by Dena Blake
“Okay, then. The address is fifteen hundred Kingston, and she’s in suite B.” Nancy wrote it on an order pad and slipped it into the bag. “I’ll call the security guard at the front desk and tell him you’re delivering so you don’t have any trouble getting into the building. She keeps the door to the suite locked, so you’ll have to knock when you get there. I’d say thank you, but she’s gonna be pissed at me for this.” She gathered up her salad and rushed back out the door, leaving Izzy wondering what the hell she was talking about.
“It was enough with the extra portions and the feeding her in the kitchen, but now you’re delivering to her?” Tony grumbled. “That girl is going to be the end of you.”
“Apparently there’s something I need to straighten out with her.”
“Yeah, whatever, but I’m not working late tomorrow night. The Warriors are on.”
“I think you can cut me some slack, Tony. Seeing as how I work late almost every night.”
*
Mel leaned back in her chair, hardly able to keep her eyes open. She should go home but hated being there alone. The phone rang, startling her out of her drowsy state. She looked at the caller ID and picked up the phone. “Where are you?”
Nancy’s voice rang through. “I’m almost there, but I can’t find my key.”
“Again?” Mel blew out a breath.
“Just come out to the reception area, so you can hear me when I knock.”
“Can’t you just call me when you get here?”
“Do you want me to drop your dinner while I’m juggling the phone?”
“Fine, but hurry up.” It was only a few minutes after she’d hung up and gone to the front of the office when she heard the knock on the door.
“I can’t believe you lost your key again.”
“I don’t think you gave me a key,” Izzy said, tugging her lips up into a smile and producing those irresistible dimples.
She looked different tonight. Her dark hair wasn’t tied back; it was wild and thick around her face. Mel bit her bottom lip as she let her gaze sweep the length of her. Dressed in skinny jeans topped with a charcoal T-shirt fitted just enough to accentuate the curves of her breasts, Izzy was propped casually up against the doorway with the bag of food swinging from her fingers. She was sexy as hell.
“Oh…I thought Nancy was bringing that.”
“Since it was out of her way, I offered. I thought since you’ve been to my place of business so many times, maybe I should come to yours for once.”
Mel didn’t move. “That really wasn’t necessary.”
Izzy tilted her head. “Well, now that I’m here, can I come in?”
“Uh…sure.” She moved aside and let Izzy though the doorway. “I’ll get my wallet.”
“No need. Nancy took care of it. This is a nice place.” Izzy scanned the office. “Do you have a table somewhere?”
“I was going to take it home.”
“It’ll be cold by then. We should eat it now.”
“We?”
“I brought some for myself. I didn’t want you to have to eat alone. Is that all right?”
“Okay.” She relented, leading Izzy into the small conference room in the suite. For a woman involved with someone else, Izzy was being pretty presumptuous.
“Wow, this place is bigger than it looks.” Izzy pulled out a couple of containers, setting one in front of Mel and one in front of herself.
“This is awfully sweet of you, but don’t you need to get home to your girlfriend?” Mel sputtered.
“No.” She shook her head slowly. “No girlfriend.”
Mel crossed her arms. “Last week, I clearly heard Tony say that woman in the kitchen was your girlfriend.”
Izzy seemed thoughtful for a moment. “I guess he did say that.”
“Well? Who is she?” Mel could see Izzy’s lip quirk up a bit. She was sure it was perfectly obvious she was jealous. Mel had no idea why, but she was.
“Why don’t you sit down and eat your pasta before it gets cold, and I’ll tell you all about it after we’re finished.”
Skeptical, Mel sat down, folded back the foil edges, and took the top off her container. She wasn’t going to let Izzy leave tonight without telling her about this woman. Why would Tony say she was Izzy’s girlfriend if it wasn’t true?
Mel took a bite of pasta and let out a groan. “This is so good.”
Izzy buttered a piece of bread and handed it to her. “So what are you working on that’s keeping you here so late?”
