VEGAS follows you home (25 page)

"It's a well-known restaurant in New York. Exclusive." I grin slyly.

"Thanks for nothing," she teases and disappears into what I'm hoping will one day be
our
room.

I spend the next hour in my home office making calls and responding to emails. Just as I finish up and prepare to get ready for the evening, Heidi arrives to watch Alex.

"Good afternoon, Heidi."

We embrace briefly before she pulls back and looks around me.

"Where is that handsome son of yours?" Brushing by me, she takes a deeper look into the apartment.

"He's napping, but will probably be up soon, if not already." I shut the door behind me and walk toward Heidi.

"Oh," she sighs disappointedly.

"He's awake."

Heidi and I both look up the stairs where Olivia is slowly descending with Alex on her hip.

"Idee," Alex squeals in excitement.

"Come to Idee, my precious boy." Heidi snatches up Alex before Olivia has both feet on the main floor. The sound of the two giggling fills the room.

Heidi is acting more like the doting grandma than my own mother. I'm much happier Alex has Heidi to watch over him today rather than my mother, who repeatedly called Heidi a gold-digging child bride during my childhood.

"I'm almost ready. I just need to finish getting dressed."

Olivia's voice pulls my attention to where she stands at the base of the staircase in my robe. Licking my lips, I fight the urge to pull the loose end of the terry loops. My dick swells as I imagine what I would find underneath the terry cloth.

She clears her throat and I meet her eyes.

"Eyes up here." She motions to her face with one hand while fisting the collar of the robe together.

I grin. Reaching out and caressing her cheek, I take one step closer.

"My robe looks good on you, but it would look better tossed over the railing."

With a sharp intake of breath, she steps back from me and hurries up the stairs.

I follow.

While she dresses in the bathroom, I slip into dark jeans and a light gray, button down shirt. On the last button, the bathroom door opens.

Olivia emerges, wearing the tightest black jeans and a dark purple, sleeveless turtleneck. Every item of clothing clings to her slender body, revealing the soft curve of her waist and swell of her breasts. Her long red hair slicked back into a ponytail makes me think of naughty fist wrapping actions. Then, just to torture me, she topped off her please-fuck-me-on-the-restaurant-table outfit with tall, black, leather leave-them-on-while-you-bury-your-face-between-my-legs boots.

I'm pretty sure I groan out loud.

When she stands, fully dressed, I look at her beautiful face. One eyebrow raises before she shakes her head with an eye roll.

"What?" I shrug. "How am I supposed to react to your outfit?"

Still shaking her head, she exits the bedroom.

I grab a dark gray jacket from my closet door, slip into it, and follow her downstairs. When I reach the first floor, the vision of Olivia bent over at the waist kissing Alex on his head greets me. My body springs to life once again, making me regret wearing jeans in place of roomier cotton slacks. Being alone with her tonight, dressed as she is…it's going to be difficult to resist touching her.

"Be good for Heidi, okay?" She kisses Alex once more before straightening to her full height.

I nod, leaning down to kiss my son goodbye.

"Listen to Grandma Idee."

Alex smiles and from the corner of my eye, I see Heidi beam from being called his grandma.

In the elevator ride down to the car, Olivia fidgets nervously next to me.

Taking her hand, I try to soothe her nerves. "He will be fine."

"What if he freaks because I'm not there?" Biting her bottom lip, she looks up at me.

I cup her face with my free hand and rub at her lip until she releases it from her teeth.

"Heidi will call if anything happens, and it's clear he likes her."

"You promise you aren't going to have him taken from me while we’re out?" Her brow furrows, but I can tell she's completely serious.

I drop my hand from her face and release her hand from my grasp.

"I can't believe you think I would do something like that."

I take a step back from her, feeling like someone just sucker punched me in the stomach.

"I-I'm sorry, but put yourself in my shoes. I'm nervous. You tracked me down to find him, and you…"

"I what, Olivia?"

My jaw tenses.

"You've dealt with some past issues…" she pauses, taking a deep breath. "Look, I'm sorry. I blurted it out before I thought about what I was saying."

I close my eyes and deeply breathe through my nose, trying to relax the anger and hurt coursing inside me. The elevator chimes, announcing our arrival to the lobby. I quickly exit, leaving her behind, but stop a few feet away and turn around. Through clenched teeth, I clarify something she needs to hear.

"I would
never
do that to you or him."

She steps off the elevator until she's just a foot away from me.

"Damon, you've done some things people would think were crazy, so I had that thought and spoke too quickly. But how can you blame me for thinking you may—?"

"Because, Olivia, I'm not a cold hearted monster who would strip a child away from his mother," I growl. Snatching her hand, I pull her out of the building and to my awaiting car.

