Page 42 of A Perfect Pairing
“Okay,” she said, her voice brightening. “I love you, Uncle.”
“Love you, too, Noelle.” He leaned his head back as his emotions surged. Antonio loved that little girl as if she were his own. He’d flown down for her birth, and she’d stolen his heart from the moment April placed her in his arms and Noelle stared up at him with her big brown eyes.
Antonio’s thoughts shifted to his date with Natasha. He could admit the thought of them having children had crossed his mind more than once. Back then he’d had his life all mapped out: graduate, work with his uncle for a while, marry Natasha and have two or three children, and open his own construction company. Until he moved back to Firefly Lake, his only big achievement had been graduating with his dual degrees. He could add owning the company to his list, but the jury was still out on whether he’d get that third one.
He got out and slipped into his suit coat before reaching back inside for the flowers. On his way to the door, he studied Natasha’s house. Her two-bedroom home was located in one of the newer developments and had a small porch just wide enough for the chair and bistro table she had there. Antonio rang her doorbell as his gaze took in the manicured lawn. Did she have a lawn care service, or did she take care of it herself? The thought of her doing her own yard didn’t sit well with him.
Antonio turned at the sound of the door opening. Once again, she’d left him speechless. She had on another dress that outlined her curves, this one a burnt-orange color that complemented her rich, dark-brown skin. “Hey, beautiful.”
“Hi.” Natasha held the door open for him. “Wow, you look good.”
Chuckling, he handed her the flowers. “Thanks. These are for you.” He bent and placed a sweet kiss on her lips.
“Thank you. They’re gorgeous, and I can’t believe you remembered that I love pink roses.”
“I remember a lot of things,” he said, holding her gaze. Like the way she slowly licked the strawberry ice cream all around the cone or how she always used to climb onto his lap so they could read together.
“And I remember everything.” She placed the vase in the center of her coffee table, then picked up her purse and jacket. “Ready?”
Still trying to decipher what she meant, he said, “I am. I just hope there isn’t a lot of traffic.” He led her out to his car. The drive to San Francisco would take about an hour. He’d googled it, and so far the roads weren’t too congested. He had made reservations for seven but opted to leave two hours earlier, just in case.
“There’s always traffic these days, unless you leave before five in the morning or eight or nine at night.”
“I guess things have changed since I left.” As he drove, Antonio noticed far more commercial buildings and housing developments along the way, which definitely accounted for the increase in cars on the road.
“Ooh, I love this song.” Natasha did a little dance in her seat as she sang along with India Arie’s “Brown Skin.”
A smile tipped the corner of his mouth. She loved music, and no matter where she happened to be, she would often sing or dance along. As he listened to the words, he couldn’t help but think about Natasha’s brown skin and how much he wanted to touch and caress every inch of it. Antonio jerked his head in Natasha’s direction when he felt her hand on his thigh. “What are you doing?”
“Telling you how much I loveyourbrown skin.” Natasha walked her fingers up his thigh.
Antonio clamped down on her hand with his to halt her progress. “Unless you’re ready for me to pull over and show you just how much I love yours, I’m going to need you to keep your hands to yourself.” She had him so aroused, it wouldn’t take much for him to make good on his promise.
Her eyes sparkled with mischief. “Well, since I really want this dinner, I’ll keep my hands to myself. For now.”
He didn’t even want to know what that last part meant. All his efforts to take things at a slower pace crumbled each time she made a bold statement like this one. To take his mind off all the ways he wanted to seduce her, he asked about her favorite music artists. They passed the remainder of the drive discussing music, artists, and concerts they wanted to attend.
“Is the restaurant far from Pier 39?” she asked as he exited the freeway.
“Not too far, why?”
“I was thinking that since we’re about thirty minutes early, can we stop at the Chocolate Store? Serenity asked me to bring her more chocolate for the desserts she makes. It’s only a block or two away from the pier.”
“Sure.” Antonio followed all the turns to Embarcadero and her directions to the store. “I don’t see any parking.” The streets were crowded with cars and people.
“Don’t worry about parking. Just drop me off near the store and circle the block. It won’t take long to get what I need. I’ll be in and out.”
He wasn’t too keen on the idea, seeing all the men out and about, but had no other choice if they planned to make their reservation. After he pulled into a no-parking zone near the store, Natasha hopped out and strutted up the street. For a second, Antonio toyed with just waiting there, but he didn’t want to risk a ticket, so he merged onto the street.
By the time he made it back around, he spotted her coming out of the store with a large bag. He frowned when he saw a man walk up and try to engage Natasha in conversation. She seemed to be politely trying to step around him, but the man placed a hand on her arm. Antonio never considered himself a jealous person, but at that moment it swept through him like wildfire. He eased to the curb and almost jumped out of the car until he saw Natasha point his way.
The man had the decency to back off, and called out, “My bad, brother.”
“Yeah, yo’ bad,” Antonio muttered.
“Perfect timing,” Natasha said, sliding into the seat.
“So, what was he saying?”
