A Reckless Note

Chapter Fourteen

I follow Alexander to a small table still in view of Kace and Crystal, where we sit down. "Can I buy you a drink?" he asks.

"No, thank you," I say. "I've had my share. I'd rather talk about wine than drink it or anything else right now." I glance left as Mark and a several others join Crystal and Kace.

"He's not what he seems," Alexander says, obviously catching my quick look in that direction or maybe it's more about whatever Kace said to him.

"And neither are you," I rebut, not about to start dissecting people for being something they don't seem when I'm not what I seem, either. "Ed says you know him."

"I do," he agrees, and when the waitress joins us, he pauses to order a whiskey before glancing at me. "You sure you don't want anything?"

"Not if you want to actually talk, but again, thank you."

He nods and even before the waitress leaves us alone again, his gaze lands heavily on me. "I want something from Ed. We have a deep history. You're caught in the crossfire."

This, I know immediately, is bad news for me and my sale. I already see it coming. "We aren't getting that wine Ed wants, are we?"

"No, but I came with a peace offering." He reaches into his jacket and hands me a notecard. "Bottles I want. I'll pay you five percent more than he does in commission."

Suspicion flares hard and fast. "Why?"

"Because I'm not the asshole you think I am. Because I know this is how you make your living and I sincerely feel bad that you're stuck in the crossfire."

I'm not that easily sold and I make sure he knows. "In exchange for what?"

"Nothing at all. Do I want to take you to dinner? Yes. But this deal is not contingent on you saying yes, now or ever. I like my wines. You're obviously resourceful. This is quid pro quo in a strictly business sense. What do you say?"

I grab the list and scan the bottles he's listed. It's a big list and while I don't know many of the bottles by name, I have no doubt they're all high-dollar.

"I'm not the bad guy here," he adds. "I'm not. Ed—" he cuts his stare and then glances back at me, "it's personal. Really, deeply personal between he and I."

There's a cut of emotion—of loss, I think—in his stare and with it, a shift in how I feel about this man. I don't ask for details. I long ago learned that when I ask intimate questions of someone, they then ask intimate questions of me. "And you think buying the wines before he does beats him?"

"No. No, I don't." He doesn't offer more, but he doesn't have to. I get it.

"It's part of a bigger plan," I say.

"Possibly," he replies noncommittally.

I glance down at the list again and back up at him. "You want me to work for you so I won't work for him?"

"I'm not asking you to drop him as a customer."

"But you'll outbid him."

"All's fair in love and war, but I'm not big on innocent victims. I want you to make the money back he promised you."

Maybe he means that. Maybe he doesn't. I don't know. What I do know is that I recognize in him something I should have recognized in Gio six weeks back: a hunger for revenge. I'm just not sure why that flared in my brother now, after all this time. Sofia, I think. This has something to do with Sofia. "Do you know a Sofia?"

"Sofia? No. Should I? Who is she?"

"Someone my brother mentioned having a lot of hot tips for hard-to-find items." It's my turn to offer nothing more. I return to his request. My first inclination is to decline his offer, but I also need money to find my brother. I indicate his list in my hand. "I'll think about it." And with that, I stand up and grab my purse.

I glance at the table where Crystal and Mark sit in deep conversation with Kace. His arm is around her and he nuzzles her neck. She cups his face and there is this connection between them I can't explain, a deep burning bond. My chest tightens with the idea that I've never allowed myself the chance to experience that kind of bond.

Kace's gaze suddenly shifts and lands on me, and I swear there is a punch between us, an awareness that defies every lost moment. Alexander steps to my side. "Can I give you a ride home?"

I rotate away from Kace to Alexander. "No thanks. I've got it covered."

"Well then, I'll just go say hello to Mark." He winks. "And Kace."

I'm not sure what that's all about, but I don't stay to find out. I walk toward the door, punch in a call for an Uber that's only two minutes away, even as the hostess grabs my coat for me. Bundled up, I step into a chilly night that reminds me that the holidays are coming and I can't live through them without Gio.

My car is already pulling up to the curb and I chide myself for the hollow feeling of another encounter with Kace that ends just like this, with me on my own, and no promise of more. I have no business being involved with that man. None. Zero. I hurry toward the black sedan and I've just opened the door when I hear, "Aria!"

At the sound of Kace's voice, my heart leaps, and my belly burns. I turn to find him running toward me, and now my heart is fluttering rapidly. It's cold and he's didn't bother with his coat, his thin T-shirt, no match for the chill. This tells me that he ran after me. He didn't let me go. He didn't let me go. I lean in and speak to the driver. "Give me a minute. I'll add an extra tip."

He nods and I turn as Kace steps in front of me, his hand settling on the top of the door, successfully caging me between his big body and the car.

"I thought you'd come back by the table," he says.

"I didn't want to intrude."

"Alexander is intruding. You wouldn't have. And—about Alexander."

That statement is a stab of reality. He's not here for me. He's here because of some battle between the two of them. "What about him?"

"He's got an agenda."

I bristle, embarrassment heating my cheeks. I actually thought he came out here for me. And I don't understand this man or what game he's playing. "What about you, Kace? Do you have an agenda?"

His eyes darken, burn, heat. His gaze lowers to my mouth and lingers before it lifts. "Yes. I do." And before I know his intent, he's stepped into me, tangling fingers into my hair and leaning in close, his breath a warm fan on my lips and cheek. "This," he murmurs. "I've wanted to do this every damn second I've been with you."

Instantly I'm melting like chocolate under the hot sun for this man and doing it in the middle of a cold October wind. I sink into him, his hard body absorbing mine. And then he's kissing me, his tongue licking against my tongue, a delicious caress that tastes of passion and hunger. His hand slides up my back, molding me closer, possession in that touch that should scare me, but it doesn't. I'm lost in the intensity of my need for this man, a stranger I should resist, but I can't remember why. Why was I supposed to resist?

A horn honks, and Kace pulls back. "You are my only agenda," he says. "Don't forget that." And then he's setting me away from him, leaving me cold where I was hot only moments before. "Good night, Aria." He turns and walks away, leaving me panting and stunned.

What just happened?

"You coming, miss?" the driver calls out.

"Yes," I say. "Yes. I'm coming." I climb in the car and shut myself inside.

I'm still loose-limbed and melting for Kace, and yet, he's gone. He still didn't even ask for my number. He didn't try to see me again. I don't understand. I touch my swollen lips and replay his words. You are my only agenda. Don't forget that.

I don't know what that means, but next time, I will resist.

If there's even a next time.