TRAILING TRISHA - A Black Hounds Motorcycle Club Romance (The Fox and the Hounds Book #2) (6 page)

He could direct enough business to the farm so that it could be self-sustaining. It would free up Trisha to follow other pursuits. The woman was charitable with a good deal of her limited produce going to food programs for the poor, especially children. Trisha had a big heart that wanted to help so many people. The farm girl could even start her own charity.

She could also spend more time with him.

It was a selfish thought. Trisha’s life was her own. He would as much or as little part of it as she desired. The young woman had gone through so much and given up so much.

Now, she gazed off to the side of the car and stared at the side view mirror. Dots of white and red streaked by as the rode on the highway. His date looked lost in her own thoughts.

“Enjoying the ride, Trisha?”

She laughed. “I’m not used to driving in a nice, quiet car like this. All of the cars my dad bought were second hand rust buckets that sounded like machine shop. If one of our cars started to go quiet, that meant it was about to blow its engine.”

Dante asked. “Are you excited for tonight?”

She paused before answering. “It’s the night you’ll propose, right?”

There was no point in mincing words. “It’ll be a quiet occasion with minimum media presence. Well, as media-free as a place can be when you live in a world with cell phone cameras. Either way, they’ll find out eventually and think I’m on the straight and narrow.”

“Don’t you think we’re rushing things?” Trisha pondered. She seemed more interested in his reasoning than the fact that he was actually proposing. “We haven’t known each other for very long. Shouldn’t we wait before you pop the question?”

“Most of the businessmen I know are juggling three or more mistresses,” he chuckled. “I must look downright responsible next to them with how I’m courting you.”

“I don’t suppose the ring is my size?” she asked, getting into the festive mood. It was better than things being awkward between them. “Or did your sister find that out already?”

Dante shot her mischievous smile. “Why’d you think I kept holding your hand?”

Trisha looked back at him in mock anger. “And here I thought you enjoyed feeling the gnarled hands of a hardworking farm girl!”

The biker grinned. “Who says I can’t kill two birds with one stone? Don’t worry about the details, Trisha. Sit back and enjoy yourself. There’s nothing in the contract against that.”

“What’s on the agenda, Dante?”

Before she could receive an answer, the car stopped in front of a prestigious restaurant. The building was mix of brick and white pinewood. Trisha’s eye opened wide as she saw the name chiseled the stone slab built into the building. “You’re taking us to the Rouge Maison?”

“I’ve scheduled us for a five course meal,” he replied casually, driving up to a valet. The man knew the choice would please Trisha. “After that, dessert, cheese, and wine. It’s not the fanciest place around these parts I’ve been to but it’s nice enough for the occasion.”

The farm girl looked incredulously at the biker turned CEO. “You’re saying the finest four star French restaurant in the state is not fancy?

“Doesn’t come with free apple cobbler when you order like at Big Bob’s Steakhouse!”

Her cheeks couldn’t help but stretch into a wide smile. He wanted to kiss her right there and then. However, one of the restaurant’s employees interrupted them.

His fine uniform and the tag pinned it his coat revealed him to be a host. “Welcome to the Rouge Maison… wait… aren’t you CEO Dante Alastair?”

“Don’t worry, I won’t start a brawl,” Dante teased. “I made reservations a couple of weeks ago. Is everything in order?”

“We’ll roll out the red carpet for you!” the man said nervously. Some of the other guests started to take pictures of the newly formed power couple with their smart phones. Within seconds they would be hitting Facebook and Twitter. “Please follow me and I’ll get you to your table.”

Trisha wasn’t used to the royal treatment. But after a week hard work administrating Foxtail Farms, Dante knew she could do with a bit of enjoyment. More to the point, he loved chowing down with friends on the company’s dollar. It was one of the better perks of being a CEO.

True enough, the food was absolutely delightful.

Trisha had roast duck with a mango chutney. It was some French-Indian fusion dish that looked absolutely delicious. Dante made a mental note to try it next time when he came with Lucia. There were also an assortment of appetizers in this five course meal.

After being thoroughly denied a burger of any kind, Dante just ordered a venison steak and some dark red wine. He even ordered a salad to feign healthiness. Nonetheless, the man was more interested in Trisha’s giddy reactions than the food. The two sampled a variety of fine wines from the menu.

He wondered what they’d do about a ride back home. Both of them were getting pretty hammered. Then again, they could always call a taxi like last time.

The two talked, laughed, wined, and dined. Trisha educated him on the finer points of leafy vegetables. She showed him the difference between romaine lettuce and kale. Or that escarole was another, fancier name for endives with bigger leaves.

Dante even forgot he was to spring the question at the most opportune moment.

Some of the other guests spoke of them in hushed tones or cheekily took photos of them with their smart phones. Even a waiter took a photo of them before being chastised by a senior staff member. Dante was used to such voyeurs but the farm girl must have felt like a prize winning pig at the country fair. Only the wine and food kept her mind off them.

A few businessman attending the restaurant approached them to make small talk and discuss a deal. However, Dante skillfully diffused any negotiation attempts so the two could concentrate on their romantic outing. Food beat finances any day of the week for him.

