Running Towards Love (12 page)

“Have dinner with me tonight,” he asked.
“What?”
“Have dinner with me tonight.”
Rebekah sighed. She wanted nothing more than to say yes to this man, but she did not know if her heart could take the pain again. “Jason, I had a wonderful time today.”
             
“So did I,” he cut in.
“But, honestly, what do you expect to come out of this? I’m going home in two days. Let’s just call this an incredible afternoon and leave it at that. What else could you possibly want from me?”
Feeling slightly defeated; Jason quickly realized he was not ready to give up yet. “Hey, I’m not asking for a relationship here,” he started as Rebekah dropped her head with a sigh. “And,” he continued as he used his thumb and forefinger to gently lift her face towards his, “I’m not looking for a one-night stand.” Her eyes twinkled at that last statement, so he decided to continue. “I like you. I had a good time today, and I would like to take you to dinner tonight. All I want from you is a chance to get to know you better. You’re in town for two more days, and so am I. Why don’t we take that time and spend it together? I would like to think that a wonderful friendship is starting here.” He stopped at that, never intending to go on as long as he did.
Rebekah stood there for a minute, thinking about his words. “Okay,” she whispered.
“Okay, what?” he questioned back, knowing full well what she was talking about, but wanting to hear her say it.
She smiled back at him. “Okay, I’ll go to dinner tonight, on one condition.”
“What?” he asked, ready to agree to just about anything just to get her to go.
“We don’t go anywhere too dressy. I didn’t exactly pack for a fancy dinner.”
Chuckling slightly, Jason nodded, acquiescing to her request. “I think we can arrange that. Besides, I want tonight to be about us getting to know each other. If we go somewhere too fancy, someone there will cause a scene, asking for an autograph or something. I don’t want us to deal with that tonight. Is seven okay?”
“Seven it is then,” she answered with another smile. “I’ll meet you in the lobby.” Turning, she headed back into the hotel, glancing over her shoulder at him one last time.
Jason smiled more than he had in several months. “Now,” he said to himself, “I have a couple of hours to find something to change into, and to find a hotel room. I think I will be staying here for the next two days.”

Once Rebekah got upstairs to the meeting room, just about every teacher from the conference was waiting for her. All had heard of her meeting him this afternoon and they each wanted to know what Jason Taylor was really like. She graciously answered their questions, trying to get out of there as quickly as she could, wanting as few people as possible to know about tonight. Finally, she was able to leave. Taking Kate with her, she left for her room. “I’m having dinner with him tonight,” she whispered as soon as they were out of earshot of everyone else.

“You’re what?” Kate squealed. Although Rebekah and Kate were best friends, Kate lived here in New York. Between everything that had happened with her husband and the physical distance separating them it had been a long time since they had the opportunity to share secrets like school girls.

“He asked me to dinner tonight, and I’m going,” Rebekah repeated.

“Good for you.”

Rebekah’s head whipped around and her eyes widened in shock. “What? No lecture?”
“No, Rebekah. I told you earlier. It’s time you moved on with your life. It’s been over a year,” Kate finished quietly.
“I know, Kate. It’s just, I don’t know if I can do this again. And besides, what’s the point? I leave in two days.”
“So? Go, have fun tonight. Enjoy his company, and stop worrying so much!”
“Fine, then help me pick out something to wear that doesn’t scream ‘teacher.’”
Two hours and many outfit changes later, Rebekah was ready to go. She had borrowed a blue, off-the-shoulder top from Kate, and had it on with her black pants. Her hair hung down past her shoulders, slightly curled, and she had a minimal amount of makeup on. “How do I look?” she asked Kate, giving a slight twirl.
“Amazing. Something tells me he will be speechless, and it is time for you to go down to the lobby.”
“Thank you Kate, for your help, and for your words earlier.”
“Have fun tonight. I’ll see you at breakfast tomorrow.”
They walked to the elevator together and Kate gave Rebekah a hug. She knew this was hard for Rebekah, but she also knew it was time. She had grieved long enough.
As soon as Rebekah stepped off the elevator in the lobby, she saw him. ‘Good gosh, that man is sexy,’ she thought, immediately trying to shake that thought from her head. “Just friends,” she told herself, but she was having a hard time convincing herself of that as she watched him standing there in dark slacks and a gray, button up shirt. She could see his muscles outlined through the material of the shirt. When he turned around, he froze. She looked beautiful, and she was going to dinner with him.
“Hi,” she said quietly as she got closer. When he did not respond, she gave a small laugh, thinking of Kate’s words, ‘he will probably be speechless.’ Her heart gave a small flutter when she realized he was. “Earth to Jason,” she called out, trying to get his attention.
He shook his head slightly; trying to convince himself this wasn’t a dream. “Hi,” he replied, grinning sheepishly. “You look absolutely stunning.”
“Thank you. You don’t look so bad yourself.”
“Are you ready?” he asked, offering her his hand. She took it gratefully, and again, her heart fluttered at the simple touch.
“Yes,” she replied, not removing her hand from his.
As they walked out of the hotel, Kate’s words from earlier ringing in her ears, her small hand in his, she felt she truly was ready, for the first time in a long time.

             
They grabbed a taxi and headed towards Little Italy. “Is Italian okay?” he asked.

