by Leslie North
She looked slightly mollified when she turned her head to look back at her children. They were still quietly playing at the table. “What are you even doing here?”
Nathan didn’t want to tell her the whole truth. He figured she had enough on her plate without finding out that her mother was trying to publicly humiliate Duncan Enterprises. “I found out that Carlo was a reporter specializing in environmental issues. I offered to give him an exclusive on the architecture design I’m working on for Wells.”
She shifted her look from Nathan to Carlo and back again. Finally, her shoulders slumped, and she ran her hands through her hair. “I’m sorry. I’m having a frustrating day.”
Leaning over, Nathan kissed her gently on the forehead. “I’ve got some time if you want to talk about it.”
Carolina smiled at him. “I would love to, but I’ve got to get the kids home. They’ve got homework they need to do, and I need to make them dinner.”
“I can do that,” Carlo said with a smile. “It’s my weekend with them anyway. We’ll get started a little early. Go have some fun tonight. I’ll drop them off at school tomorrow and pick them up.”
Carolina hesitated. “I don’t have anything packed for them yet.”
“I’ll swing by the house and get their things together,” Carlo said easily as he stood. “Julio? Tamara? You want to spend tonight with me?”
“Yes!” Julio said with gusto. Tamara joined in, and Carolina sighed.
“I guess I’m outnumbered. Thanks, Carlo. What about Carlita?” She gave him a quick hug, and Nathan watched them carefully. If there was anything intimate in the hug, he couldn’t detect it.
“I can work from home tomorrow. I’ve got it covered, Carolina. Quit worrying. It’s probably time for them to meet my girlfriend,” he said with a smile.
Carolina immediately frowned. “Does she live with you?”
“She spends a lot of time at the apartment, but she stays away when I have the kids. I’ve been trying to get you to meet her for a couple of weeks now.”
“It’s okay, I’m sorry. I do trust you, you know that, right?” Carolina said after a deep breath. “And I would like to meet her. Maybe I can spare some time for lunch this weekend.”
“Thank you.” Carlo went over to grab the kids, and Nathan gave her a smile.
“So dinner? Just the two of us? Do you think you’re up for that?” he asked teasingly.
“As long as that dinner isn’t here,” she said as she looked up at him with a smile. He was tempted to kiss her right then and there, but he didn’t think that would be appropriate.
“How about some Chinese food?”
Her eyes lit up with excitement, and Nathan put his hand on her back and walked her out of Maria’s Restaurant.
The Chinese restaurant he chose was one of his favorites. His mother used to take him and his brothers to the small corner restaurant when they were little because the food was good and the owners were friendly. The dining room wasn’t much to talk about. Most people ordered delivery or carryout, but the booths were comfortable.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been here,” Carolina said with a laugh. “We usually go to Hunan Gardens.”
“Shh,” Nathan muttered as he looked around. “Don’t let them hear you say that. I’m fairly certain both owners are the head of rival Chinese gangs. You could start a Triad war.”
She burst out laughing, and Nathan relaxed. When she smiled, her whole face lit up, and she was absolutely beautiful. “Tell me what happened today,” he said softly.
“Same thing that happens every time that Angie and I think we have found a new place for the restaurant. Momma shuts it down. I don’t understand what’s going on in that woman’s head. If she no longer wants to run Maria’s Restaurant, all she has to do is tell me. I’m more than happy to take over. The Lopez family was made to cook and serve. She can retire knowing that everything is in good hands, but every time I talk about it, she gets upset and starts yelling at me.”
He wanted to point out that the Lopez family also seemed to be great about not talking about feelings but then, the Maxfield family was no better, so it wasn’t his place to judge. Instead, he ordered their food and reached across to take her hand.
“Give her time. She’ll eventually tell you what’s bothering her.”
“I hope you’re right.”
As he stroked her knuckles gently with his thumb, he felt his body react. There was something phenomenally sexy about touching her, and he wasn’t the only one affected. Her lips parted, and her eyes darkened. She wanted him as much as he wanted her, and all he’d done was take her hand.
