Dreams

Chapter Ten-Part 11

As they walked into the restaurant that Mick had told her was Italian food, the smells hit a direct line to her stomach and had it grumbling. She realized she hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast, which was a bowl of oatmeal. Mick walked over to the hostess and had her smiling before he opened his mouth. She flashed back to the small diner in the middle of nowhere, when he had the same effect on the waitress. To her amazement they were seated right away in a restaurant that was crowed.

He ordered a bottle of red wine and waters before turning his attention on her. His smile was still full and it stole her breath. "I hope red wine is okay." She watched as he took his silverware out of the napkin and placed it in his lap, and then stared back up at her, looking directly into her eyes. All she could think was this was a bad bad bad idea.

"Yeah, fine." Her voice was strange to her so she took a deep breath before saying, "How did you get us in so quick?"

"I'm a regular, and my brother owns the joint."

"Really? Is he here then?"

"No, no he owns a couple joints around town and is currently invested in a new place that just opened, so his time is mostly spent there."

"Brown brothers are business men, how nice, I am sure your mother is proud."

"She is. What about your sister, what does she do?"

"Kathryn is an accountant. And yes, everything you think of as an accountant is her," she said with a small chuckle.

"She's a short, fat, bald man?" He said and had her smiling full wattage at him. God he missed that smile, she hadn't used it on him since their time at that small, run down hotel. He had seen hints of it, but she was guarded and he hadn't pressed to get past the wall.

"Well, no, but she is a control freak, and a no nonsense kind of person. Well, hey, a lot like you actually."

"I'm not sure if I care to be compared to an accountant."

"Don't worry you are nowhere near short, nor fat."

Mick chuckled and brushed his fingers over the top of her hand, which had her stiffening and eyes going wide. He pulled his hand back, sat up straighter and tried to keep hold on his control. A look passed between them, one filled with sexual tension and annoyance.

They both took in a deep breath and she looked down at her napkin. He exhaled very slowly giving himself time to calm down before saying, "So tell me what happened at the hospital today."

"I'd rather not talk about," she said as the waitress came back and poured a sample of the wine for Mick to taste. He sipped, approved, and kept his eyes on Stevie the whole time. As the waitress finished pouring the wine and taking their orders that Mick put in for both of them, Stevie took a long sip of her wine.

"I think you will like what I ordered, it's the best on the menu." Mick continued to stare at her as she adverted her gaze anywhere but on his eyes.

"It sounds great."

"Stevie," he said her name patiently and waited until she finally looked at him. "Tell me."

"This isn't the place Mick," she said, looking around. He could see that she was getting nervous, that her face was a shade paler, that she was breathing harder, even that her pulse had picked up.