Page 17 of Mr. Right Now
Jayana enjoyed the mother-son interaction. Although, he’d cut her off, both were smiling and she could sense the deep love and affection they shared. She’d missed having the same, being so far away from her own parents. “It was so nice to meet you, Mrs. Powell.”
“Same here, Jayana. Next time, you can join us for our family dinner. I’ll let Dante know the date and time in advance.”
She didn’t know how to answer that, so she settled for a smile and a nod. Clearly his mother was in matchmaking mode. After a quick round of goodbyes, Dante hustled them out the door and into the car. “I like your mom.”
“And she liked you, if you couldn’t tell,” he said as he pulled off.
“I felt like I should’ve been sworn in on the witness stand the way she fired those questions at me. Has she always been this intense with women you’d dated?” Her parents, particularly her father, had done the same with her ex-boyfriend, and neither of them had been impressed. In fact, her mother almost cheered when Jayana ended the relationship.
Dante slanted her a glance. “You’re the first woman she’s met in four years and the only one she’s questioned that way.”
She smiled at that thought and focused her attention on the passing scenery. “Where are we going for lunch?” she asked a few minutes later.
“You’ll see.”
Jayana waited for him to elaborate, but he said nothing. Deciding to go with the flow, she made herself comfortable in the soft-as-butter leather seats and bobbed her head to the music as he merged into traffic. LA, she was learning had about as much traffic as Atlanta, even on the weekends. A while later, he parked in a lot behind an old building with a sign that read, Burger Palace. The neighborhood was a little run down, but the smells wafting from the place made her stomach growl.
“I promised you burgers and pastramis, and this place has the best of both.”
That he remembered made her fall a little harder. She threw her arms around him. “Thank you for this.” She rubbed her hands together with glee. “I am so ready.” It only took her a minute to decide on the pastrami. He ordered the same. “How long have you been coming here?”
“Since I was a kid. My parents loved the place and I looked forward to them bringing us on some weekends.”
It only took a few minutes for the food to be ready. When Dante brought the tray to the table, just one look told her it was going to be good. “Look at all this meat.” It had to be a good two inches high, and had extra mustard and pickles the way she liked. Jayana bit into the juicy sandwich and nearly swooned. She hummed and danced in her seat because it wasthatgood.
“Does that mean you’re enjoying it?” Dante asked with a chuckle.
“I’m over here acting like a kid at Christmas. What do you think? You get big points for this.” If the rest of the day went like this, she’d be in love with him by sunset.
CHAPTER6
“I’m going to save this for my lunch on Monday,” Jayana said as they got back into the car. She had only eaten half of her pastrami sandwich. Dante, on the other hand, demolished the entire thing with no problem. “Where to next?”
“We have a good half an hour drive to our next stop, so you can kick back and relax.”
“That’s all you’re going to say?”
“Yep.”
“Okay, Mr. Keeping Secrets. Be that way.”
He gave her the smile that always made her heart beat a little faster. “I will.”
“That’s fine. I don’t need to know.” She said the words, but her curiosity called her a liar. Since he’d apparently said all he planned to on the subject, she did as he suggested. Jayana reclined her seat some and closed her eyes.
“Wake up, sleepyhead.”
“What?” She groaned and rolled her head in his direction. “Did I fall asleep on you? Sorry.” She sat up and covered a yawn. “Where are we?”
Dante pointed in front of them.
“The beach!”He’s really going to make me love him.She jumped out of the car before he could get out and come around. He gave her a look. “Oops, sorry. Your chivalry still stands. I’m just excited.”
“You mentioned walking on the beach being one of your favorite things. It’s mine too, so I figured we could do it together.”
He held out his hand, entwined their fingers and started a slow stroll down to the water’s edge. Jayana inhaled the salty air and exhaled slowly. They stopped every now and again to watch the waves crashing against the shore, then continued. She didn’t know how long they walked before reversing their course and heading back to the car. They took a few minutes to empty the sand out of their shoes first. “This has been the best date I’ve had in a long while. I’m really enjoying myself.” She didn’t mind the whole wining and dining thing, but she preferred simple moments like this.
“I’m glad.” Dante slid his arm around her, lowered his head and captured her lips in a tender kiss. “It’s been the best date for me, too.”
