Ready To Love Again

by Annalyse Knight

  “No, Mrs. Candlestine, I doubt, by what you’ve just told me, it’s your appendix. But if you’re concerned, you should call your primary physician.”

  “Thank you, Dr. O’Doodle,” she said, patting his cheek as if he were a child. “I’ll make sure to do that in the morning.”

  Katie almost choked at Mrs. Candlestine’s comment. Chase sighed heavily after she walked away, giving Katie an embarrassed smile.

  “Well, Dr. O’Doodle, it was very kind of you to give medical advice on your day off.”

  He chuckled as he took her arm and led her toward the restaurant. “She’s a regular at the hospital. She swears she should have died years ago, so she finds little ailments to confirm her theory.”

  “How old is she?”

  “She’ll be ninety-two next week,” he said with an affectionate smile.

  Chase opened the door to the restaurant, which boasted a red awning and bay window seats on either side of the door. The décor had a romantic Mediterranean feel, and candles flickered on the tables, setting off a warm glow. The walls were honey-colored, with grapevines painted along the crown molding. Wrought iron sconces and paintings of the Italian countryside made the restaurant feel like it belonged to another time and place. There were only ten tables, with an oyster bar in the back toward the kitchen. Katie and Chase stood in the doorway until a gentleman in his mid-thirties with dark hair and a goatee held up his hand to let them know he’d be with them in a minute.

  Chase’s hand rested on her shoulder, and he leaned in to talk softly next to her ear. She shivered when his warm breath hit her neck.

  “That’s Angelo, the owner’s son. He’s also a distant step-cousin of mine, three times removed or something like that, according to my mother.”

  “Chase.” Angelo took his hand and then turned toward Katie. “And who is this lovely lady?” His smooth voice carried a hint of an Italian accent.

  “Angelo, I’d like you to meet Katie,” Chase said while he followed Angelo to their table.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Katie.” Angelo gave her a wink, then turned his attention back to Chase. “I’ll let the old man know you’re here.”

  A few minutes later, a stout, middle-age man with a white apron came out from the kitchen. “Chase!” he cried from across the room, raising his hands in the air. Chase smiled and stood to embrace the man. A loud mwah echoed through the restaurant when Giovanni planted a kiss on Chase’s cheek and slapped the other side in greeting.

  “How are the kids and that sweet little sister of yours? Is she married yet? I keep telling her that Angelo is available.” He pointed at his son, who was serving other guests their dinner. Katie giggled when she caught Angelo rolling his eyes at his father’s comment.

  “The kids are great, and Gina is finally getting married.”

  Giovanni frowned and then hollered something at Angelo in Italian, which earned him a glare from his son. He pulled out the chair next to Katie and sat down, ignoring Chase and focusing all his attention on her.

  “Giovanni, this is Katie,” Chase said with a chuckle.

  The older man murmured something in Italian and took her hand in his. Katie smiled when he kept her hand in his and turned to talk to Chase.

  “È bellissima, Chase. Era ora che trovassi una bella ragazza. È meglio che tu stia attento, prima che io te la porti via!” Giovanni said.

  Chase chuckled at this. “Mi preoccuperò quando saprai reggere il confronto con me, vecchio sporcaccione.” His velvety, smooth voice sent a shiver down Katie’s spine when the beautiful language slipped off his tongue.

  “Excuse us, bellezza,” Giovanni said, turning his attention back to her. “I tell Chase that it’s about time he find a nice girl, but he shouldn’t have brought such a donna straordinariamente bella here. I’m sure you’re ready to give up this boy and let a full-blooded Italian show you the meaning of amore.” Giovanni wiggled his bushy eyebrows at her, and she smiled.

  Chase cleared his throat. “Do I need to go get Marietta and tell her you’re out here flirting while she’s slaving in the kitchen?”

  Giovanni sobered and released Katie’s hand, grumbling under his breath. He stood and kissed her cheek. “It was a pleasure meeting you, beautiful Katie. Don’t forget—my offer still stands.” He gave her another wink and turned back toward Chase with a smile. “Make sure you say goodbye before you leave.”

