Page 16 of Thanks for the Memories
I gently touch his arm, letting him know that I’m open to all possibilities. And that must be exactly what he needs.
He places his hand on my cheek and leans in to kiss me.
Okay, confession time—I’ve kissed a good number of men in my almost thirty years on this earth and there have been a few that have made me quiver. Dante is, without a doubt, in the top five. As our kiss becomes more intense, he pulls me to my feet and lifts me onto the counter.Okay—so maybe he’s in the top three.
My hands move to his hair, exactly how I envisioned it would be when I saw him sitting in the café earlier. I wrap my legs around him, and he pulls me closer to him. Maybe I never woke up this morning, because this all feels like a dream.
Just then I hear the garage door open. Lila’s voice pulls me out of my moment of bliss.
“Hell yeah, we did it,” she yells.
Dante and I look at each other as we pull away from our hot embrace.
“Oh, we are definitely celebrating—” Lila stops talking as soon as she sees me. Her eyes grow wide, and her jaw drops open. Not that I blame her. I’m sitting on the kitchen island, completely entangled with a dreamy chef.
Meanwhile, the chicken is simmering loudly from the stove, smoke rising above it.
“Oh—” Dante exclaims and makes a mad dash to remove the pan from the stove.
“Let me call you back in a few,” Lila says into the phone.
I quickly hop off the counter and fix my hair.
“What’s happening here?” she asks, a huge smile spreading across her face.
Dante and I look at each other, but neither of us says anything. Not that she needs an explanation. It’s pretty obvious what she walked in on.
I launch into an explanation about the ingredients littering the counter and how Dante’s prepping meals for us.
“Really? That’s very sweet of you,” Lila exclaims. I think this briefly takes her mind off of the scene she just interrupted. Which is a major bummer, by the way.
Dante shrugs. “It’s my pleasure. I was telling Reagan that I rarely get downtime to just cook and have fun in the kitchen.”
He presses his lips together and looks at me. I feel my face grow hot. I’ve definitely been having fun in the kitchen today.
“So, what’s on the menu?” Lila asks, clearly stepping in to help with the awkwardness.
I remain completely in a daze as Dante describes the meals he’s preparing for us. The last thing on my mind right now is food. My brain keeps replaying what just happened between us. Being close to Dante is something I’ve thought about for years, but after we all went our separate ways, I pushed it out of my mind and moved on with my life. I accepted that just because I built up this scenario in my head didn’t mean it was meant to be. Now in a strange twist of fate we’ve ended up in the same city years after the fact and all those old feelings have returned. Fast forward to this moment—he’s in my kitchen cooking for me, and that kiss … it was everything I’d imagined it would be.
At the same time, the realistic part of my brain is telling me not to read too much into it. It’s possible we both got caught up in the moment, and there’s also the fact that neither of us has been close to anyone in a while. I’ve definitely missed this—having someone to laugh and spend time with. You don’t realize how much you’re missing until you get a taste of it again.
Gah, I’m not usually someone who overthinks things. I’m level-headed and positive—some of my best qualities. But we’re talking about a man I’ve adored from afar for years. Chances like this don’t happen very often.
“Everything sounds delish, Chef Dante,” Lila says, dragging me back to the present. “I’m going to tell every person I know to go to Golden.”
“I appreciate that,” Dante says, adding a pinch of salt to his famous lemon chicken. He shoots another glance at me, and the corner of his mouth curls up. Ah, those lips. I can still feel them on mine. The memory makes me smile back at him.
Lila doesn’t linger in the kitchen for long. After talking to us for a few more minutes, she heads to her bathroom to shower after her day at the beach.
Dante and I are alone again, and now what? Do I say anything? Wait for him to bring it up? Pretend nothing happened? This is so confusing.
“Lila’s cool,” he says after a few seconds.
“Yes, I really lucked out with both my new roommates,” I say. “Thank goodness, because there was no way I was moving back in with my sister.”
He laughs. “Come on, it couldn’t have been that bad.”
I raise my eyebrows. “I’ll give you an important piece of advice. Never, never, never live with newlyweds.”
