Seated behind a large metal desk, Nic looked up from the laptop in front of him. His mouth opened, but she didn’t give him a chance to speak. Despite the anxiousness swirling like nausea in her stomach, she pulled her shoulders back and set her hands on her hips. “You promised to give me a week.”
Nic stared at her, his eyes wide with surprise. After a moment, he leaned back in his chair, folded his hands over his stomach, and arched a cynical brow. “And you swore you could do this job.”
The challenge written in his gaze made her insides quake. Tony used to get the same look when he was giving her the chance to “talk her way out of the hole she’d dug herself in,” as he’d always called it.
“I can do this job. I just never said I’d be an expert right out of the gate.” Remembering her chat with Beth, Anna hiked her chin, determined not to allow Nic to intimidate her. No man would back her into a corner ever again. “Give me the week you promised me. Six more days, and I’ll have this job down pat.”
The lines on his forehead smoothed as his smile spread. His amusement made his amber eyes glow from within. “You’re something else, you know that?”
She squared her shoulders, preparing herself for the inevitable but determined to go down fighting. “You aren’t backing out on your word, are you?”
Nic’s smile faded as he studied her. The gleam in his eyes, somewhere between amusement and admiration, made her heart skip a beat. God, Beth was right. Nic Rossi could make a nun swoon, but when he looked at her like this, he was downright dangerous. He always seemed to be able to see right through her, like she was made of glass.
Finally, he drew a breath, his chair squeaking as he shifted. “What you need is a tasting.”
“What do you mean?”
“You need to taste the menu, so when people ask for your opinion, you can recommend items. I’ll talk to Luc; see when he has time. It’ll likely have to be on Monday or Tuesday. They’re slower than the weekends, and he takes those days off. We’ll also have to do it after the restaurant closes. You up for it? We can bring the girls in and make a thing of it.”
Anna couldn’t stop her shoulders from slumping or the hot tears from filling her eyes. The man never ceased to amaze her. He really was too good to be true. “I thought for sure you were going to fire me.”
“I never go back on my word. I promised you a week, and you’ll get a week. Even if it kills me.” He winked, then sobered, his expression softening. “I was going to tell you to relax. Don’t let customers get to you. Never let ’em see you sweat, sweetheart. Smile like you’ve had the best day of your life and kill ’em with kindness. I’ll bring a menu home with me tonight, so you can start memorizing the specials.”
Chapter Five
The following Tuesday night, Anna stood in the kitchen of the restaurant with what seemed like Nic’s entire family. Everyone chatted, the sound of happy conversations its own kind of music. Luc and Liz had brought baby Samuel and Alyssa. Luc’s sous chef, Sam, and her husband, Joe, had come as well; apparently, Sam was Liz’s best friend, who’d set the two of them up on a blind date. They’d named baby Samuel after her.
This gathering had started to look like a family dinner. Sam and Luc had cooked up an entire feast, all for her, although everyone enjoyed it. Luc held Samuel on his lap, feeding him pieces of cut up pasta, while Liz shared a plate of food with Alyssa.
These people awed Anna. They’d taken time out of their busy schedules to do this. For her. They didn’t seem to mind, either. They chatted as if they did this every night. She glanced around at all the plates lined up on the counters. You could feed an entire family for a week on what they’d cooked, and they’d done it for no other reason than because Nic had asked.
She turned her head, searching out the man himself. A few feet away, he leaned on the counter beside Lacey and Ella. His blue dress shirt lay open several buttons. It always was. Nic, she’d learned, never wore ties, and the downy hair peeking out the V of his neckline drew her gaze. She couldn’t stop staring at his skin, or longing to know its soft heat beneath her fingers. That he currently charmed the pants off her daughter didn’t help any.
Nic bumped Lacey’s shoulder, nodding at the array of dishes lining the countertop. “Which one’s your favorite?”
Lacey gave him a shy smile and pointed to the plate in front of her. “I like meatballs.”
“Me, too. My nonna made the best meatballs in the world.” He arched a mischievous brow and pointed to one of the meatballs on the plate. “See this one? It’s mine.” He picked up a fork, stabbed the meatball in question and stuffed the whole thing in his mouth.
