“I don’t have a problem with it.” Ian smiled at Sage from the doorway. He was not surprised Sage was representing Dante; he was family after all.
“Well, then neither do I,” Sage’s colleague responded.
“Are you both here to accept the terms I’ve set forth?” Ian inquired, glancing at Dante and Adrianna.
“Yes, we are,” Dante and Adrianna replied in unison.
“With a few stipulations,” Sage added, giving Ian a wink.
A half hour later, Dante was excited that they’d nailed the terms and that he and Adrianna would be the hosts for Easy Entertaining in the next two months.
“A lot of work lies ahead for the two of you,” Todd said on their way out. “I’ll be in touch.”
“And we can’t wait to get started,” Adrianna replied, smiling from ear to ear.
While Dante chatted with Ian, Sage took the opportunity to pull Adrianna aside. “Just so you know, I am watching you.” Sage motioned to her eyes with her index and middle fingers.
“Excuse me?” Adrianna had no idea what she meant.
“Dante has put his trust and faith in you for a second time. You had better make darn sure you don’t hurt him again,” Sage warned, “because if you do, you’ll have to deal with me.”
“I appreciate the warning, Sage,” Adrianna responded. “But I have no intention of hurting him.”
“Well, you make sure that’s the case,” Sage replied as Dante walked over.
“Everything okay here?” he asked, looking at each woman.
“Everything is fine,” Adrianna stated emphatically. She would make sure of it.
“You seem nervous,” Madison commented as she and Adrianna shopped at a small boutique in the Garment District on Friday afternoon for a dress for her and Dante’s first official date in ten years.
“I am,” Adrianna admitted.
“Why?” Madison handed her another dress to try on as the one she was wearing was dreadful. “You’ve already shared a bed with Dante. I would think that would have made you more self-conscious.”
Adrianna shook her head. “It didn’t.” She lifted her hair so Madison could zip the spaghetti-strapped dress. She surveyed herself in the mirror before saying, “Making love with Dante was the most natural thing in the world, but tonight is completely different.”
“How so?”
Adrianna turned around to face her. “Because…we’ll be really talking about who we are now. There won’t be any more hashing the past back and forth. Who was wrong. Who did what to whom. We’ll be really getting to know each other and I’m scared about being so open with Dante.”
“Afraid you’ll let something slip?”
Anxiety spurted through her and she clenched her hands until her nails dug into her palms. The past was always hanging over her head. “Maybe. And what if after dating me, he doesn’t like the woman I’ve become now? What if after all these years, all the longing, all the unrequited dreams, we don’t work out after all?”
“That’s ridiculous. You’re absolutely fabulous. Now take that dress off and try on this one.”
“I hope Dante thinks so.” Adrianna shimmied out of the skintight dress and accepted the strapless teal jersey dress Madison offered. It was a bold color and usually not her style. She usually wore black. Why was that? Since when had she stopped being the headstrong girl who’d told her parents she was going to culinary school instead of finishing school? When she’d followed her father’s directive, that’s when. She’d stopped being her and had become the person he wanted her to be, the socially acceptable daughter in a high-collar black dress and pearls.
“Personally, I think you’re putting way too much pressure on yourself,” Madison replied. “Just take it one day at a time and see what comes. Starting with that dress.” The crystals along the bustline accentuated Adrianna’s breasts and made them appear fuller. Dante would be dazzled.
Adrianna swirled around in the mirror and smiled. “This is definitely the one.”
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Quentin asked when he stopped by with his daughter, Bella, to drop off some new photographs for Dante to swap out at Renaissance. Quentin found him getting ready for a date with Adrianna. “Given the woman burned you the last time around?”
“Wow! I expected that kind of reaction from Sage,” Dante returned, adjusting the tie that accompanied his dark blue Versace suit in the mirror. “But not from you.” He was already a little apprehensive about dating Adrianna. There was a lot about her he didn’t know. The last time they’d been together, there hadn’t been much talking. Sure, there’d been posturing about who was going to land the talk show position, but he’d been more interested in ripping the clothes off her body. Now that he wasn’t thinking with the lower part of his anatomy, he wanted to know exactly what made Adrianna tick.
