“Yeah, like you’d pass on a chance to drink wine and ogle VIPs,” Jaden scoffed. “Besides, it’s my birthday. You wouldn’t really make me come here by myself, would you?”
“I knew you’d throw that in my face.” Tasha’s delicate features contorted in mock surprise. Then she smiled as she reached into her purse. She pulled out a small box wrapped in gold foil and placed it on the table in front of her friend. “Happy birthday.”
“Tasha, I told you not to buy me anything,” Jaden murmured.
Tasha had been keeping close watch on her finances. The Miami real estate market had slowed to a crawl in the last few months, and making enough sales to keep herself afloat was next to impossible right now. Jaden had implemented a no-gifts rule this year—or at least she thought she had.
Tasha had no doubt gone to great lengths to get something for her, and Jaden blushed as she picked up the small package. She peeled back the wrapping paper and crumpled it into a ball, tossing it on the table in front of her. Slowly, she opened the lid of the black satin box. Inside, buried beneath a layer of tissue paper, Jaden found a delicate silver chain with a silver frying pan charm dangling from it.
“It’s an anklet,” Tasha explained. “I know you’re not supposed to wear jewelry to work, but I figured you could get away with this.”
“I love it,” Jaden said with a smile. Removing the chain from the box, she unclasped it and placed it around her ankle. “It matches my dress.”
“It’s not much, but—”
Thankfully a waiter chose that exact moment to appear at their table and interrupt the conversation, because Jaden knew precisely what Tasha was going to say: “It’s not much, but it’s all I could afford right now.” She knew her friend was struggling, but there was no need to announce it to the rest of their table, which was beginning to fill up.
Wordlessly, the waiter placed six glasses of wine on the table as a chime began to sound. When he’d finished he retreated into the sea of people now making their way from the bar to their assigned seats.
“I hope they serve dinner soon. I’m starving,” Jaden said, changing the subject. She tried to look nonchalant as she scanned the crowded garden.
Her gaze drifted to the bar where a few people still remained, wine glasses in hand, and suddenly she noticed him. Standing beside a small stage at the front of the dance floor was the most stunning man she’d ever seen: tousled brown hair—the color of aged mahogany—brushed the collar of the crisp, white dress shirt that peeked out from the jacket of his perfectly tailored suit. The setting sun cast a luminous glow, streaking his hair with dazzling flecks of gold and bronze. His well-defined jaw bore what looked to be at least a day of stubble, and a pair of deep-set eyes, brilliant and full of life, now stared back at her.
Blushing, Jaden quickly turned to face her dinner companions and felt Tasha watching her. “What?” She shrugged innocently. “He’s cute.”
“Damn right he is. Go talk to him!” Tasha laughed and passed Jaden another glass of wine.
“Yeah, right,” Jaden responded. A guy like that would never give her the time of day.
“Drink up, girl! It’s your birthday, and the night is young.” Tasha encouraged her with a smile.
Conceding defeat, Jaden sipped from the glass and sat back in her chair, allowing her eyes to once again fall upon the spectacular sight at the opposite end of the tent. She couldn’t help but notice how the designer suit hugged his muscular chest. A hundred bucks said his body was even more magnificent than the rest of him, and Jaden found herself imagining what was hidden beneath all those layers of fabric. She wasn’t usually forward with men, but if ever one so fine as this approached her, there’d be no holding back. A blush reddened her cheeks and warmth pooled in the bottom of her belly, quickly spreading to her limbs and leaving a trail of fire in its wake. Certain the wine was going to her head, Jaden brushed aside her lustful thoughts and focused on the lively conversation around her.
“Your friend tells us it’s your birthday,” a stout lady sitting in the chair to Jaden’s right announced. A large hat festooned with colorful feathers sat atop a mass of graying curls, and a royal blue evening gown draped her abundant form. The woman looked a bit like a distressed peacock.
Slightly taken aback by the woman’s boisterous voice, Jaden stammered her response, “Yes, ma’am. I turn twenty-six today.”
“Oh, to be young and carefree. I remember when I was twenty-six…”
Jaden cast a sidelong glance at Tasha and chuckled as the older woman launched into a detailed description of her younger years. Jaden took note of the relieved look on the face of the woman’s male companion, her husband most likely. He seemed thankful his wife had someone else to talk to, relieving him for a few moments from the constant chatter.
When the waiter returned, delivering plates of Waldorf salad that resembled miniature works of art, Jaden was once again glad for the interruption. Sensing it was going to be a long dinner—and an even longer evening—she quietly asked him to bring another bottle of wine. With the simple wave of his hand a waitress appeared and refilled Jaden’s glass, leaving the bottle for the table to share.
Tasha jabbed Jaden in the arm and pointed to the front of the dance floor where six tables sat apart from the rest, three on either side of the stage. “What’s with those tables?”
“That’s the VIP section,” Jaden said. “And the table on the far left, beside the bar, is the chef’s table. Only the bigwigs sit there, and they must pay quite a bit for it. The cost of a regular ticket to this event is fifteen-hundred dollars.”
“Well, your Mr. Oh So Sexy must have connections or some serious cash,” Tasha reported, “because he has one of the best seats in the house.”
Jaden snapped to attention and trained her eyes to the spot where Tasha was pointing. Any remote hopes of finding a way to meet this man vanished. The people at those VIP tables were celebrities, politicians, and others with very large bank accounts—far above her social status.
“I wonder what he does for a living,” Tasha mused, still intrigued by the group of people sitting at the front of the tent. “He must be an athlete or something, because guys who look like that don’t rely on their intelligence, if you know what I mean.”