“I’ve got two major projects and many more updates that all need to be done yesterday.”
“Do you have anyone to help you?”
“Nancy offered to take some of it, but she has her own work to do.”
“I say, between you and Nancy, you write it all down and prioritize it. Then the two of you can knock it out together.”
She smiled. “I guess I would be able to get it done a lot faster if she helped me with the style pages.”
“I have no idea what those are. But if it will take some of the pressure off you, then you should let her do them.”
Mel’s heart warmed as she watched the slow smile creep across Izzy’s face. She’d missed more than the pasta. She kept her eyes glued to her food as she finished eating, determined not to let Izzy soften her up.
“So, who is she?”
“Is that why you left last week?”
Mel shrugged and wiped her mouth. “You seemed to have your hands full with her.”
“And the reason you haven’t been in all week?”
“No.” Mel shifted in her seat. “I’ve just been busy here at work.”
“But you thought she was my girlfriend.” One side of Izzy’s mouth pulled up.
“Well, that’s what Tony said. What was I supposed to think?” She pushed her empty food container aside. “Tell me differently.”
Izzy picked up the containers and slid them back into the bag. “Dana was my girlfriend. We haven’t been together for a while.”
Mel saw the turmoil on Izzy’s face and got a sick feeling in her stomach. This story wasn’t going to end well.
“I caught her with someone else.”
“Oh my God.” Mel sat forward in the chair. “That must have been horrible.”
She nodded. “It was certainly a surprise.” Izzy stared into space for a minute, and Mel knew she was reliving the experience. She watched her closely as she waited for her to continue.
“So I let her go.”
“But she still comes around?”
She blew out a short breath. “Oh, you don’t know the half of it.” Izzy shifted in her seat. “She acts like it never happened.”
“Is she still with the other woman?”
Izzy rolled her lips together and nodded.
“Does she know she still comes around?”
“I’m not sure. I’ve thought about telling her, but I don’t want to be pulled back into that situation. She probably wouldn’t believe me anyway.”
“I’m so sorry, Iz.” She reached across the table and covered Izzy’s hand with hers. “No one should have to go through something like that.” Mel was seeing a whole new side of Izzy. It seemed as though the tough girl who made light of every situation had a hurtful past. She had a soft, vulnerable side Mel hadn’t seen before, and it made Mel feel so much closer to her.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have dropped all of that on you.”
“No. I’m glad you told me. That’s what friends are for.” Mel squeezed her hand, and they shared a gaze before Mel broke away and fixed her eyes on her watch. “Oh my. I had no idea how late it is. We should go.”
“I’ll walk you to your car.”
“Let me get my things.” Mel locked the door to the suite and waved to the guard as they left the building.
Izzy opened Mel’s car door for her. “You know, someone like you could make a girl forget all about what happened in the past.”
“Well, I don’t know about that, but I
’m certainly willing to help out.” She pressed her lips to Izzy’s cheek before sliding into the driver’s seat. “Thanks for bringing me dinner.”
*
Izzy raised her hand to her cheek, stunned and unsure of what exactly Mel had meant. If it was anything remotely close to what Izzy was thinking, she needed to act on it now. Her heart raced as she caught the door before it closed. “Do you think maybe we can get together next week sometime?”
Mel smiled widely. “Yeah. Sure. Just give me a call.” She rattled off her cell number, and Izzy repeated it over and over in her head as she watched Mel drive away. The grin on Izzy’s face felt frozen. She kept Mel’s car in sight until it was out of view. A passing set of headlights brought her back to reality. She got into her car and put Mel’s number in her cell-phone contacts before she fired the engine.
Izzy thought about the look on Mel’s face when she’d asked her about Dana. Her expression wasn’t just inquisitive; it was demanding. Izzy had been confused as to why she even cared until she detected the jealousy in her tone. It was clear now what she’d thought when Dana had showed up at Bella’s, and she’d stayed away this past week because of it. Where do we go from here? She was still married, not happily, it seemed, but married just the same. Izzy had never knowingly crossed that line before.