“One of my favorites.” She was impressed by the fact that they took a taxi. She half expected him to try to impress her with a limousine and a fancy restaurant. But, in the short amount of time she had known him, she had learned Jason was a simple man, not one to show off that he had tons of money, and she liked that.
“So, where are we eating?” she asked.
“A little restaurant called Tony’s. It’s a small place, out of the way. They have some of the best food and music there. It’s owned by some old friends of mine, so they’ll be good about making sure no one tries to bother us.”
Rebekah nodded her head, and they finished the rest of the ride in silence, enjoying one another’s company. Once they arrived at Tony’s, Jason helped her out of the car, paid the driver and escorted her into the restaurant. Immediately, two rather intimidating men greeted them.
“Tony, Paulie, how are you?” Jason asked, shaking their hands.
“Good, Mr. Taylor. Do you want your usual table?”
“Please.” Again placing his hand on the small of her back, he guided her to follow Tony. He led them to a secluded table in the corner of the restaurant. Because of its location, it was blocked from the view of most of the other tables there. Just as earlier today, Jason pulled out her chair for her, and took a seat only once she was settled in.
Looking around her, Rebekah couldn’t help but fall in love with the quaint little restaurant. Red and white checked tablecloths hung elegantly over each table and flames danced atop the wax-covered candles sitting on each table as well. Soft music was playing in the background, and tile mosaics graced the walls, each depicting country life in Italy. All this added to the atmosphere of being in some Italian villa.

Nodding towards the two men they had met at the door, she glanced at him with a teasing glint in her eyes. “So, what?” she asked. “Do you have connections with the mob or something?”
“Funny. You know, not every Italian male in New York belongs to the mob.” He laughed and she joined him, again surprised at how comfortable she felt with him. “I’ve known Tony and Paulie for a long time. They know I like to come here when I need some peace and quiet, so this is where they always seat me. Most people don’t even know when I come in here and I like that, especially when I just need to get away from it all. I’ve been here a lot in the past six months.”
“Carrie,” she stated quietly. He nodded his head indicating she was correct. Nothing more was said as the waiter arrived and they placed their orders.
A few minutes later they both sat quietly, sipping glasses of wine when Jason broke the silence. “I met Carrie in Newburgh years ago. She was an aspiring artist, and I was attracted to her. I had been injured on the set of the show, and she took care of me. I stayed with her for a while. It was better than going back to my family’s house. They are a bit insane, but that’s a different story.”
She gave a small laugh as he paused to allow the returning waiter to place their food on the table. They began to eat. "Believe me, that, I definitely understand." She stopped to let him continue.

“Anyway, the longer I stayed with her, the more attracted to her I became. She wasn’t perfect, and had some annoying habits, but I figured, who doesn’t. I went back to work not long after I moved in with her. We fought about that a lot. Carrie got very jealous of any actress I worked with. She hated it when I did any sort of love scene. I tried to explain to her that it was a soap, and that’s what I did, but she still couldn’t stand it. I had a feeling we weren’t going to last, but I stayed anyway. Over time, she resigned herself to the fact that I wasn’t going to quit, and she stopped arguing with me about it. Eventually, I realized I could love her, and I asked her to marry me. I know now that was my mistake. I loved her, but I was never in love with he
r. Does that make any sense?”
Rebekah nodded her head, her eyes full of compassion. He could not believe he was saying some of this to her. No one knew about his early years with Carrie, not even his closest friends, or his sister; yet, here he was spilling his guts to a stranger, who was beginning to feel less and less like one with each passing minute.
“I think she felt the same way. One night, a year ago, after a huge fight, she moved out. She went back to waitressing at a little diner in town called The Cafe, which is what she used to do before we got together. She moved into her studio where she painted. I started working on the movie, so I wasn’t around much. I always hated the idea of divorcing, so while I was gone, I thought about giving it another try. When I got back six months later, I realized part of our problem in the first place. She had been seeing some guy named Tim for the past year. When she found out I was home, she came to my old Penthouse that I had moved back into, not knowing I had found out about Tim. I asked her to leave that night and ordered the security guards in the lobby to never let her back in. I filed for a divorce the next day. It was finalized two days ago.”

Rebekah reached her hand across the table and placed it on top of his. He turned his gaze up to meet hers, and could again see the compassion in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Don't be," he replied simply. "I strongly believe that what's in the past is in the past. I've had six months to come to terms with this, and I have. I don't have any regrets about what happened, because that's what led me to where I am today." He paused and took a breath before he continued, looking into her eyes, "and believe me, I like where I am today." Gently he squeezed her fingers and she smiled at him. "You know what?" he continued. "Enough of that. Now you know all there is to know about my ex-wife. Let's think about something else." He stood up, his hand still holding onto hers. "Would you like to dance?"

"I would love to," she replied as he gently pulled her to her feet. Never letting go of her hand, he led her to a small area near their table. It was big enough for one or maybe two couples to dance on it, but the nice part about the space was that it, like the table, was secluded. Pulling her toward him, he wrapped his right arm around her waist, and continued to hold her hand in his left as she encircled her other hand around his neck. Neither said anything as they began to sweetly dance to the music; both too caught up in the nearness of each other. He smiled as he realized how perfectly she fit in his arms, and was hoping she noticed it as well. Unbeknownst to him, she was thinking the same thing. Closing her eyes, she took a tentative step towards him, and as he felt her slight movement he tightened his arm around her waist, pulling her closer. Closing his eyes, he leaned his head forward, resting his cheek against the side of her head, allowing himself to investigate her intoxicating scent.

Unsure of anything around them, the couple was lost in the dance and lost in each other. For a man who prided himself on control, he knew he was quickly losing it. The woman in front of him was absolutely amazing, and she was stirring feelings in him that he long ago gave up. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest and she was so close he could tell hers was beating the same way.

Before they realized it though, the music ended. Reluctantly, she pulled back slightly but remained in his embrace. Slowly, she pulled her left hand from around his neck, trailing her fingers down his arm until her hand was joined with his. For a moment they were both too afraid to speak; both had felt way too much in that embrace and neither quite knew what to do about it. Rebekah's eyes twinkled as she finally spoke. "You are an excellent dancer, Mr. Taylor," she whispered, not wanting to break the mood.