Читать книгу Beautiful Fate - CK Marie - Страница 16

By the time we get to a little town that has a restaurant, it’s after two-thirty, the entire day and we’ve only seen just one place. Bret is not going to like this. The waitress seats us; set’s down our menus and takes our drink order.

“So, what do you have a taste for?” Ian asks me.

“Looks like your limited to sandwiches, soups or salad.” Looking over the menu, I realize how hungry I am. I haven’t had a decent meal since Monday evening. “The club sandwich and potato soup sound good,” I say to him.

“Perfect.” He says as the waitress returns with our drinks.

“Do you need a few more moments?” She asks us.

“No were ready, we’ll both take the club sandwich and potato soup,” Ian tells her.

“You got it. I will have that out to you shortly.” She says and picks up our menus.

I pull out the list of homes set it down. “So, which house would you like to see next?” I ask him. “Looks like these two aren’t far from each other.”

“I have a better idea, let’s skip the house hunting and go straight home after we eat.” He says. “Besides it will be close to dark, which will make it hard to see the outside.”

“True, but we will have to make our next visit at the end of the week. I need to catch up on some stuff at the office.”

“Very well, Friday it is, be sure to let Bret know you will be out for the day.”

Before I could argue that a whole day wouldn’t be necessary the waitress comes with our food.

“Here you go, is there anything else I can get you?” She asks.

“No thank you, this looks splendid,” I tell her.

“Okay, I’ll be at the counter if you need me.” She says to the both of us.

Pushing my need to argue with Ian away I pick up my sandwich and start eating. “This club sandwich is good,” I tell Ian.

“Same with the soup,” He says just before putting another spoon full into his mouth.

Halfway through I have to give myself a rest. I ate too fast, but apparently not fast enough as I watch Ian shove the last bit in his mouth. “Hungry?” I ask him.

“Hmm, yes...I can’t wait for desert.” The fire in his eyes tells me he is not talking about pie or ice cream.

“Ian, listen… Friday is fine, but I can’t be taking the whole day away from the office. I do have other clients.”

“The whole day Vanessa, Bret told me you would be available at my convenience at all times.”

“Fine! But we start early and go to more than one place.”

“Sounds like we have a plan, you set our schedule, I’ll do the driving.”

“Would you like a take home box for the rest of your food?” The waitress asks me.

“Yes please, it was delicious, but I don’t think I could eat another bite,” I tell her.

“You got it.” She says and sets the check on the table. “I’ll be right back with your box.”

I grab the check…I won’t let him pay.

“What are you doing?” Ian asks me.

“This one is on me; you can take Friday’s when we are out,”

“Absolutely not, now give me the bill, Vanessa.”

“No, I will not,” I tell him as I reach for my purse.

“Vanessa, don’t think for one minute that I won’t put you over my knee for denying me, it does not matter to me if we are in public or not.” I freeze, staring at him trying to see if he is serious or not. “Are you testing me, Vanessa?”

I can see the look in his eyes; he is serious…as much as the thought of him bending me over his knee arouses me… I really don’t want to give a show to anyone here. I slide the bill over to him.

“Good girl.” He says with his cocky little grin. I just shake my head. The waitress comes back with my box; Ian hands her the bill along with a fifty. “Keep the change.” He tells her.

“Umm…sir, you gave me a fifty.” She says to him.

“Yes, I know, and I said keep the change.”

“Omg…sir, are you serious?” She says with a look of surprise.

“Sweetie, he’s serious…trust me.” I tell her.

“Thank you so much, please wait here a moment, I’ll be right back.” She turns and heads into the kitchen.

“I wonder what that is all about,” I say to Ian.

“I don’t know, but I am going to use the restroom before we leave.”

“Okay, I’ll be waiting right here.” While waiting for Ian and the waitress I pull out my phone, I’ve had it silenced since we left this morning. Seven missed calls all from Brytney and too many to count text messages all from her also.

Vanessa! Call me!

Vanessa! Where the fuck are you!?

