder and passed her the loofah. “Do your front and rinse off, we need to get out and get some sleep. You’re starting to weave back and forth, sweetheart. This is not the place to be sleeping.”
“I know.” She agreed with him. She once more began to get herself cleaned up, closing her eyes and yawning at least once while she did so. “Now then, time for both of us to get out of here.” She was ready to simply be done with everything right now. She just wanted to crawl into bed with her man and rest.
Showering off he let her step out onto the mat. Grabbing a towel Tobias quickly dried her down and then passed her a smaller one for her hair while he dried off. After hanging up the towel he took her hand in his and led her to the bedroom, turning lights off as they went. He had to give her a boost up onto the bed and even gave her a light tap to her ass that had her shooting him a look.
Once they were in bed Ella closed her eyes. Once he had his arms wrapped around her she sighed and then smiled. “I could become so very used to this. I want this every single night.” She told him quietly before drifting off and into a deep sleep.
Chapter Fourteen
The first couple days in Virginia with Tobias were pretty laid back. On the fourth day they headed into the office so he could sign off on the bill to their client for the payment balance. He had told Gabbie that amazingly enough they’d come in under budget which meant they would be getting an additional bonus. When she’d asked why he’d been amazed he’d told her straight up that the job had been planned to only run two weeks, tops not the nearly four they’d been there.
While in the office he was dealing with messages which left her to snoop around. The space was sleek and modern but with many homey touches Tobias had attributed to Cherry and their staff liaison who oversaw hires, and projects during their absence. Gabbie had to agree the woman was a take no prisoners type and yet reminded her of a doting grandmother. She, Patricia, was the sort to bring in home baked goodies and do up cakes for the staff members on their birthdays.
A warm hand on her back had her toes curling in her boots. “Ready to go get some lunch?” Tobias asked leaning close to kiss her cheek. After lunch, they were going shopping to pick up a few things she hadn’t wanted to order online.
“I am. Where are you taking me today? The last couple of days you’ve taken me to some pretty strange places that have turned out to be utterly remarkable so where today?” She was utterly astounded by him. He had picked some of the wildest places to eat that looked as if they were little holes in the wall but they weren’t. They were instead fabulous eateries that looked so different inside that it wasn’t even funny.
“It’s a surprise,” he told her. Like she hadn’t expected that answer. Slipping his hand into hers he led her toward the elevators. Once in his truck he glanced over at her as they pulled out from the parkade. “You’ve enjoyed everything else to date, but I think this will top them all.”
“Oh boy. Okay, I can’t wait to see where you are taking me. I look forward to it and you’re right, I’ve loved every single place where you’ve taken me.” He had a knack for knowing what she wanted and when she wanted it. He was a keeper, pure and simple.
Chuckling he wiggled his eyebrows. She wasn’t sure where he was taking her, but the neighborhood they’d entered definitely didn’t seem the sort to boast an eatery. At least not one she would have been able to ever find. But fifteen minutes after leaving his office he pulled into a spot on the street and hopped down from the truck.
“Huh, this place looks foreboding.” She looked around the neighborhood and then back to him. “And you are sure that your truck will be safe out here?” She had seen some bad places in her life but nothing like this. “Are you sure that this is a restaurant?”
“Trust me,” he told her. Clicking his tongue Tobias wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her toward an alley. Gabbie’s internal warning system was freaking the hell out at how wrong it all felt. If not for Tobias being so relaxed, and having a firm grip on her, she’d likely have run for the hills. He pushed open a wooden gate and she found they’d entered into a quaint courtyard full of trees and a fountain that wasn’t currently running in the cool temperatures. She had a feeling in spring and summer the place was stunning.
They went up the steps and he pushed the door open. Instantly she was slapped in the face with the most heavenly scents around. Her mouth began to water and she was a much happier woman when she saw the diners spread through the main floor. Guiding her to where the hostess waited Tobias gave his name and they were waved through quickly.
“Oh god this smells amazing.” She took the seat when he pulled it out for her and smiled at him. “You are good, Tobias Casey, you are very freaking good.” He was more than good. He was amazing actually and she couldn’t wait to try out the food that they would have here.
“I keep telling you,” he said. Sitting down across from her he reached out to take her hand in his. “Normally I get one of the specials whenever I stop in, they are usually seasonal and only served whenever the ingredients can be bought at the best price to keep costs down for the diner’s. I also recommend the chilled sweet tea. No idea what they do to it but it is amazing.”
“Sounds good to me. One special and one chilled sweet tea.” If he said that it was good she knew it would be. She trusted him with everything. She looked forward to absolutely everything with him.
When the waitress came to the table Tobias put a finger to his lips when she opened her mouth to start talking. Crooking a finger, he whispered to her and then listened to what she had to say. He gave Gabbie a thumbs up and ordered two specials along with two tall glasses of the chilled sweet tea.