  Chase nodded, and Katie watched as Giovanni made his way back into the kitchen.

  “He’s sweet,” she commented when Angelo brought a bottle of wine and two glasses.

  “Sweet like a toothache,” Angelo mumbled under his breath, earning a chuckle from both Chase and Katie before he moved on to another table.

  “I’m impressed you know Italian. Do you speak any other languages?”

  Chase shrugged. “Spanish and a little bit of French. My mother is full-blooded Italian, and we spent part of our summers in Italy when I was young.”

  “I’m assuming from your last name that your father is Irish.”

  “Yeah, he’s fourth-generation American. We didn’t grow up with much Irish heritage since it had been watered down over the generations. My mother was barely off the boat when she met my father, so we were raised with more Italian culture than anything else.”

  “So Giovanni told me what he said, but what did you say back to him?” Katie asked.

  “Uh . . . I told him I wasn’t worried about the competition and then called him a dirty old man.”

  Katie laughed.

  The food was spectacular, but the company was even better. There was no awkwardness between them like there had been at their first dinner together, and he seemed a little less guarded. After Chase had taken care of the bill, Angelo brought out a chilled bottle of wine and a bag with two food containers inside. When Katie asked Chase what they were, he said, “For later.”

  Giovanni shuffled out of the kitchen as they were leaving and said his goodbyes, telling Katie to come back when she lost the stiff. She grinned and let him pull her into a hug and kiss her cheek one last time. Chase hooked his arm around her waist and pulled her against his side.

  “The Italian act only goes so far before it’s considered creepy,” Chase said with mock annoyance.

  Katie felt a small thrill when he took her hand and led her back to the car. He released it when she was settled in, but when he slid into his seat, he picked it back up and rested their entwined fingers on the console between them. The gesture made her heart thump in her chest while a smile played at her lips.

  They were back in Carmel in fifteen minutes, and Chase weaved through the side streets until Katie was lost in a blur of cottages and cypress trees. He parked beside a fence made of grape stakes in a densely wooded residential area before helping her out of the car. From his trunk, he pulled a picnic basket, slipping the bottle of wine and food containers into it. He grabbed two blankets and threw them over his arm before he closed the trunk. Chase winked at Katie when he took her hand again and led her down a large driveway that turned into a small parking lot.

  “Where are we?”

  “You’ll see,” he said.

  A small ticket booth came into view when they crossed the lot, but they continued past it until they came to a gate with a sign that read FOREST THEATER.

  “We’re seeing a movie?”

  Chase shook his head and chuckled, but he wouldn’t give away anything. She let him pull her along. He handed a pair of tickets to a man standing inside the entrance. When they stepped to the other side of the fence, Katie looked in wonder at the scene before her.

  They were standing in an outdoor theater situated under the stars and surrounded by trees. Chase led her down the dirt path while she tried to take in every detail around her. The stage was set with a medieval castle, and on each side were two wood-burning fire pits. Rows of carved benches that sloped on a hill were provided for seating.

  They found an unoccupied bench in the middle, and Chase set down the picnic b
asket.

  “So what do you think?” he asked.

  Katie shook her head, still amazed that a place like this even existed. “I think . . . I’m not in New Mexico anymore.”

  He barked out a laugh and wrapped a blanket around her, pointing for her to take a seat on the bench. Chase then uncorked the bottle of wine and poured them each a glass before he set the bottle back in the basket. The containers Angelo had given him came out next, and he handed one to Katie.

  She knew it was a dessert because there was cocoa powder sprinkled on the top, but she wasn’t sure what it was called.

  “It’s tiramisu. Have you never had it before?” Chase asked.

  Katie shook her head. “No. What’s in it?”

  “You’re asking the man who doesn’t cook?” he said with a laugh. “I’m not exactly sure. I know it has espresso and some kind of pastry. I think the creamy stuff is mascarpone cheese and whipped cream.”

