by J. S. Cooper
“I want pizza,” Brandon said.
“We’re going to get pizza when we get home, Brandon. First ice cream and then pizza. And you guys have to be good. Remember you told your mom, you would be good.”
“We’re always good, Auntie Sadie,” Dylan said with a sweet smile and I just nodded at him, knowing that now was not the time to remind him of all the times that they hadn’t been good.
“Yes, yes.” I nodded and my heart started racing as I looked at the time on my watch. I had fifteen minutes before Dante was meant to show up. “Let’s go in and get your ice cream guys and then we can get you seated,” I said as I opened the door to the store, wondering if this was a really bad idea. “Also guys, just remember that my friend.” I paused and looked at Dylan. “Well, my date . . . well, this is the first time I’m meeting him and he doesn’t know that you guys are going to be there.”
“Why not?” Brandon asked with a frown.
“Doesn’t he like us?” Dylan asked and I shook my head quickly.
“He doesn’t know you guys and I don’t want you all to meet him until I know if he’s a nice guy. Now, come on, choose what you want quickly. It’s the first date and I do not want to scare this guy off by introducing him to three kids.”
“Why would you be scaring him off, Auntie Sadie?”
“No reason,” I said and gave Dylan a smile and hug. I didn’t want them to feel like they were unlovable. I was already worried that they were getting to the age where they were starting to ask more and more questions about their dad. Sometimes I spoke to them, well especially, Dylan, as if they were adults, but I knew that they weren’t and I wanted to be careful of their feelings.
“Hey guys, you’re going to have your ice cream and I’m going to grab a coffee and meet with him. I’m going to be really quick and then we’re going to go.”
“I thought you said that you wanted to get a free steak out of it,” Dylan said innocently, and I frowned. Had he been eavesdropping when I’d been talking to his mom?
“No Dylan.” I shook my head. “I’m just getting a quick coffee.”
“Okay,” they all chorused politely. That really should have been my first sign that the night was not going to go as planned. I could even tell from the look on Dylan’s face that he wasn’t just going to sit patiently outside, but I was too preoccupied with other things to allow my instincts to set in and warn me of the impending drama.
5
Sadie
DANTE
“You have to tell me everything as soon as your date is over.” My good friend, Lila gushed into the phone. “I want to hear all about the date. I’m so excited for you.”
“Don’t get too excited.” I walked towards my car. “She doesn’t even live in the City, so it’s not like it’s going to be a good match. Can’t even hook up easily, if I want to.”
“Dante!” She chastised me. “That’s horrible.”
“No, just honest. Plus, I’m not looking for anything, you know that. I have no time, between work at the firm and then overseeing the businesses my cousins and I own, I’m absolutely swamped.
“Blah, blah, blah.” She said into the phone. “I’m sure Carter wasn’t expecting to fall in love with me either, but it happened.”
“Don’t get me started on Carter.” Lila was recently engaged to a musician that she’d only met a few months ago and was pregnant with his baby. That was my worst nightmare, but I made sure to not tell her that.
“You know you love him.” She laughed and I just chuckled. Surprisingly, Carter and I were now good friends. We hadn’t had the most auspicious start to the friendship, but everything had worked out.
“Well, I’m about to get into the car to go and meet my hot date, so I’ll see you later, okay?”
“Okay, have fun!” She said and hung up and I got into the driver’s seat and sighed. I had so many files to go through today and I had a deposition on Monday that I really needed to prepare for. I sure hoped that this Sadie would be worth it. I hadn’t even seen a photo of her and so I had no idea what to expect. It had passed through the pipeline that she had suggested we meet at a coffee shop; instead of the steak dinner that I’d thought we would have. I had actually laughed when Nana had told me that. It struck me that this Sadie Peters might also be very nervous about this date. A coffee date suggested that she wanted an easy out if she didn’t like me; which was actually a little intriguing to me. Why had she accepted the date? And would she like me? I mean, I had no real doubts that she would like me. Every woman I’d ever met seemed to find me attractive. I wasn’t arrogant, but I knew that I had the full package. Tall, very handsome, well built rich, I was a catch. In fact I think I’d be considered one of the most eligible bachelors in New York City the last few years and women certainly weren’t hard to come by. Nana Addie had to know that, but I suppose she really wanted me to settle down. She and most other people considered me to be a playboy, but in fact, I was far from that.
