I heard Mason ask, “What the hell was that all about?” as I walked off. He would think I’d lost my mind, but I didn’t care. If I needed to buy every candle in Cedar Falls to make tonight special, that’s what I would do.
Pia was right.
Mae could decide for herself what she wanted for her future, but I wasn’t leaving anything off the table. I’d been pussyfooting around long enough. Tonight, I would tell Mae exactly how I felt about her, how I’d always felt about her, and then it would be up to her to decide.
For better or worse, after tonight, we would be in Mae’s hands.
36
MAE
I could tell something was up as I walked toward the bar. Normally, unless it was dark, you could look straight in through the clear windows. But both were draped in black cloth, a “closed” sign on the door. It seemed an odd requirement. Why would a faulty valve require covering the windows?
I used my key to open the door, unsure what to expect. It certainly wasn’t an entire room full of candles, the only source of light, and one table set for dinner in the center. Beck was, as usual, behind the bar. But he was wearing a different outfit than before, dressed more for… well, dinner. He looked so handsome in navy pants, a white button-down shirt with its sleeves rolled. For my benefit? Beck knew that was a “thing” of mine.
He came around the bar with two glasses of wine.
“Hungry?”
“Yeah, but… what is all this?”
“Dinner,” he said, handing me a wine.
It was more than just dinner, obviously. I honestly didn’t know what to think, but after spending the day doing more research, and trying to figure out my life, maybe I couldnotthink just for the night.
I took a sip. “This is good. What is it?”
“I asked Emilio for his best red, and he gave me a Nero d’Avola a friend of his makes. It’s a bit dense for what we’re eating, but hopefully you like it.”
“I love it.”
“Good.” He clinked my glass. “Salute.”
“What are we toasting to?”
“Possibilities.”
A shiver ran up me, both at his words and the way Beck looked at me. Sighing, I gestured to the bar. “It looks beautiful. Where did you get so many candles?”
“Pia had one hell of a candle stash.”
I loved the way his smile reached all the way up to his eyes. Beck was always smiling, but when it was sincere… not flirty or him being silly, I could tell. Right now, he was genuinely happy.
“Sit,” he said, heading to the table and pulling out my chair. “This was the best I could do to keep it warm.”
Our plates were covered, but after I sat, Beck removed them. “Baked manicotti.”
“Is this Bella Luna?”
“Of course,” he said.
Their manicotti was to die for. I hadn’t had it in years.
“This is all pretty incredible. I’d have thought, with a forced night off, you’d want to get out of here. Especially with no electricity and all.”
“Just the opposite,” he said as I began to eat. “It felt like the appropriate place to talk. The start of what I hope to be an exciting future as O’Malley’s new owner.”
“I like it,” I admitted. “It almost makes me wish it was always like this. Maybe you should get rid of the lights and go for a ‘pre-electricity’ vibe.”
