Speaking of Jesse, I looked down at my phone.
What are you doing Sunday night?
I don’t know I’ll have to ask my boyfriend, I cheekily replied.
You shouldn’t have to ask any man permission to do anything. That guy sounds like a real creep. You should ditch him and go on a date with me.
My last “date” with Jesse had ended in some dry humping and pie. I wasn’t sure how he could top that, but I was willing to try.
Is this a you and me date? Or is this a you, me ,and JJ makes three kind of date? I mean, I was excited about seeing Jesse period, but if he was asking me out alone then I would need to find a sitter.
Hold on I’m going to call you.
I picked the phone up on the first ring, very conscious of the two other people in the room who were acting like they couldn’t be less interested in my conversation. Although Dino was still sitting on the corner of my desk, so I pushed him off with my hand. Man, I wish he would quit doing that. I answered on the first ring.
“Hey, Jesse.”
“Hey, beautiful. So I have a question for you—do you like Italian food?” Do I like Italian food? Who the hell don’t?
“Well, my mom said my Dad was Italian, and even though from what she said he was a complete turd, it would go against my roots to not like Italian food.” The good stuff anyway, not the shit shack I used to wait tables at.
“Well, I happen to have an invitation to the grand re-opening of the best Italian place around. Real Italian. Like Nonna—straight from Italy helping cook your food—authentic. They make their pasta fresh everyday kind of good. They were closed for a bit for renovations, but Sunday they are having a private celebration. Nonna wanted to make sure I could be there and I told her I would bring a plus one. That is if you want to go with me.”
“Is that the restaurant across from Nasta’s that’s been closed? I can’t remember the name of it, what was it called?” I heard Dino groan from where he had plopped back into the chair and Jeanette laughed at him. I focused on Jesse again.
“Affini’s,” he said. “And I’m really excited to be there. Dino and Jeanette will probably be there, it’s his family restaurant. And since it’s right across from the bar my dad offered to watch JJ since Nasta’s is closed for business. Upstairs in the apartment,” Jesse added quickly. “Not in the bar. He said they could watch a movie while we were gone and he’d pop popcorn and let him pass out on the couch. We can just go across the street and pick him up after dinner. Is that okay?”
He sounded so hopeful, and I knew he was. He’d told me about his dad’s problems, how he’d been coping since his wife passed away. I also saw him clean and sober the last few weeks and wanted to give Jesse this little bit of hope. They were just across the street. I could practically see the apartment above the bar from the restaurant. It wasn’t even a yard’s width away.
“That sounds great, Jesse,” and it did. We would be with other people and not alone sure, but if things went well with his dad watching JJ we might be able to plan more nights out. And more alone time meant I might be able to get Jesse to put his hands on me again…
“Excellent. I’ll see you Sunday. Might as well meet me at Nasta’s and we can go from there. The reception is at seven so meet at six thirty?”
We ended the call after I agreed, and I looked up to see Dino with a long-suffering look on his face and Jeanette barely able to hold in her laughter. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what was so funny.
“Why didn’t you ever mention your family owned a restaurant?” I asked, not that it was any big deal. “That’s pretty cool. I would be super fat if that was my family. Homemade pasta? Yes, please. Gnocchi and red sauce alllll day.” I rubbed my belly happily. “Well, looks like I’ll see you two Sunday night because I’ve got a date.”
Jeanette smiled and got up to go back to her office. I suddenly had an alarming thought.
“Oh shit, I don’t have anything to wear. Is this fancy? Do I need a dress? I don’t own any dresses. Crap. Crap on a crab cracker.” Jeanette laughed again.
“I wouldn’t worry about that, I know someone who loves to help pick out dresses.”
“Absolutely not,” Dino shouted from the chair, bounding to his feet to stand between Jeanette and me.
“What is wrong with you Dino?” Jeanette asked, a sly smile on her face. “Angel lives for shit like this and you know it.”
“I won’t have it,” Dino roared, confusing the hell out of me with his anger. “Don’t you dare let her pick out a dress for Harlow. I mean it. She’s busy with deadlines anyway. Don’t you do it, Jeanette…”
“Last I checked you were not my daddy, Dino. To be honest, you’re being a little weird right now so I’m going to need you to calm your big square man boobies and ease off. I’m a big girl, and I need a dress. I’m pretty sure I can handle it on my own though.” Angel really was busy, I didn’t want to bug her.
“If you need some help let me know, I’ll be glad to go shopping with you,” Jeanette whispered as she grabbed Dino’s arm and propelled him towards the door. I mouthed a thank you at her as they both left my office, Dino still grumbling something along the lines of, “You absolutely will not call Angel. Promise me.”
I didn’t hear what Jeanette told him, they were already down the hall, and I had a little bit of work to take care of before I left to pick JJ up from preschool.
14
Jesse
JJ couldn’t wait to get upstairs and hang with my dad as soon as he and Harlow showed up at Nasta’s. I helped him carry his little suitcase up the stairs—it was Disney Cars themed and weighed about fifteen pounds and clunked as it rolled up the stairs.
