Page 66 of Clean Hack
We managed to shower without any funny business. It was hard to keep my hands off of her. And when I felt like I could no longer resist, I pulled her into my body and just held her, loving the way she seemed to just fit against me.
We dressed silently, her peeking up at me through her dark lashes and tossing tentative smiles my way. She was nervous. I could feel it yet I didn’t point it out. I was going to give her silent strength and not leave her side.
I guided her out of the front door and to the elevator. She squeezed my hand as we walked to my truck. The ride was short enough and when I helped her down, she didn’t hesitate to wrap herself around my side.
“Ah, Mr. Andreadis. What a lovely surprise,” Mr. Corsetti, the owner of the small restaurant said the moment we walked into the door. “Oh, and you have a guest.”
His smile was bright and reached his eyes like I’d just walked in with the best, unexpected surprise.
“It’s good to see you, Mr. Corsetti,” I replied reaching out to shake his hand. “I see all went well with the surgery.”
“Yes. Of course. My family, they worry over every little thing. My heart is just fine.”
I could tell he was downplaying it a little but I let it slide.
“Glad to hear it.”
“And who is this lovely lady? I must say, it makes an old man happy to see that he has someone to look after him.”
Lucy bit her lip and ducked her head. I saw the tinge of embarrassment hit her cheeks and I smiled.
“This is Lucy. Lucy, this is Mr. Corsetti. He makes the best fresh pasta I’ve ever had.”
They shook hands, then he led us to a booth in the back and left with a sly wink in my direction.
“This all looks so good,” she said as her eyes roamed over the entire menu.
“All of it is fresh. I’ve tried everything at least twice.”
“So that tells me that either you eat here a lot or that you have stayed in this town for a few years.” She eyed me like she was trying to figure out the answer.
I chuckled and relaxed back into the seat. I knew it was bugging her that she hadn’t been able to figure out anything about me. But what she didn’t know was that I’d tell her anything and everything she wanted, and I sensed that I would one day. That she would know every little thing there was to know about me. I prayed that I would get the same from her.
“I love the chicken parmigiana,” I said as cool as could be with a slight smirk playing on my lips.
“I think I’ll try the lasagna alla bolognese. That sounds amazing.” With that, she snapped her menu shut and set it down on the table in front of her.
The waiter came by, dropping off some fresh bread and two glasses of water before he took our drink order. I threw her a bit when I suggested that she have a glass of wine. She looked eager but unsure of which one to order. I chuckled and asked what her favorite was.
“Merlot,” she answered without hesitation.
I smiled and nodded, loving that I’d gotten a little tidbit about her. The young waiter suggested something once she told him what she was going to order for her meal. He said something about it pairing well. She just nodded, doing her best to keep eye contact with him so as not to seem rude. I decided to stick with the water.
Once our entire order was out of the way, I sat back and gave her my full attention.
She was beautiful. And even that felt like such a weak word to describe her. Stunning. Magnetic. Captivating. She was…perfect to me. It wasn’t just her outer beauty, though every time she peeked up at me through those thick, dark lashes, I felt my breath hitch and my heart pound faster. But there was so much more to her. I’d seen glimpses of how she could be. Little things here and there that made me want to dig further. That made me want that day to come when she felt so comfortable around me that she was her true self.
“I have five places,” I started and she leaned closer like she was about to hear the world’s biggest secret. “This one here. One in Florida. One in Louisiana, though I don’t spend much time there. A place up in Connecticut. And one in Michigan.”
Her eyes went wide as she took it all in.
“Are they all so…upscale like this one? I mean the building is, the decor you have going on isn’t so much.” She smiled as she teased me.
“Well, most of my places look like this one on the inside. I figured I never really stick around long at one given time, so I didn’t put much into them. But to answer your question, no, they are not. I have a house in the swamps in Florida. A three-bedroom colonial style house in Connecticut. They are all different. And before you ask, I don’t really have a favorite.” I tossed that last part in there because I could see the question sitting right there on the tip of her tongue. “They are just places, Luce. I haven’t really gotten attached to them, even with as long as I’ve owned them.”
“Oh, well that’s a little sad. It’s like you have all these homes but you don’t have ahome. If that makes sense.”
“It makes perfect sense. And I couldn’t agree more. I had never really felt a reason to make any of them a home before.”