Lacey covered her mouth and giggled. Warmth bloomed in Anna’s stomach, even as tiny shivers chased each other across the surface of her skin. The shy look Lacey gave him threatened to melt her heart. Lacey had always been nervous around men. To a large degree, she still was. She wouldn’t look Nic in the eye, but she actually smiled at him, interacted with him, rather than hiding.
Nic charmed the pants off her, too. There was something so sexy about a man who’d go through all this trouble for a woman. He’d taken the time to make sure she tasted every dish. More often than not, he forked a bite of food and fed it to her, all the while watching her reaction. His attention to her made her nerves clang together. Her hands hadn’t stopped shaking since the restaurant closed at nine.
Nic laughed, the sound low and masculine. His mirth lit up his whole face, and Anna’s stomach dipped and swayed. Wanda had been right. Not only was Nic good with kids, but he obviously liked them, which made Nic Rossi sexier than sin.
He stabbed another meatball and handed the fork to Lacey, then looked over at Anna. His eyes reached and searched, making her feel again as if she were made of glass. As if, somehow, he saw all her secrets and vulnerabilities, the things she held closest to her heart. Delightful little shivers shot down her spine, but ice-cold fear quickly took its place. She wanted to trust him. She wanted one person she could lie beside and tell her secrets to and know she’d be safe.
She’d been here before, though. Tony had played the part of her knight in shining armor. He’d swept her clean off her feet. What if Nic turned out the same? What if this good guy routine was only a ruse?
Gaze locked on hers, Nic pushed away from the counter and moved to stand beside her, leaning his hip against the edge. “What about you? Which one’s your favorite?”
Anna stumbled for a moment, caught in his charming smile. The warmth within it melted her knees. “The Alfredo. It’s one of the best I’ve ever tasted.”
“Of course it is.” Nic winked.
Hands trembling, Anna turned back to the plate on the counter, picked up a fork and twirled it in the pasta. She couldn’t help a soft moan as she chewed, then let out a quiet laugh to cover her uneasiness. “I can tell I’m going to get fat working here.”
Nic’s gaze burned into her, begging her to look at him. She finally gave in and turned her head.
“That wouldn’t be a bad thing, sweetheart. You’re a little on the thin side, like you haven’t been eating.” His gaze flicked over her from head to toe. When he met her gaze again, a dark intensity flared in the depths of his eyes. “A little meat would look good on you.”
Anna froze as shock settled into her system. His delivery was subtle, but unless she’d heard wrong, Nic had just told her not only had he noticed her, but he also liked what he saw. For the first time in she couldn’t remember how long, she was overly aware of herself as a woman. One with needs. Butterflies tumbled in her stomach, happy and giddy and deliciously nervous. For a split second, no one else but him and those warm, amber eyes existed.
She hadn’t experienced anything like attraction in so long; she’d always expected it would hit her like a lightning bolt straight out of the sky. Instead, with Nic, it was subtle, still intense but more like a rolling wave. Every hair on her body stood on end. Even her nipples pebbled beneath the fabric of her black work shirt.
She ached
for the power of his touch, the press of his body against hers. It made her want to sob, if only because she hadn’t experienced anything like tenderness in what seemed like another lifetime.
Tony’s rage-filled sneer as he loomed over her clouded her vision. His voice echoed through her mind. “Don’t flatter yourself, sweetheart. You’re too damn skinny. You have a bony ass, and your tits are too damn small. Nobody but me would ever want you. I take care of you. Don’t you forget it.”
The strike that followed Tony’s words that day long ago came back every bit as powerful as it had then. Anna wrapped her arms around herself, trying not to flinch from the remembered impact. She blinked back the tears rushing to the surface as the room slowly came back into focus. The argument that day had started because another man had flirted with her.
She turned her back to the room, pretending to stare down at the plate of Alfredo on the counter. A slew of curses sat on the tip of her tongue, aching to be released, and she squeezed the fork in her fist until the metal sides bit into her palm. She should’ve had the courage to stand up to Tony, to not let him rule her life.
