“Understandable.” I nodded. “Are you busy tomorrow night? I’d love to take you out to dinner.”
“Um…” She took a quick sip of her wine.
“You have to eat at some point, right?” I tilted my head in the opposite direction. “What’s your favorite restaurant in Carson Cove? I’ll make reservations.”
“I don’t really have a favorite.” She blinked a couple of times. “I normally eat at home…”
“How about Moretti’s?”
I saw how you were looking at me. Don’t be nervous—I don’t really understand it either.
“Okay…” She nodded and swallowed hard.
Leigh was nervous, and if she was a student at Carson Cove University, it meant she was barely old enough to drink the wine that I bought her. I had never been on a date with anyone that much younger than me, but Leigh was just so damn captivating that I was willing to give it a shot just to see how things turned out.
We talked for a little longer while we finished our drinks. She didn’t open up to me much, so I carried the conversation, but it was mostly just small talk. I hated watching the wine disappear from her glass because it was basically an hourglass. As expected, she had to go as soon as the last sip passed across her lips. We exchanged numbers, and I offered to pick her up for our date, but she said she would just meet me at the restaurant. My eyes lingered on her beautiful curves until they disappeared out of sight.
That’s the first time I’ve been able to have a conversation with a woman without being consumed by thoughts of Caroline—or wracked with guilt…
Chapter Five
Leigh
I held it together while I was in the bar with Damien, but the fourth glass of wine had me buzzing so hard I knew I wouldn’t be able to drive myself home. I fumbled with my phone once I made it to the elevator and requested an Uber. The driver was already outside when I got to the lobby. The buzz wore off a little bit on the ride home, but I had to make a pot of coffee as soon as I walked through the door. I had too much schoolwork that needed to be done to just go to bed, which is what I really felt like doing. It also didn’t help that I hadn’t eaten anything since lunch, so once I took a few sips of coffee, I put a frozen dinner in the microwave. I ate that in front of my laptop and tried to organize the stuff I needed to work on between bites—but my thoughts were a million miles away from what I needed to be focused on.
I can’t believe Damien Sinn asked me out on a date…
I didn’t know much about the Sinn family, but I was familiar with Sinn Technology. If I had been planning to stay in Carson Cove after I graduated from college, I would have probably wanted to work there. I even did a research paper on some of their products for one of my classes during my first semester at Carson Cove University, but it didn’t touch on the hierarchy of the company. I didn’t even know if Damien was involved in the family business. If he was, then we would probably have a few things in common, even if he was older than me.
Okay, I can’t think about him—I need to focus on my assignments.
I got my thoughts in order, did some of my schoolwork, and then my mind began to wander again. I started analyzing every detail of our encounter. I truly had no idea why I didn’t leave the bar when he walked in—or why I couldn’t take my eyes off him once I ordered my glass of wine. He caught me staring—he probably saw me blush. That had to be why he bought me a drink. I would have never been that obvious if I hadn’t already had a few before he arrived. I certainly wouldn’t have given him an open invitation to come sit by me. I didn’t know how our date would go—but the attraction didn’t seem to be one-sided—even if the thought of a guy as hot as him being interested in me was quite mind-blowing.
I might as well just go to bed. I’m obviously not going to get anything else accomplished tonight…
“Wow, do you have a party to go to tonight or something?” Hank walked into the locker room and stopped in his tracks when he saw me.
“What?” I turned towards him with a confused look on my face.
“That dress…” He motioned to me. “You weren’t wearing that when you showed up for work today.”
“Oh…” I turned back towards my locker.
“Oh? What kind of response is that?” He walked up beside me. “If it’s not a party—you must have a date!”
“Maybe…” I looked at him and grinned.
“Is it someone who works here?” He raised his eyebrows inquisitively, and then he lowered his voice. “Colton?”
“No, I’m not going out with anyone who works here.” I shook my head back and forth. “Besides, aren’t Colton and Tatum together?”
“It’s an on-again-off-again thing.” He shrugged. “Mostly off…”
“Ah…” I nodded in understanding. “They seemed very on-again last night.”
“I can never keep track.” He threw his hands up and laughed. “Okay, so if it’s not someone that works here, who is it?”
“Um…” I swallowed nervously but decided that it wouldn’t hurt to tell him. “It’s Damien Sinn.”
“What!?” He took a step to the side and then did a double take. “Seriously!?”
“Remember when I went upstairs to get my phone?” I smiled and looked down.
“You rode the elevator all the way to the top floor and asked him out?” Hank’s head snapped back.
“No…” I laughed. “He was in the bar—he bought me a drink.”
“Wow.” Hank whistled through his teeth. “Well, okay then. Good luck—you’re probably going to need it.”
“Why do you say that?” I felt a hint of concern when I heard the tone of his voice change.
“It’s just…” He looked down and sighed. “My cousin went on a date with him a couple of years ago. He left before they even ordered their food.”
“Damn…” I blinked in surprise.
Hank’s warning didn’t exactly fill me with confidence—it made me lose some of the excitement I had about the date. I came to terms with the fact that I was going on a date with Damien earlier that morning. Picking out my dress and finding the perfect pair of shoes to match made it seem a lot more real than my scattered analysis of the situation while I still had alcohol in my system.
