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“Nice...to...uh, meet you,” Danni finally got out. “I’m...so...uh, so honored.”
A quick glance at Jaleen proved he was amused by the situation. “Artemela, Danni isn’t aware of everything we’re doing today and I’d like to keep it that way.”
“Oh, I love surprises,” Artemela said, clasping her hands together. “We have to open the restaurant, but I have the perfect spot for you.”
Danni and Jaleen followed her to the rooftop where there sat a table in the corner with the perfect view of Little Havana. Two mimosas were waiting for them and a plate of spinach empanadas.
“Enjoy this appetizer while I get to work in the kitchen. Carlos will come check on you soon and I’ll be back up later.” After they both thanked Artemela, Danni was finally able to soak in what had just happened.
“Oh, my goodness, I can’t believe I just hugged Artemela Rojas. She’s legendary here in Miami. I knew she had some signature vegetarian dishes because I’ve followed her recipes for years, but this is beyond unbelievable.”
“She’s one of your favorite chefs, right? You used to watch her shows on television.”
How did he know that? “Yes, she’s one of my favorite chefs.” She shook her head in disbelief. “I really have no idea how you knew that... I don’t think I’ve ever talked about her before.”
Jaleen took a sip of his mimosa, never breaking eye contact. “Do you remember the time we were at Ajay and Autumn’s house discussing their wedding plans right after they got engaged?”
“Of course,” she said, taking a sip of her mimosa, as well. “Winter and Taheim were trying to convince them to have a big wedding. But they were both insistent on not having an elaborate wedding.”
“Exactly. We spent all night trying to dwindle down their wedding list to under one hundred people.”
“Which was almost impossible,” Danni said. “We decided to shelve that conversation for later.”
Jaleen nodded his head in agreement. “So we all went to Ajay and Autumn’s living room to watch a basketball game that was on and you offered to wash dishes in the kitchen. I eventually went to the kitchen to help and you were watching reruns of Artemela’s show and unloading a bag full of groceries.”
“Oh, right,” she said, taken aback that he remembered. “When I was picking up food for the wedding planning session, I had picked up ingredients for a new dish that Artemela was making on the rerun that aired that night. You asked me if I loved cooking shows and I told you—”
“Only if it’s an Artemela Rojas cooking show,” Jaleen finished. “I wanted to tell you then that I knew her, but I was too wrapped up in observing your behavior.”
She looked into his eyes, trying to process everything he was saying. “And what did you see that night? After observing me?”
He slightly squinted. “I’m not sure you want to know.”
“Oh, come on,” she said, playfully hitting his arm. “Now I’m curious. You have to tell me.”
He didn’t say anything for a few moments and she feared that he’d never tell her what he’d observed that day.
“I noticed a couple things,” he finally said. “But the most important was the way your eyes lit up after you finished creating the dish. It couldn’t have taken you any longer than thirty minutes, yet the way your eyes gleamed with excitement, you would have thought the dish had taken hours to complete.”
She swallowed the sudden lump in her throat, determined to maintain eye contact. “You watched me for the entire thirty minutes?”
He gave her a sheepish grin as he shifted in his seat. “If I say I watched you for longer than that, would it creep you out?”
It doesn’t, but maybe it should. “It actually creeps me out more that I didn’t notice you watching me. I guess I’m more passionate about those cooking shows than I realized.”
“I have a feeling that you’re passionate about a lot more than cooking shows,” Jaleen said in a low voice. “But don’t worry. I plan on finding out just how deep that passion goes.”
* * *
The five-course vegetarian meal that Artemela had prepared had been everything Jaleen had hoped it would be. With each course, Danni’s eyes had lit up more and more. After the meal, he’d taken her to his favorite gelato place in Miami. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had so much fun on a date. He glanced over at the woman who was responsible for one of the most carefree and enjoyable dates he’d ever had.
“So what’s next?” she asked excitedly. “I’m not sure I can eat much more food, but I’d like to try.” The sun was setting, which meant it was the perfect time to execute the last part of their first date. He hadn’t had a chance to talk to Danni about the bucket list she’d mentioned to him months ago, but he didn’t need to bring it up during this date. He knew at least one item on the list, but he was hoping his next suggestion would be something off her list. He’d be able to tell based on her facial expressions.
“I have a question for you before we do the last thing. Have you ever snuck onto a tour bus or into a concert?”
She looked at him inquisitively. “That’s a strange question. I guess, no, I’ve never done either one.”
“Have you ever thought about doing anything like that? Breaking the rules by sneaking into someplace you didn’t belong?” He studied the way her eyebrows rose before she smiled.