That was odd, she thought to herself. She had never had anyone order for her before but in truth, she kind of liked it. “So, what was the whispering all about? Do you know her? I take it that you do or she wouldn’t have had that grin on her face that she did.”
“I’ve been here a couple times, can’t recall her name though, but she thought it cute that I didn’t want you knowing what your meal was going to be. She even plans on covering it to keep it a surprise right up to the moment it’s on the table. You’ll love it, it has all your favorite food groups in it along with one of your favorite items being the star.”
“Oh, that’s too cute. I love it. Well I can’t wait to see what our meals will be, as long as you think that it will be good I have a feeling it’s going to be amazing.” She praised him. “I know that you wouldn’t let me down. Not now and not ever.” She had that much faith in him.
“I’m glad you believe that and only hope I can live up to the faith you have in me, sweetheart. But you’ll definitely like lunch. I think of it as comfort food,” he said. Grinning he leaned back in his chair when the waitress arrived with their tea. Once it was on the table she disappeared and came back a minute later with a bread basket.
“I’m sure that you will. You are going to be all that I’ve ever wanted to have in my life because I know that I’m going to do all that I can in order to be all that you’ve ever wanted in life. I just pray to be all you could hope for in life.”
“You don’t have to do anything, sweetheart. Be yourself. That’s all that is important,” he told her. Reaching out he took her hand in his again, stroking his thumb over her skin he gave her fingers a little squeeze. “I don’t want you stressing out over something you really don’t have to worry about. I like you as you are, Ella.”
“I’m glad you do and I’m not going to stress about anything, I’m simply going to be me because I know that you will do whatever it takes to ensure that we are both happy. We will do this together, our relationship, everything.” She stroked her thumb over his and then gave his hand a squeeze to acknowledge that she understood what he was saying.
“That we will,” he assured her. Lifting her hand, he pressed a kiss to her fingertips. After putting her hand back down
he peeked under the linen napkin over the bread bowl and licked his lips. “Probably shouldn’t eat any of that until the meal arrives. I love their bread but it’s way too addictive and I always end up filling up on it and barely manage a couple bites from my actual meal.”
“Well I am still going to try at least one.” She swatted at his hand so that she could grab a piece of the bread. “Does it have butter in there somewhere as well?” She put the small muffin like piece of bread on her plate and licked her lips. “Holy shit this is good.” Just the taste of the juices on her fingers had her mouthwatering.
Shaking his head, he dug out one of the two little containers tucked into the basket and handed it over. “It’s addictive, you may well regret taking that first bite. But I won’t say I told you so. I may eat your lunch though.” Tobias leaned back in his seat and watched her with amusement evident on his face.
“I hope that I will be able to hold at just one. We will see. If I can’t, well then, I don’t know what we will do because you aren’t eating my food. I look forward to eating my own lunch thank you very much.”
“If you reach for a second one I will take the basket away and set it out of your reach. That way you won’t have to stab me with your utensil when I go for your food, and you won’t fill up on bread. It’s a win-win really for us both. In fact,” he muttered. Wrapping the napkin back around the bread he moved it off the table and onto the chair seat next to him. “There, now you have no choice but to survive with only the one piece.”
“It’s super good, you are right about that. I do however want to wait for my food. I can’t wait to taste whatever it is that they make for our food if the bread is this good.” She was sure that it was going to be one of those nights where she would have to loosen a button on her pants or she would have a red line around her stomach when they got home.
Their waitress arrived with two bowls in hand and set one before Gabbie, and the other before Tobias. The bowl had a layer of baked cheese on top. With a smile, the woman left to go attend another table. “Roasted potato three cheese soup,” he told her. “Break the top layer and lean back to keep from scorching your nose.”
She snickered at that but nodded all the same. “Okay.” She did what he told her and she leaned back, thankful that he did tell her that because steam rose immediately from under the cheese. “Oh wow, that’s awesome. I’ve never seen anything like that before.”
“They apparently broil the cheese to get that hard crust on top. But once it hits the soup it’ll get all gooey again with little bits of crunch left. I haven’t figured out when they make it, apparently the chef doesn’t have any set schedule and just does it whenever he’s in the mood.” Tobias took a first bite and his expression yelled pure pleasure. “Damn that’s good stuff.”
She followed suit and she took a bite as well. “Damn.” Was all she could say around the mouth of goodness that she had going on in her mouth. It was utterly delicious the food was amazing and she wanted more. “I have a feeling I will want to come here often, you are spoiling me.”
“Just showing you the benefits of being with little old me. I’m definitely not the best cook in the kitchen, and while I have a few things I can do well I am better at knowing where all the best places are. I love the hole’s in the wall places, they usually have better food than the most expensive places in the world.”
Gabbie stopped and reached out to touch him. “Tobias, you don’t have to show me any more benefits to being with you other than simply being with you. You are all that matters to me. I’m happy that you are in my life. I don’t need wine and dining, simply you.”