“What do you have in here buddy?” I asked as I mocked heaving the container up the stairs. JJ giggled and ran past my legs, eager to get to the door first.
“It’s all my cars. Papa Ed said he knows just about every car there is. I’m gonna see if that’s right. I got lots of cars Jesse.” JJ told me seriously. At some point, he’d dropped the mister in front of my name and that was all right with me. We were buddies, JJ and me. We didn’t need that formal talk. I stopped him when he had his hand on the doorknob.
“Ah. What do we do before we go into someone’s house?” He’d been to my dad’s apartment before, and I knew he was just being impatient, but manners were manners and JJ was pretty good at listening to me.
“Whoops, sorry.” And he knocked on the door.
“Who is it? We don’t want any!” Came the loud grumbles from the other side of the door. JJ giggled, they’d also played this game before.
“It’s me, Papa Ed, let me in. My mom is downstairs waiting for Jesse. I brought my cars, are you ready to play?” The door swung wide and there stood my dad, looking fresh, clean, and with a big dopey smile plastered on his face. My chest tightened a bit seeing the changes he’d made in just the last few weeks. I wasn’t stupid enough to think that everything was okay, but I was going to continue showing him that there were wonderful things in life—things to look forward to and live for. And if hanging with JJ made him feel young again then I would put the two of them together as much as I could. I didn't think there was a single soul around that didn't get a smile on their face when JJ was around. That kid was a balm for the soul.
I met Harlow in the front of the empty bar, mostly because if she would have come upstairs with JJ it would have been a half hour of goodbyes before we finally got out the door. If he was with anyone else, JJ was good to go but for some reason, when it came to his mom, he got a little clingy. Probably because he was four. It was adorable most times but tonight I didn't just want us to be on time. I was hoping for even just a few minutes alone with Harlow before I had to share her with other people.
And even now, as I looked at her in what was probably the first time I had ever seen her in a dress, I knew those few minutes wouldn't be enough. She looked so damn good it was distracting, and I got stuck on the third from the bottom step just staring at
her, forgetting where I was supposed to be going or even doing.
"What are you looking at?" she asked with a smile. Was she kidding? What was I not looking at? The only thing I could possibly focus on was her, with her dark hair falling soft and wavy around her shoulders. Her dress was a soft maroon knit, with three-quarter sleeves and a simple scoop neck. It nipped in at the waist and flared out just at mid-thigh. Not short enough to be considered a mini, but not so long that I didn't get a fabulous view of her slender legs. There was a hint of a shine on her lips and she'd put something on her eyes to make them stand out from her face more, but I couldn't really put my finger on what exact makeup she had used. The smile on her lips and the sparkle in her eyes let me know she knew exactly what I was looking at.
"That's an awful lot of knee you're showing, Ms. Jones," I circled my arms around her waist as I reached the bottom of the stairs and pulled her close, enjoying the way her small body fit against mine.
"Scandalous, I know." I caught the faintest whiff of something sweet as she pulled away and started walking towards the front door.
"Nope—we're not going that way," I said as I grabbed her hand and redirected her towards the back of the bar and the rear entrance through the kitchen.
"Okay, but I thought we were going to Affini's?"
"We are," I said as I led her out the back door and into the alley, making sure to lock everything up tight. "But if we go out the front door we are in the street and in front of all those windows. If we go out the front door I can't do this," And I surprised her by gently pressing my body against hers until she had her back to the brick wall of the bar. I swallowed her little gasp of surprise with my mouth as I kissed her, probably not as gently as I should have but damn it had been a while since I'd been able to do it.
My hands roamed up her body, fingers searching against the light curve of her hips, and up further still until I found with most certainty, that she was actually wearing a bra this time. I pulled away, and she smiled at the little frown on my face. "You can't have it your way all the time," Harlow said with a laugh, the sound of it bringing a smile to my face. "This dress is too clingy to go without one. My nipples would show through," she whispered, confessing her secret into the curve of my neck, her lips just barely grazing the sensitive skin there.
I'd just meant to stop and kiss her breathless, but she was teasing me to the point of madness. We'd never make it to Affini's if we didn't stop soon, but that didn't seem like such a big deal right now. Why did we need to go there? To eat? We could eat there anytime. What I needed to do right now was get as close as humanly possible to Harlow without getting her naked in the back of this dark alley. Actually, no one could see us, maybe I could get her just a little naked...
"You taste like sugar and cigarettes," Harlow murmured low, stroking my beard with one hand and running her fingers through the short hairs on the back of my neck with the other. Did I stink like smokes? Yuck, that wasn't good.
"I'm sorry," I apologized as I pulled away. I'd cut down to one or two a day. I didn't smoke around JJ, and honestly, I wish I hadn't started back up when I started working at the bar to being with.
"No, it's okay," Harlow reached around my neck with both arms and pulled me back down, her tongue reaching out to trace the outline of my lips. "It's part of you, and it's familiar. I was just remembering, is all."