Vanessa! You’re not at work today, what the fuck is going on!?

Vanessa! Shayne has called you over and over, he said you left home, you are supposed to be with me. WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU!?

I don’t bother with the other text’s, they are all going to be the same. I scroll through the missed calls, there’s none from Shayne. I send Brytney a quick text.

Hey Brytney, all is fine... I am at work but been out showing houses today. I’ll call you soon… A LOT TO TELL YOU!

I hit send and tuck my phone back in my purse.

“Here you go, it’s on the house!” The waitress sets a box on the table. “It’s our famous coconut cream pie, you must try it.”

I lift the lid to find a whole pie that looks amazing.

“What do you got there?”

I look up to see Ian standing behind the waitress, who is blocking his way to sit. “It’s our dessert, compliments of our lovely waitress,” I tell him.

“It’s the least I could do, besides…no one should come to Kit’s and leave without having our pie.”

“Are you sure you won’t get in trouble for giving it to us? We will pay for it.” I tell her.

“Oh no, my dad won’t mind. The place is soon to belong to me anyway, he is set to retire, I’m going to take over.”

“Well, you got yourself a gem of a diner here. We will be sure to stop back again.” Ian tells her.

“Thank you…that would be wonderful, it’s nice to see new faces every now and then.” She says with a smile. “When you do make it back ask for me I’m Kit, I’m always here. I will make sure you are well taken care of.”

“Nice to have met you Kit, I’m Vanessa, and this is Ian. You can count on seeing us again.”

“Thanks again, have a great evening.” She says to the both of us.

“You do the same.” We both say together. “See you soon.”

We head out, but before he starts the Jeep, I ask him. “Could we go to Brytney’s, I really need to talk to her?”

“Yes, but I will be staying there with you. I won’t drop you off and leave you there.”

“That is fine, but you need to give me time to talk with her alone. She is my best friend, more like a sister; I can’t keep her in the dark.”

“I can understand that…as long as she doesn’t try to talk you out of staying with me.”

“Oh, I promise you, she won’t.” I send Brytney a quick text telling her I’m on my way and that Ian is with me. She responds right away.

I KNEW IT! Drive fast!!!

I have to smile at that, sometimes I think she knows me better than I know myself.

“How long have you known Brytney?” Ian asks me.

“We met in JR High, became fast friends; we’ve been inseparable since then. She is my family.”

“Is your brother your only sibling?”

“Yes, Vince and Brytney are all I have since my parents passed,” I say to him, not being able to hide the sadness.

“I’m sorry, how long ago was that?”

“It’s been just over five years…my brother, Brytney and I were there when it happened.” I feel my chest start to tighten. “We were all out to dinner like we did every Monday evening. It was light drizzle outside, but the temperature was near freezing making the roads icy. My parents had us wait while they went to get the car. They were on the side of the road waiting to cross when a truck going too fast came around the corner and slid on slick ice and went straight up the curb. My parents didn’t have a chance to move. My dad died instantly, he stepped in front of my mother to protect her, but the impact was too much, she passed a few hours later from internal injuries.”

“Oh Vanessa, I am so sorry.” He reaches for my hand.

“Thank you, I try to get closure with it, but it’s hard because whoever was driving the truck took off. No one saw a plate number, there weren't many people out, we only knew it was a dark color, we were not close enough to make out if there were any details about the truck. So the person was never caught.” I tell him. “My brother is a cop, he and the whole department did all they could to try and find whoever it was, but had no success.”

“Is that why you have dinner with your brother and Brytney every Monday?”

“Yes, but we don’t go out. We do it at one of our houses.”

“I can understand that.”

I just nod; I don’t want to think of the past right now.

Ian gives my hand a gentle squeeze. “Well, I’ll be sure to keep your Monday’s open; I wouldn’t want that taken from you.”

I feel my eyes starting to water. We’ve only just met, but there is a pull that is drawing me in, I trust Ian…as strange as this feeling is to me, I like it…I want it.