Determined, Julia shifted a few recently-vacated tables and spoke to the wait staff. Eventually, she was able to make it work, but by the end of the night, she was exhausted, irritated, and worn out.
And nervous.
The heated glances from Tony had ramped up the intensity of the evening. She could feel the tension in the air. Julia knew that Tony was waiting on her, waiting for permission to move forward. That conversation in her apartment a few days ago was still hanging in the air between them.
But there were so many worries in moving forward. Tony was her best friend. She admired him, loved him, and…and she was scared. Terrified, actually, of messing things up.
The wait staff was doing their thing in the dining room – cleaning up the tables, wiping down the chairs, and restocking for tomorrow night’s rush. The bartenders were locking up the liquor and cleaning the glasses, setting them up on the shelves, adding gentle clinking noises to the cacophony of sounds. She could hear the kitchen team cleaning up and putting the food away for the night, but she couldn’t go in there to supervise. Mike, the assistant manager she’d been training for the past year, saw her nod and headed into the kitchen to make sure that everything was taken care of in there.
Forty-five minutes later, the staff had filtered out of “Desire”, going home while they mentally counted out their tips for the night as they softly called goodnights to each other, making their way to their cars. By the time Julia locked the employee doors for the night, she was ready to melt into a puddle of exhaustion. Flicking off the lights, she walked through the restaurant, relieved that tomorrow was Monday and she had two whole days off. She was going to shower, curl up into a ball, and hide under the blankets for the next several days.
“You’ve been avoiding me,” a voice called.
Julia sighed, rubbing her hands over her eyes. She’d seen the way he’d been watching her. The steam rising between them was obvious to anyone with a clue. He’d said that the choice was hers, but she’d been hiding from that choice, not doing anything because both choices seemed…scary. “Yep,” she finally replied reluctantly.
“Why?” Tony asked. She heard the cork pop on a bottle of wine.
Turning around, she watched as he poured two glasses of rich red wine. There was also a plate of appetizers sitting on the table, but she watched his hands, wondering if she should just get out, or go over and tell him that they had to remain friends. The second option was the more mature plan. But she couldn’t deny the appeal of simply escaping.
“Come on. You know you want it.” When she still hesitated, he chuckled. “It’s that Beaujolais you told me to get last year. The one that I said not to buy, but you went ahead and got a case anyway, forcing me to try it.”
“And you loved it,” she replied, smiling over that incident.
“Yeah. I love it. And it goes perfectly with the risotto soup.”
“You never admitted that I was right,” she argued, walking over to the table. Relaxing, she realized that this was the old Tony. Could she be lucky enough to have him pretend that the afternoon in her apartment hadn’t happened? “You know it drives me crazy when I’m right and you won’t admit it.”
“Interesting,” he teased, lifting one of the glasses and handing it to her. “I also made the scallop carpaccio.”
“You’re horrible,” she groaned, but mention of the appetizers that she loved so much was the last straw. She couldn’t resist siren call of the wine plus her favorite appetizer. He smelled clean, obviously having showered already and the scent of soap and man was as alluring as the scallops.
“Have a seat,” he invited, holding out the chair for her. This was nothing odd. They’d shared a light meal after everyone else had gone home many times before. This was normal. This was safe. Although, after the chaos of the night and the clatter of the clean-up, the quiet seemed more intimate somehow.
When she was sitting down, they talked about the night, the silence after the business cocooning their table. He nudged the plate of appetizers closer to her. “You shouldn’t accommodate everyone who shows up without a reservation, Julia.”
She lifted one of the scallops to her lips, savoring the incredible taste. He’d added something to them this time, something different and she couldn’t quite figure it out. Yet. Julia wiped her fingers on a napkin and leaned back, her glass of wine in her hands as she looked at him. “I know, but they weren’t locals. Which means that they traveled at least thirty minutes from Louisville to get here. I don’t like turning anyone away.”