  He held a dessert-filled fork to her mouth. It seemed so natural yet very intimate. Katie hesitated before she opened her mouth, and he slipped the fork between her teeth. Chase’s eyes locked on her lips when he pulled the fork out, and heat rose to her cheeks. The dessert melted against her tongue, and she swallowed, humming in approval. Chase’s eyes moved from her lips to her eyes before looking away as if avoiding her gaze.

  “It’s good,” she whispered.

  He nodded and fiddled with the blanket in his lap before he picked up his wine and drained the glass in one swallow. They sat in silence, both continuing to eat their dessert while they waited for the show to start. Katie was wondering if she’d done something to make him clam up when he turned back to her and smiled. “You haven’t asked what we’ll see tonight.”

  “What are we seeing?” she asked.

  “Camelot—where true chivalry was invented.”

  Katie rolled her eyes. “It figures you would find this interesting,” she said. “All the door opening is getting to be a bit much. Would you take off your coat and let me walk over the mud with it, too?”

  He clutched at his heart as if in pain. “You wound me with your words. I can’t believe you’re even asking. Of course I would.”

  Chase gave her a small wink, and Katie felt a flutter in her stomach. She bumped his shoulder to let him know she enjoyed their banter.

  The play started, and she was sucked in from the beginning. The actors moved across the stage and interacted with the audience, making the whole experience magical. The tale of King Arthur and the star-crossed lovers, Guinevere and Lancelot, was heartbreaking but with enough comic relief to make the production balanced.

  Throughout the play, Katie would feel Chase’s gaze on her, but when she turned toward him, he’d look away. By the time they were ready to leave, she was convinced he was as attracted to her as much as she was to him.

  Chase gathered their things, and they walked back to the car side by side. “So what did you think?” he asked in a quiet voice after they settled in his car, their fingers knotted together on the console again.

  “I loved it. It was moving to see Guinevere so torn between her two loves. She loved her king and didn’t want to betray him, but how could she deny her feelings for Lancelot?”

  Chase gave her a rueful smile and looked back at the road. “I suppose loving two people would be a struggle, but I think your assessment is half-right. She didn’t love Arthur. Lancelot was the one she truly loved. So it was loyalty versus love. In the end, she wouldn’t choose and lost everything.”

  “Isn’t loyalty just another form of love?”

  Chase shrugged. “I suppose you’d have to love to feel loyalty, but I think the point being made is to not let your loyalty blind you to what matters most.”

  “Which is?”

  He chuckled and played with her fingers before looking over at her. “Love, of course.”

  “I didn’t take you for a romantic, Dr. O’Donnell.”

  “Really? The fancy dinner and outdoor theater didn’t tip you off?”

  She smiled and placed her hand over his. “Maybe a little.”

  Comfortable silence stretched until they pulled into her driveway. That’s when Katie started to feel nervous.

  Chase walked her to the door, and after she unlocked it, she turned to look back at him. His blue eyes seemed brighter when they stood under the porch light.

  “Would you like to come in for a little while?”

  She couldn’t believe she’d asked without a squeak in her voice. Chase looked deep into her eyes, and she watched different emotions flit across his face. His head gave a subtle shake before he let out a long sigh.

  “It’s getting late, and I have to be at the field early, so I should probably get home.”

  Katie felt the urge to run inside and hide for the rest of her life. The familiar sting of rejection crept up.

  “Sure. No . . . that’s fine. Um . . . well then, I’ll see you tomorrow morning?”

  He smiled and nodded. When she began to turn away, his hand wrapped around her upper arm, and he pulled her toward him. Katie stood as still as she could when he ducked his head toward hers. Closing her eyes, she waited for the moment their lips would touch, only to feel his warm mouth on her cheek for a brief moment. Chase pulled away, and her eyes snapped open to find him already backing down the stairs.

  “Good night, Katie,” he said before he turned and walked back to his car.

  “Good night,” she answered in the darkness when he pulled out of the driveway.

