CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Dishwashers were hovered over the sinks while chefs packed up their knives when Wyatt stormed into the kitchen. Theo caught his eye and motioned with his head toward the rear of the kitchen where 10 people were bent low over the table, laughing and relaxing. They were eating like sumo-wrestlers. He watched undetected by all but Keeli as they shoveled ravioli into their mouths or roast beef or Crème Brule. They crammed the food in around their rapid-fire chatter.
“Yeah, that is the same food that your guests slowly savored in the museum this evening,” Theo said with a sad smile as Wyatt watched the wait staff. “May as well be McDonalds.”
Keeli hunched lower, trying to avoid Wyatt as he approached the table.
“That smells so great. Any dessert left for me?” he pushed his way toward the table and a seat next to Keeli. She stopped eating, watching him warily as she slowly put down her cutlery. At least he had not caught her earlier tears and temper, both of which she now had under control.
The son of a bitch is engaged.
The look she gave him was far from friendly, but she shifted over to make room for him at the table. Someone slid mocha panna cotta along the tabletop toward Wyatt. He reached for it with a nod and a smile and dug his spoon into the creamy confection.
While he let the flavors explode on his tongue, the staff watched him. Realizing how much he was savoring the sweets, someone passed the crème brule and flourless chocolate cake his way too. Wyatt leaned toward Keeli so that their shoulders rubbed, reaching across her breasts for the desserts, saying nothing. She pulled away sharply, as if burned by the contact. Her coworkers watched the scene unfold, forks in midair. Wyatt ate in contentment, enjoying the sampling of desserts while Keeli quietly seethed.
What the hell is he up to? He has not called in a week. He shows up here with another woman, a woman he is engaged too. I am not, not, not falling for this man’s charm.
“Dylan, how’s it going?” Wyatt was talking across the table to her roommate, ignoring her except for the shoulder touching hers again. “How do you think it went tonight?”
Wyatt and Dylan began a rehash of the evening’s highs and lows from the kitchen perspective, others around the table adding their opinions and stories. The rumors of the successful night had reached the kitchen and Wyatt accepted the staff’s compliments with deprecating humor.
No one seemed to care that Wyatt was wearing a beautifully tailored tuxedo. He was just eating leftovers with the rest of them, as if he belonged at the table.
“I am so glad to hear it. Up front it appeared flawless…well almost flawless.” Keeli heard him saying now, Wyatt was looking straight at her and she knew that damn flush was moving across her cheeks. “There may have been a tiny mishap, but nothing I can’t deal with.”
“Finished?” Without waiting for an answer he grabbed her arm and pulled her from her chair, her fork clattering to the table. “Good night all and thank you again.“
Shoving a wad of bills into Theo hand he muttered “tips” and continued dragging Keeli from the kitchen. Despite her obvious reluctance, no one moved or said a word as he pulled her from the room.
He took long strides out of the kitchen to a dark corner of the gallery. They were both spoiling for a fight, spitting like cats, eyeing each other like fighters in the ring.
“Let go of me, damn you.” Once they were out of earshot of the kitchen, Keeli tried to break free from his vise-like grip on her upper arm. “Wyatt, you are hurting me. Let go. Go be with your skinny fiancé. Damn it. Go away.” Keeli heard the tremor of tears in her voice and clamped her mouth shut.
“What the hell happened in there tonight? Salad! You dropped a damn salad down my guest’s dress? What were you thinking? Were you thinking at all?” Wyatt was fuming, barking questions but giving her no chance to answer.
Getting to the darkest corner of the room, Wyatt forcefully pushed Keeli into a dining chair, releasing her arm only long enough to trap her by placing his hands on the table on either side of her chair. She tried to stand, but he pushed her back into the chair, just stopping himself from shoving her. Realizing how angry he was, Keeli opted to quiet down and stop struggling.
“What they hell were you thinking?” He spat the words at her. “You just about ruined the dinner, destroyed a couture gown, not to mention get yourself fired.”