He chuckled, and placed another appetizer on her plate. “You’re soft.”
“I’m making you money,” she argued as she popped the decadent appetizer into her mouth. “Oh, this is amazing,” she sighed in delight. “You added something. What?”
“A bit of my secret spice.”
She laughed, because the man didn’t have a secret spice. He mixed spices up until he got what he wanted each time. And every time, it was slightly different. Better too, which was odd.
They sipped the excellent wine and laughed about things, relaxing and unwinding from the stressful evening.
When she finished off her wine, he leaned forward. “I’ll walk you home.”
She knew that wasn’t a good idea. He’d done it many times before, but tonight, it seemed too intimate. Their conversation two days ago and her lack of a decision hung in the air between them.
“That’s okay. You don’t have to do that.”
“Yes. I do.”
He stood up and took her hand. Accepting the inevitable, she grabbed her purse and followed him out. He’d changed out of his chef’s clothes and was wearing a pair of jeans and a soft sweater. He’d also showered, something he did almost every night before going home. He had a shower in his office, not wanting to take the smells of the kitchen home.
The night was quiet and, as they passed by the darkened grocery store, Julia waved to Joe, the officer on duty that night. He was sitting in his SUV, sipping coffee and waved back. Julia knew that the deputy on duty waited outside the restaurant until all of the staff were safely in their cars and she appreciated their vigilance. Tony knew that the sheriff’s officers diligently protected his employees and walked over, handing Joe a paper bag which, Julia knew, would be filled with a gourmet meal from the night’s menu.
When Emerson had first come to LowPoint, fresh from the New York City SWAT Commander’s job, he’d had to create the sheriff’s staff. He’d done a great job of finding a reliable team, with Mark as his deputy, who was probably snuggled into bed with his wife, since Skye and Mark were expecting their third child, their twin boys already settled into their beds for the night. Their twins had arrived a bit earlier than anticipated. In fact, Mark hadn’t even known he was going to be a father until he’d accepted the job with Emerson here in LowPoint, having come from Emerson’s SWAT team in New York. When he’d arrived, he’d found Skye, the woman he’d been seeing in New York who had run away from him, too afraid of the emotional risks involved with being in love with a police officer. Every day, the NYC SWAT team risked their lives for others, jumping into the most dangerous situations. Skye had left, unwilling to fall in love with a man only to lose him to an idiot on a meth high swinging a machete at hostages.
At the time she’d left, Skye hadn’t known she was pregnant. And she hadn’t known Mark’s last name, so she couldn’t tell him either. So, it was serendipitous that he’d shown up in town only weeks before her due date. Their relationship had been tumultuous at first, but Skye and Mark had worked things out.
Joe and Marcus, the other officers on the staff were single and cute. But right now, neither of them appeared to be in any hurry to marry.
Julia and Tony continued down the quiet sidewalk, listening to the muted sounds of the night. By the time they arrived at Julia’s apartment building, she was nervous and jumpy, sure that Tony was going to say something that she wouldn’t like.
Sure enough, as they stood in front of the gla
ss doors, he turned her so that she was facing him. “Julia, I’m heading out of town for a while.”
That got her attention. Julia was equally surprised at the sharp stab of disappointment. Tony not here in town? She didn’t like the sound of that. Not one bit! “You are? That wasn’t on the schedule!”
He laughed softly. “I decided earlier today. I want you to think about what we discussed a few days ago, but I think you need to do it when I’m not around.”
Julia held her breath. She didn’t want to think about it. The idea of changing their relationship was scary and Julia wasn’t sure she wanted things to change.
“Why? Why can’t we just…?” she whispered, then looked up into his eyes and knew.
The answer was there. Even in the dim light from the overhead streetlights, she could see the desire in his eyes. “Because I want you. But I don’t want to hurt you.”
She gasped, her body tightening with those words. “I thought we weren’t going to talk about that until I was ready.”
