AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh, no.” Janie glanced between them. “I’d actually like to go home and nap. I’m really tired.”
“Why don’t you take my car?” Macy walked back to her chair and retrieved her car keys from her purse. “Danny can give me a ride home after lunch?”
“Of course,” he said, thinking of just how badly he wanted to give her a ride.
Chess returned from making her call, and they waited together for the elevator. On the ride down, he chatted with Chess, and Macy and Janie made a short grocery list. After they split up, he led Macy to his truck and opened the passenger door for her.
“How very gallant of you,” she teased with a smile that made his heart melt.
Giving in to the desire to feel her lips again, he captured her mouth in a chaste kiss. He felt the way she leaned into him, clearly wanting more, but he kept it sweet and short. For now. He trailed his fingertips down her cheek. There were so many things he wanted tosay, so many tender words he wanted to say, but it felt wrong here, in a parking lot outside a law firm.
“Do you like Greek food?” he asked instead.
She seemed a bit startled by the shift. “Yes.”
“Good.” He stepped back. “I know the perfect café.”
Twenty minutes later, they were seated in a corner table. He had a good view of the entrance and the patio exit. The habits Kostya had drilled into him from an early age made it impossible to relax even on a date. The city was quiet these days, and the underworld disputes were mostly petty turf disagreements. Still, he had been in the mafia long enough to know peace never lasted.
“I can’t decide between the kebab or gyro. Do you want to share?” Macy asked, glancing up from her menu.
“Sure.” The little Mediterranean café was one of his favorite places, but the plates were huge and the servings oversized. “Let’s do both. Do you want an appetizer?”
“Hummus?” she asked and set aside her menu.
He nodded and caught the eye of the waitress who had been serving a nearby table. After placing their order, he handed back the menus and caught Macy looking at the gift bag he had carried into the restaurant. He was rather proud of himself for managing to make it look nice. Indulgently, he gently pushed the kraft paper bag toward her. “Go ahead. It’s a little something I found on my trip.”
Her face lit up with excitement as she grabbed the bag and began to remove the tufts of pink tissue paper dotted with metallic hearts. She reached into the bag and withdrew the two wooden boxes he had hidden inside. Each box was handmade. One was decorated with a wood burned image from a tarot cover. The other was painted with a pleasant Celtic motif.
“Danny! They're beautiful.” She traced her finger over the soft green paint. “Handmade?”
“Yes. I saw them at an outdoor market. The husband makes the boxes, and the wife makes the cards.”
“Cards?”
“Open the boxes.” He wanted to see her reaction.
She unlatched the painted box and gasped. “Danny!”
“The lady who makes them says they’re meant to be used.” Danny watched as she pulled the tarot cards from the box and began to flip through them in awe.
“They’re so lovely.” She expertly shuffled the deck and then grinned at him. “You want a reading?”
“Uh.” He nervously laughed.
She cocked her head and narrowed her green eyes playfully. “Are you afraid the spirits will tell me all your secrets?”
“Baby, if the spirits attached to those cards can unearth those secrets, I’ll be taking that gift back and giving it to Kostya.” He noticed the waitress coming toward them with drinks and their appetizer. “It would make all of our lives a whole lot easier.”
Macy returned her cards to the box and then placed the boxes into the bag. After the waitress left their table, she said, “You called me baby.”
“Did I?” It had come out so naturally he hadn’t even realized it. “Do you mind?”
“No.” She blushed. “I just...” She seemed very focused on the pita she was tearing into smaller pieces. “I don’t know what we are, Danny.”
“What we are?” He stole one of the pita pieces from the neat pile she had made and dragged it through the hummus.
“Are we together?” She couldn’t meet his gaze, and her cheeks were redder than the bell pepper sticks on the plate. “Are we dating? What are we doing?”
