The Radcliffes

by T. J. Kline

  “Don’t you?”

  She shrugged and walked toward him, taking the glass of wine he held out to her. “There are parts I love. The rebuilding and making something that was nothing into something viable. It’s like breathing life back into something that’s nearly dead. But I don’t think I ever hum while I work.”

  “Perhaps you need to let your hair down.”

  “That’s what my sister keeps telling me.” A sardonic smile curved her lips and Nico was tempted to kiss it away. He could almost taste the citrus flavor of the wine mixed with the sweet taste that was all Alex. He turned the subject back to his cooking because it didn’t cause the cynicism to light in her eyes.

  “I like taking everyday items and elevating them through cutting-edge culinary techniques. The chicken, the butter, the flour…all of it is just basic entities. But together, in the right combination, with the right techniques to take the whole thing to the next level, they can create something that will make your senses soar.”

  He dropped the butter into a pan on the stove, melting it before adding oil and laying the chicken inside, and explained the steps as he went about them. As the chicken was browning, he threw together a salad of red onion, cucumber, and tomato. He finished preparing their meal, plated the food, and poured each of them another glass of wine.

  “Grab the glasses?” He reached for the plates and silverware, setting the plates on the pub table in his dining nook before pulling a chair out for her.

  She smiled up at him as she set his glass of wine in front of his plate and took her seat. “Everything smells delicious.”

  Nico couldn’t help but think how much he liked having Alex in his apartment. He slid her chair in and bent down to kiss her neck. “Just know that if you make those sex noises while you’re eating again, I can’t be held liable for forgoing dinner to take you to bed.”

  She laughed. “No promises. But I will take your warning under consideration.”

  Chapter 16

  The past two days had felt like an eternity. Her lust had overridden her logic again and she’d stayed the night at Nico’s after dinner. Not that they’d even made it through dinner. Watching the man cook for her had been an incredible turn-on. But even that was nothing compared to the way he’d undressed her with his eyes, the way his smile reached into her chest and melted her heart along with her reservations.

  But it couldn’t happen again.

  She’d spent the past two days fantasizing about two nights of ecstasy she’d had with a man she needed to forget. A relationship between them simply wouldn’t work around the chasm of differences in their lifestyles.

  With a sigh of frustration, Alex shouldered open the door of Eco-Tech and stepped out into the haze that hadn’t yet burned away. She slipped the signed contracts into her tote and pulled out her phone to call Caitlyn.

  The alert for three text messages from an unknown number lit up her screen. Tapping them, Alex couldn’t help but smile.

  Thinking about you.

  It had to be from Nico.

  Breakfast crowd just cleared out. The smell of cinnamon and vanilla is making me hungry, but not for food.

  Her entire body heated and her face flushed.

  I really missed you today. Call me tonight.

  She wanted to. She wanted to experience the joy that she felt when she was with him again. Nico made her feel most like her true self instead of this serious, strait-laced businesswoman.

  Damn her sister for making her face the fact that she’d turned into an emotionless robot who only thought about work. And damn Nico for being so wonderful. He made her want to turn her back on everything she’d been working toward for most of her adult life. Now that her brother had walked away from the family shipping company and her sister had made it clear she had no interest in it, either, Alex was the only one left to either take over or build another company to keep the family legacy alive.

  She looked up as her driver opened the door of her limo. She didn’t want to climb into the car only to be chauffeured to her next meeting, the next investor she would woo in order to buy yet another successful company and make millions for people who didn’t need more. She had never wanted to get caught on this hamster wheel, chasing money the way her family had been doing for generations before her.

  She’d started her company because she’d wanted to help, to rescue failing businesses, to rebuild dreams, but that ideal had become tarnished when she’d begun focusing more on the bottom line than on the people. It had only taken a few days with Nico to realize how shallow her work had become.

  “I’m going to take a walk.”

  “Are you sure, Miss Radcliffe?”

  “Yes, I…I just need a few minutes alone. Can you please pick me up at the park in about thirty minutes?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Her heels weren’t exactly made for taking strolls along the San Francisco streets, but she needed to be alone with her thoughts to reconcile her wants and needs. Normally, she enjoyed the streets of the city—the bustle of activity, the eclectic mix of old and new, the various cultures making up a melting pot—but today, she was so lost in her own thoughts that the city didn’t even merit her attention.

  Her phone buzzed in her hand, and she realized she’d been so preoccupied she’d never put it back into her tote. Glancing at the screen, she saw her grandmother’s number. Wilhelmina Radcliffe, San Francisco’s Most Influential Woman, was the last person Alex wanted to talk to right now, but she’d been ducking her grandmother’s calls for almost a week and the woman obviously wasn’t going to give up until she talked to Alex personally.

  “Hello, Grandmother.” Her overly bright cheerfulness sounded fake even to her.

  “Alexandra, you’ve been avoiding me.”

  Busted.

  “I’ve just been extremely busy with this last deal,” Alex fibbed. “Didn’t Fallon and Anna tell you I’d be over for dinner this weekend?”

