Can't Fool Me Twice: Sweet Contemporary Romance: Belles in the City Book 1 (7 page)

He nodded. "I just got a message from Judd letting me know that my offer has been accepted."

Her expression momentarily changed, but he couldn't tell if her lack of smile was from concern or if she was merely processing the thought. Now she was smiling again, and the way her eyes crinkled let him know it was sincere. He let out a breath of relief.

"When will you be able to go in there and set things up?" she asked.

Dante shrugged. "We'll have to sign the papers and make sure we're up to code on everything. The good thing about this location is that it was already a restaurant, so it has the essentials."

Sunny quickly glanced up, and her expression quickly changed. Dante glanced over his shoulder and spotted Judd walking toward them.

"Taking a break?" Judd said as he pulled a chair from a nearby table and sat down at the end of their booth. Based on Dante's confused expression, she could tell that he didn't expect to see Judd.

"Just for a few minutes," Sunny replied. "Dante was just telling me about the new location."

"Yeah, it's looking pretty good, except for one glitch." Judd pursed his lips and looked directly at Dante. "Apparently there was some illegal activity going on at the location, which was why they got shut down."

"Illegal activity?" Dante asked.

Sunny scooted the to the edge of her seat. "Should I leave?"

"No," Dante said before turning to Judd. "Or should she?"

Judd shook his head. "I don't see any reason for her to. Apparently the guy was using the restaurant to launder drug money, but he wasn't a very smart criminal. He ran some drug deals directly from the restaurant."

"How did you find this out?" As soon as the question came out, she raised her hand to her lips. "Sorry."

"No, that's a good question." Dante turned to Judd. "How
did
you find out?"

"Disclosure papers. This was in a gray area, so I was surprised the owner was so forthcoming with this information. He thought you should know that's why he was willing to drop the price even more. If someone else found out, they might have dropped their offer."

"What do you recommend?" Dante said.

Judd pulled some papers from his briefcase and laid them out on the table. "Since the other business shut down recently, I think you should require the owner to provide police security for a specified amount of time to ensure safety from anyone who might come looking for a drug deal."

Dante frowned. "That sort of thing never even dawned on me."

"Unfortunately, stuff like this happens. I don't see it often, but it's something you need to be aware of." Judd paused and glanced back and forth between Dante and Sunny, finally settling his gaze on Dante. "If you want to back out of this offer, this is the time to do it. No one will fault you for deciding it's not worth the hassles."

Sunny's heart went out to Dante. This was clearly not an easy decision, but she knew that if he leaned on the Lord he stood a better chance of getting the best answer.

Judd gave her a knowing smile before turning back to Dante. "Why don't we pray about this? Maybe if we do, you'll have clarity soon. I've asked for thirty days for you to think about it before making this decision."

"Will they hold the property that long?" Dante asked. "It's in such a good location."

"They signed off on giving you thirty days, so yes, they are bound by the agreement."

Sunny couldn't stay silent any longer. "If you're having reservations about this, I'm sure other people would too."

Judd nodded. "She's right. After I spoke with the realtor I did some research and found that they contacted other interested parties as well. You were the only one who came back with an offer even close to what they wanted. The others lowballed them."

"Just as we thought might happen," Dante said. "Okay, thanks for doing all of this work. Send the bill to my office, and I'll get a check out to you right away."

"Okie dokie." Judd stood up. "Sorry to interfere during your break, but I thought this was important."

"I understand," Sunny said.

"Oh, before I leave, I wanted to tell you that Bethann said she'll be happy to do whatever you need her to while your mother is in town. Apparently, Lucille is over-the-moon excited to have another houseguest."

"She's being very sweet about it," Sunny said. "We'll just have to see how over-the-moon she is after Mama's here a few days."

"I'm sure she'll enjoy every minute of it." He latched his briefcase. "Gotta run. Call if you have any questions."

After he left, Sunny turned to Dante whose eyes were closed. She studied his features for a few seconds until he finally looked up at her. "Well, what do you think about this new development?" he asked.

Sunny shook her head. "Like you, I never even thought about something like that. Do you think you should through with it?"

"I'm not sure."

"I'm glad Judd managed to get you thirty days to think about it."