“Just a few days ago you were ready to strangle the woman for running out of your bed and now you’re ready to tie yourself to her in and out of bed?” Quentin shrugged as he bounced Bella up in the air and watched her giggle with excitement.
“You think I’m crazy, right?” Dante asked, turning around to face Quentin. Admittedly, he’d had second thoughts after their big talk, but the more he’d thought about it, the more he knew he had to try and see where things could go with Adrianna. Because if he didn’t, he would always wonder what would have been and he’d already wasted time with other women.
Quentin smiled. “No, I don’t. Men have done crazier things for love. Remember when Avery asked me not to use those negative pictures of her biological father, Richard King, in the magazine article Malik needed on the community center?”
“I remember.” Dante took Bella’s tiny hand in his and kissed it. Malik had wanted a scathing exposé written on entrepreneur Richard King and his intention to tear down the community center they’d all grown up in. The center had been a refuge from them when they needed to get away from the orphanage. “And Malik wasn’t too happy with you for it.”
“So I know just how far a man will go for love,” Quentin responded. “I was willing to do anything for Avery. Still will.”
“You’re lucky. You and Avery never lost time together. Adrianna and I have so much time to make up for.”
“Is that why you hopped into bed with her the first second you saw her?” Quentin laughed.
“Ah, man, that was lust. Plain and simple.”
Dante felt a little uneasy on the drive to Adrianna’s family home in the Hamptons to pick her up for dinner. Although he’d never visited, he could only imagine the estate her father owned. Howard Wright had been governor of New York State for nearly a decade before he’d retired six years ago. Mr. Wright hadn’t hidden the fact that he didn’t care for Dante years ago and thought he wasn’t worthy of his daughter.
Back then, the shame had eaten at him. Because he grew up in an orphanage without parents, he’d felt less than, and Howard’s words had only reinforced those feelings. But as time went on, Dante began to realize his own self-worth. It wasn’t his fault his mother had abandoned him in a hospital as a toddler and never looked back. These days toddlers were the pick of the litter and were easily adopted because they wouldn’t remember their former lives. Dante hadn’t been so lucky. He’d lived in one foster home after another. Once, when he was about six, a foster family seemed like they were going to adopt him, but when the wife got pregnant all bets were off.
As he drove to the house, Dante was confident and proud of the man staring back at him in the rearview mirror. He’d come a long way from his humble beginnings. He wasn’t an insecure twenty-five-year-old just finding himself. He was a grown man with two successful restaurants and a television show on the way. He was absolutely good enough for Adrianna Wright.
When he arrived at the door, a butler greeted him. Dante wasn’t surprised; that was how the rich and famous lived.
“Mr. Moore, come right in,” Nigel said, opening the door and motioning Dante into the foyer. “Ms. Adrianna will be down in a moment.”
“Thank you.”
“Would you care for an aperitif?” Nigel inquired.
Dante smiled politely. “No, but thanks.”
“Very well. I will advise Ms. Adrianna you are waiting.”
As he stood in the marble tiled foyer with the vaulted ceiling and rich oak woodwork, Dante could see why Mr. Wright had thought that his daughter, born to money and prestige would never settle with a poor cook. It started to make him think of the past. Thank God Adrianna floated down the stairs at that exact moment wearing a strapless dress that showed off her bosom and helped him forget all thoughts of the past.
“Wow! You look stunning,” he commented, grasping her hand and twirling her around. His eyes were compelling and magnetic as they drifted across her body.
Adrianna beamed. “Thank you. You look handsome as well.” She wasn’t sure which designer it was, but the suit he was wearing was tailored to fit his beautifully proportioned body.
“Are you ready for our first date?” Dante’s eyes clung to hers.
Adrianna thought back to their first official date twelve years ago which consisted of a movie and a New York style hot dog off a street vendor. “Oh, I’m ready.” She’d waited a lifetime for this moment.