“How are your design drawings going?” she asked, abruptly changing the subject as she slid her hand away and folded both hands into her lap.
Nathan leaned back and smirked. “This is a date, Carolina. You don’t have to be embarrassed about being attracted to me.”
Her cheeks flushed, Carolina looked around nervously. “Who says that I’m attracted to you?”
Nathan reached across the table with his hand and turned his palm upward. “Give me your hand.” She looked at him suspiciously, but she slowly put her hand in his. He gripped it and touched two fingers to her wrist.
Keeping his voice low and soft, he met her gaze. “I can feel your pulse speed up. Looking at your face, it’s easy to see that your pupils have dilated, and your cheeks are pink. If I ran my fingers up your arm, I could probably feel goosebumps or perhaps a shudder of desire.”
“Jesus,” she said as she snatched her hands back. Clearing her throat, she tugged on her hair. “Fine, Mr. Smooth, I’m attracted to you. If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t be here. But we still haven’t talked about the ramifications for what happens if we do anything about the attraction. Our original problems still stand. You’re busy. I’m busy. Stephen is in my family like Angie is now part of yours. We can’t avoid each other.”
“That’s assuming that anything we start will end badly.” Nathan smiled as their food arrived. From the soup to the rice to the noodles, everything smelled delicious.
“It doesn’t have to end badly for things to be awkward,” Carolina pointed out. “It’s not only me. I have three kids who could very easily become attached to you. When we end, they might not understand, and they’re liable to bring it up at Thanksgiving and Christmas.”
“When this ends?” Nathan asked with a raised eyebrow.
Carolina rolled her eyes. “We’re both adults. There’s no point in pretending that either of us believe in happily ever after. I’ve been married three times. I’m not looking for a fourth husband, and that’s not fair to you. You deserve the right to find out how horrible marriage is with the perfect girl made just for you.”
It was clear that Carolina was on the defensive, and Nathan found it endearing that she wanted to explain herself so early in their relationship. While she stabbed angrily at her chicken, he only smiled at her.
“You’re sexy when you’re angry.”
“Dammit, Nathan,” she said, but there was no heat in her words. She looked at him and shook her head, unable to hide a smile. “You’re ridiculous.”
“I know you have a family to think about, Carolina. But I’m not going to do anything to hurt them or you. So, sit back and enjoy this, and if things start to go wrong, we’ll deal with it then. And we’ll deal with it like civilized adults in a civilized way.”
“You’re very persuasive.”
He smiled arrogantly. “I know. Now eat your food and enjoy our date.”
It took a few minutes, but she did finally relax. Soon he had her laughing again and forgetting all about her fears for the future. After dinner, he drove her back to her house and killed the engine. Before she talked him out of it, he leaned across the console and finally kissed her.
Carolina immediately melted into him. He’d only intended to taste her briefly because he didn’t want to scare her, but her response killed all logic. She opened for him, and he delved inside her silky warmth. When she moaned, h
e changed angles and deepened the kiss. Her hands slid over his cheek and down his throat before pressing against his chest. He tangled his fingers through her hair. All of his muscles tensed as he fought desperately against his urge to let his fingers travel south until he could curve his palm around her enticing breast.
Suddenly, as if she could read his mind, she pushed him away and pressed against the door. Nathan took a deep breath, but he didn’t push her. “Too much?”
“Every nerve in my body desperately wants to ask you up. We’d be alone, and I’m so wet that I want to scream.”
Nathan moaned. “If you’re trying to get me to leave, you’re doing a poor job of it.”
“I’m sorry. It’s just that it’s been a long time for me, and I’m not ready. Well. I’m kind of a little too ready, if you see what I mean.”
There was a look of terror on her face, and he slowly smiled at her. “Take your time, Carolina. And don’t be upset. When we take this to the next level, I want you to be prepared and guilt-free. It’s going to be what’s right for you.”