He chuckled. “I figured that you didn’t want to talk about it, but after hearing you are dreaming of me at night, and apparently, some pretty interesting dreams, I really think we need to discuss the situation.” He paused. “No, not just talk about it, I want to act on what’s happening between us. But I won’t pressure you. I told you before, this has to be your decision. Just as I’d said before, you decide. The when and where. But I want to help you make the decision by getting out of the way.”
“Oh. Well…” she wasn’t sure what to say to that. She wanted to beg him not to leave. The world wasn’t nearly as fun or challenging when he was gone. She hated it when he had to leave to check on his other restaurants, feeling as if she was only half alive when he was gone.
“When are you coming back?” she asked, almost afraid of the answer.
“How about a week?” he offered. “Will that give you enough time to make a decision?”
“Yes,” she sighed, so relieved that he wasn’t leaving for good that she’d take any amount of time.
“While I’m gone, think about this,” he lowered his head, and pressed his lips to hers. Softly at first, but when her lips moved, trembling against his, he deepened the kiss. Over and over, he slanted his mouth against hers, tasting, nipping. Teasing. She loved it, moaning into his mouth as she rose on her toes, needing more. Needing everything!
But then he stopped. Pulling back, his strong hands steadied her as she swayed slightly. He groaned as he looked down at her, their frustration levels ramping up slightly higher. “We can work this out, but you have to decide.”
And then he was gone. Julia watched him walk away, feeling as if a part of her was going as well.
Chapter 7
Tony lay on the ground, praying that he would die.
A grizzled face appeared in his line of sight. “You okay, old man?”
Tony wondered if he had the strength to punch the guy. Gunner looked way too happy. And they’d been out here in the middle of nowhere for more than six hours. These Navy SEALs were nuts! They climbed and jumped, repelled and raced across the sandy earth. They were monkeys. That had to be it. That was the only explanation.
“You’re in better shape than I would have thought!” the team’s commanding officer, Mick Hanson, teased.
Tony tried to groan, but after five days of this, he couldn’t make a sound because even that required too much energy. The officer deserved a good punch to the gut but…. Tony couldn’t even lift his arm, much less punch someone.
Not that Hanson would allow that. Tony suspected that the men on this SEAL team knew how to kill people with a paper clip. Not a group to mess with. So getting in a sucker punch for the past six hours of hell was most likely out of the question.
Tony groaned, his body aching in places he hadn’t known existed. “I’m in hell. You guys have taken me to hell.”
The team of twelve just laughed, all of them covered in sand and muck, sweat making their clothes stick to their bodies like a second skin. And this was just for fun. He couldn’t even imagine what a training exercise might be like!
A different voice chimed in with the suggestion, “We could do Julia a favor and just bury him out here. No one would find his body.”
This was from a guy nicknamed “Fingers”, the computer guru on the SEAL team. Tony laughed right along with the rest of the team, but he wasn’t completely sure if the guy was kidding. There were a few more jokes but Tony sat up, ignoring the pain slicing through his abdominal muscles caused by overuse from the brutal obstacle course.
He realized that they were getting out the brown, plastic pouches of MREs, Meals Ready to Eat, that the Army provided to the troops for food and he shuddered. “Seriously? You’re eating that crap when I’m around?”
Everyone on the team stopped and stared at him.
Shaking his head, he stood up and glared. “Take me to a kitchen and I’ll make you a meal.”
One by one, they looked at Gunner, none of them sure they wanted their “victim” in a kitchen cooking for them.
Gunner only laughed, throwing his hands up in the air. “Don’t look at me. He asked to come out here on his own with us. I don’t think he’ll poison us.” He grinned. “And if he does, we won’t even know it, so what do we care?”
They all laughed, but with the promise of a good meal, they packed up.
Tony smiled, not sure he had a full laugh in him at the moment. “Just point me to a kitchen and give me an hour.”