“Where are we going?” Adrianna asked once she was seated in Dante’s town car and they were driving back into Manhattan from the Hamptons.
“I have special surprise for you,” Dante said.
They arrived a short while later to Daniels on Park Avenue and the valet assisted Adrianna out of the car. They walked inside the eighteen-foot ceiling restaurant done with sleek contemporary furnishings and Adrianna was impressed. She hadn’t been to Daniels since they redesigned the interior in 2008. The new etched glass light boxes encompassing the balustrades and chandeliers lit up the main dining room while Renaissance paintings and creamy silk panels adorned the walls. Adrianna was impressed by the renovation.
“Are they closed for the evening?” Adrianna asked, glancing around the empty restaurant.
Dante smiled. “They are closed exclusively for us.”
Adrianna couldn’t believe Dante had gone through the trouble of shutting down an entire restaurant just for them. “Dante, this is too much.”
“Nothing is too much for you.”
“Mr. Moore, pleasure to have you here with us again,” the maitre d’ said as they walked to the host counter.
Dante shook his hand. “Pleasure as always, Jacques. Is our table ready?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Lead the way.” Dante grasped Adrianna’s hand and a tingle went up her arm at the tiny action. The evening meant so much to her. To finally be able to spend time with Dante after all these years was a blessing and Adrianna intended to enjoy every minute of it.
Instead of the maitre d’ sitting them at one of the empty tables, he escorted them past the main dining room to the kitchen.
“Will I be cooking my own meal?” Adrianna asked, laughing as memories of her cooking her truffle macaroni and cheese in Dior came to mind. “Because if so, I should have a worn a different outfit.”
Dante’s eyes roved her lithe body up and down. “I like the one you’re wearing just fine,” he replied. “And no, you won’t be cooking your own meal, but you will be watching Chef Boulud finish cooking the meal right in front of you.”
“Seriously?” Adrianna’s eyes grew wide with excitement. “I have always wanted to meet him. His food is a work of art.”
“Then you’re in for a real treat.” Dante smiled at her.
The maitre d’ led them to exclusive table that had been set up for them in the kitchen. The table was beautifully arranged with tiger lilies—her favorite flower—along with the finest crystal she’d ever seen.
Dante helped Adrianna into her seat as she glanced around for Chef Boulud. “This is truly special, Dante. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Glass of champagne?” The maitre d’ asked, holding a bottle of expensive French champagne in front of them.
“Yes, please,” Dante answered.
“How did you meet Chef Boulud?”
“When I was nominated for a James Beard Award years back, he was kind of a mentor to me.”
Adrianna wasn’t surprised at just how accomplished Dante was; she could only hope she would make him shine on the television show.
“That James Beard nomination must have been a huge honor for you.”
“I know some people only give lip service to say it was an honor to be nominated, but for me, it was. An orphan who grew up with nothing? It was incredibly gratifying to be recognized for my work but I’m not the only accomplished one. You’ve done so much as well. You’re Foodies’ top reviewer and feared by chefs all around the country.”
Adrianna laughed. “A little fear is always good because it keeps the chefs on their toes. My job isn’t always easy, you know. Not every dish is perfection. Imagine when you have to try something god-awful.” She wrinkled her nose.
“Well, you won’t have that problem here,” Chef Boulud said from behind her.
Instantly, Adrianna rose to her feet. “Chef, it is an honor.” She bowed. With numerous accolades and restaurants in New York, Palm Beach, Vegas and London, the French chef with the salt-and-pepper hair was world renowned for his soulful cooking.
“No need to bow,” he said in a rich French accent and smiled warmly at her. “I have prepared an excellent feast for your senses, starting off with my hazelnut-crusted sea scallops with green peppercorn sauce, followed by Maine crab salad and then on to the main event—a trio of farm veal with tenderloin, sweetbreads and cheeks with some young turnips. Perfection!” He kissed his fingertips.