Does she really believe I am capable of stealing our son away? Why can't she believe I want them both?

Damon

The drive to the restaurant is quiet and full of tension.

"I'm sorry," she whispers when I help her from the car.

"It's over," I mumble. "I'm sorry you got the impression I would do something like that."

Entering Masa, the hostess gives us a welcoming smile and seats us at the private table I reserved for tonight. The waitress is quick to get our drink order and run through the specials. Once the waitress leaves, Olivia and I lock eyes over our menus.

"I'm sorry," she whispers once more.

"No more apologies." I shake my head and smile. "Okay?"

She nods and forces a smile.

The waitress efficiently brings our drinks, takes our meal order, clears the menus, and departs.

"I think we should take this time to learn more about each other."

"Okay." She nods and sips at her water. "Did you always want to work for your mother?"

"You've learned enough about me over the past few days. It's my turn."

Her eyes widen in a brief moment of panic before she composes herself.

"Didn’t you learn enough through your investigation?" She puts her water glass to her lips once more.

"It seems there are things not so easily uncovered by a private investigator. So, how about you tell me about Isaac?"

She chokes on her water and hurries to cover her mouth with the cloth napkin in her lap.

"How do you know that name?"

"Who is he, Olivia? And why is my son's middle name the same as his?" I narrow my eyes at her attempt to deflect.

"An ex-boyfriend." She shrugs and looks around the room, refusing to look at me.

"An ex-boyfriend whose things you just so happen to hang on to?" I ask, raising a brow.

The fact that I felt this jealously over the memory of a dead man should be cause for concern, but I can't worry about it right now.

"Please, don't do this." She closes her eyes and drops her chin.

Guilt tears through my jealousy.

"I didn't mean to upset you."

Her head jerks up, eyes blazing.

"Yes, you did. You knew exactly what you were doing. How much do you already know, Damon? Tell me."

"I know you used to be with him and he died in a motorcycle accident."

"Is that it?" she snaps, crossing her arms over her chest. "Is that really all you know?"

"Yes. It's all the P.I. could uncover."

She snorts.

"You should demand a refund then."

I notice her watery eyes as she takes a deep breath and releases it through her flaring nose. Her eyes meet and lock on mine.

"Isaac was the love of my life."

Her words hurt a little.

"I lost his baby after his death." Venom pours from her words. "Are you happy now, or is there more you need to know?"

"Is that why you sought out a donor to have a child?"

She stares angrily, nose still flaring.

"I chose a donor because I didn't want or need a man in my life." Her words are cold and practiced.

"You don't want to fall for someone else, do you?"

Her eyes widen just enough for me to notice before she slips her angry mask back on.

"Fuck you," she growls before standing. "Go to hell, Damon. Don't pretend to know my innermost feelings." Throwing the napkin on the table, she stomps away.

I watch her storm off, unsure of where she thinks she's going to go. I have the valet ticket in my pocket and she doesn't know the address to my apartment. At least, I don't think she knows. Relaxing back in my chair, I wait for her to finish her tantrum and return.

Twenty minutes later, ten of which her food has been waiting, she returns and sits in her seat.

"Welcome back." I fight not to laugh, but can't hide my smile.

"Shut up." She pushes her plate away from her. "You suck at dates."

No longer able to hold it back, I laugh — loudly.

"It's not funny! You do suck at them."

"Okay, okay." I put my hands up and try to squelch my laughter, but catch her trying not to laugh out loud, too.

"I'm sorry," I half say, half laugh. "Honestly," I compose myself, "I apologize for upsetting you. I'm just curious about him and about you. You are so unwilling to share your past with me."

"There's no reason to know the details of my life, Damon. We share a child and nothing else. My past doesn't play a part in your life any further than Alex."

I stiffen at her constant reminder of our expiration date.

"Please eat," I grumble, turning my attention to my own plate.

She hesitates, her hard eyes giving way to her annoyance at my request.

At the completion of the meal, she starts to fidget. As I pay the bill and we prepare to leave, she grows more anxious. I finally realize she's excited at the thought of ending this night.

Once in the car, I decide it's time for her to understand that I’m not through with her just yet.

"Did you enjoy dinner?" I pull away from the restaurant and into New York traffic.

"Yes." She nods. "Thank you. For dinner," she quickly adds.

"It's my pleasure. Now, we're on to the next destination." I try not to smile too wide or reveal my amusement.

I feel her wide eyes on me before she speaks.

"What do you mean? Aren't we going back to your apartment?" I can't miss the panic in her voice.

"Nope, but would you like to call to check on Alex?" Pulling out my phone, knowing she will say yes, I dial Heidi and hand the phone to her.