I decided not to let what Hank said get me down. If the date with his cousin happened a couple of years before Damien asked me out, there could be a million things that had changed since then. I didn’t sense any hesitation when he walked up to me at the bar—I hoped that meant there wasn’t any. I was nervous enough as it was, without the added stress of being scared that I might get ditched midway through the date.
The way I was drawn to him—I’ve never felt anything like that before. Life has played a lot of cruel jokes on me, but I don’t think this is one of them.
“You look—beautiful.” Damien’s eyes opened wide when I walked up to our table at Moretti’s.
“Thank you.” I looked down and felt myself blushing.
Damien immediately stood up and pulled out my chair—he was incredibly hot and chivalrous. He already had a whiskey sitting on the table in front of him, and the waiter showed up to take my drink order as soon as I sat down. I picked up the wine menu and was a little concerned when I saw that none of them had prices. I was a long way from being a wine connoisseur and terrified of ordering something expensive. Damien seemed to sense my hesitation and helped me choose a wine that was similar to what I was drinking at the Pembroke. He either knew the price or simply wasn’t concerned with it.
“How was work today?” Damien sipped his whiskey and handed me the menu with our dining options.
“About the same as always.” I shrugged. “Nothing exciting happens at the Pembroke —except for my first day—that was kind of crazy.”
“Oh?” He tilted his head inquisitively. “What happened?”
“Someone got stabbed in the stairwell…” My eyes opened wide as I said it.
“Seriously?” His head snapped back slightly. “I didn’t hear anything ab
out that…”
“I don’t think it made the news.” I shrugged. “I kept checking because I was curious to know who he was, but I never saw anything.”
“That’s crazy…” He blinked in surprise. “None of your coworkers knew him? Was he not a guest at the hotel?”
“I’m not sure.” I shrugged again. “It was very hush-hush. The maid that found him started right before I did, so she didn’t know if he was a regular or not. My boss wouldn’t let anyone else near the stairs, and she had everyone leave the lobby when the paramedics arrived…”
“It must have been someone important—especially if they were able to bury the story before the news got a chance to report it.” Damien shook his head with a bewildered stare on his face.
Damien seemed as stunned to hear about the stabbing as I was the day it happened. He thought it was definitely odd that it didn’t make the news—especially in a town like Carson Cove where crime was rare except for the white-collar variety. The waiter brought my wine, and we ordered our meals. I decided to play it safe and ordered spaghetti—I had never been to Moretti’s, but someone told me once that it was the only place you could get authentic Italian spaghetti in Carson Cove. I also assumed it wasn’t that expensive. Damien ordered something called Chicken Saltimbocca, which sounded pretty fancy—and probably a lot more expensive than what I chose from the menu. I tried the wine once the waiter left the table with our orders, and it was a lot sweeter than the one I had at the Pembroke, but it was really good.
“So, you know where I work—where I go to school—and the most traumatic event that has happened to me lately.” I tilted my head to the side. “I think it’s time you told me something about yourself.”
“What do you want to know?” He leaned back and narrowed his eyes.
Why did you ask me out? Do you feel—anything right now, or am I the only one with a flutter in my stomach when our eyes meet?
“What do you do for work? I assume you work at your family’s company…” I titled my head inquisitively.
Safe topics… That’s easier than trying to make sense of everything else.
“No.” The emotion faded from his face. “I don’t work at Sinn Technology.”
Okay, maybe that wasn’t a safe topic…
“Oh, I’m sorry.” I winced when I saw how my question changed his demeanor immediately.
“Nothing to apologize for.” He shook his head back and forth. “I had a falling out with my grandfather. I work at Alcott Inc. now.”
“I’ve heard that is a good company…” I nodded aimlessly and felt guilty for bringing up a subject that seemed to upset him.
“It is.” He reached for his whiskey. “I like working there.”
The waiter brought our food, and I was happy to have the interruption. I had hoped that talking about Sinn Technology would be a good segue into the fact that I was working on a Computer Science degree and would possibly be working at a company like the one his family-owned after I graduated. That way I could feel like we at least had something in common. Instead, it seemed to be a total fail on my part. I assumed that I shouldn’t bring up anything else about his family if he had a falling out with his grandfather. I didn’t know enough about Alcott Inc. to have a discussion about it.
“This is really good…” I took a bite of my spaghetti and nodded.
Talking about the food must be a safe topic—hopefully.
“Yeah.” He nodded aimlessly. “So, what are you going to school for?”
“Computer Science…” I hesitated after I said it because I was terrified that it was going to lead right back to the topic I already regretted bringing up.
“Ah.” He picked up his knife and started cutting his chicken. “That’s why you know about Sinn Technology…”
Here we are again…
“Well, it is the only tech company in Carson Cove.” I reached for my wine and took a quick sip.
“There are plenty of other places to work.” He shrugged. “Every company needs someone who knows how to keep its systems online.”
“Yeah…” I put down my wine and took another bite of my spaghetti. “This is really good.”