"I'll let you know what I wind up doing before I sign anything."

"You don't have to."

He smiled at her. "But I want to. It's important to me."

She held his gaze before glancing down at the table. The look in his eyes made her tummy flutter and gave her goose bumps.

"When will your mother be here?" Dante asked.

"In two weeks."

"It'll be nice to have something to think about besides the new diner."

Sunny leaned over and looked at the dining room that was starting to fill with people. "Looks like the early dinner crowd is coming. Can I get you something before I get back to work?"

He leaned down and gave her a kiss on the tip of her nose, giving her a momentary tingle in the pit of her stomach. "No. In fact, I'll clean this table off and start seating people."

As they worked, Sunny never forgot Dante's presence. It was nice having him here, almost like they belonged together.

After they closed the diner and cleaned up, Dante turned to Sunny. "I'll take you home."

"Let me get my coat."

Dante helped her into the cab and then slid in beside her. Then he casually draped his arm around her shoulders, and she leaned into him. She could get used to this. They rode most of the way in silence, but that was just fine with Sunny.

When they finally pulled up in front of the house, Dante got out, took her by the hand, and led her up the steps, where he rested his forearms on her shoulders, clasping his hands behind her head. There was no doubt he was going to kiss her, and she was ready.

She turned her face up to him and smiled. He grinned back before leaning his forehead against hers. And then it happened. He pulled her closer and touched his lips to hers, first with quick, feather-light kisses and then a long, toe-curling kiss. He pulled away and looked at her with his eyes half closed.

"Sunny, I can see us together for a very long time."

Her mind instantly flashed back to the day when he asked her to marry him—right after Bethann and Judd's wedding. She'd wanted to say yes, but she couldn't … not after what he'd done. It would still take some time to totally trust him, but she could see it happening in the not-too-distant future.

A look of concern replaced his loving expression. "What's wrong?"

She glanced down and then up at him. "Nothing."

"Are you upset about the kiss?"

She quickly shook her head as heat rose to her cheeks. "No, that was nice."

He blinked a couple of times and then kissed her again. Only this one was much shorter, but it still caught her by surprise.

"W-would you like to come in?" she asked.

"I would like to, but it's been a long day for both of us. Why don't I call you tomorrow?"

She nodded and then turned around and let herself into the house. Dante waited until she was safely inside before getting back into the cab.

The light was on in Miss Lucille's study, so she slowly walked in that direction. If she thought she could get away with it, she would have slipped past the half-open door and gone directly to her room.

"Hey there," Miss Lucille said. A strange expression slowly passed over her face. "What's up with you?"

Sunny tried her best to pretend everything was normal, but her heart still hammered in her chest. Unfortunately, Miss Lucille didn't miss the details.

"Was that Bubba Dante I heard at the door?" she asked.

Sunny leaned against the doorframe. "Yes, ma'am."

A look of understanding came over Miss Lucille. "Oh, no wonder you're glowing."

"How are you feeling?" Sunny asked, hoping to change the subject so she wouldn't have to answer too many questions. "Did the therapists wear you out?"

"I'm a little tired, but the therapy sessions weren't too bad. I think I'm making good progress." She leaned forward on her elbows and grinned at Sunny. "Enough about my day. How are things at the diner?"

"Good. We had a steady stream of traffic."

"Did Bubba Dante hang out there all day?"

"Not all day," Sunny replied. "But when he got there he helped out."

"Did he really help or get in the way?"

If Mama had asked this many questions, Sunny would have been upset. But there was something endearing about Miss Lucille's tone of voice and the fact that she cared as much as she did that touched Sunny's heart.

"He really is a big help. All that training he got growing up in his family's restaurants shows."

"You appreciate him, don't you?"

That was an odd question. Sunny thought about it. "I do."

"You realize that he has no obligation to take you home after work, right? He's doing it because he's crazy about you."

Sunny nodded and glanced down. "Yes, I realize that."

"And I get the feeling you're just as crazy about him." Before Sunny had a chance to respond, Miss Lucille shook her head. "It makes no sense that the two of you aren't already planning your wedding." She waved her arms around her head. "I know you're still hung up on the fact that he didn't tell you who he was for a long time, but you've already punished him—and yourself—long enough."

