by Leslie North
“That sounds great. Why don’t all architects do that?” She tipped her cup back and took a long sip of her drink. She absently reached back and pulled her hair over one shoulder and ran her fingers through it. Nathan looked at the long curve of her neck, and he felt an almost overwhelming wave of desire suddenly stir within him.
When was the last time he’d enjoyed the attentions of a woman? Nathan couldn’t even remember, and the next words stumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them. “Have dinner with me, and I’ll explain it in more detail.”
For a moment, she merely blinked and stared at him. Finally, he watched as she gathered her composure. “Did you just ask me on a date?”
Nathan held her gaze. “I did.”
“Have you put a lot of thought into this or did you ask me on a whim?” she asked suspiciously.
“Does it matter?”
“Well, if you consider our circumstances, it does. It’s not like we can easily part ways if things don’t work out well. Your brother is married to my sister. We’re going to share a niece. We’re going to have to see each other at holidays and family get-togethers, and things could get awkward really quickly,” Carolina pointed out.
“It’s one date,” Nathan said easily as he leaned back. “It was a whim, but I’ve discovered that most good things in life aren’t planned. If it makes you uncomfortable to think of it as a date, consider it a dinner to get to know each other better. I think the baby shower was the first time we talked.”
She snorted. “You’re kidding me, right? We sat at the same table at both of your brothers’ weddings. We had more conversations then than when we were at the baby shower. You don’t remember any of that?”
Aware that he was treading on thin ice, he chose his next words carefully. “Stephen’s wedding was the first time I had to give a toast, so I was pretty occupied with that. Seriously, I hardly remember the entire wedding because I was dreading that moment so much. I was up all night rehearsing what I had to say. And I was late to Gabe’s wedding because I sprained my ankle that morning when I was hiking. I spent most of the wedding and the dinner ducking Daisy.”
“You went hiking before the wedding? I’d be pissed too!”
Nathan shrugged. “I really wanted to go parasailing, but I didn’t have the time.”
A skeptical look crossed her face when she studied him. “You wanted to go parasailing.”
“Don’t let the clothes fool you. I’m an active outdoorsy kind of guy.”
She stuck her tongue in her cheek and nodded. “Okay. I believe you. Well, as much fun as this has been, I have to get back to work. Nice seeing you again, Nathan.”
Nathan pushed back his chair and stood when she did, but he reached out and lightly touched her elbow when she walked past. “You haven’t answered my question. Dinner?”
A small smile played on her face, and she reached out her hand. “Your phone?”
Fishing it out of his pocket, he handed it to her and watched as she fiddled with it. “My ex-husband has the kids tomorrow and Wednesday. It’s his birthday. Call me with a time.”
She strolled out, and Nathan watched her leave. When she was out of view, he glanced down at his phone. She’d programmed her name and number into his list of contacts. Feeling a streak of satisfaction, he left the coffee shop whistling.
He’d found the inspiration that he needed, and he couldn’t wait to go home and draw.
Carolina spent the next hour staring at the computer in the tiny office that was crammed in next door to the equally small kitchen. Paperwork was spread out all around the desk and even pinned to the walls. At some point, she really needed to straighten up and get organized, but she’d lived for so long in this chaos that she was learning to thrive in it.
She had to make up a food order for next week, and while she could stick to the projected sales, there had been a surge in business this week. She could play it safe and order what she’d predicted at the beginning of the month, but having too little food would be a disaster.
But on the other hand, going over budget would also be a disaster. Sighing, she leaned back in the chair. “Heads, you stick to the budget. Tails, you hope you’re as busy next week as you were this week,” she muttered as she picked up a quarter.
As easy as it would be to flip a coin, she knew that wouldn’t solve anything. The truth was that she was distracted by thoughts of Nathan Maxfield. If there was one thing she knew for sure about that family, it was that they had good genes. Nathan Maxfield was man enough to make her catch her breath. Dangerously good-looking with that shaggy hair and piercing blue eyes, he was a mix of carefree whims and heart-stopping looks.
While good looks pumped through the Maxfield blood, she also knew that they all had that desperate need for control and that famous short temper. Carolina didn’t have the time to get swept up in all that. For too long, she’d let her desire to be loved ruin her life, and now she had to focus on getting things back under control.
Agreeing to the date had been a moment of weakness for her, but it had been a long time since she’d gone out and had a good time. Nathan might be a safe place to let herself go a little; so long as she made it clear that it was nothing serious or permanent.
Angie would probably kill her and the knowledge of that hanging over her head would help her keep things under control.
Returning her attention to the computer, she figured she’d probably used up her one risk card agreeing to Nathan’s date, so she stuck to the numbers she’d generated at the beginning of the month. She could always order an emergency truck in the middle of the week if she needed it, but it would cost her extra.
“Carolina? We’re running low on chicken. Do you want to set some out to thaw tonight?”
She swiveled in her chair and turned to the cook. “Yes. How are we on guacamole? Do I need to send one of the waitresses out to get avocados?”
“Probably. Even if we have enough for tonight, we’ll probably run out tomorrow during lunch.”