  “They did, but you should have returned one of my many calls to explain your absence this week instead of having that girl do it.”

  “You mean, my assistant?”

  Her grandmother scoffed into Alex’s ear. “Assistant? In my day, they were called secretaries and only a woman who…no.” She stopped herself before she got distracted and went off on her usual rant about her outdated ideas of women working, although she herself ran a corporation. “Anyway, yes, that is who I mean. Calling me directly would have been the polite thing to do.”

  It always came back to appearances and propriety with her grandmother. “I apologize.”

  “You weren’t too busy to go out to dinner.”

  How in the world did her grandmother find out about dinner with Nico? If Alex found out that Fallon or Anna spilled the beans, she’d return the favor. “He was…a business meeting.”

  “He? I was talking about your dinner with your sister and Anna.”

  Damn it!

  Alex pinched her lips together, forcefully sealing them to keep from saying anything more. If her grandmother didn’t know about Nico, she didn’t want to be the one to break it to her. There’d be questions, probably some sort of background check, and too much condemnation to deal with. It was better to just keep quiet.

  Not that there was anything to confess.

  “Grandmother, I’m sorry I haven’t called. It’s just been an unusually busy week. You of all people understand what it’s like trying to run a business.”

  Better to pander to her ego and change the subject. Well played, Alex.

  “Indeed, I do. I’d really like to sit down with you to discuss the shipping company.”

  Alex nearly groaned at her mistake. She’d played right into her grandmother’s hands. “I know, and I promise I’m working on liquidating a few assets to get you more capital.”

  “Darling.” Alex could hear the condescension in her grandmother’s voice. “You own an investment group. You’re practically sitting on a mint. I’m sure you already have the money to in
vest in the shipping company.”

  “That’s not exactly how it works. The investors demand ownership, stocks…”

  What was the use in even explaining her position? Her investors had no desire to own any part of Radcliffe Shipping. But how could she break it to her grandmother that the family business was no longer a commodity? It wasn’t cutting-edge. Radcliffe Shipping was almost as obsolete as horse-drawn carriages.

  Unless her grandmother was willing to restructure and find new, innovative delivery systems, the family empire was going to crumble around her and there was nothing Alex could do to stop it. Except throw her own money into it in hopes of buying her time to convince her grandmother to let her find someone else to run it.

  “I’ll see what I can do. I actually need to go. I’m on my way to another meeting now.”

  “Hmm.” Her grandmother didn’t sound convinced. “I could have sworn that we just drove past you on Nineteenth Street.” Alex looked up at the street sign a few feet ahead of her. Sure enough, she was standing on Nineteenth.

  Shit.

  “I have to go. I’ll see you Saturday.” Before her grandmother could say more, Alex disconnected the call, dropping her phone into her purse.

  Tears of frustration burned the back of her eyes. This wasn’t the life she’d wanted to build. She was nothing but a well-groomed disaster. Her grandmother wanted money she didn’t have to give, she was pursuing a career that wasn’t satisfying her, and she was dreaming of a man she couldn’t have. She needed a sign pointing her in the right direction to follow.

  Then she saw it. The building looked like an old theater, complete with a marquee and pillared entry. A few of the windows were broken but she could see past the cosmetic damage to the good bones underneath. The place was abandoned, but as she crossed the street, she wrote down the name of the agency selling the property. It was rare to find a building like this for sale. Most people wanted to keep their hands on a place like this and satisfied themselves with the guarantee of a long-term lease.

  A seed of what could be began to take root. Unlike her usual ventures, where she took something already in place and built upon someone else’s foundation, this new one would force her to start from the ground up. She’d have to visualize its future and calculate its profitability. She’d be creating something from nothing and Alex’s heart began to race at the thought of it.

  She wanted to start humming. She thought about what Nico had said about why he loved his job, and suddenly felt it. She knew exactly what she wanted to do with this building. Pulling her phone out again, she called Caitlyn.

  “Call this number and arrange a showing.” She recited the number to her assistant.

  “Okay, but what is this?”

  “It’s our new venture.”

  After disconnecting the call, she pulled up Nico’s number. If she was going to start doing things differently and do things she’d always wanted to do, she might as well go all the way. She had to see him again.

  Chapter 17

  After three unanswered texts, Nico had come to the realization that, while Alex hadn’t actually said the words, their lovemaking at his place had been her good-bye. So he nearly dropped his phone in the minestrone he was preparing when he scanned her message.

  Another day off soon?

  Tony Martinelli wasn’t exactly the kind of boss likely to give his employees time off, and especially not for a date, but Nico hadn’t asked for any additional days off in the two years he’d worked here. Plus, Julio, the other line chef, owed him for taking three shifts back-to-back while he went to Vegas with his buddies last month.

  He didn’t even think twice before returning her message.

  Brunch? Tomorrow?

  Nico slid his phone back into his pocket and tried to concentrate on the meal preparation but every second that went by was torture. He barely heard the ticket called out and repeated it back incorrectly, causing the server to shoot him a worried glance.

  “You okay?”

  “Yeah, no worries.” He needed to get his head on straight. He never screwed up orders. It was the one place he could shut out the rest of the world and truly focus.