  Katie went inside and plopped down on the couch, going over in her mind why he hadn’t kissed her, but she couldn’t come up with a good explanation. The evening had been perfect—until her faux pas and his hasty retreat.

  After she’d analyzed their date for almost an hour, she pushed down her insecurities and concluded she was more than ready to move on. She wanted the kind of love she’d seen with Daniel and Gina. Chase seemed to be everything she wanted, but he was dealing with something deeper than she could comprehend. Katie wondered if this had been the first date he’d been on since his wife passed away, and her heart broke a little for him at the thought. She might be ready, but she wasn’t sure if he was.

  Chapter 8

  Chase berated himself for the hundredth time. What in the hell is wrong with me? He reflected on the evening’s events while he drove through the thick fog that had settled in downtown Carmel, casting an eerie silence over the empty streets.

  He’d wanted to kiss her the moment he picked her up for their date, yet when the opportunity presented itself, he had run. He swept his fingers through his hair, tugging on the ends in irritation.

  When Angelo winked at Katie at the restaurant, Chase had felt a twinge of irrational jealousy. He knew Angelo’s flirting was harmless, yet that hadn’t stopped Chase from wanting to pull her closer.

  At the theater, he’d been captivated by her delight. He’d watched her more than he had the play. That was when he had his second urge to kiss her that night, but Chase had frozen as visions of Terri in the same theater assaulted him. He knew his guilt was unfounded, but that didn’t stop him from feeling it. Chase had tried to reason with himself while he watched Katie’s eyes shine with excitement as the play went on.

  By the time he drove her home, he’d been beyond thinking with a clear head. He had panicked and left her standing on her doorstep after a brief kiss on the cheek.

  After he parked in the garage, Chase went straight to the liquor cabinet in the dining room and pulled out the bottle of twenty-three-year-old scotch. He dusted it off and poured a glass. Without hesitation, he downed the shot in one gulp and then poured another to the brim before tightening the lid back on the bottle. The living room was dark, and he maneuvered around the furniture until he could look out the huge bay window toward the ocean. For several moments, he contemplated if he wanted to brave the cold, foggy air and head out to the solace of his sanctuary.

  The light flicked on, making him jump, and Chase turned to find a
grinning Gina. She walked in and dropped herself on the leather sofa, pulling her legs under her. The look in her eye told him she wanted the details of his date, but he wasn’t sure if he was ready to give them. With a heavy sigh, he sat next to her and let her take his glass from his hand.

  “So you brought out the Macallan?” she asked after taking a sip. “That means you’re either celebrating your date or trying to forget it. Which is it?”

  Chase shrugged his shoulders, took the glass from her, and tipped it back, taking another long drink. He relented after she stared him down. “Probably a little of both.”

  “What happened? Did she like the theater? What about the restaurant?”

  “Francesco’s was great, as usual. Well . . . except for Giovanni’s shameless flirting.”

  Gina giggled, knowing all too well what he meant. “What about the theater?”

  “It was fine. We had Marietta’s tiramisu, and the fog didn’t come in until after we left.” He swirled the contents of his glass and thought about the end of their date. A scowl marred his brow.

  “And?”

  “And what?” He hoped she would drop it.

  Unfortunately, Gina was like a pit bull. She grabbed on and didn’t let go until she got what she wanted. Her piercing blue eyes bore into him until he couldn’t stand the uncomfortable stare any longer. It was the same look their mother had given them as kids to make them comply.

  Chase looked into his glass and swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat.

  “I don’t know if I can do this,” he whispered.

  Gina scooted closer and wrapped her arms around him. He wanted to have someone tell him he was being stupid, so he opened his mouth and explained his fears, his guilt, and his desire for the pretty brunette who had turned his world upside down. With patience, Gina waited while he poured out his heart. She held him close, trying to give him some comfort until, embarrassed, he pulled himself off the couch and walked to the window.

  “So you wanted to kiss her, but you didn’t?” Gina asked.