“Sure,” she nodded. She stood and smoothed a hand over her skirt. Just as she was about to exit the office, the phone rang. Out of habit, she glanced at the display and saw her Mom’s number. Afraid that it had something to do with Carlita, Carolina waved the cook away and snagged the phone.
“Momma? Is everything okay?”
“What is this about a menu change?” her mother snapped.
Carolina’s heart sank. Maria Lopez knew everything. “It’s only an idea Mom, and it’s not a complete change. I was thinking about polling the regular customers to see what they might like to see added to the menu. It’ll be something to entice them to still visit after we move.”
“Why wouldn’t they visit us anyhow? We have good food!”
“We have excellent food, but moving is a big change. It’s not a bad idea to make some other changes.”
“No changes. The menu can stay the way it is. If people don’t like what I make, they can go somewhere else!”
Carolina closed her eyes and tried to hold onto her temper. The truth was that her mother hadn’t actually been in to cook in quite some time. She used to love coming up with new ideas for the menu, but in the past few months, her mother had stopped visiting the restaurant altogether. Whenever Carolina brought it up, her mother said that she was too busy looking after the grandkids, but Carolina knew there was something else going on. They had a big enough family that it wasn’t hard to shuffle kids around when she needed someone to step in and help.
But since her mother had stopped cooking, she’d started trying to control everything from home. In her own little world, everything was fine staying the way it was. Carolina had a feeling that her mother was in denial about the change in location.
“I’ve got to go, Momma. I need to cover the floor and send someone to get more avocados. We’ll talk about this later?”
“There’s nothing to talk about!” She heard her toddler start to cry in the background. “Now look what you did,” her mother gr
umbled before hanging up the phone.
Back in the office, Carolina pinched the bridge of her nose and hung up the phone. Maria Lopez had always been an unstoppable force. After getting into an accident with a drunk driver, she was wheelchair-bound and suddenly a single mom. Carolina barely remembered her father, though Maria always spoke of him fondly. Her mother never even seemed to lose a step, but lately, her positive attitude had completely changed.
To start with, Carolina used to think it had something to do with Angie marrying into the Maxfield family, but lately, her mother’s anger seemed pointed straight at her.
Pushing it out of her head, Carolina stepped out of the small space and locked the door behind her. Two waitresses ran the floor, and Carolina waved them over.
“Who wants to go out and grab some avocados for me?” she asked the young women.
“I’ll do it,” Elizabeth said with a smile. “Ashley is too busy flirting with table A3.”
Ashley reddened but didn’t deny it. Carolina pulled some money out of the drawer and counted it. “Make sure you have a receipt when you come back.”
“I know,” Elizabeth rolled her eyes. Both girls had been with Carolina for two years now, and they worked well as a pair. There were three other servers that rotated, but Elizabeth and Ashley were her best.
When Carolina found out that the building was being torn down, she’d called an immediate staff meeting and was as candid as possible. If she could, she would carry everyone to the new location, and if she couldn’t, she would help them find new jobs. They were all stressed about it, and Carolina felt her heart break every time she thought about the changes and the upheaval the move would bring.
Pushing her fears aside, Carolina put on a bright smile and grabbed a water pitcher. There were still many hours left in the day, and she couldn’t burn out now.
4
The following morning, Nathan knew that he wouldn’t be able to have dinner with Carolina. There was too much going on, and if he pulled away now, he’d be even farther behind. He stared at her contact information before taking a deep breath and making the call.
“Hello?” She sounded confused and a little impatient when she answered.
“Carolina? It’s Nathan Maxfield.”
“Oh, hi, Nathan. I don’t have a lot of time. What can I do for you?”
He closed his eyes and shook his head. “I’m going to have to postpone our dinner tonight. I can’t get away from work.”
There was a pause on the other end, and for a moment, Nathan thought she was going to get upset. “That’s fine. I have a banquet party coming in tonight anyway.”
“Thursday night?” he asked tentatively.
“I can’t do Thursday night,” Carolina said. “I’ve got the kids.” He heard a commotion in the background. “Nathan, let me call you or text you back. I’ve got to go.” She disconnected before he could respond, and he stared at the phone.
He felt a twinge of guilt as he went back to his drawings, but soon he was immersed in his work. The days passed, and Nathan kept in contact with Carolina, but he ended up pushing the date back two more times. Living on coffee, cereal, and ham and cheese sandwiches, he lived, breathed, and slept his design.
When his phone rang sharply, Nathan had no idea if it was day or night. Startled, he jumped, knocking over the mug of coffee on his desk. “Shit,” he muttered as he immediately began to pull his drawings up. But it was too late, they were stained. The only saving grace was that this wasn’t the final draft. But it was still an inconvenience.
Stephen was the one calling him. “I’m working as hard as I can,” Nathan growled as soon as he heard his brother’s voice.
“We haven’t heard from you all week. We’re afraid that you’re turning into a gremlin,” his brother said in a cheery voice. “I don’t suppose you want to come in and share your work?”
“You told me that I could work from home.”
“And you can, but you still have to keep us in the loop, little brother. What do you have for us?”
“I have another week. Leave me alone,” Nathan grumbled. “I promise that I am working.”