*
“All right, class, I want a website proposal from you all by Friday. You can work individually or in groups of two. If you need a partner or a company to create a website for, come see me after class.”
After whispering with Doug, Angie stepped to the front of the class to talk to Mel. “If it’s all right, I thought Doug and I would create a website for Bella’s.”
“That sounds like a great idea. Did you run it by your sister?”
“Yeah. She’s all for it.”
“Good. You’ll need to write up the proposal first.”
“Already did that.” Angie slid the proposal onto the desk in front of Mel.
She read through it, made a couple of corrections in the verbiage, and handed it back. “Looks good. Just make the changes I indicated and submit it through the online drop box.
You’ll need to create a flowchart next. If you take a blank writeable DVD to the test lab, you can trade it for a student copy of Visio. Let me know if you need any help installing it.”
“I will.” She turned to return to her seat.
“Angie.” Mel called her back. “What’s your plan?”
“We’re going to have a main page with links for each menu and pictures for each one of the dishes.”
“I mean for the future. Are you going to work at the restaurant, or are you serious about being a web designer?” Mel continued when Angie’s eyebrows pulled together. “Because you really have a gift for it.” Mel probably shouldn’t have told her that, but it was true. She’d viewed the other sites Angie had created, and they were good, really good. She had talent.
Angie slid down in the chair next to the desk. “You think so?”
“I do. And if you work really hard, I think you have a good shot at getting the internship.”
“I will.”
“If you get stuck on anything, I’ll be happy to help you work through it.”
“Okay, thanks.”
Mel held back her grin as she watched Angie walk back to her desk out of the corner of her eye. It was a bit strange having Angie in class; the resemblance between her and Izzy was uncanny. Her hair had been colored, fading from dark to light, but she had her sister’s Mediterranean features and her beautiful blue eyes. Her stunned expression when she left Mel’s desk was still on her face when she sat down next to Doug.
Angie whispered something in Doug’s ear, and her lips spread into a wide smile. It was clear Angie had no interest at all in working at Bella’s. Izzy seemed to be aware of Angie’s interest in technology, judging by her earlier phone call, but did she have any idea how passionate her sister really was about it? And was she willing to let her find her own path outside of the restaurant?
*
Izzy hummed while she skimmed through the produce at the market, picking up fresh vegetables to add to the special for the night. Her daily ritual was extra enjoyable today, because tonight she was planning a special meal just for Mel: beef Wellington with mashed red potatoes and roasted baby carrots. It was going to be perfect. She’d made herself wait a couple of days before calling, but she’d had the date all planned out the next day. She would hold the little booth in the corner, one of the romantic ones with a curtain. Add some good food and wine, and the night will be perfect. When she rounded the corner to the butcher counter, she heard a familiar voice. It was Jack Thomas, holding a bouquet of roses, waiting on one of the butchers to wrap a couple of steaks for him.
“There goes my night.” She let out a sigh. His trip must have been cut short. She waited until he left the meat counter to get her order.
“Izzy, sweetheart, I’ve got your order right here.” Joe called to her and then checked the order. “Hang on. It looks like we’re short that extra tenderloin you requested.” He turned to go into the back. “I’ll cut it right now for you.”
“Forget the tenderloin, Joe. My special party for tonight canceled.”
“Oh, well, that’s too bad. They don’t know what they’re missing.”
“Thanks, Joe. Tell Rose I said hello.”
“Tell her yourself. We’ll be in tomorrow night.”
Izzy smiled and turned to go, then turned back. “Joe, how did you make Rose fall in love with you?”
He moved to the side of the counter and motioned her closer. “You really want to know?”
“Yes, I do. When she looks at you all I see is love.”
“I wasn’t the first guy she fell in love with, you know.” He raised an eyebrow and seemed to become lost in a memory. “He was a looker. Big and handsome, played all kinds of sports. I was never like that.”