"I wasn't punishing anyone."

Miss Lucille tilted her head and offered a closed-mouth smile. "Aren't you, though?"

"That's not my intention."

"I know it's not." Miss Lucille scooted her chair over toward the walker and slowly rose to her feet. "We're both tired right now. Why don't we pick up this conversation in the morning at breakfast? What time do you work tomorrow?"

"I don't go in until late morning."

"Good. We can relax and have a good breakfast before you go in. I'll even try to help. I'm pretty good at cutting biscuits."

Sunny smiled. "Sounds good. Let me know if you need anything later, okay?" She pulled away from the door and went to her room, knowing that even though she was tired, she would probably have a hard time falling asleep.

*

The next morning Dante sat at his desk staring at the contract when his brother walked in. "Hey."

"What has gotten into you, bro?" Anthony placed his knuckles on Dante's desk and leaned toward Dante.

"There's a lot going on."

"Obviously." Anthony stood up, grabbed one of the side chairs and effortlessly pulled it up beside his brother's desk. "So how's it going with the Harlem location?"

Dante explained what had happened to Anthony who listened attentively. "That's about it," Dante said. "I'm going to take the full thirty days to consider it. This could be an awesome location, but it can also be the biggest mistake of my life."

"Yeah, I see what you're saying. Remember that place Pop was considering back when we were teenagers? The one where a gunman had come in and shot a bunch of the customers?"

"How can I forget?" Dante replied. "Pop hesitated long enough to have someone else come in and take it."

"And aren't we glad he didn't grab it?"

Dante closed his eyes as he remembered the headlines in the news. A family member of one of the victims went off the deep end a couple of months after the shooting and torched the restaurant. Fortunately everyone got out in time, but the place was destroyed.

"This is one of the reasons I'm hesitating now," Dante admitted. "I'm still unsure. I don't think it's likely that anyone would get hurt, but I need to have a peace about it."

"Ya gotta go with your gut." Anthony placed his fist over his abdomen as he stood back up. "I think you'll do the right thing."

After Anthony left the office, Dante bowed his head and said another prayer. He was getting good at this talking to God thing with all the practice lately.

When he opened his eyes, he had to blink. What was Lucille Chambray doing in his office?

"Hey there, Bubba Dante. Surprised to see me?"

Speechless, he simply nodded. Ms. Chambray was the last person he expected to see.

"You can close your mouth now." She pointed to a chair. "Mind if I sit down? It took a lot of energy to make it all the way here. You really need to think about moving closer to the elevator."

Dante jumped out of his office chair. "Why don't I go get you something more comfortable to sit on?"

"Don't be silly," she said as she hobbled over to the side chair. "This will be just fine."

He swallowed hard. "So what can I do for you, Ms. Chambray?"

She pointed to his chair. "Please sit down. There's no point in you being uncomfortable just because I'm here."

He couldn't help but smile about that comment. He didn't know Ms. Chambray that well, but he did know that no one was totally comfortable in her presence. She always used the element of surprise to keep people on their toes.

"Are you ready to hear my thoughts?" she asked.

Dante smiled. "Of course."

"Okay, here's what I've been thinking about." She started talking about the party she was planning to welcome Sunny's mother. "I thought maybe you could cater it … I'll pay for the food, of course."

"I can cover the cost of the food. Were you thinking we'd bring food from Bubba's?"

"Yes, some of it. We want her to feel at home." She paused. "But I thought it would be a nice touch to add some good, old-fashioned New York Italian food too. It'll give her a taste of the area mingled with the safety of what she's used to."

"Sort of a North meets South kind of thing?" Dante offered.

"Yes." Ms. Chambray tilted her head forward and gave him a long look from beneath her perfectly shaped eyebrows. "Just like you and Sunny."

He should have been prepared for that. His body tensed. One thing he hated doing was discussing his feelings about Sunny with someone he didn't know that well. His relationship with her was complicated, and if the wrong words came out of his mouth—something that could very easily happen—he feared he'd make any hope of a future relationship with her impossible.

"You know what I'm talkin' about, don't you?" she said.

Dante slowly nodded. "I believe I do, yes."