“Sounds wonderful, Chef. We look forward to the meal,” Dante said. “And thank you so much for agreeing to this on one of your nights off.”
“Ah, I appreciate true romance,” he said to the duo. “So enjoy.”
Dante and Adrianna spent the evening eating the best in French cuisine while reminiscing on culinary school and catching up on the past ten years of each other’s lives.
After a while, Adrianna wasn’t so nervous about whether or not Dante would like the thirty-one-year-old version of her. Over the years, they’d only matured and what they once loved about each other, like their common interest in cooking, action movies, jazz and the New York Yankees, was only reinforced.
At one point, Dante leaned over and fed her some hazelnut-crusted scallop.
“Hmm.” Adrianna licked her lips. She was starting to feel more relaxed when out of the blue Dante asked her how long she’d been married. At first she didn’t want to answer, but Dante was waiting so she said, “About three years.”
“That wasn’t very long,” Dante commented, taking a forkful of the second course of crab salad. “What happened?” He was curious. If the marriage hadn’t lasted long why had she not come back to New York before now? What had kept her away?
“Do you really want me to talk about this?” Adrianna had hoped that this evening would focus on their future, not their past.
“It was a part of your life that I’d like to know about.”
“Marriage wasn’t what I thought it was going to be.”
“How so?”
“Phillip only married me for political advantage and I married him because it’s what my father wanted.” It wasn’t completely the truth, but it was close enough. “For years, I tried so hard to be the person everyone expected me to be. During my marriage, I had to be the perfect socialite wife, keeping the perfect house and hosting the best dinner parties, and I lost sight of who I was. And as I grew older, I realized I didn’t have to conform to anyone else’s image of me.”
“Is that when you went to Le Cordon Bleu in Paris?”
Adrianna grinned as a memory of the chefs at the French school putting her through the ringer came to mind. “Yes, I guess I had to prove that I could do something on my own, be my own person, be independent, and try new things.”
<
br /> “Then our next destination will fit the bill for you,” Dante said.
The town car coursed through the streets of Manhattan and stopped in front of a two-story building in Midtown. “Where are we?” Adrianna asked when the driver came around to open her door.
“You’ll see.” Dante rushed her inside the building.
As they climbed the flight of stairs, Adrianna heard the distinct sounds of Latin music. When they reached the door, she could see that the sign read Dance Sport. He brought her to a dance studio? Why?
“C’mon.” Dante grabbed her hand and opened the door.
A large group of dancers were already assembled and swaying across the dance floor.
“Why did you bring me here?” Adrianna asked. She’d learned to waltz with her father and that was because he led, but that was the extent of her dance experience.
“So we can tango,” he replied smoothly, taking off his suit overcoat. “You need to learn to let loose and have some fun.”
Adrianna was about to respond that she knew how to have fun, but when was the last time she’d been out dancing with anyone? Her ex-husband certainly hadn’t enjoyed it. He’d been more content to read a newspaper or watch a political television show.
“Are you game?” Dante threw her a challenge.
Being with Dante was always exhilarating and Adrianna never knew what to expect. It was what made him so exciting. He was completely unlike any man she’d ever dated. “Let’s go.” She held out her hand.
“All right.” Dante smiled and confidently walked toward her. He doubted she’d ever tangoed in her entire life, but he admired her willingness to try. He grasped her small hand and swiftly pulled her into his embrace.
Adrianna nearly lost her breath at being so close to Dante. The last time they’d been this close, they’d ended up horizontal. She stretched her right arm out into what she assumed from all the movies she’d seen was the tango position and turned to face him. When Dante slid even closer until their bodies were nearly one, Adrianna knew she was a goner.
The music started and Dante stepped forward. Adrianna followed his lead by stepping back. He repeated the dramatic movement with a sharp turn of the head and then easily slid her into a side step. Adrianna was forced to face him and came into direct contact with Dante’s appreciative male gaze as he moved ahead for two forward steps. He paused momentarily before completing the same counter-clockwise flow of movements across the dance floor.
Two to Tango Page 8