His words reassured her, and she reached for the door handle. “Good night, Nathan. If you’ve got time this weekend, I’d love to see you again.”
“Count on it.”
When she climbed out of his car and shut the door behind her, Nathan slowly released the breath that he’d been holding. That woman was doing crazy things to his mind and body, and he was enjoying every minute of it.
7
Saturday passed, and Nathan never heard from her. He should have thrown himself head first into his work, but he was distracted. Every few minutes, he’d check his phone to see if she’d called or texted, but there was nothing. Even though he was dying to hear her voice, he wasn’t sure it was his place to call her. He wanted to give her space, but he was afraid if he gave her too much space, she’d talk herself into giving him up.
Angie was pleased with how he’d handled Carlo. It was one less thing that he had to worry about. After grabbing a few hours of sleep in the early hours of Sunday morning, he was woken by the sound of his phone.
Only instead of Carolina, it was an unknown number. Frowning, he answered it. “Nathan Maxfield.”
“Nathan. It’s Carlo. What are you doing tonight?”
“I don’t have anything set in stone. Why?”
“I think Maria has figured out that her plan to stop Carolina dating you using me and my article has failed. She called me last night and talked about how happy Carolina was when we were married. She has told her daughter that she could pick up her kids in Old Town.”
Nathan frowned. Old Town was a beautiful strip of historic buildings that had been preserved to draw in the tourist trade. All the businesses inside represented a different era. Among the many businesses were a fifties-style diner, an old-fashioned ice cream parlor, and a flapper-era speakeasy-style bar. “That sounds like a great place to take the kids.”
“Yes, except that the place is a lot more than that. Carolina always said that Old Town was the perfect place for a perfect date. I have a feeling that Maria is trying to use me to derail her feelings for you.”
“Are you tempted?” Nathan asked in a low voice. He could compete with an angry mother, but it was harder when the competition was the wonderful father of her youngest child.
“I’ll always love Carolina, and I think of those kids as my own, but we’re no good together,” Carlo chuckled. “She’s supposed to meet me at six. I’ll be happy to keep the kids until nine if you want to take my place.”
Nathan glanced at his drawings. “She’s hesitant about us. I don’t want to pressure her into anything. It might be better if I give her some space.”
“I know you said you weren’t using me for information about Carolina, so consider this a freebie. She’s always been self-destructive when it comes to relationships. Even though she’s a romantic at heart, she always seemed to deliberately choose men that were bad for her. But I think things are different since she’s met you because now, she’s using her kids to protect herself. I haven’t seen her look at anyone the way she looks at you. But she’s scared. She’s going to need a little push in the right direction.”
“I owe you one,” Nathan said with a smile. “Thanks, man.”
“After the article, I figured I owed you. Use your time wisely tonight.” He hung up, and Nathan stretched. Maria was a devious one, but he still wasn’t going to do anything to confront her. He had a feeling that she could cause a lot of damage when she put her mind to it.
He had ten hours before the date, and it only took twenty minutes to get to Old Town from his apartment. That left plenty of time to get some work done before setting out to meet her.
Setting the alarm on his phone, he sat down to stare at the design again. It was coming along nicely, but something still wasn’t quite right. The setting was on cold hard concrete, and he really wanted the shopping center and apartments to have a warm and homely feel. If he could convince Wells to keep some of the wooded area, he could wrap the buildings around it and have a public park in the center. It would mean some additional changes to his original design, but it would bring more warmth and character to the atmosphere of the location.
He’d taken a look at some of Wells’ other properties, and he knew the man normally went in a more modern direction, but they were all bland and tasteless.
That wasn’t something Nathan wanted his name on.
Tossing aside the old designs, he pulled out a fresh piece of paper. Like before, he sketched out the main design for the shopping center. From there, he added an area for the park and started working around that.
When his alarm went off, Nathan was done. He’d perfected the design, and now all that was left was to create the 3D model for Wells to approve.