6
Sadie
“Oh, my word,” I mumbled to myself as I watched the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen in my life walk toward me with a sexy saunter. He was six foot four and extremely muscular. He had dark brown silky hair that had that sexy tousled look that said he’d just stumbled out of bed. His hazel-green eyes were stunning and I as I stared at him, I watched as they turned from looking green to brown and back to green again. A light sexy stubble adorned his chiseled face and he wore a smile that was made to bedazzle as he stared at me. His stride was confident and I watched as his arms swung back and forth; strong arms and hands that looked like they knew exactly what they were doing at all moments. I could feel my body growing hot and nervous as he approached. Shit, this man was gorgeous and I already hated him. Anyone that good-looking and confident had to be an asshole. Or a psychopath. I mean, why was he going on a blind date with me if he was so well put together? I knew I was being unfair to him, but there was something about the cocky smile on his face that both turned me on and infuriated me.
“Sadie?” he asked with a smirk as he finally reached up to me outside of the coffee shop, his lips turning up slightly as he studied my frazzled appearance.
“Yes, David?” I lied. I knew his name was Dante. Obviously, I knew his name was Dante, but David slipped out so easily. I just wanted to put him in his place. It wouldn’t hurt him to be brought down a peg or two. But damn, his lips were so pink and luscious as they curled up in an amused fashion. Why did he have to be so sexy? He was pretty much sex on legs. I could feel my stomach fluttering just thinking about how hot he was. “It is David, right?” I said again, pretending to look unsure and slightly confused. It didn’t work though; I’m no actress. If anything his smile grew wider and his gaze more intense.
“Dante actually, but you can call me David if you prefer.” He tilted his head down briefly as if to say I could do whatever I wanted.
“Why would I prefer that?” I asked in my most saccharine voice as I studied his attire. He was wearing a dark navy blue suit and a forest green tie that brought out the green in his irises. The color combination shouldn’t have worked, but it did and he looked suave and handsome and completely out of my league. I brushed back my messy dark locks from instinct, not because I cared and tried not to look down at my faded blue jeans and white T-shirt that had a chocolate syrup stain on it from the ice cream shop. Obviously, I had not gotten the memo that we needed to dress up. But who dressed up for a coffee date? I mean, a suit? A sudden loud giggling caught my attention and I quickly looked to the right toward the ice cream shop and gazed over at the table where the boys sat. My eyes narrowed as I saw them sitting there eating their ice cream greedily and staring at me with delight in their beady little eyes. I couldn’t believe what a hot mess of a day this was already turning out to be and I certainly didn’t need them giggling and watching me make a fool of myself.
“I just thought that perhaps you would prefer to call your date by the right name?” Dante said gaining my attention agai
n. He shrugged and as I turned back to look at him he looked down into my eyes with another curl of his lip. “Or perhaps the name doesn’t matter to you?” He could tell I’d been distracted, but I knew he thought it was from disinterest.
I just stared at him for a few seconds, not knowing how to respond. We’d already gotten off to a very bad start. Just great. “Nice to meet you and make your acquaintance, Dante,” I said finally, and I watched as he opened his arms to give me a hug. I was surprised at the gesture. He didn’t seem to be the sort to go for hugs, but I was determined to put my best foot forward and hopefully turn the date around. I mean he was a hottie, after all, and my early judgments of him were unfair. I mean I didn’t even know him yet. I stepped forward and put my arms around him and he squeezed me tightly for a few seconds before letting go. His body was hard and warm next to me and I felt a light tingle as my body pressed into his. I looked up into his eyes as I pulled away and the twinkle I saw made me blush.
“You too, Sadie. I’ve heard all about you from my Nana Addie.”