Crap, I already said that—I’m spinning in circles here.
I felt like the date was going in every direction except for the right one. I soured the mood by bringing up his family’s company, which was the one topic I thought would be safe. I had no idea how to get things back on track. I filled the holes in the conversation by talking about school—projects I had worked on—basically trying to avoid anything that could take a serious turn. Damien talked about Alcott Inc. and his job there as the manager of the Distribution Marketing department. There were plenty of things I wanted to ask him, but I was scared to bring up something else that could possibly steer the conversation in the wrong direction.
The strangest thing was that although the date felt like it was turning into a mild disaster, the flutter in my stomach simply didn’t go away—the attraction seemed to be deeply rooted inside me, and the fact that he was a complicated man didn’t unravel it. If anything, it made him more interesting—there was something in his eyes that called out to me—like a voice that he didn’t know how to use. I sensed that I had only begun to scrape the surface of what was behind that stare, and it convinced me to keep trying—to see if there was something deeper than just attraction that drew me to him in the first place.
“Can I ask you something silly?” I reached for my wine and took a sip.
“Of course.” He looked at me and nodded.
“Your last name…” I raised my eyebrows. “Sinn?”
I’m sure he’s been asked this before, but it seems safe—please let it be safer than asking about his company or his family…
“Ah.” A hint on a smile formed on the edge of his lips, and he chuckled.
Laughter—thank goodness…
“It’s rather unusual…” I put my wine glass down beside me.
“Yes.” He nodded. “My mother did one of those genealogy things when I was younger—apparently it originates from the Shinn tribe that settled somewhere near England. Over the years, it forked in multiple directions with different variations on the name—Sheen is the most common, but Sinn was one of them.”
“A little less dastardly than I imagined.” I looked down and smiled.
“I heard it all growing up, trust me.” He shook his head back and forth, but the smile didn’t leave his face—I took that as a good sign.
The rest of our conversation, while we ate, was a lot lighter. His demeanor shifted considerably, and I didn’t feel like I was walking on eggshells like I did after I asked about his family’s company. He even opened up some about the falling out with his grandfather and told me that it was because his father was named as the next CEO of Sinn Technology. I shared in the shock over the decision when he told me that his father had been spent time in prison for Securities Fraud—making him the CEO of the company seemed like a rather bizarre move. Not being close to our fathers was one thing we had in common. I didn’t hate mine, but I barely knew him—I got a birthday card every year if I was lucky, and I hadn’t seen him since I was eight or nine years old.
“Do you want dessert?” Damien motioned to the menu.
“Not after all of that pasta.” I shook my head back and forth. “I feel like I need to go run a marathon to burn off the calories…”
“I don’t know of any marathons that start this late, but we could always go take a walk in the park.” Damien drained his glass and put it down.
“Sure, that sounds good.” I smiled and nodded.
I’m really glad I didn’t decide to wear heels…
The park wasn’t far from Moretti’s, so we decided to walk there instead of drive. The date no longer felt like a disaster, despite stumbling into a conversation that wasn’t pleasant for Damien in the beginning. He really did seem like a decent guy. The fact that he walked away from his family’s company because he didn’t want to work for his
father was admirable. He basically sacrificed his birthright for his own integrity. I didn’t know how I would have reacted if I was in that situation. I wanted to believe I could have walked away from everything if it was the right thing to do, but it would have been a difficult decision.
I was still drawn to Damien—and everything that I learned about him made that attraction grow. I was glad that he suggested a walk because I wasn’t ready for the date to end. I didn’t know if he felt the same butterflies or if it was just another date for him—with some girl that couldn’t stop staring at him in a bar. Romance was a new arena for me, and it wasn’t one that I ever thought I would find myself in—especially after seeing how things worked out for my mother and dealing with the normal angst of being ignored by the guys I liked in high school. My attraction towards Damien—and the fact that it appeared to be mutual—was unexpected, but exciting. It was a natural sense of exhilaration.
“I haven’t been here in years…” Damien looked around the park once we arrived. “They’ve expanded it a lot.”
“My grandparents used to bring me here when I was a kid.” I looked towards the playground area. “They had to practically drag me off the merry-go-round every time.”
“Ah—in my day, the whole idea was to spin it fast enough to knock someone off.” He chuckled under his breath.
“Yeah, we did that too.” I laughed and nodded. “Thankfully, an adult usually intervened before we hurt ourselves.”
“Do you want to give it a whirl?” He motioned to the merry-go-round. “No pun intended…”
“Sure, why not.” I smiled and started walking that way.
I had a lot of fond memories from that playground, but most of them were because I got to spend time with my grandparents. I was a lot closer with them than my mother—they were the ones that treated me like a kid instead of wanting me to grow up way too fast. I spent most of my weekends at their house before I was old enough to stay home by myself—and sometimes I would end up staying there for a few extra days if my mother was out of town or otherwise distracted. I even lived with them for a couple of years when my mother was involved with a guy that had no interest in having a kid around—I wouldn’t have been terribly upset if that relationship was the one that didn’t go up in flames.
Devious Intentions (Carson Cove Sandals Book 3) Page 4
