Page 12 of Come Around
“Mr. Ruins! So wonderful to see you again.” She practically trips over herself greeting him.
“Table for two, Angela.” He laces his fingers through mine again. “The usual spot if it’s available.”
“Of course. Right this way.” She grabs two leather-bound menus and leads us through the dimly lit restaurant before seating us at a corner table partially screened by a decorative partition.
“Carlo will be right with you.” She smiles warmly at Axel, then glances at me with barely concealed curiosity before walking away.
I settle into the plush chair across from him. “I’m guessing you come here often?”
“Whenever I’m in town.” He doesn’t even open his menu. “The owner’s son used to play drums for Highland Rye before we got signed.”
A waiter appears beside our table, a bottle of red wine already in hand.
“Mr. Ruins, wonderful to see you back in Fit Mountain. The usual?”
“Thanks, Carlo. And we’ll have the chef’s selection. Tell Emilio I’m introducing someone special to his food.”
Someone special. The phrase makes my stomach flip.
I should object to him ordering for me without asking, but honestly, I’m too tired to study a menu, and the confident way he handles everything is strangely appealing after months of making every decision alone.
“You didn’t even ask what I like to eat,” I point out as Carlo pours the wine.
Axel leans forward, elbows on the table. “Do you trust me?”
The question feels weighted with meaning beyond food choices. “I barely know you.”
“But Ruby and Clay trust me. Lainey, too.” His eyes hold mine. “That counts for something, right?”
He has me there. In the three months I’ve been in Fit Mountain, Clay and Ruby have been nothing but kind to me. If they vouch for Axel, maybe he isn’t the entitled rock star I initially pegged him for.
“Fine. But if you order anything with olives, I’m walking out.”
He grins, and it transforms his face completely.
“Noted. No olives.”
The wine is rich and smooth, nothing like the cheap bottles I usually buy. I take another sip and let the warmth spread through me.
“So, is it true what Ruby said about you dating Lainey?” I ask, trying to understand the strange relationships in this town. “Before she married your dad?”
Axel laughs. The sound is a deep rumble that makes something flutter in my chest.
“Yeah. It’s ancient history, though. Lainey and I dated for a few months after her dad passed away. But we figured out pretty quickly that we were better off as friends. Not to mention that I wasn’t the greatest boyfriend back then.” He takes a sip of wine. “Right after that, she and my dad sort of…connected.”
“And you’re okay with that?”
“It was weird at first,” he admits. “But they’re happy. Really happy. And in Fit Mountain, when you find your person, you don’t question it.”
“Your person,” I repeat, remembering Ruby’s words. “Is that what this ‘Fit Mountain curse’ thing is about?”
Something shifts in his expression.
“It’s not really a curse. More like recognition. When certain men from the mountains meet the woman they’re meant to be with, they just know. Instantly.”
Carlo returns with our first course, saving me from having to respond. The food is exquisite. The sea scallops are drowning in a buttery sauce that makes me close my eyes in pleasure.
“Good?” Axel asks, watching me intently.