Their waitress was a star-struck college age girl. The pixyish teenager looked a good decade younger than most of the waiting staff. In spite of her youth, she dutifully served them throughout the evening. “More wine, Mrs. Alastair?”

Trish shook her head. “And I’m not Mrs. Alastair.”

She and Dante shared a knowing look.

She wasn’t Mrs. Alastair just yet.

The waitress blushed at her blunder. “Sorry, I never thought I’d someone famous.”

Dante grinned. “I know! I didn’t think I’d ever meet the famous Trisha Kaplan of Foxtail Farms either.”

The farm girl was too far away across the table to slap her date. Instead, she turned to the waitress. “Care for autograph?”

The biker added. “I heard Trisha’s signature goes for a thousand bucks apiece on eBay.”

The chuckle shared a laugh.

“Oh, no!” the waitress said in mortification. “Management strictly forbids taking any autographs from-”

Dante chuckled. “Relax, sweetheart. We’re just teasing.”

“Will there be anything else?” she asked, regaining her composure. The waitress was flush red. “Or should I bring you the check?”

Dante couldn’t blame her bumbling. That Alastair charm could turn any woman’s knees into jelly at the drop of hat. Nonetheless, the majority of his attention and affections was reserved solely for Trisha.

Dis date threw in the towel. Or the cloth napkin to be precise. “I’m completely full, Dante.”

The girl knew the value of food and hated to leave a plate unfinished.

Dante agreed. “And I feel like a tank filled up on premium gas.”

The waitress chipped in. “Any desserts? The mousse here is to die for.”

“I’ll take your word for it but we’ll call it in,” he replied, taking out his wallet. It went without saying that he’d pay for everything. Or at least the company’s business account would do the heavy lifting. “Is the bar at the lounge still open?”

The waitress smiled when she saw the large tip Dante had written down for her. “Open past midnight. I’ll get your check.”

After they paid, the two headed to the lounge located on the second floor of the restaurant. It was a lovely, spacious area that was half outdoors. A live band played classical music as guests took to the dance floor. They could sip on their drinks under the stars if they wanted to.

Almost immediately, a pack of people came to shake Dante’s hand and talk business with him. Once again, he got them off their backs so that they could drink in peace. Word of their romantic date was already hitting social media.

Trisha groaned at the photo stream appearing on her new phone. He had gotten it as a replacement for her mothballed flip phone. However, it just seemed to just expose her to the gossip surrounding her. He hated for her to be exposed to such filth but it was unavoidable. “They already have pictures of me pigging out on roast duck. It doesn’t help with how I look. If the camera adds ten pounds, these new smart phone cameras add twenty!”

Dante took a pair of beers off a waiter’s tray. After a few rounds of wine, they could make due with something light. “You look fine, Trisha. Great even. I haven’t had this much fun since… well… our last date.”

It had been a great date so far. In turn, Trisha had told him the other night had been the best date of what was admittedly a very shallow list of dating prospects for the farm girl. She had spent more night milking cows or doing maintenance on her father’s tractor than going on a date with a boy.

Suddenly, the band changed its tune to a cherry Irish jig. Some couples took to the dance floor. Trisha mused. “We haven’t danced since that night.”

Dante put down his beer and placed a hand on her shoulder. She jerked awake at his touch as if a gallon of coffee and ten hours of sleep had expunged all the alcohol from her system. “Is that a proposition?”

She smiled back. “Is that a rhetorical question?”

Dante wanted to feel that woman in his arms. The dancing was just a cover for the primal urges he felt in his heart. He had never felt so comfortable with another woman. He could be Dante the slacker turned biker and she wouldn’t judge him for it.

Despite the alcohol and Trisha’s inexperience in dancing, the pair moved as one. He brought her in close and let her temple rub against his recently clean shaven face. Her breath was hot upon his cheek.

Dante nuzzled his cheek against her. He felt her soft skin touch against his like satin against leather. His hands trailed down her clothed back. He recalled the bumps of her naked spine when they made love.

Their dance was as serene as their loving making had been unrestrained. The biker had been as rough with his woman as they allowed him to me. Trisha had surprised him with her firmness of will. She was much tougher than she looked. The woman was like a piece of silver having the hardness of steel.

Only the deceptiveness of their relationship could break her.

His lips trailed her exposed shoulder to her neck. It might have been the alcohol but he felt hot. It was the good kind he only felt after a long day of working at a garage during a nice summer day. Those days had seemed alien to him once he became CEO.

But Trisha was making him feel nostalgic.

Without so much as a word, he kissed her. It was slow and sweet as if he had never refused that offer of dessert. His date enjoyed it as well. She moaned which passed as a vibration through her lips.

It take every fiber of his being to not push deeper into her. When he broke away, Trisha looked like she had run a marathon. He saw her breasts slowly rise and fall as she panted.

His date looked around and saw that she had been dragged into the middle of the outdoor portion of the lounge. All eyes were on the couple. He couldn’t blame them with how much of a scene they were making.