“I swear Wyatt,” Keeli heard the pleading in her voice and scolded herself to stop that immediately. In a cooler, more professional voice she continued, “It was an accident, purely an accident. If you want Theo to fire me, you know he will. You are too important a client.” She said the last with more conviction than she felt, trying to placate Wyatt. It would kill Theo to fire her, knowing how badly she needed the job.
“Damn, I wish I hadn’t had that last scotch,” Wyatt muttered under his breath, more to himself than to Keeli. She looked up at him with confused green eyes, the blue, outer rim wider and bluer than normal, even in the dark room. He was staring at her, apparently trying to calm himself down a bit. She had no idea what he was thinking.
The silent stare continued until she felt uncomfortable. A nervous Keeli snaked her tongue out to lick her bottom lip. Before she understood what was happening Wyatt hauled her to her feet, yanked her tight against his hard frame and began nipping that bottom lip between his teeth. He was stealing her breath, kissing her wildly.
She smelled like the kitchen and a touch of floral perfume almost completely worn off. He tasted of scotch and warmth. His arms were wrapped tight around her, squeezing off her air supply then providing it with his mouth. Neither could let go, and the kiss went on until Keeli finally roughly pushed him away.
“What the hell are you doing?” she blurted out, as if she had not returned his kisses with equal passion. “Stop kissing me, damn it. Go back to your fiancé.” She spat the last word at Wyatt with loathing.
“Sloane is not my fiancé. She is an old friend.” Wyatt let the words come in an exasperated sigh. “When I need a hostess for these things she comes to the rescue. What kind of asshole do you think I am? If I had a fiancé would I have been out with you last week?” He stared deep into Keeli’s eyes.
“Then why did that man call her your fiancé and ask about your wedding date?” She stabbed the question at Wyatt, highly suspicious.
“People have been unsuccessfully trying to marry me off, Keeli, and you know it.” He appeared sincere and his eyes, locked on hers, appeared to be searching for understanding.
Can I believe him? Do I dare trust him? It is true that the tabloids always say he is engaged to this one or that one. Besides, I want this. There is definitely something between us.
Keeli had talked herself into forgiving the misunderstanding. Still, she tried to think straight.
Of course it might just be lust. Lust is not a relationship, girl. You want to believe him, don’t you? Your want your Prince Charming cause you never ever learn. Oh what the hell.
“I believe you and I am pretty sure you aren’t an asshole. Or at least a total asshole,” Keeli heard herself say, curving her lips flirtatiously. She intended to make him suffer, at least a little, so she surprised both of them with her quick words of forgiveness.
“Of course, you also didn’t call all week?” She put the statement out as a question, and then berated herself for mentioning it.
“The gala. This damn gala has taken up every waking minute this week. I asked Sloane to attend with me months ago, or I would have invited you.” Keeli heard both the truth in his statement and the doubt. Would he have invited her to sit at the table with his family, with moguls of Chicago politics and industry? She doubted it. “By the way, why didn’t you let me know you would be here? A heads up would have been nice.”
“Come on, Wyatt. We both know you’re not in a position to invite me,” Keeli opted to confront Wyatt now, before they went any further. “Look at the two of us, for God’s sake. I am a friggin’ waitress at your event. You are the host. We are l
iving in two completely different worlds. You would never have invited me and we both know it. And I texted you hours ago. I gave you a heads up.”
“Well, I am inviting you now, dinner tomorrow night? Would that work for you?
Pick you up at 7:30?” He waited with confidence, knowing Keeli would accept, checking his text messages while he waited and cursing under his breath when he found her earlier message.
“What’s the point? We should just stop this now.” Shut up idiot. Just say yes.
“Come on,” he cajoled, turning on the Howe charm, “you know there is something between us. Let’s give it a chance and see where it takes us.”
“I am working for Theo tomorrow night,” she responded reluctantly. “I can’t duck out at the last minute, even if I wanted to.”
“And you do want to, right?” Wyatt picked up on her last statement. “So Monday? How ‘bout dinner Monday night?”
