Business Not As Usual, page 12
“I don’t know him. I just know some of the projects he’s invested in around the state.”
“I see you’ve done your homework.”
She gave a nonchalant shrug. “All part of the job. Now don’t you have a reservation to get to?”
“Yes, actually we should get going.” Karter opened the door.
“Not so fast.”
Dreamy groaned when she heard her grandfather’s voice. She thought he’d already gone to bed. Almost afraid to turn around for fear of what he’d have on, she snuck a glance over her shoulder and almost choked.
She whirled around so fast, she lost her balance and slammed into Karter. He wrapped his strong arms around her, and she wanted to stay in the comfort of them, but she was too shocked to stand still.
“Gramps, where are you going all dressed up?”
The three-piece suit looked good except for the way the buttons on the vest seemed like they were about to pop off. The outfit had to be at least ten years old, and Dreamy had seen him wear it only a few times, one being at her grandmother’s funeral.
“You’re not the only one who has a date,” he said. “I have one too.”
“Like hell you do,” Jordyn piped up. “You can’t drive.”
His gray bushy brows lifted. “Who said I was driving?” He turned to Karter. “Who are you?”
“Karter Redford, sir. You must be Dreamy’s grandfather.”
“Lester Daniels, but my friends call me Slick Lester. You can call me Slick.”
Karter laughed, and Dreamy rolled her eyes as the two men shook hands.
“You running off already?” her grandfather asked. Funny how he looked ten years younger and seemed a bit taller while talking to Karter. “I was just getting ready to go outside for a smoke. Wanna join me?”
He held up a joint, and Dreamy gasped.
“Gramps!” Dreamy and Jordyn yelled at once.
“What? It’s medicinal.” Their grandfather frowned and shook his head. “See what I have to go through. So, whadaya say?” he asked Karter, who was doing a horrible job trying to hold back a laugh.
Karter placed his hand at the small of Dreamy’s back, sending an electric current racing through her body and nipping at every nerve on the way. She’d been close to him before, but tonight, her body was even more aware of him than usual. Maybe it was the fact that they were both dressed up. Or maybe it had to do with their being in close quarters with her family staring on. Then again, maybe it had everything to do with their undeniable attraction to each other.
Either way, she loved being near him and enjoyed having his hand on her body even more.
“Unfortunately, I’ll have to take a rain check. Dreamy and I have reservations. We should probably get going.”
“Well, shame you’re going to pass up on some good ganja. But I guess that means there’s more for me,” Gramps said, and turned to leave the room. “Have fun, Dreamboat.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll handle this,” Jordyn said to Dreamy, and followed their grandfather down the hall. “Gramps, you’re not smoking that crap, and you’re not leaving this house. I mean it.”
Dreamy sighed. “Welcome to my world. You’ve now met my slick-talking cousin, who will hunt you down and curse you out if you get out of line. As well as my weed-smoking grandfather, who might show up at the restaurant in an orange Studebaker, insisting that it’ll turn into a pumpkin at midnight.”
Karter chuckled and guided her out the door. “Your family sounds like people I’d like to get to know better. But first, let’s go and get something to eat.”
Her family was special in so many ways, and Dreamy’s heart swelled knowing that Karter didn’t have a problem with that.
He just might be a keeper.
Chapter Fifteen
“Mr. Redford, thank you and your guest for joining us this evening. I’m Candace and this is Gregory”—the woman pointed to a man beside her—“and we’ll be your servers this evening.”
Two servers? Dreamy thought.
She was even more surprised when Karter requested wine and a sommelier showed up at the table within seconds. Dreamy listened as a guy, who was no older than she was, showed off his knowledge of wines, spouting off everything from grape types to vineyards.
Dreamy knew red wines from white ones for the obvious reason, but she didn’t know Cabernet Sauvignon from Boone’s Farm Strawberry Hill. If she were Karter, she’d shut their wine connoisseur up and insist he just tell them what tasted good. But her handsome date for the evening listened with rapt attention before finally deciding on something from 2007.
Dreamy glanced around the dimly lit restaurant. Decorative cylinder light fixtures, like nothing she had ever seen before, hung from the ceiling. The effect was like eating under the night sky with stars sparkling in the distance. They added to the ambiance of the candlelit tables, soft jazz playing in the background, and the aura of love and romance filled the space.
Some of the tables were a little closer together than she would’ve thought for such an exclusive restaurant. Yet there was just enough space between them that she really couldn’t hear anyone’s conversation.
When the sommelier returned with a bottle of wine, Dreamy watched as Karter went through the process of swirling the dark red liquid before sniffing it. She never understood the ritual, but she wasn’t a big drinker anyway, so it didn’t really matter. Then again, once she won the lottery, would she dine at places like this and need to know all these things? Maybe.
Tonight was another Powerball drawing, and she felt deep down inside that she and her grandfather were going to win. If not tonight, it would happen soon. Dreamy just knew it, though she couldn’t explain the powerful gut feeling that it was going to happen any day now.
After Karter nodded his approval, the server filled Dreamy’s glass first, then Karter’s before leaving the bottle on the table.