To not be such a goddamn coward. Someway, somehow, she’d free herself from him once and for all or die trying.
A large warm, masculine hand settled on her shoulder, jerking her from her musing. “You okay?”
The gentle lure of Nic’s voice threatened to melt her insides. The awful sense of safety settled around her again, pulling at her. A gentle giant, Beth had called him. So far, everything Nic had shown her told her Beth was right.
She couldn’t deny it anymore. He made her feel safe, and it scared the crap out of her.
Anna pulled her shoulders back, fortifying her defenses, before peering over at him. She forced a smile. “I’m fine. Just tired.”
Nic frowned, his worried gaze flitting over her face.
If he voiced the questions in his eyes, she’d cry, and she didn’t want to have to explain why. Nor did she want to incite any more of his need to comfort her. From what little she’d learned about him, if she suddenly burst into tears, he might do something gentlemanly like take her in his arms. If he did that, she was done for. She hadn’t experienced flashbacks in more than a year. Until Tony had called two weeks ago, she’d started to move past the things he’d done to her, to heal from them. His reappearance in her life had dragged her ugly memories from the bowels of her subconscious.
Nic’s presence in her life didn’t help any. The attraction creeping between them only made it worse. He made her long for things she shouldn’t. Like love. Someone to curl around her at the end of the day and hold her while she slept.
Experience had taught her the truth. Love didn’t exist, and anything resembling it only led to pain. No. Whatever emotions Nic inspired, she had to squash. Prince Charming was a little girl’s fantasy.
Nic, thankfully, merely nodded and shoved a hand into his left pocket. He pulled out his keys, took one off a clip, and held it out to her. “Why don’t you take the girls home?”
Anna shook her head, refusing the keys, gesturing at the array of food littering the counters. “They did this for me. The least I can do is help clean up.”
Nic picked up her hand and pressed the key into her palm, then curled her fingers around it. “Go home. I’ll clean up.”
His gentle but insistent tone and the softness in his eyes melted her resolve. She nodded and took the key, but she couldn’t allow herself to relax until she was alone. Maybe a cup of tea would settle her nerves. The key wrapped in her fist, she crossed the kitchen to Luc. She plastered on her friendliest smile and touched his arm in to catch his attention.
Baby Samuel hooked in one arm, his little head lolling on his shoulder, Luc turned from Sam, raising his brows as he caught sight of Anna. “Leaving?”
She nodded. “I came to say good night. The girls are exhausted. I’m taking them back to … the house.” She refused to allow herself to think of Nic’s place as home. “I can’t thank you enough for doing this.”
She stroked the baby’s back. He was a smaller version of his father, with big brown eyes and dark curls. Envy lodged in her chest. She couldn’t have any more children, but once upon a time, she’d wanted them.
“With two little ones and having to be here all day, you must be exhausted. I’m grateful you went through the trouble.”
Luc returned the smile. It made her chest ache with its familiarity. Apparently that kind smile was a family trait.
“It was no trouble. Really. I like to cook. Besides, it’s been a while since we’ve all gotten together, anyway. You did us a favor.” His brows rose. “Did it help?”
“It did. Thank you.” Her cheeks grew hot, and she looked down, fiddling with the key in her palm. “Though I have to admit I’m embarrassed at needing to do this. I’ve always been a jack-of-all-trades. I usually learn fast, and I can do pretty much anything. I thought, how hard could waitressing possibly be? Famous last words, right?”
Beside him, Sam let out a quiet laugh. “No harm no foul, honey. Our Nic’s a good judge of character. If he trusts you, that’s enough for us. The rest?” She hitched a shoulder. “You’ll get better the more you do it. Besides, we do things like this all the time. For every new menu item, we make sure everybody has a taste. The leftovers will get boxed up, and if nobody takes them home, we’ll take them to the shelter nearby.”
The welcome once again lodged deep within Anna. These people had accepted her into their midst without question. It said a lot about Nic’s character. “Thank you. I appreciate the effort.”
