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“Sure.” He shrugged. “I wouldn’t mind doing that. Hey, are you leaving now?”
I was already out of my seat and collecting the plates. “Yeah, I’ll just drop these off at the sink, and then I’ve got to go.”
Gio took the plates from my hand. “I’ll take care of that. You going to Espo 2?”
I shot him a look. “I’m going to her,” I said.
He bowed his head with a smile. When he raised his eyes again, he was wearing a thoroughly amused expression. “This is it for you, isn’t it?”
“Yup. I just hope she feels the same way about me.”
He nodded thoughtfully. “Speak from the heart, Dom. Don’t hold back.”
“I won’t. Not anymore.”
As I left Espo 1, I checked my phone again, but Melanie still hadn’t answered my text from this morning. It didn’t make a difference at this point. I was going to her whether she was ready or not.
By the time I was standing underneath Espo 2’s sign, I was nervous. I planned to take Gio’s advice without reservation. I wouldn’t hold back. There were no guarantees Melanie would even want to hear what I had to say. If she needed time, then I’d give her time. But what I hoped she needed was to fall into my arms and let me carry her off into the sunset.
Patsy was at the hostess desk. When I walked through the door, she started to say something that would herald my arrival, but I put a finger to my lips. She was bewildered, but she didn’t utter a word.
Melanie hadn’t seen me yet. The dining room was about two-thirds full, and she was circulating, chatting with customers and offering recommendations. She wasn’t dressed up today. No power suit or cute skirt, just an Esposito’s T-shirt and a pair of jeans. I watched her, drinking in every bend in her movements, every curve of her body. As much as I appreciated the sophisticated look when she was dressed to the nines, I loved her even more like this; casual and smiling and perfectly at ease.
She laughed at something said at a table of young professional women she’d stopped to talk to. Then as she tossed her ponytail over her shoulder, she happened to glance in my direction. Her eyes widened when she saw me standing ten feet away and staring right at her. All day I had been telling myself that as soon as I looked into her eyes, I’d know whether I had a chance to keep her. As I studied her face, I knew I’d been right.
It was one of those motion-picture moments where sound and people fell away. Esposito’s and everyone in it were suddenly irrelevant. There were no tables or chairs or pizzas being carried around on aluminum trays. There was no one and nothing but Melanie.
I took a step in her direction, and she did the same. She was tense, I could tell. She glanced at the floor and briefly pressed her lips together as we came face-to-face. I wanted to give her the opportunity to speak first, so I waited.
“How was your trip?” she asked.
“Short,” I said. “I did what I needed to do, though.”
I’d tell her the rest later. The past wasn’t part of this conversation. This was just about us.
Melanie cleared her throat, glanced around, and then leaned in, speaking in a low voice. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize my phone had died. I had to borrow a charger to plug it in, and I only saw your text a few minutes ago.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said, relieved that she hadn’t been ignoring me. “I’m here now.”
She nodded absently. “I see that.” She backed up and started talking in a crisp tone. “Well, the first thing you should know is that the freezer’s acting up again, so you might want to go back there and—”
“I don’t give a damn,” I said, cutting her off brusquely.
Her brows furrowed. “What do you mean you don’t give a damn?”
“Right now I don’t give a damn about the freezer or the restaurant or all the rules of etiquette that I’m about to break.”
She put her hands on her hips. “Are you going to share with me what you do give a damn about, Dominic?”
I reached for her and cupped her sweet face in my hands. More than anything I wanted to wake up to her face every morning and then spend my day trying to give her reasons to smile.
“You,” I said. “Melanie, sometimes I’m a clueless, overbearing jackass.”
She was confused, but she didn’t pull away. “Do you want me to argue with you?”
“No, I don’t want you to argue with me, at least not right now.” I paused and swallowed. “But I swear I’ll worship you every single day if you let me.”
A blush colored her cheeks, and she glanced round to see who was watching. Everyone was. We were standing in the middle of the dining room with customers and staff scattered around. They were all far more interested in the live entertainment than in the food.