Whistling, he hopped in the shower and washed away the sweat that had gathered while he worked. The water fell over his sculpted muscles, and he couldn’t help but fantasize that Carolina was standing behind him. As he brushed the loofah over his skin, he wished that it was softer. Like her fingers. She would slide her hands over his chest, down to his abdomen, and further down to take his hardness in her hands.
The fantasy was enough to make him moan, and he quickly reached down and turned the temperature knob. As the cold water jerked him back to reality, he made quick work of the rest of his shower and turned the water off.
He wanted to savor all that passion for when Carolina was actually in his arms.
Half an hour later, he sat on a street bench and watched her as she paced up and down the sidewalk. She looked phenomenal in a figure-hugging pink dress and gold sandals. She turned her head to look in his direction.
A surprised smile crossed her face. “Nathan? What are you doing here?”
Standing to meet her. “I’m your date tonight,” he said and leaned down to kiss her lips. Her arms immediately went around him, and she blinked.
“I don’t understand. Carlo said he was going to bring the kids here. I’m supposed to pick them up.”
“There’s been a change of plans,” he said as he nuzzled her neck. “Carlo is keeping the kids until nine, so I thought I’d take this time to see you again.”
“This is a wonderful surprise. Thank you.” Carolina leaned up and kissed him again. “Have you ever been here? Isn’t it fantastic ?” She linked her arm with his and they began to stroll down the street.
“I have not, but I’ve done my research. I actually live quite close by. It’s one of the reasons that I picked this location. I thought that having a mix of architecture around me would help my creativity.”
“You live this close, but you haven’t visited? Well, I’m glad that I could be the first one to walk you down these lovely streets. My father used to bring us here as kids. I’ve been here so many times as an adult, and there is always something magical about this place.”
Nathan noted the genuine gas flames burning in the streetlights and the music playing softly through the speakers hidden in the trees. L
ights were strung along the way to create a beautifully romantic effect. He could point out what made her think this place was magical, but he wanted her to embrace the mystery.
“I haven’t had dinner yet. I heard there is a great fifties-style diner around here,” Nathan said instead and he hugged her to his side.
“There is, but I’d rather eat somewhere else.” Curious, he let her take the lead until she stopped in front of a patio. “How do you feel about Italian?”
“I love it.” He held open the small gate and let her choose the table. After pulling out the wrought iron chair, he took a seat across from her and watched her face. There was nothing but pure bliss in her expression as she looked around.
After tonight, he would owe Carlo more than one.
A waitress dropped off some menus, and his stomach rumbled as he looked over the selection. “Everything looks so good.”
“You are hungry!” she laughed. “I always thought this place looked so romantic, but my father never brought us here.”
“I’m pleased that you brought me,” he murmured. Staring at her over the menu, he watched as she bit her lower lip. It was so sexy when she did that. He wanted to lean over and taste those lips again.
Carolina ducked behind the menu. “I think I’m going to have the Alfredo. I’m usually more of a spaghetti fan, but I always get the marinara all over me.”
“How about I get the spaghetti, and if you change your mind, you can have some of mine.”
She tossed back her head and laughed. “Wow, you really are bringing your A-game tonight, aren’t you?”
“Is it working?”
Before she could say anything, the waitress returned to take their orders. Nathan took the liberty of ordering them a bottle of wine, and she didn’t say no.
“Tell me about your family growing up,” she asked softly.
Nathan immediately pulled back. “Why?”
“You, Stephen and Gabe are so different, but then again, in some respects, you’re all so alike.”
Nathan shrugged. “In some respects, we’re like any other family. The oldest is the most responsible. The second child acted out. The last child was babied. But unlike most families, we raised each other. For a time, we competed for Duncan’s affections. Of course, we all lost. Stephen dealt with it by running away. Gabe got into drugs for a time. I was optimistic to the point of stupidity. Duncan shot me down time and time again, and when I left for college, I swore that I would never come back.”