"Look, Bubba Dante, I know Sunny has come across as skittish when it comes to letting you into her heart, but there's a reason for it." She dropped her gaze momentarily. "I know on the surface what that reason is, but it seems that something much deeper might be at play here. Once I find out what it is, I can fix things."

Dante wanted to tell Ms. Chambray that she couldn't fix everything, but he didn't have the heart … or the nerve to do that. Instead, he continued listening to what she had to say.

"One thing I know for certain, though, is that she loves her mama who sacrificed to put food on the table. If I hadn't married men with bank accounts the size of some small cities' budgets, I'd be in the same boat. I didn't come from money, ya know." She slowly shook her head. "In fact, I grew up so poor I couldn't even pay attention." She let out a chuckle. "Good thing for me, my first husband noticed, and he didn't let up until I said, 'I do.'"

"I didn't know that." Dante hadn't really given it much thought.

"But I was always a happy person. And in spite of the way it might have appeared to some, I didn't marry for money. I met nice men who loved the Lord, and they just happened to wind up being successful in business." She leaned back. "I have to admit, that was a nice perk, but I could have been just as happy living in a tiny cottage with just enough money to keep my lights on and put food on the table."

As Dante listened to the older woman, he realized that he needed to read between the lines of what she was saying. He knew that Sunny was innately a happy person, and she didn't need the trappings of wealth, although she certainly enjoyed living in the big house with more room than she'd ever had in the past. That was one of the things he loved about her. She took things as they were.

"Now back to the shindig. I'm thinking we can clear away some space for dancing. My instructor said he'd be happy to come and give lessons to anyone who doesn't know the steps."

"Sounds like a plan." Dante had to keep up with Ms. Chambray as she hopped back and forth between topics. He suspected this was her way of keeping people on their toes.

"I ordered an iPod so I could download music." She smiled and sighed. "Isn't technology great?"

"Yes, absolutely."

"If there's anyone you'd like to invite, please do."

Dante couldn't think of anyone, but he nodded. "Okay, thanks."

"Do you think we need to play games?" she asked. "I don't want anyone to get bored."

"I don't think anyone will be bored."

"But just in case, I'll get my handyman to get some games down from the attic. I can put them in the study for anyone who wants to play them."

"You don't have to call your handyman," Dante offered. "I can get them down for you."

"You will?" She clasped her hands in front of her. "That would be wonderful. You can come over tomorrow night. Bethann has offered to come over to help Sunny with one of their humongous meals that can feed an army. Bethann is such a good cook, and so is Sunny. When the two of them get together in the kitchen, it's gastronomic heaven."

Before he had a chance to respond to the invitation, she grabbed her walker and slowly stood. He got up, ran around to the other side of his desk, and walked with her to the elevator.

"See you tomorrow night around six," she said as the elevator doors closed.

After she was gone, he remained standing there staring at the elevator. The woman was amazing. When she first started talking, he thought perhaps she was just there for help with party planning. Now he saw that she had multiple reasons, all centered on his relationship with Sunny.

On his way back to his office, Dante glanced into the conference room and saw Anthony sitting at the large table with papers spread out in front of him. He entered and watched for a few seconds before Anthony glanced up.

"I'm thinking about changing the menu, and I'm trying to decide which direction to go." He gestured toward the choices. "Take a glance and tell me what you think."

Dante walked over and looked at the different options before pointing to one. "This one looks best. It has a blend of old-fashioned elegance with the listings of new options."

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking." He stepped back, folded his arms, and looked Dante over. "So who was that woman and why did she stop by?"

Dante explained who she was and what she had planned. "She loves to entertain, and she wants everyone to feel like they're a part of the plans."

"That's a good thing," Anthony said. "If everyone is vested, they're more likely to have a good time. And since she volunteered you for food, let her know I want in on it too. This will be a great way to test some of our new chef's dishes."

"I'm sure she'll appreciate that." Dante was happy that his brother volunteered before he had to ask.

"How many people is she expecting?"

Dante thought for a moment before naming everyone he was aware of. "And I'm sure she'll invite more people. I don't think that woman has met a stranger."

"She sounds like quite a character."

"She is." Dante thought about the faith that Ms. Chambray, Sunny, and her friends lived by and decided to invite Anthony. "Why don't you and Christina join us?"