Dreamy brought the wineglass to her lips and took a small sip, then another. She had to admit that it was delicious.
“Great choice,” she said. “Do people know you by name everywhere you go?”
The restaurant staff had been addressing him by Mr. Redford from the moment they arrived. Then again, it could be that they just made it a point to know their guests based on the reservation.
“Not everywhere. Some restaurants and certain events, yes. A few stores, maybe. But outside of that, I’m just an ordinary guy.”
Dreamy snorted, but quickly covered her mouth. “Sorry, but I doubt if you’ve ever been ordinary.” She smiled as a tinge of red painted his light brown cheeks.
Was he blushing?
From what she’d seen of Karter, he was the most confident and composed person she’d ever met. But now that she thought about it, he’d seemed a little on edge since picking her up from home.
“Are you feeling okay?” she asked, genuinely concerned. “You seem a bit anxious. Is something wrong?”
He gave an uneasy chuckle and rubbed a hand over his mouth and beard. “I don’t know what’s going on, but you make me nervous.” He reached for his wine, but the back of his hand bumped his water glass, sending it crashing to the table. “Damn.”
He leaped out of his chair, which immediately slammed into a server behind him who was holding two large, steaming plates.
Dreamy gasped when the dishes and the food went flying. Some landed on the floor, most landing on the next table as well as the customers.
Oh no. Dreamy slid out of her seat, prepared to help with the cleanup, but bumped into another waiter. He barely held on to the silver pitcher in his hands but couldn’t stop water from splashing all over himself.
“Oh my God! I’m so sorry.”
She turned her horrified gaze to Karter, who was hurrying to help clean up the shattered dishes on the floor. While bent down, he insisted that he’d pay for all of the damage and the customers’ meals, as well as their dry cleaning.
Dreamy glanced around that section of the restaurant, and heat rushed to her face. All eyes were on them as a flurry of activity took place around them. It seemed that every employee had jumped in to clean up her and Karter’s mess.
“Oh, Mr. Redford, you don’t have to do that,” the manager said. “Our staff will take care of everything quickly. Please take your seats and your server will be right with you.”
Aware of the attention they were getting, Dreamy kept her head lowered and hurried to sit down. Just once she’d like to spend time with Karter without there being an embarrassing moment. Clearly, that wouldn’t be tonight.
When they were finally seated, she and Karter made eye contact. They both struggled to not laugh at the situation, but the harder he tried to keep a straight face, the funnier the situation got.
Dreamy couldn’t hold it in. She placed the cloth napkin over her mouth to stifle her laughter. It didn’t help that they were practically sitting in the middle of the restaurant for all to see. Within minutes, they had turned a fine-dining experience into a circus. She felt awful about the people sitting near them, the ones who had mashed potatoes and gravy sliding down their arms, but it was too funny not to laugh.
Karter’s low chuckle met her ears as he leaned forward. “You were right when you said I’d have lots of firsts with you,” he whispered. “Because that was definitely a first.”
Dreamy grinned and picked up her glass of wine. She lifted it in a mock toast. “Stick with me, and there will never be a dull moment.”
Karter held up his wineglass to her and nodded. She didn’t miss the amusement in his gorgeous eyes when he said, “Bring it. I’m looking forward to spending more time with you.”
A short while later, their server returned with their meals.
“For you, madam, we have the Hawaiian rib eye with herbed rice and broccoli,” she said, placing a steaming hot plate in front of Dreamy. “And for you, sir, we have the prime New York strip, mashed potatoes, and crispy brussels sprouts.” She set the plate down and glanced back and forth between them. “Is there anything else I can get either of you at this time?”
Dreamy shook her head. “The meal looks fabulous.” And the smell of the food had her mouth watering.
Considering the fanciness of the restaurant, she expected the plating to be super fancy with tiny portions. That wasn’t the case. The steak took up much of the space on the large plate, and after skipping lunch, she planned to eat every single morsel.
“Let’s play a game,” Dreamy said as they ate.
Karter narrowed his eyes at her. “What type of game?”
“Perfect questions.”
“Never heard of it. Is that like twenty questions?”
Dreamy gave a nonchalant shrug. “Yeah, but I changed the name just in case I want to ask more questions.”
Amusement flickered in his eyes. “Okay, I’ll play, but only if I get to ask questions too.”
“Well, that’s not included in the rules of my game, but I guess I’ll allow it.”
Karter laughed. “Gee thanks. I guess that means you’ll want to go first.”
“Correct. First question. Do you have a favorite spot or favorite place to visit in Los Angeles?”
At first Dreamy had planned to ask him why he wasn’t married, but thought better of it. She would imagine a man like him got approached often by thirsty women trying to nab themselves a rich, good-looking guy. She didn’t want him to think that she was one of them by asking the question.
“Hmm . . . that’s a tough one. The first place that comes to mind is a spot at the Santa Monica Pier where my dad once took me fishing.”
“Only once?”
Karter’s expression turned serious. “Yeah. He worked and traveled so much when my siblings and I were younger that we didn’t see him much. It was a big deal when he took me, mainly because it was just him and me. He’d said that we didn’t spend enough time together, and he wanted to change that. But as his popularity grew and he picked up more roles, family time dwindled. We took vacations and sometimes visited some of the movie sets where he was filming on location, but we only went fishing that one time.”
