Page 13 of Second Act
Chapter 4
Jessica admired the way the light from the pillar candle in the cut-crystal holder turned Pete’s hair to spun gold. They’d texted back and forth about the fact that Wellsburg, Iowa, had none of the choices of cuisine he’d offered her before they settled on Brazilian. She’d expected a small, casual place in Soho, but he’d taken her to a sophisticated midtown restaurant with modern twists on classic South American dishes. The napkins were heavy white linen, the roomy chairs upholstered in taupe leather, and the room sleekly modern.
In a way, she was disappointed in his choice. She would have preferred him to act more like the solid, uncomplicated Iowan farmer she had assumed he would grow up to be. This was the kind of restaurant she could picture Hugh frequenting, and she wanted Pete to offer a counterweight to her ex-fiancé’s unwelcome pull on her.
Of course, she might have been tipped off when Pete had come to pick her up in a dark-green Range Rover. Aside from the cost of the high-end vehicle itself, keeping a car in the city was expensive. Keeping a big car was even more so.
She also noticed how at ease Pete was in the urbane setting. Although his attire wasn’t on the level of Hugh’s custom-tailored suit, Pete looked downright elegant in a subtle blue windowpane plaid blazer, gray trousers, and a blue-and-white-striped shirt.
It was becoming harder and harder to think of him as her brother’s high school friend. Which made Jessica glad she’d worn slim-fitting black pants, a lavender cashmere sweater, and kitten-heeled ankle boots. It was her go-to outfit for dress-up dinners out. As she had torn the dry cleaner’s plastic off the trousers, she realized she hadn’t worn them in at least four months. Maybe Aidan was right. Maybe she needed to get out more.
“I recommend themoqueca capixaba,” Pete said, looking up from the menu to catch her watching him. The corners of his mouth kicked up in a slight smile. “The broth has a nice combination of curry and coconut milk.”
“You eat here often?”
“It’s near my office, so I sometimes bring business colleagues here.” He scanned around the room. “I like the place, and the food is dynamite.”
The waiter glided up to take their order. Jessica took Pete’s recommendation about the fish stew, so he ordered white wine for both of them, his choice making the waiter nod in approval.
“How did you end up in Silicon Valley before this?” she asked when the waiter left.
He smiled full-on, sending a little slide of heat through her. “You inspired me.”
“Me? How?” Other than that miscalculated kiss in high school, she and Pete had been mere acquaintances through Aidan.
He twirled an empty wineglass on the tablecloth. “You were so focused on getting into college so you could become a veterinarian. I’d never really thought of school as a means to an end. In fact, I wasn’t even sure I wanted to go to college. But you changed my thinking.”
“Wow, I had no idea I was ever a good influence on anyone,” she joked, but with a glow of satisfaction. She’d certainly never been able to exert any sway over Aidan.
“In my opinion, you’re a pretty damn good person.”
“Um, thank you. That’s really nice.”
He must have sensed her discomfort and went back to his story. “You—and Aidan, if truth be told—also got me looking beyond Wellsburg, Iowa,” he said. “So I went to Bucknell University in Pennsylvania.”
“When you decide to look farther afield, you go for it,” Jessica said. Underneath his easygoing facade, Pete must have a pretty powerful drive, since it had gotten him all the way to a top-shelf college in Pennsylvania. The realization both impressed and unsettled her. Hugh’s overwhelming desire to succeed was what had driven them apart.
“I got a scholarship,” he said with a shrug. “The place seemed like a foreign country, but their business school was famous for its accounting major. And that’s what I wanted to study.”
“Then you continued to broaden your horizons by moving to Silicon Valley?”
“I got recruited, and California sounded even more foreign than Pennsylvania.” He shook his head. “Silicon Valley sure was, too.”
“More exotic than Manhattan?” Jessica had followed a similar geographical path, now that she thought about it.
“Oh, yeah. At least it snows here.” He winked just as the waiter arrived with the wine.
She was no longer surprised when Pete tasted it with the expertise of a connoisseur. Once the waiter had filled both their glasses, Pete raised his. “To Iowans with broad horizons.”
They touched glasses with a muted clink. The wine was delicious, but she’d expected that. “How broad are yours?” Jessica asked. She held up the wine. “Have you been to Brazil?”
“A couple of times, although most of my days there were spent in conference rooms.” Pete grimaced before he entertained her with a few stories of his journeys to various foreign locales. He’d traveled far more widely than a couple of trips to Rio.
“How about you?” he asked. “Where have you been?”
“Edinburgh, to the veterinary school for some postgrad work.” She’d loved wandering around the historic city where almost everything was older than Iowa.
Pete smiled. “I spent a few days there once. Great city. Then I got the crazy idea that since I was in Scotland, I should play golf, so I drove over to St. Andrews. I thought I was a decent golfer until I landed in one of their pot bunkers. There’s one called Hell, and that’s exactly what it felt like.”