Oh God, if she was trying to get me to throw our plans for the night straight into traffic then she was doing a bang-up job of it. "Woman, why do you smell so good?" I buried my face in her neck and inhaled the deep musky smell of vanilla...and something else. My beard tickled against her sensitive skin and I felt her shudder underneath me.
"Well, I know you like sweet things, so I experimented a little," she whispered, her fingers marching up my back, digging in as I kissed that sweet spot behind her ear. I filled my lungs again with her scent, and pressed my hips more firmly against her, rocking into her, the friction doing nothing to calm my damn near perpetual erection.
"Does it smell like cookies? I was going for cookies." What? What was she talking about? "I used a little vanilla extract and almond extract. I mixed them with a little jojoba oil and I thought it came pretty close..."
"Harlow, did you make yourself smell like food on purpose?" I growled in her ear and she squirmed underneath me, sliding against me and causing all of the remaining blood in my body to rush straight to my groin. "Do you know what that means?"
Her voice was nothing but a breath against my skin. "What?"
"I get to eat you," and lifting her hair from the back of her neck I let my nose find the source of that delicious smell, and I sucked that small bit of her neck into my mouth hard. Sliding my tongue across the skin until it was slick and wet. Her knees buckled and she moaned low, but I kept her upright with the force of my body pinning her to the wall until she recovered. Her hips thrust up and met mine in a perfect imitation of what we would be doing if we were unclothed, but then I remembered what happened the last time we were in a similar position, and I didn't want a repeat. I mean I did, but now was not the time. It took all of my self-control to put inches between us, and my arms may or may not have been shaking as I placed my hands palm flat against the wall of the building behind her. The cold rough brick against my skin helped ground me, and I took a few deep breaths of air to clear my head.
"What has gotten into you?" Harlow smiled when she asked, patting her hair back into place. Her neck and chest slightly red from my abrading beard.
"I have it on good authority that ladies love being ravished against walls in dark alleys," I said gravely.
"On whose authority?"
Well, it was Beck actually, but I wasn't going to go into detail about how he and Regina had hit it off in this very dark corner. I hadn't even thought about it until just this minute, so I didn't want her to think I was thinking about them when I was about to...well. There would be time for that later maybe. Right now, we had about five minutes to make it across the street or we would be late for the reception, and I didn't need Rosalina Affini taking me to hell and back because I didn't show up on time.
We made it on time, but just barely. And when Rosalina had invited me she told me it was a small, informal gathering for close friends and family. I didn't realize that small meant mostly just family. It was quite an intimate setting and I could feel Harlow tensing up with nerves beside me as we walked through the front door of the restaurant.
There was a huge U-shaped set up in the middle of the restaurant where all of the tables had been pushed together into a horseshoe shape and draped with white linen, the soft muted light of candles gave the room a quiet ambiance. Rosalina was there, the matriarch of the family as well as the owner of Affini's. Dino and Jeanette were there, already seated at the table, glasses of red wine in their hands. Vanessa, Dino's half-sister was standing by Rosalina while her mother, Madeline, came from around the corner just as we were walking inside. Other than the Affini employees that I recognized, I didn't see anyone else there.
Weird.
I slid my arm around Harlow's waist and gave her a reassuring squeeze. I knew everyone in this room, but Harlow didn't. She did seem to relax a bit when she saw Dino and Jeanette, but we didn't get a chance to go over and talk to them because Rosalina saw us enter and descended on us like a mother hen before we were six feet through the door.
"Jesse," she thundered as she bore down on us with surprising speed. For such a diminutive woman she moved fast. Over her shoulder I saw the blood drain from Dino's face and even Jeanette looked nervous for a second. Until she saw me looking, then she smiled reassuringly.
What in the hell was going on here?
"So glad you're here," she said in her thick Italian accent that had shown no sign of fading in the sixty-five years she had lived in the United States. "And you bring with you such lovely company. Come," she continued, maneuvering herself securely between myself and Harlow, successfully bogarting her from me. "What is your name mia bellezza?
"Harlow, this is Rosalina Affini," I introduced warmly. “She owns this restaurant, and she's also Dino's grandmother. You look lovely tonight, Rosalina." Barely sparing me a glance Rosalina flung her hands in the air, her loose sleeved red kimono style shirt flapping like bird wings as she talked excitedly with her hands.
"You'll call me Nonna," she told Harlow as she deftly relieved me of my date and walked her towards the row of tables, abandoning me in the entrance.
"You never told me to call you Nonna," I grumbled under my breath before following after them like a puppy. Rosalina only had eyes for Harlow, and while I agreed, I like to look at her too, it was bizarre behavior for Mrs. Affini.
My eyes met Dino's, and for a split second I lost my footing and almost pitched forward on the brand-new patterned carpet of the dining room. Dino's face was a mask of terror. I don’t think I had ever seen something so disturbing as Dino looking ready to bolt for his life and I don't care to in the future. He mouthed the words "I'm sorry" to me from across the room before his grandmother descended on the table and pushed at his shoulder. "Dino, you scoot. Make room for Harlow—she sits by me." Dino, looking white as a ghost, hurried to obey Rosalina.
Jesse (Glass City Hearts Book 3) Page 12