Sam smiled. “Go take those babies home.” She nudged Luc with an elbow. “You, too. Since Nic prompted this, I volunteer him to clean up.” She turned her head to wink at Anna, then frowned and shooed her with a wave of her hand. “Go. Come back fresh tomorrow.”
Anna made her way around the group, thanking each one and saying her goodbyes. Nic carried a sleepy Ella out to her car, parked at the back of the small lot. Awkward silence followed them as they walked. After setting the girls into the backseat, he turned to her, laying a hand on her arm.
Anna shivered with the warm familiarity of the touch but couldn’t stop herself from flinching away. Nic froze, so still his thoughts filled the space between them like a dense, heavy fog. Holding her keys so tightly the metal bit into her palm, she refused to meet his gaze and prayed he wouldn’t voice whatever was on his mind.
Finally, he released a heavy breath and dropped his hand, and she breathed a sigh of relief. “I’ll see you at the house.”
During the drive, her mind had too much time to wind itself into a frenzy. Walking the girls up the front walk to the door, an eerie sense of déjà vu curled in her stomach. Inside, the dogs barked, and her melancholy lifted a tad. She had to admit, being welcomed home had its perks. When she pushed open the door, they sprang forward, a whirl of little tip-tapping feet dancing around them.
Lacey bent to pet Rocco, and the dog licked her face. She giggled, and Anna’s heart swelled and ached at the same time. Why did this house feel so much like home? How could she possibly feel comfortable somewhere—or with someone—so soon? The fact knotted her stomach and only reinforced what she already knew. She needed to get out of this house and away from Nic Rossi as soon as she could save the money.
• • •
Nic stepped into the house, the quietness settling over him. With a sigh, he moved into the kitchen and tossed his keys on the counter, staring at the empty space around him. Damn. He’d hoped to find Anna still awake so they could talk.
He had no idea what had happened earlier, but something had. Just when she’d started to open up, she pulled back and shut the door in his face. Like someone had turned off the light within her. Whatever progress he’d made in earning her trust had come to a dead halt. He only wished he knew why.
He turned to leave the kitchen, exhaustion and something else he refused to ponder weighting his limbs as he climbed the stairs. Rounding the banister at the top of the
landing, he came to an abrupt halt. Anna stood in the hallway, wrapped in a pink terrycloth robe several sizes too big, her hand still on the bathroom doorknob as she closed it behind her.
Nic stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I thought for sure you’d be in bed by now.”
She lifted a hand to her throat, closing the small opening of her robe. Before his eyes, she raised that wall between them and diverted her gaze to something beyond him, effectively closing him off. “Couldn’t sleep, so I decided to try a hot shower.”
Nic’s gut tightened. Anything resembling attraction hadn’t hit him since Jen left. She’d taken it out of him. He ached to believe good marriages existed, but so far, in his experience, his grandparents were the exception, not the rule.
His attraction to Anna ought to be what sent him running, but it wasn’t. The look on her face and the protective surge that hit him every time he saw it struck him the hardest. His need to protect her was more dangerous even than his need to make Lacey comfortable with him. Anna held the capacity to be dangerous to his heart, and he’d be wise to steer clear of her. Keep this professional. Technically, he was now her boss and her landlord. Except the look on her face made him want too much. Far too much in too little time.
With a heavy sigh, he closed the distance between them. When he reached out to her, she actually flinched, not for the first time tonight. Well, that confirmed his suspicions. “Something I said earlier upset you. I’m sorry.”
Anna drew up straight, her body stiffening. “I should go to bed.”
She moved around him, heading down the hallway toward her room like she couldn’t get away fast enough. He turned to watch her, his shoulders tensing painfully. He ought to let her go. His heart, however, had other ideas. She deserved to not have to live terrified of the world all the time.
“I hate knowing I make you afraid, Anna. I hate thinking someone was cruel to you. I hate even more that someone might have been cruel to Lacey. I’d love nothing more than to give the son of a bitch responsible a taste of his own medicine.” The thought fisted his hands at his sides, but he forced them to unfurl. “Except I’m entirely too aware that even telling you this probably just proves I’m exactly like him.”
Nic Page 6