“What are you talking about, Joe. You’re adorable.”
“Well, maybe a little bit.” He smiled. “But that’s not what got her. Patience and persistence did the trick. I never went away. I always stayed close with her and her family.” He shrugged. “And then one day the other guy was gone and I was still there, waiting. So, you see, I couldn’t make her fall in love with me. She had to do that herself.” He grabbed her shoulders softly. “If she’s worth it, be patient.”
Izzy gave Joe a thoughtful look. “Thanks, Joe. Dinner’s on me tomorrow night.” She gave him a quick hug and headed toward the checkout.
“If I’d have known all it took was a little advice to get free dinner, I would have given that to you a long time ago,” he shouted after her.
On the way to the restaurant, Izzy thought about what Joe had said. If Mel was really worth it, she would wait as long as it took for her to realize her life could be better. She pulled up to the back of the restaurant, got out of the car, and banged on the back door. The door swung open, and Tony came out as she was getting a couple of bags of food out of the backseat of her car. He took the bags from her, and she followed him into the kitchen.
“Carrots, rib eye, snapper.” Tony inventoried her food choices as he put them into the refrigerator. “Where’s the tenderloin?”
“Not gonna happen tonight.”
“Why not?”
“Her husband is back in town.”
“She tell you that?”
“I saw him at the market.”
“Oh.” He moved the sourdough-bread delivery to the other counter. “You talk to him?”
“No. Just saw him picking up steaks.” And flowers.
“Don’t you think that’s odd?”
“What?”
“Him coming all the way down here for steak.”
“What’s odd about that? He comes here to eat.”
“Yeah, but the airport is in the city. You’d think he would stop a little closer to home.”
The phone rang. “Bella’s,” Tony said, pressing the receiver to his ear. “H
ang on just a second.” He cupped his palm over the mouthpiece and motioned to Izzy. “It’s for you.”
She scrunched up her face. “Who?”
“Dunno.” He lifted his shoulders. “She just asked for you.”
She took the receiver from him and slipped it up against her ear. “This is Izzy.”
“Hi, Izzy.” Mel hesitated. “I wasn’t sure if you’d be there yet.”
“Oh yeah. I’m always here early.” Izzy figured she was calling to cancel tonight since Jack was back in town.
“Just wanted to check and see if we were still on for dinner tonight.”
“Oh, I wasn’t sure.” Izzy’s voice rose. “I thought you’d be with Jack.”
“That would be difficult since he’s still out of town.”
“But I—” She stuttered, rubbing her face. “I thought maybe he was back?”
“No. He won’t be in town for another week.”
“Oh.” Izzy pictured him in her head. Six feet tall, sandy blond hair, cut short around the ears and flopped into a naturally curly mop on top. An athletic type with a pretty-boy face and a sophisticated air about him that didn’t quite seem deserved. She was sure it was him she saw at the market.
“So, I’ll see you around tenish, okay?”
“Okay, sure. That sounds good.” Izzy hung up the receiver and turned to Tony. “She doesn’t know he’s back.”
“Who?”
“Mel. She doesn’t know her husband is back.”
“You think he ever left town?” Tony asked.
“Doesn’t look like it, does it?” The bastard.
“You gonna tell her?”
“Should I?”
“Maybe you should stay out of it.”
“Wouldn’t you want me to tell you?”
“Of course, but you and I are always straight with each other.”
“I feel like I should be that way with her too.”
“What if she doesn’t believe you?” Potatoes thudded against the metal sink as he dumped the sack into it. “Then you end up being the bad guy.”
“I don’t know, Tony. I think I should.”
“Ahh, Izzy.” He frowned. “You’re the only one who’s gonna get hurt if you get involved in this.” He wrapped his big arms around her and held her in a tight hug. “How long have you known this woman? Do you know anything about her?” He rested his chin on her head.