“Monday works.” Keeli responded carefully, as if she is reviewing a mental calendar. “It will have to be after seven. Ok with you?”
“Sure, I will pick you up at seven,” Wyatt was quick to agree.
“No, don’t pick me up, I will be out. Just text me where to meet you and I will be there,” Keeli said cryptically. Appearing not to probe while probing Wyatt asked what neighborhood she would be coming from, so he could pick something convenient.
“Oh, I will still be in Logan Square, just not at home.” Keeli was providing no additional information. She could tell he wanted specifics and enjoyed the moment, feeling briefly like she had the upper hand at last.
“OK, I will text you, seven o’clock Monday. I better get out of your hair and let you get going.” He started to walk away, “wait, how are you getting home?”
“Dylan and Theo will take me.”
“Oh yeah, okay,” Wyatt accepted her answer but she could sense his disappointment as they said goodnight.
Monday night. OMG Keeli-girl, you are getting a second date! I hope my heartbeat returns to normal before then.
Keeli laughed as she returned to the kitchen. Luckily, the team had finished cleaning up but left her some food. Giving Dylan thumbs up, she dropped into a vacant chair, wide smile on her face as she dove into the goodies with gusto.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Wyatt met Tyler a little after 2:00 a.m. He was exhausted; knew any sane person would go home and get some sleep. However, the adrenaline was pumping, both from the gala and his confrontation with Keeli. He was too wired to sleep. One drink and a little quiet rehash of the night with Tyler would be the perfect way to wind down although he hoped to wind down with Keeli in a much more enticing way. That hope was now futile.
Entering the Seven Lions, Wyatt recognized several people he knew sitting in the restaurant. He nodded an occasional hello as he moved straight to the wood and leather bar. The large square space had four good corners in which to get some privacy and would be open as late as the patrons were drinking.
He found Tyler nursing a scotch at the bar and ordered one for himself, arranging to have it brought to a quiet corner. Comfortably ensconced at the high table in the shadowed space they only stood out slightly in their tuxedos.
“I wasn’t sure you would show,” Tyler began with an accusing tone as he leaned forward conspiratorially. “Were you holding out for a better offer?”
Wyatt was reluctant to discuss Keeli and Sloane with his friend, but figured Tyler might offer some beneficial advice.
“I was chasing down Keeli. You know, the redhead from last week. She was a server tonight - at my table of all things. She was the one who poured salad down Sloane’s back.”
“I heard about that,” Tyler was chucking. “So sorry to have missed seeing it first hand. Sloane must have been spitting mad. Did she demand to have her fired?”
“She kept her cool when it happened, but as you would expect, she demanded Keeli be fired.” Wyatt wondered even as he said the words why he remained involved with such a cold-hearted woman.
As if reading his thoughts, “She really is a cold bitch, Ivy, you know that right? Tyler probed. “She is beautiful, and she makes a good hostess, but why do you keep her around? I have never understood why you didn’t break it off before now. The longer you date her, the more she will expect from you.”
“I hear you, man, and you are right. I need to cut her loose once and for all. But we have a history, you know? And now our families are tight.”
“Yeah, but sometimes history is just history. You have to let it go to have a future.” Sometimes Tyler said the most obvious things. He was like Yoda, with great delivery of wisdom. This was one of those moments, cutting through the alcohol and landing like a rock in the pit of Wyatt’s stomach.
“You are so right. I want Keeli, not Sloane. I need to break it off with Sloane once and for all,” Wyatt said with determination.
“Wait a sec. Not so fast,” Tyler interrupted. “You cannot date a waitress, Ivy. Think of your family. Shit, think of your friends. We would all be hanging around at some event while she waited on us? That would not be cool.”
Before Wyatt could reply, Tyler continued, “I’ve seen her, Ivy. She’s pretty. She has a girl-next-door look and I know you can be a sucker for that. But you need someone who fits into your world. Not a waitress. Someone with the right style, with the right education and breeding.”
“She is not a damn horse, Ty, and she is not a waitress either.” Wyatt was getting annoyed and it was apparent in his rising voice. “She is an artist, a jeweler, and a good one, damn it.”