“Really?” I gave him a doubtful look. “I haven’t heard much about you from my Grandma Louise. Even though she claims to be best friends with your nana,” I continued, rambling on as I was starting to feel nervous.
“Okay, phew.” He started laughing then and winked at me. “I was lying. I don’t really know anything about you, Sadie Peters. Nana said she wanted it to be a surprise.” He paused as he shook his head. “And to be honest, I was also taken aback by this friendship with your grandma. I’d never heard of her before and I’ve met almost all of Nana’s friends by now.” He grinned. “She parades her grandsons around like trophies to all her friends.” He laughed then. “But I digress.”
“It is all very strange,” I agreed and wondered if perhaps I’d judged him too quickly. Maybe he was a nice guy with a great sense of humor after all. And if he was close to his nana, that was a great sign. “I’d never heard of your nana or you before last week, but I figured I’d accept the date to make my grandma happy.”
“So what makes a good-looking girl like you accept a blind date?” He cocked his head to the side and looked me up and down slowly, his eyes taking in every inch of my body in a very obvious way. I was taken aback by his boldness. Who the hell did he think he was?
“Sorry, what?” I asked him, blinking rapidly as I tried to keep my tone even. I was not in the mood to deal with any chauvinistic pigs right now. And while I’d appreciated his build in his suit, I hadn’t fucked him with my eyes, had I?
“What makes a good-looking girl like you accept a blind date?” he repeated as if he didn’t realize how offensive he was being. “Like what are your faults?” He grinned at me. “What should I be wary of?”
“I could ask you the same thing,” I said as I tried not to roll my eyes at him. It hadn’t even been five minutes and I was already back to my initial impression of him. He was a jerk.
“I’ll be honest,” he said as he stood there. “I don’t ever want to get married,” he said watching my face carefully. “That seems to turn a lot of women off.”
“Okay,” I said, wondering if Grandma Louise knew that. There was no way she knew that she’d set me up with a guy that never wanted to get married. “I’m sure that doesn’t rule out any sort of dating though.” And I knew that for a fact. He was, unbiasedly, gorgeous. One of the best looking men I’d ever seen in my life and based on his expensive-looking leather shoes and Rolex watch, he obviously wasn’t hurting for any money. Not that I cared.
“It doesn’t,” he agreed. “It just means that girls go a little crazy when they realize I’m not looking for a relationship.”
“You’re not looking for a relationship or just marriage?” I asked as I stared into his hazel eyes, that now looked more green. They were mesmerizing and I could feel myself falling into some sort of handsome man spell. Why was he telling me all of this so early on?
“Well, neither really. I don’t have time for a relationship and I don’t want marriage,” he said and I watched as he ran his hands through his short black hair casually as if that were the most normal thing he could tell his date during the first five minutes of their meeting. “Is that a problem?”
“Why would that be a problem?” I said and shook my head. I could feel my hair moving back and forth as I tilted my head up at him. “I couldn’t care less if you want a relationship or not.”
“Oh . . . you’re okay with just having casual fun?” His lips twitched slightly and I wanted to ask him what was so funny. I also wanted to call Grandma Louise and ask her if she knew she’d set me up with a playboy. What was she thinking?
Cara’s words also crossed my mind. Maybe he was the perfect guy to have a one-night stand with. He was, most certainly, the best looking man I’d ever gone on a date with. The absolute best looking. I could only imagine he’d be dynamite in bed if the way his hands had rubbed my back during our first hug was anything to go by.
“What are you thinking about, Sadie?” Dante’s voice interrupted my thoughts and I blushed as I looked up at him. His eyes were twinkling and gazing into mine as if he knew exactly what I’d just been thinking. “Have I said too much too soon? I hope I haven’t put you off. I am happy to meet with you, but I thought I should be honest right off the bat,” he said seriously.
“I, uh, I . . .” My voice trailed off as I suddenly noticed Dylan getting up from his seat and coming toward us. I watched as he ran up to us from the ice cream shop next door, his face a mess of chocolate syrup and whipped cream.