"Hello." She pauses. "Yeah, he's driving. I just want to check in on him." Another pause, this time a bit longer. "Really? That's great. Can I speak to him?"

As I maneuver through the traffic, I see her rub the palm of her free hand on her thigh out of the corner of my eye.

"Hey, little man. I miss you," she coos before giggling. "Are you being good?" She laughs once more. "Okay, baby, go have more fun and listen to Heidi."

She ends the call and hands the phone back to me.

"He's doing well, I take it?" Keeping my eyes on the road, I slip my phone into my jacket pocket.

"Yeah," she sighs.

Parking in a space near the French Culinary Institute, I climb out and round the car. I open her door and she unfolds her body form the vehicle. Confusion wrinkles her face.

"What are we doing here?"

"You'll see." I grin, placing my hand on her lower back and guiding her to the door.

She stops a couple feet from the entrance and turns to me.

"Damon, it's late and this place is obviously closed," she argues.

"Not to us." With a shrug, I turn her back around.

With the press of the button, one of the school board members greets us. She introduces herself and quickly leads us to a kitchen. Two fully supplied steel tables sit at the front of the room.

"What's going on?" She eyes me while I slip off my jacket and wrap an apron around my body.

I only smile and put an apron over her head, spinning her so I can tie the back.

"Good evening."

Olivia jumps at the unfamiliar voice.

"Good eve…oh my goodness," she gasps. "You-you're Jaques Torres," she stutters, her mouth gaping open.

"The last time I checked." The chef chuckles.

"Damon?" Her eyes still on Jaques, she grabs my sleeve and tugs. "Do you know who he is?"

"I hope he's Jaques Torres, since that’s who I made arrangements with tonight."

She looks up at me, her mouth still open and eyes round in surprise. Closing her mouth, she releases my sleeve and steps toward him.

"You're Jacques Torres," she restates in a breathy voice. "You're amazing."

Her head slightly tilted, the lilt to her voice is amusing.

I move to stand beside her at the workstation facing Jacques.

"The work you've done with chocolate is unbelievable."

I can't help but laugh at her star-struck behavior. This earns me an elbow to my side.

"Thank you," Jacques laughs. "Now, let's get started on our lesson."

"Lesson? What Lesson?"

She doesn't wait for a response; instead, she double checks that the apron is secured around her while pushing past me to stand next to Jacques.

Part of me doesn't like sharing her with this man, but my ego is eating up the fact that I did this for her.

Olivia works diligently next to Jacques over the next hour and a half. I mostly stand back and watch her. Olivia is beautiful all of the time, but in this atmosphere — in her element — she radiates confidence and beauty. My heart aches, wishing she could sense how much I feel for her.

When Jacques and Olivia finish, I volunteer as taste tester. After all, it's the least I can do. Then we say our goodbyes to Jaques and the board member before returning to my car.

"That. Was. Amazing."

Olivia practically floats on air. When she wraps her arms around me, I freeze.

"Thank you. No one has ever done anything like that for me."

Shaking off the shock of her initiating physical contact, I circle my arms around her, holding her warm body against mine. She smells of chocolate. Before I can find out whether she tastes the same, she pulls away and slips into the car.

"You're very welcome."

I close her door before rounding the car to drive us home.

Before heading home to my father, Heidi fills us in on how wonderful Alex has been all evening and that he's been sleeping for about an hour. Olivia goes upstairs to check on Alex and head to bed. I have some emails and work to catch up on before I can join her.

Thursday morning, I wake with a smile. Olivia is lying stomach down, facing away from me. My arm rests across her lower back, rising and falling with her breaths. There is no tension or awkwardness. She is relaxed and at ease. I snuggle in closer to saturate myself in the scent of her, relishing the moment before she wakes and pushes me away.

The blissful moment ends too soon for my liking. She shifts and starts to stretch her limbs. Closing my eyes, I pretend to be sleeping.

Her muscles flex below my arm, letting me know she has twisted her body to look at me. A small sigh escapes her lips before she slips from under me and into the bathroom. I roll to my back, rub sleep from my eyes, and, with my own sigh, climb from bed to check on Alex.

With Alex still sleeping, I start coffee and go to my office for my cell phone. Two text alerts show on the screen. One from Hugh, apologizing for butting into things, and the other is from Scarlett. No apology, just a confirmation that we are meeting her and Hugh for lunch today.

Since Hugh is safer to speak to, I call to confirm with him instead of Scarlett.

"Good morning," he answers with a hint of surprise.

"I'm listening," I respond curtly.

"Damon, you know we care and love you dearly, but she needs to have her eyes wide open going into this. She has to know everything if you want a remote chance with her." He sighs heavily. "You need to tell her the rest."