Ignoring her roommate’s obsession with celebrities and stereotypes, Jaden picked up her fork and looked for a way in to her salad. She must have lost herself for a moment, trying to figure out what the chef had done, because the next thing she knew Tasha had elbowed her in the arm.
“This is my roommate,” Tasha said, a little too enthusiastically, as she introduced the sexy latecomer now standing before them.
“Hmm,” Jaden mumbled around a mouthful of apple. She wiped her mouth and tuned back in. Smiling politely, she shook his outstretched hand. “I’m sorry, what was your name?”
“Michael,” he replied with a smile. “Michael Cervone. And you are?”
“I’m Jaden Thorne. Pleased to meet you.”
“I know that name from somewhere…” After a moment, he asked, “Aren’t you the head chef at Bianca in Miami Beach?”
“Yes, I am,” Jaden admitted, embarrassed again that Geoff had submitted a press release to the local papers, which resulted in more than a little fanfare.
“I ate there last week. That place is phenomenal. Well done.” Michael pulled out a chair and sat down.
Jaden looked at Tasha and noticed the smile plastered across her friend’s face, making it obvious she was in awe of the man now sitting with them. And why shouldn’t she be? Curly golden-blond hair, which seemed lightened by the sun, hung loosely around his face, and brilliant aqua blue eyes accentuated his handsome features—not to mention the fact that there seemed to be a smoking hot body under his suit.
Jaden’s attention might have been piqued if she hadn’t already focused on the man at the front of the tent, but she could certainly give her shy roommate a nudge in the right direction.
Jaden dove right in. “So Michael
, what do you do for a living?”
“I’m a mortgage specialist.”
“Really?” Jaden gushed. “What a coincidence! Tasha is a real estate agent.”
The waiter reappeared with another carefully constructed salad and placed it in front of Michael. With a polite bow the server disappeared, only to return a minute later with two more bottles of wine.
Jaden was beginning to feel the effect of the wine she’d already consumed, but even though she was technically here on business, it was also her birthday. Picking up one of the new bottles, she poured three glasses, passed one to Michael, and raised hers in the air. “Here’s to a lovely evening with friends, old and new.”
“Cheers!” said Michael and Tasha in unison, followed by the clinking of glass on glass.
Jaden sat back in her chair and watched as Michael and Tasha’s friendly banter turned to flirting. She smiled, glad Tasha was finally focused on something other than her lack of sales. The main course—grilled tuna beautifully arranged with couscous and fresh vegetables—arrived, and Jaden sighed as a hint of lime and fresh mint danced across her palate with the first bite. She made a mental note to try to mimic this dish at the restaurant. Geoff would no doubt be pleased if she showed up for work on Monday morning with fresh ideas for an amazing entree.
The occasional note drifted through the air as musicians took to the stage and tuned their instruments while the wait staff served dessert: a mango sorbet flower with white chocolate wafers. People began to mingle as they enjoyed the sweetness, and within minutes, the lively sounds of Frank Sinatra filled the tent. By the time the last of the plates were cleared away, the dance floor had filled.
Michael stood and came around to where Tasha sat. Offering her his hand, he asked, “May I have this dance?”
Tasha looked from Michael to Jaden, and then back to Michael with a stunned look on her face. “I’d love to, but it’s Jaden’s birthday.”
Disappointment and embarrassment flashed across his face. Jaden couldn’t believe that after spending the past hour flirting with the guy, Tasha was actually turning him down.
“Are you kidding me?” she blurted. “You’d best be getting out on that dance floor.”
“It’s your birthday, and I’d feel bad leaving you alone,” Tasha insisted, but the eager look on her face betrayed the tone of her voice.
“Go have fun. I have all the company I need right here.” Jaden picked up a full bottle of wine and dangled it in the air, sloshing a few crimson droplets on the white tablecloth.
Without a backward glance, the couple disappeared into the throngs of people that now crowded the dance floor, their bodies swaying in time to the music. Jaden knew she would regret it in the morning, but she poured herself another glass of wine. Turning in her seat, she faced the dancing and noticed that the VIP tables had been moved out of the way. Where Mr. Oh So Sexy had been just moments ago, a baby grand now sat beside the stage.
Trying to appear casual, Jaden scanned the room, her eyes coming to rest on a group of men just outside the tent. Among them was the man she’d been watching all night. Maybe it was the wine, or perhaps the softness of the moonlight, which cast an iridescent glow around him, but impossibly, he looked even more spectacular than he had earlier in the evening.
A plume of smoke lingered for a moment in the air above them as the men took turns lighting their cigars, but the smoke was soon carried off by the breeze from the ocean, only one hundred yards away. There was something about the way he held his cigar in one hand, his wine in the other, that made him look regal, dashing, like a real Prince Charming.
Jaden took a deep, cleansing breath, throwing caution to the wind and preparing to march over and introduce herself, but as she stood, a woman in a short, black dress, who was dripping with sex appeal, strolled up beside him. She leaned against him as she whispered in his ear. His roaring laughter echoed in the cool night air, and the woman now dangling from his arm was all the deterrent Jaden needed to abandon any intention of introducing herself.
Placing her empty wine glass on the table, Jaden steadied herself with the chair beside her and stood. Dizziness overtook her as the wine rushed to her head, and she grasped the edge of the table for support. When she was certain her lightheadedness had passed, she retrieved her purse from the back of the chair and went in search of the ladies’ room.
The Winemaker’s Dinner: Appetizers, is published by Omnific Publishing and is available now on all online retail book outlets.
Marked: City of the Damned Book 1 Page 6