“Dylan, is everything okay?” I exclaimed and grabbed the little boy to pull him closer to me, aware that Dante’s eyes were on me like a hawk now, wondering what was going on.
“Who’s this?” Dante asked me, his eyes darting back and forth from me to Dylan, trying to figure out our connection. The smirk and sexy look were gone from his face and he suddenly looked at me with a very confused expression. I could feel my stomach dropping as his eyes narrowed and he stared at my face.
“Who are you?” Dylan looked up at Dante with wide innocent eyes and then he said the words that made my face burn as if I were standing directly under the sun. “Are you going to be my new daddy?”
The ground seemed to be wobbling beneath me as Dylan stood there with a goofy grin. “So can I call you Daddy?” he asked as he licked his grubby little fingers. My body was frozen and my mouth was mute. I didn’t know what to say. Part of me wanted to burst out laughing. The other part of me wanting to die on the spot. How embarrassing was this? And Dylan wasn’t even my kid.
“Sorry, who are you?” Dante looked as taken aback as I felt.
“Dylan.” And then he reached out his grubby little fingers to shake Dante’s hands before turning back to me. “I’m hungry. When are we getting our pizza?”
“Dylan.” I glared at him. “I told you to sit over there with your brothers until I came to get you.”
“There are more of them?” Dante’s jaw dropped as he looked over to where I was pointing. Brody and Brandon sat there still eating their respective ice cream sundaes and waved at us. I groaned as I watched Brody picking his nose and looking at it.
“Those are my brothers, Brody and Brandon,” Dylan said happily. “We’re almost like triplets, but we’re not. I’m the oldest.”
“I see.” Dante’s voice was light, but I could hear a slight edge as he looked at me. “You brought your kids on your date?”
“I, they’re not . . .” My voice trailed off as I stared at the judgmental look on his face. The look that told me he thought I was a completely irresponsible waste of space. Who was he to judge me? Mr. I don’t want a relationship or marriage. Who the hell did he think he was? God’s gift to women. Like he thought he was all that, that he had to tell me all he wanted was a hookup within the first ten minutes of our meeting.
“I’m guessing your grandma didn’t tell my nana that part,” he said as he gazed at me. “You should be ashamed of yourself, Sadie.”
�
�I, you, what?” My jaw dropped as he continued on and then he stopped as he looked at Dylan, apparently realizing that it was really uncalled for to berate a woman in front of her kids. “Dylan,” I said, trying to keep my tone light. “Go and sit with Brody and Brandon and I’ll be there in five minutes.” My voice was firm and I could tell that he knew from my expression that I wasn’t in the mood to deal with any more of his pranks or jokes right now.
“Okay.” He nodded and because he couldn’t stop himself he turned to Dante and said, “We’d like some free steaks as well, please, kind sir.” I couldn’t stop myself from rolling my eyes as he hurried off back to his brothers. I was going to kill Dylan when we got home.
“So you have three kids?” Dante’s lips were thin. “And you didn’t even get a babysitter for them?”
“I couldn’t get a babysitter,” I mumbled. “I am the . . .” My voice trailed off as he just stood there and shook his head, mumbling something under his breath about bad mothers. “Excuse me, what are you saying?”
“I think you know. Very irresponsible, Sadie Peters. I don’t know how you think it’s okay to just go out with your three kids and . . .”
“I don’t have three kids,” I shouted finally, annoyed by his superior tone. “And you know what you don’t even deserve any more of my time, you arrogant, cocky, rich bastard.” I leaned forward and poked him in the chest, feeling my breath coming fast as he stared at me with his lips curled. “And let me tell you that I wouldn’t want a relationship with you, or God forbid, a marriage if you were to pay me ten million dollars.” I huffed out and then because I’m a klutz, as I took a step back I stumbled slightly on some trash on the ground and tripped forward against him. His hands reached out to steady me and he just grinned as he looked down at me.
“Not even for ten million dollars, huh?” he said, his voice smug.