"I don't know."

"Come on. It'll be fun. And it'll give you a chance to get to know some of my new friends."

"But it's not your place to invite me."

"Ms. Chambray told me to invite anyone I wanted. She's one of those the-more-the-merrier type of people."

"Like Mom?" Anthony asked.

Dante nodded. "Yeah, pretty much."

"Okay, I'll talk to Christina. We'll have to get a babysitter."

"Just ask Mom" Dante smiled. "You know she'll say yes."

"True. I still need to run it by Christina to make sure she's okay with it. You know how she is around strangers."

Dante knew how shy Christina was, but once she met Ms. Chambray, she'd feel like family. "She'll have us."

"True." Anthony studied his menus and rubbed his chin. "This decision has been making me crazy, so I think I'll just pick this one and be done with it." He picked up the one Dante liked and put it on the chair before stacking the rest of them and shoving them into a folder. "I have to get this to the printer so we can have them by the end of next week."

The next night, Dante showed up at Ms. Chambray's house at precisely six o'clock. He expected Sunny to answer the door, but instead, he found himself face-to-face with Judd, who looked surprised to see him.

"Did you know I was coming?" Dante asked.

"No, but I should have suspected something. Lucille is acting strange—sort of like how she was when she found ways to get Bethann and me together."

"I didn't think this was her first rodeo," Dante said as he walked in and followed Judd toward the back of the house. "I don't think Sunny knew you were coming either."

"You don't think she'll be mad, do you?" Dante asked.

Judd cast a goofy look at him. "Nah."

Dante was about to say something, but Bethann came walking toward them. Her eyebrows shot up when she spotted him, and a smile slowly crept across her face. "Sunny didn't tell me she invited you. I'm glad she did, though."

"Sunny didn't invite him," Judd said. "Your great-aunt did."

Bethann made a funny face similar to the one Judd just made. "Why am I not surprised? Come on back to the kitchen, and I'll put both of y'all to work."

When they walked into the kitchen, Sunny started chattering as she did some prep work at the counter with her back to the door. It was obvious that she didn't realize he was there.

Bethann quickly interrupted her. "Hey, guess who came for dinner."

Sunny glanced over her shoulder and almost dropped the knife. "Uh … how long have you been standing there?"

"We just walked in," Judd said as he reached around her, picked up a carrot stick, and shoved it into his mouth.

Bethann put both hands on his shoulders and moved him away from Sunny. "You can wait another fifteen minutes until we have the appetizers ready."

Judd playfully pouted. "Can't you see I'm starving?"

She rolled her eyes. "I just fed you yesterday. What more do you want from me?"

Dante watched the playful banter between Judd and Bethann, wishing he had that same type of relationship with Sunny. He had a feeling she'd keep him on his toes, and he'd love every minute of it.

"Judd," Bethann said as she held a bowl out for her husband to take. "Since you insist on hanging out in the kitchen, I'm putting you to work." As soon as Judd took the bowl, she crooked a finger toward Dante. "I have something for you too. Y'all can help us carry stuff to the dining room."

After several trips from the kitchen to the dining room, they had all of the food on the table. The aroma had Dante salivating, and he couldn't wait to sit down and dig in.

"Go get Aunt Lucille, okay, hon?" Bethann said as she looked at Judd with loving eyes. "But don't try to help her. She'll take your head off."

"You got it." Judd took off for Ms. Chambray's study.

"What can I do?" Dante asked.

"Just stand there and look handsome," Bethann said. "Sunny and I can get the rest."

Dante snorted. These southern women were hilarious. He couldn't imagine any of the girls in New York saying something like that.

Everyone grew quiet as the sound of Ms. Chambray coming toward the dining room caught their attention. "Doesn't have the good sense God gave a rock," she said before she entered the room. As soon as her gaze met his, she grinned and winked. "Well hello there, Bubba Dante. I'm glad you could make it. You're in for a real treat." She pointed both hands to point to the ends of the long table. "You boys sit at the two heads of the table. Judd, you say the blessing."

As always, they did as they were told. Judd said a blessing, and Ms. Chambray added to it. When he opened his eyes, he saw Sunny looking directly at him with an odd expression on her face.