“Okay, okay,” Tyler put his hands up in surrender, “She is a jeweler who does a great waitress imitation. The result is the same, Ivy. What else do you know about her, really? Is the little jeweler girl any better a choice for you than a waitress would be? Really, you cannot make this work. With everything else you are about to do with you father, it is not a good time to bring home a girl from the wrong side of the tracks.”
“You are not being fair, Ty. So what if she’s a farm girl? That does not make her uneducated or from the wrong side of the tracks.”
“Well, it sure as hell doesn’t make her one of us.”
Wyatt’s head sunk lower over his scotch, knowing that Tyler’s words are absolutely true. “Yeah, I hear you, man.
“I can’t explain it, Ty. She completely disarms me.” He pulled his shoulders back and looked Tyler In the eye. “When I am with her it is like everything falls away and it is just the two of us.” Wyatt had a far-away look in his eyes as he continued, “She has blindsided me. She is sarcastic, and witty, and sexy as hell. She has enough education and street smarts to be an interesting conversationalist. We just fit somehow. Like we can finish each other’s sentences. Most of all, it seems like she really cares about me, you know. Me, not the name, not the money. Like I can trust her.”
“Holy shit,” Tyler could not hide his surprised reaction. “When did you fall so hard for this woman?”
Embarrassed by his confession and Tyler’s reaction to it, Wyatt looked down briefly, fiddled with his drink and shredded the cocktail napkin beneath it before finally making eye contact again with Tyler.
“She is hot, man. Smart, funny and hot as hell. Any man with two eyes would want her. She kisses unbelievably and I just know she will be amazing in bed.” Wyatt knew the best way to survive this grilling was to downplay the romance and emphasize the sex. Otherwise he was certainly in for a lecture from Tyler along with the third degree.
“Okay, yeah, she is hot,” Tyler conceded. “But can’t you pick a hotty with the right pedigree instead? Someone like your sister Regan, for example? Now that is a woman who…”
“Do not go there.” Wyatt barked, cutting Tyler off. “That is my sister you are talking about so I would tread lightly, my friend,” Wyatt gave him a friendly warning but it halted the conversation just the same.
“Noted,” Tyler acknowledged the warning and changed the subject to safely review the night’s events, giving Wyatt richl
y-deserved accolades, sharing anecdotes about people’s comments or behaviors and eventually coming back to Wyatt’s family.
“Seriously, Ivy, Regan came alone tonight?” Tyler had been chasing Wyatt’s younger sister since their high school days. “No date, huh?”
“You know Regan thinks of you like her big brother, right? You have no hope there,” Wyatt told his friend bluntly, “You need to let that go, once and for all.”
“Yeah, like you are letting go of Keeli?” Tyler came back at Wyatt with the snide remark.
Having no response, Wyatt fell into silence. Finally Tyler restarted the conversation with a new subject. “Your father, he looked so proud, but he did not look too healthy. It was good you were in charge this year. I am not sure he could have handled everything. He looked so damn proud of you though.”
“Yeah, my father,” Wyatt looked sad. “The cardiologist says he is doing much better, but I thought he looked pale too. Maybe we need to invite him for a round or two of golf, get him out in the sunshine. Get him out of the office a bit more. Or suggest he get away for a while.”
“Yeah, we could do that. Randall would play too, or my dad maybe. I will pick a day this week and invite him if you want?”
With the subject safely in neutral territory, the two men considered one more round. Wyatt determined it was past time to stop drinking and get some sleep. Despite the late hour, Wyatt decided to walk up Michigan Avenue, his long strides eating the pavement quickly, and the image of blue-green eyes dancing in his head.
Good thing he could rest tomorrow. He had big plans for Monday for which he would definitely need some sleep.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Keeli woke well-rested and optimistic Monday although it took her brain a few minutes to work through the haze and remember why.
A date! I have a dinner date with Wyatt tonight.
Bedazzled (The Beguiling Bachelors Book 1) Page 13