Each of them hefted their rucksacks that Tony knew were loaded with actual rocks. But instead of complaining, he hefted his own onto his back, smothering another groan. He could do this, he vowed. And then they were running back to base. Not jogging. Not hotfooting it. They were literally racing back. Tony refused to be the left behind so he put everything into it once more and kept up. Barely.
Back at his hotel room, he ignored the pain and rushed through a shower, then headed into the Army kitchen where Commander Hanson had already gotten permission for Tony to cook.
He looked around at the ingredients available to him, then started chopping and mixing.
By the time the others started to trickle in, he had pans sizzling with ingredients and appetizers were already laid out on trays.
Fingers and Bulldog walked in and took a bite, rolling their eyes as they groaned. “This is amazing!”
Fingers laughed. “I know you came here to hang with us so we could distract you from Julia, but forget her. I’ll marry you!”
Bulldog body checked his friend and stood up. “Forget him. I’m your stud. Cook like this for me every night and I’ll do anything you want.” Others wandered in, sampling the appetizers and making equally inappropriate comments but they all agreed, Tony was a culinary god.
The Commander and Lieutenant stepped through the doors of the mess hall. They took one look at the men, sampled the food, and sighed appreciatively. Looking over at Tony, Commander Hanson asked, “How many have proposed?”
The rest of the team burst out laughing.
Tony discovered that Ivy’s husband, Gunner, was actually nicknamed Madman. He poked his head up from one of the tables. “I think he’s already taken, sir,” and then ducked down to continue eating.
The lieutenant filled his plate with food and grabbed two beers. “For a guy who lazes around and cooks all day, you can keep up,” he toasted with admiration, tipping one of his bottles in Tony’s direction, a silent acknowledgement that was impressive.
Tony laughed, but took that as the ultimate compliment. “Thanks, Caleb,” and the man moved on down to sit with the team members.
Fingers came over to grab another beer. “You know, LT, we could rescue this mysterious woman and hide her away. He’d never find her. Then we could keep him here with us to cook.”
Everyone laughed, agreeing with the plan. Tony stared around the room, still not completely sure if they were kidding or not, which caused the whole team to roar with laughter at his wide-eyed expres
sion.
The following morning, Fingers walked into the mess hall with Madman and Bulldog. “Your buddy head home?” Fingers asked.
Gunner grunted, filling a mug with coffee. “Yeah. You guys scared him. He wasn’t sure if we were kidding about kidnapping his woman. He had to fly home to make sure she was safe.”
Bulldog filled his coffee right behind Gunner, looking completely innocent. “Wait, we weren’t kidding?” He winked at Fingers and the three of them burst out laughing.
Chapter 8
The doorbell pulled her attention from the romance novel she’d been reading for the past several hours. All four dogs jumped up, barking in their excitement for someone new to entertain them since Julia had been reading, which, in dog minds meant she was being boring.
She frowned at the front door, wondering if she could get away with ignoring the bell. It could be any number of people, including Daisy or Ivy. It wasn’t Skye, since she and Mark were out of town. But, by now, everyone in LowPoint would know that Tony was gone and probably assumed she’d kicked him out. Or maybe someone thought she was sick since she wasn’t going to church services or their weekly bunco game. In the past, she’d heard about someone in the community getting sick and had brought over meals Tony had prepared. That’s just what people did – taking care of others.
Could she pretend that she wasn’t here? But that would be bad. If word had gotten around that she was sick, then not answering the door would also get around.
“I know you’re in there, Julia. Open up!”
Tony? How could he know she was in her apartment? The dogs were barking, but she hadn’t moved even an inch!
“I can hear you thinking!” he declared, and she detected humor in his voice.
That only pissed her off and she threw the blanket off her shoulders, stomping over to the door and stepping around excited canines. “What do you want?” she demanded as soon as she whipped open the door. “It’s my day off and I’m relaxing, exactly as you would probably order me to do if you’d bothered to hang around.”
Seduced (The Lottery Winners Book 8) Page 6