“Actually, I have always wanted to sneak into a movie theater. You know, pay for one movie and then when it’s over, sneak into another.”
Perfect. “Well, luckily for you, that’s exactly what I had planned.” He grabbed her hand and led her to a local movie theater that only played two movies a night. Sneaking into a movie theater this small would definitely give them a rush and, if his plan worked, the item he’d placed earlier would still be waiting in the larger theater.
“Did you really have to pick the smallest theater in Miami?” Danni said as they approached the side door. “What if we get caught?”
“All they can do is kick us out,” Jaleen said as they hid between the theater and another building. “Around this time, an employee should come out here to dump the trash. If it’s the same guy who has worked the last couple nights, he’ll prop open the door, so that’s our window to rush in.”
“Are you insane?” Danni whispered, looking over her shoulder at the people in the distance. “You promised me a fantasy date, not an illegal date.”
“Being fed by your favorite chef was a fantasy. Besides, sneaking into an eight-dollar movie isn’t that big of a deal. We’ll be fine.”
On cue, the door was propped open and the employee went to take out the garbage. “Showtime,” Jaleen said as they sneaked through the door and hid in a darkened corner. Once the employee closed the door and went back to work, Jaleen held Danni close as they made their way to the movie theater. When they were in the clear, they blended in with the crowd in the lobby.
“See, that wasn’t so bad, right?” he asked.
“I guess not, but that was still nerve-racking.”
“Excuse me, sir,” a voice said from behind them. Jaleen watched Danni’s eyes widen in fear.
“May I help you?” Jaleen asked as he turned around. He held Danni’s hand, trying to ease her nerves.
“Can you take our picture?” the man asked as he and his companion pointed to a life-size advertisement for an upcoming movie.
Danni loosened her grip on his arm.
“Sure.” After snapping a few photos, he led Danni to the top corner of the movie theater. Luckily, no one had taken the seats nearest a wall fixture even though the movie was going to start soon. He lifted his hand to grab the bag he’d placed there.
“What are you doing?” she whispered.
“Getting this,” he said as he sat next to her and untied the bag of cheese-and-caramel popcorn. “I figured you may miss Garrett’s popcorn from Chicago, so I brought some down with me and hid a bag in this theater for us.”
She shook her head in disbelief. “I can’t express how much you’ve surprised me today,” Danni said, accepting the bag he handed her. “And, yes, I’ve missed Garrett’s since I’ve been here.”
She was still looking into his eyes as the movie started. He couldn’t read every emotion, but he read the most prominent one...gratitude.
I wish I could see this look in her eyes every day.
He tried to ignore the voice in the back of his mind but as she curled into his arm and dug into her popcorn, it was the only thought that remained.
Chapter 5
“JW, I’ll be in Chicago in a couple weeks. Can it wait until then?”
“No, this meeting can’t wait. First, you spend four months in Europe—”
“Which you agreed upon,” Jaleen interrupted. Getting a call from his father early in the morning was never a good sign.
“I agreed to a month so that you could clear your mind. Not almost half of a year so you could frolic with European women.”
Jaleen ran a frustrated hand down his face as he stared out into the ocean. His first instinct had been to ignore his father’s call. He wished he’d followed his first mind.
When he’d initially decided to rent the luxury Miami penthouse on the eleventh floor, he was hoping it would bring more privacy than his massive Chicago penthouse because his family couldn’t bother him in Miami like they did in Chicago. Too bad they’d followed him here. Ever since he’d arrived in Miami, he’d received daily at least two phone calls from either his father, uncle or brothers.
“I did not spend my time in Europe frolicking with women. But, okay, if it’s so important that we meet this week, I’ll fly out first thing in the morning.”
“Good decision,” his father said right before he heard the dial tone.
“Nice chatting with you, too, JW,” Jaleen said to himself as he slipped his phone in the pocket of his jogging pants. The only good thing about waking up early on a much-needed day off was getting a chance to see the sun rise. It would be nice if Danni were seeing this with me. He wasn’t surprised at the thought. The date they’d had a few days ago had gone better than he’d expected. So good that he couldn’t wait to see her again.
He was hoping he could take Danni on their second date this weekend, however, with the unexpected meeting his father had called, he doubted there would be time. Unless we have a slight change of plans and she comes with me. He wondered if a sudden trip to Chicago would be something she’d be interested in. Even if she was interested, he wasn’t sure she could get away from Bare Sophistication for the weekend.
Jaleen took his phone out of his pocket and dialed Danni’s number. He smiled the minute her honeyed voice reached his ears.
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