“Well it’s a little more than wining and dining you, sweetheart. With my limitations in the kitchen I have to keep you fed so I can jump your bones regularly at will. If you don’t eat then you won’t have the energy for our more strenuous exercises, will you?” He grinned and lifted her hand to press a kiss to her knuckles.
“This is very true. I think that you and I will both need to go and get ourselves enrolled in some cooking classes. I had the luxury of having a cook so there are a lot of things that I need to learn in the meantime. I need to learn how to become more independent so that you can count on me when you need to.”
He seemed to think that over and then nodded after a few more bites. “I’ll ask Cherry. One of her dating tricks is to lure the unsuspecting bachelor to a cooking class to see if he can hack it in the kitchen. So far, she’s come up with duds but the last guy was better than the rest previously. He at least could manage a few things and was willing to try. Not exactly sure what her standardization for grading is though.”
“Is she some sort of fully trained chef or something?” She was curious about the people on his team but didn’t know what she could and couldn’t ask him. “I don’t want to pry if it will get you in trouble with them.” She added while once more going back to her food. “I don’t want them mad at you.” She added quietly.
“Cherry? Hardly,” he said with a chuckle. “She loves to cook and does some items extremely well. She’s been on this upgrade me stance for a while now, pretty much since we got out of the military actually. Her belief is that if we are not learning we are stagnating. Another belief she has is that one should focus on one skill, master it, and then move on unless you are a complete dunce and then just get out. She’s working on mastering a decent repertoire in the kitchen, not master chef status, but enough she can host a weekend getaway where she does all the cooking. Or so she claims.”
“I like her way of thinking.” She admitted. “She is right, it’s good to continue to learn no matter what else in your life is happening. If you don’t continue to learn and grow then you do go stagnate and I’m sure that’s something that simply will not work for your men and women.”
“Nope, but she has an ulterior motive. I haven’t fully figured it out yet, but I will.” Pushing his bowl to the side Tobias wiped his lips and sat back with the napkin in hand. “Not that she’s the only one. You’ll come to learn that all my guys, and gal have their own little side projects that they attempt to keep me from knowing about. Somedays I feel like I’m the only grown up around the office.” His grin said he didn’t actually mind it that much and that the team amused him.
“Yeah but isn’t that the part of the boss, or dad? I mean seriously don’t all kids give their dads grief?” And the way that he made it sound his team was more family than anything else. “I like the idea that you are all as close as you are. It’s actually pretty spectacular that you guys are, the way you are as a unit that is.”
“It helps us in the field. While we still talk plenty it’s chatter for the most part. Our roles and what’s expected is second nature even though we do talk every aspect through prior to a job and all the potential what ifs. That’s a byproduct from our training. Going over a plan several times until it’s ingrained in your head where you can just do it. But we’re all free thinkers and know that there’s always a chance something or someone will derail even the best laid plans and we then improvise. No need to micromanage, never has been. I trust them all to have my back and I know they feel the same for everyone on the team. If they didn’t it wouldn’t work the way it does.”
“This is good that you aren’t going to micromanage them, that you don't’ have to at least. Your team is a well-oiled machine and that’s a very good thing. You are all an extension of each other and truthfully that’s perfect for a team like yours.”
“Exactly,” he said with a nod. The waitress reappeared at the table to take their empty bowls. Tobias rubbed his hands together. “And now comes the best part of the daily special. You are going to love me even more than you do already.”
“Oh, I don’t think that’s even possible. I am totally into you Tobias and nothing short of, well I don’t know what, would make me love you more.” Which was the truth. She wasn’t sure that there was a way for her to love him more than she did already.
Chuckling he picked up his glass to take a drink an
d then set it to one side. The waitress was back with their plates. And as he’d mentioned earlier they were covered with lids. Setting them down the waitress waited a breath and then lifted the lids to reveal the meal Tobias had chosen for them.
When the lid was lifted Gabbie had to lean back and simply grin. The smells that came from the plate were amazing and unique, they were truly delicious and had her mouthwatering like crazy. The food looked brilliant as well, not just the smells but the looks of the meal were spectacular as well. “Now this looks amazing.” She said simply. “My mouth is watering and I can’t wait.”
“Dig in,” he told her. Thanking the waitress, he asked for a refill of sweet tea before leaning in to take his first bite. His expression said it all. Gabbie found it amazing how much emotion he could show or hide, much like a switch he turned it on or off in situations that demanded it.
She knew that he was seeing the reflected look on her face, one that mirrored his look. She took bite after bite. Typically, she was a slow eater and she would take her time with her meal and talk, a lot. This time however she instead wanted to simply savor each and every single bite she took.
Halfway through he met her gaze and winked. Sipping his tea, he quickly went back to eating. The only sounds at their table were the clink of utensils to plates, and the occasional sound of pleasure from one or the other. When they were finished there was only one thing to do. Lean back and take a minute for everything to settle.
When they had both finished their meals she leaned back and sighed with her eyes closed. “God this is so good. I’m terrified to ask about dessert because I know that I would want some. So what do you think, should we hold off on dessert?”