  But he didn’t want to shut Alex out, and that was his problem.

  His phone vibrated in his pocket as he began preparing the meals for the ticket. Now he was going to have to wait until after he finished this ticket to see Alex’s answer and that might just kill him. He completed the meal and sent the order out, asking Julio to cover for him as he slipped out of the room and headed for the freezer where he could check his phone.

  Your place again?

  As much as he hated to admit it, Nico hadn’t missed the way her eyes had scanned his apartment and its meager furnishings. He wasn’t sure if she’d been uncomfortable at his place or simply unimpressed. What he had suited him: it was straightforward and practical, and completely unlike her extravagant home. He’d worked hard for everything he had and, while it wasn’t much, he took pride in it. However, Alex was accustomed to so much more. So much that he could never offer her. A fact she hadn’t even realized she’d made awkward by offering to pay for dinner.

  At first glance, he and Alex had little in common. She was used to the finest things in life and he was accustomed to the leftovers. She had a driver, designer clothing, and a cliff house overlooking the ocean while he had nothing but second-hand furniture in a one-bedroom place. She was upper class and he was a mere plebe, but he was beginning to wonder if the one thing he had to offer her was the only thing she couldn’t buy—a way to ground herself in reality—and it gave him an idea.

  Nico knew exactly where he would take her, a place where their worlds could collide into an unforgettable date. He responded:

  No, I’ll pick you up at nine.

  Chapter 18

  Nico knocked on Alex’s door, fondly remembering the last time he’d been here. When she opened it, he was struck by two thoughts. First, that she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, and second, that her designer suit and sky-high heels were not only going to make her stick out like a peacock in a flock of pigeons, but she wouldn’t last an hour on their walk.

  “Hi.” Her voice was cheerful. “Come on in. I just need to grab my purse.”

  She turned back toward the entry, expecting him to follow but he reached out for her hand, tugging her back toward him. He wrapped his arms around her and covered her mouth with his. Nico tasted her, sampling the sweetness he remembered and letting his hunger for her build again. Alex melted into him, sighing softly.

  “Wow. That was some hello.” Her voice was breathy and seductive.

  “These clothes aren’t going to work,” he murmured against her lips. She sucked in a breath and he realized how his words sounded. Nico chuckled, loving the goose bumps that broke out on her arms. “What I mean is that you’ll be uncomfortable if you wear this where we’re going.”

  “Oh.” Alex sounded anxious as she drew back and looked into his face through her lashes. Her gray eyes were still dark with desire, but were tinged with disappointment.

  “Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of getting you out of your clothes.”

  She pressed a quick kiss to his mouth before nipping at his lower lip. “Maybe later. I’m hungry.”

  Without waiting for his response, she spun gracefully on her death-trap heels and, swaying her hips as if she realized that she made every part of his body harden, she headed for her bedroom, leaving him to follow.

  “So, what should I wear since you deem this inappropriate?”

  When he didn’t answer right away, she glanced back over her shoulder at him, a knowing smile on her lips.

  Nothing. I want you in nothing.

  “A…a shoe you can walk in…” he stammered. “And maybe something more casual.” Her gaze slid over him, taking in his jeans and flannel shirt combo. He grinned. “You do own jeans, right?”

  The thought of her with denim hugging her every curve was enough to send longing kicking through
him again.

  “I’ll see what I can dig up.” She smiled but her eyes gleamed and he knew he was in trouble.

  Minutes later, she came out wearing knee-high leather boots, a pair of tight, dark-blue jeans, and a loose ivory-colored sweater that draped off one side, baring just a hint of the golden skin he desperately wanted to explore with his mouth again. She’d left her hair hanging loose and over her shoulders in waves, making his hands itch to bury themselves into them again.

  “Better?”

  Speechless, he simply stared at her, wondering if he could convince her to forget leaving the house at all. Maybe she’ll let me fix breakfast instead, so we can make love for the rest of the day…

  He squashed the thought as quickly as it came. Today, he wanted them to get to know each other better.

  Rising from the couch, Nico leaned down to kiss her gently. “You look great in both, but trust me, you’ll be glad you changed.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. “Just what do you have in store for me? You’re not going to take me out to some remote coastal wood to throw me off a cliff, are you?”

  “Nope, but I have a feeling today is going to challenge your trust in me.”

  “Uh…wait a minute.”

  “Kidding.” He smiled but wagged his brows at her impishly, reaching for her hand and leading her to the front door. “Well, maybe,” he conceded. “It depends on how adventurous you feel.”

  Chapter 19

  Nico had refused her suggestion to take the limo, insisting he drive. When he pulled into a public parking lot, she assumed they’d be within walking distance from their location, which he still hadn’t disclosed, but Alex cringed as she stared at the streetcar clanging to a stop in front of where she stood, surrounded by at least twenty San Francisco tourists. People pushed past her to get to the front of the line to pick their seats and she eyed Nico warily.

  “We’re riding on that?”

  His dark eyes gleamed. “How long have you lived in San Francisco?”