Dreamy nodded and appreciated her grandparents even more. They might not have had much money, but they always made time for her and Jordyn.
“Now I visit the pier occasionally to just think,” Karter said between bites. “My turn. What’s your biggest pet peeve?”
“Oh, that’s easy. People who are mean to others. There’s no excuse to be nasty for the hell of it, and it pisses me off whenever I hear someone belittling someone else.” Dreamy reached for her glass of water. “I have another question. What do you do in your spare time?”
Karter paused to think and frowned. “I wish I had a better answer for this, but I rarely have spare time.”
“Why is that? You’re the boss. You should be able to take time off whenever you want.”
Karter moved food around on his plate, seeming deep in thought. “That’s a good question. I guess . . . I enjoy my work, and it keeps me busy, but I don’t have a good excuse for why I don’t take more time off.”
“Well, you should work on changing that. Life is short. It’s important to throw some fun in the mix as often as possible.”
He cracked a smile. “Is that right?”
“Yep, it is. Okay, I have another question.”
“Wait.” Karter pointed his fork at her. “It’s my turn.”
“And it’s my game,” Dreamy countered, and rolled into her next question.
Once the usual first-date awkwardness passed, the rest of dinner was full of easy conversation and laughter. She marveled at how well they got along, despite their different backgrounds.
“I just thought of something. You never answered my original question about why you were nervous earlier,” Dreamy said.
He set his fork down and wiped his mouth. “I think I was a little anxious to make this a nice experience for you.”
“Was there any doubt?” After a long hesitation in answering, she wondered if he was going to respond. “Karter, if—”
“Not so much doubt, but more like concerned that my plans for the evening wouldn’t be up to par.” He must’ve seen the confusion on her face because he lifted his hands when she started to speak. “Dreamy, you are full of energy and probably the life of any party. You deserve to hang out with someone who’s fun and brings the same vivacity. Instead, you have me. A stuffy old workaholic whose definition of excitement is taking a beautiful woman to a restaurant for a simple meal.”
“Simple?” Dreamy said on a laugh, then leaned in, trying to keep her voice down. “Are you kidding me? This is the classiest restaurant I’ve ever been to, and there is nothing simple about this steak. Oh my God. It’s to die for. And though I can’t speak on your workaholism, you don’t come across as stuffy at all.”
She was surprised he saw himself that way. If anything, she’d refer to him as worldly. There might be an air of royalty about him in the way he carried himself, but his sincere smile and his sense of humor, which peeked out occasionally, made him approachable and, in some aspects, relatable. And that’s what she told him.
Then she added, “If anyone should be nervous, it’s me. I am so out of my element here. I thought for sure that I’d be the one slamming into servers and sending food flying across the restaurant.”
They both laughed and lobbed compliments back and forth. Their date was turning out much better than she’d thought it would, and Dreamy hoped there would be a second one.
She speared another piece of steak and put it into her mouth. Her eyes drifted closed as she chewed and savored the tenderness of the beef.
“Everything is so good,” she told Karter.
“I’m glad you enjoyed the meal. Do you cook?” he asked.
“Not like this, but I do all right.”
Okay, maybe she was exaggerating, but Dreamy wanted to believe that she could cook just as well as the next person. She loved trying new recipes and adding her own personal touch. Granted, there were times when the meal didn’t come out as planned, but at least she hadn’t killed anyone with her culinary creations.
“Can you?” she asked. “I imagine you probably don’t have to cook for yourself.”
“I can make simple things like eggs and grilled cheese sandwiches,” he admitted. “Outside of that, I’m pretty useless in the kitchen. And you’re right, I usually don’t have to cook for myself.”
He told her about his housekeeper, who sounded more like a mother. The animated way he described the woman, sharing one entertaining story after another, revealed just how much he adored Nana.
“She’s the sweetest person you’ll ever meet, but she won’t hesitate to put you in your place if you step out of line,” he said on a laugh. “I’ll never forget when I was in high school and missed curfew. I tried to sneak in, but she had planted herself in a chair just inside the door. She, and the bat she’d had in her hand, scared the crap out of me.”
“Seriously? A bat? Where were your parents?”
“I don’t know. Probably out of town or at some event. Nana was the constant in our lives. The bat was just for effect, but that night, I would’ve preferred a knock upside the head. Instead, I received a lecture from her about the importance of following rules, or at least calling when I was going to be late. Needless to say, she only had to give me the speech once. Unlike my sister who, as a child, pushed every limit.”
Dreamy could listen to him talk about his Nana and siblings all night. The love he had for them made her wish that she had people in her life like them. Though she, her cousin, and their gramps got along great and had their share of fun stories, Dreamy had always wanted siblings.
“My brother, Randy, is the oldest, and what I would call the clown of the family. He used to always have some type of shenanigans going on. While my sister is the sweet and compassionate one, and maybe a little spoiled. She’s around your age and recently returned from traveling around the world.”