Stephen sighed. “That might be the problem. I know how you work, Nathan. If you don’t do something death-defying at least once a month, you start to shrivel and die. Get out of that house of yours and reintroduce yourself to the world around you. At least for a day. Maybe that will help spur that creativity of yours on. You’ll be able to go back to work fresh.”
Nathan leaned back and stared at his drawings. He was at a good stopping point. There was no reason that he couldn’t take that opportunity to get some fresh air and go see a certain beautiful blonde that he’d stupidly kept putting off.
“You know what Stephen? I think you’re right,” he said with a mischievous smile. He wasn’t setting out to piss his big brother off, but he knew that Stephen would hit the roof if he found out that his youngest brother was dating Carolina.
Or rather, taking her out to dinner. Carolina seemed very big on not labeling the evening. Hanging up on Stephen, he called Carolina. “What are you doing tonight?”
“Tonight? I’ve got the kids tonight. Jesus, where did you put the tortillas?”
Nathan waited until he had her attention again. “I want to take you out tonight.”
“I told you that I have the kids tonight,” she said, frustrated.
“I’m okay with that.”
There was a pause on the other side. “You want to take me and my kids out?”
“How about Pete’s Pepperoni?”
“The place is loud and crawling with kids. It’s a terrible place for a first date.”
Nathan smiled. “So we’re calling it a date now?”
“Uh…I’ll meet you there at seven. If you push it back one more time, you’ll be breaking the hearts of all my children. Keep that in mind,” she said quickly before disconnecting the call.
Chuckling, he put his phone down and leaned back in his chair. She’d called it a date. He was already wearing her down.
On her mother’s front porch, Carolina leaned down and picked up her little Carlita. “How’s my baby?” Carolina cooed as she smothered her youngest daughter in kisses. “Were you a good girl while Momma was at work?”
“No!” Carlita giggled happily.
It didn’t faze Carolina. “No” was Carlita’s latest word, and she used it constantly. Her mother rolled back into the house and left the door open. “Why are Julio and Tamara still in the car? Aren’t they coming in?”
“We can’t stay,” Carolina explained. “I’m meeting Nathan at the pizzeria downtown.”
“Nathan?” Her mother narrowed her eyes. “Nathan Maxfield? Why would you have dinner with him?”
Carlita started pulling on Carolina’s hair, and Carolina quickly grabbed her toddler’s fingers. “Because he asked, and I said yes.”
“And you think it’s okay for your children to see you with another man? It’s not like anything serious is going to happen between you two. He is a Maxfield.”
“Momma, all the Maxfield brothers are married except for Nathan. One of them is your son-in-law. You can’t really say they shy away from commitment.”
A breeze whipped through the house and lifted her mother’s graying hair. “We’ll see how long that lasts,” she muttered.
“Momma, you’re being ridiculous. First, you ridiculed Angie for being married to her work, and now you’re upset because she got married to an actual guy? And Nathan and I are not dating. We’re going out for pizza with the kids. It isn’t as though anything can happen with the three of them as loud, messy chaperones.”
“That is the very definition of a date!” her mother practically shouted at her.
Holding her breath, Carolina counted to ten before exhaling. “Momma, I don’t have to explain myself. Thank you for watching Carlita for me. We’ll see you on Monday unless you want to come into the restaurant and cook a little this weekend.”
Maria didn’t say
anything, but she didn’t have to. Carolina saw the stubbornness in her mother’s eyes. She watched her mother silently roll back into the house and shut the front door firmly behind her.
“Okay then,” Carolina muttered as she hurried back to the car. Tamara helped her wrestle the squirming toddler into the car seat while Julio stared at his handheld gaming system. “Thank you, baby,” she said as she leaned across Carlita to kiss her older daughter on the forehead. Tamara was always trying to prove to Carolina that she could be responsible and look after Carlita and Julio on her own, but Carolina wasn’t quite ready to take the plunge. Not at ten. She still had growing up to do.
By the time Carolina navigated the traffic and pulled into the pizzeria, she was ten minutes late, which on most days, could be considered early for her. After she parked, she gave Nathan a quick text to let him know that she was in the parking lot and started the process of gathering her antsy children. Carolina was bent over in the backseat trying to unbuckle Carlita when she heard his masculine voice behind her.
“Need a hand?” Nathan asked in an amused voice.
Slowly, she backed out and straightened. “Were you staring at my…” she clamped her mouth shut when she realized that her kids were still close by.
He put up his hands in surrender, but the smile on his face told her everything that she needed to know. “I’m here to help. Last time you had your kids, you had your hands full. I got us a table close to the kids’ play area in case they wanted to play after dinner.”
“I want to play in the jungle gym,” Julio announced as he looked up from his game for the first time in forty-five minutes.
“You can, but you have to leave that in the car. We’re having dinner, and you know the rules. No electronics at the dinner table,” Carolina said sternly. “While you’re in there, will you grab the diaper bag for me?”
Hoisting Carlita in her arms, she reached for her purse. Carlita pointed to the restaurant. “Hungry!” she demanded.
“Patience, baby,” Carolina murmured. “We’re almost there.”
“Hungry now!”