“I thought you needed the sleep,” he said innocently.
“Don’t ever do that again.”
“Sorry.” He lifted his hands in a surrender gesture. “I didn’t mean anything by it.”
She looked out the window of her car. It was almost dark outside, and the flow of tourists had ebbed. “What time is it?”
“Dinnertime. Are you hungry?”
Hell yes, she was starving. Her stomach actually growled. “Yes, but we probably missed our chance to get a table at the Loon Feather. It’s busy this time of year.”
“You leave that to me.”
She took a long drink of water from a bottle she’d left in her cupholder. Feeling more awake, she started her car and headed toward the eastern shore of the lake, where the Loon Feather was located.
While she drove, Dominic called the restaurant.
A few murmured words later, he hung up and said, “We’re good.”
“Excuse me? Just like that?”
“It’s my superpower, babe. I can talk anyone into anything.”
Outside the car, the buildings of town gave way to tall pines. “Are you sure it wasn’t the British accent?”
“Pure magic, darling. You should try it.”
Yeah, that would go over well at the Blue Drake. She could just imagine her staff laughing their asses off at her first “bloody hell.”
“Well, you can drop the act when no one’s listening. It’s not going to work on me.”
“Are you deliberately trying to make that sound like a challenge? You know challenges turn me on.”
“Dom. Shut up, okay? At least until I get some food in me. Low blood sugar.”
Ten minutes later, Kendra steered into the parking lot of the Loon Feather Bistro. It was located on a wooded rise overlooking the lake, with a wide view of the lake and the sparkling lights of the town. It was too pricey for most locals, so the clientele tended to be tourists. Perfect for Dominic. Expensive restaurants were his natural habitat.
As soon as she parked, Dominic swung out of the car. He had a thing about opening car doors for his dates. She remembered how impressed she’d been the first time he’d done it. The perfect guy, she’d thought. How wrong she’d been.
She hated being wrong. It almost never happened. Was she wrong to be having dinner with him now? Was he going to manipulate her into something? Was she going to fall for it?
Ugh, she hated self-doubt. She didn’t like losing her confidence, but Dominic had a way of making that happen.
A sudden, fierce need to talk to her father came over her. She locked the door before Dominic could open it, and pressed Alvin’s number on her speed dial. Dominic tapped on the driver’s side door, but she held up a finger to hold him off.
As soon as her father answered, she realized that this was his jam session night. She heard laughing voices and guitar riffs in the background. Was Jason there? She listened for the deep brass tones of a trombone warming up, but didn’t hear anything like that.
“Hello? Kendra, is that you?”
The sound of his beloved voice grounded her. “Hey Pop. Sorry, I forgot it was your jazz night.”
“Are you okay, sweetheart?”
“Yeah, I just wanted to hear your voice.”
“Did that fire out there shake you up? I don’t want you to worry. I made sure we have the right fire insurance for Alvin’s. The first time Gault set his purple hat on fire in the kitchen, I doubled our coverage. You know what I told him? I said, it ain’t a literal stovepipe hat. I also told him to smoke longer cigars if he was going to light them on my burners.”
She smiled, even though she’d heard that anecdote a hundred times. “He was lucky to have you.”
“And he knew it. If he didn’t, I wouldn’t have stayed around. You know what I always say. Stick with the people who know your worth.”
She nodded along to that last piece of wisdom, which was another thing he’d repeated a thousand times. He believed that repetition was important. Your life isn’t about the big things, it’s all the little things added up, he’d say. Over and over.
“I love you, Pop,” she whispered.
The sounds behind him coalesced into an actual rhythm with a chord progression. The musicians were done warming up and ready to start jamming.
“I love you, too, sweet pea.”
“Wait, before you go, I have to tell you something.”
The sound in the background was drowning out their conversation. It was pointless to talk anymore, but she had to get all of this out, even if he couldn’t hear it.
“Remember I said that me and Dominic’s business didn’t work out? It was worse than that. He’s had me in limbo since we broke up. I thought he wanted me to buy him out, but now I don’t know what his game is.”
“What’s that, honey?”
The fact that her father couldn’t hear her over the music set her free to spill even more.
“Dominic just showed up and he wants something from me, and I don’t trust myself to do the right thing. Not about anything. Even Jason. I’m worried that Dominic messed me up so much that I can’t love anyone ever again.”
On the other end of the phone, the music swelled even louder.
“I can’t hear you, princess. I gotta go, they can’t play ‘Lakeside Blues’ without me.”
“I love you!” she said, squeezing it in before the call ended.
Her heart ached. She tucked her phone into her pocket and wiped off her sweaty hands.
Even a daddy’s girl reached a point where she had to figure out her own life.
Dominic was waiting for her outside, scrolling on his phone. Be practical, she told herself. At the least, she should find out what he wanted, what had inspired him to journey across an ocean and half a continent to see her. That was the logical thing to do.
Feeling more like herself, she touched up her lipstick—her favorite shade of red—and got out of the car.
“I wanted to open the door for you.” Dominic practically pouted that she’d done it herself.
“Of course, because that’s the kind of chivalrous thing men do after they’ve destroyed your business and sabotaged your next job.”
“You got your sass back. I guess you’re wide awake now.”
Behind him, light spilled from the Loon Feather Bistro’s windows. It occurred to her that the parking lot was emptier than usual. Looking around, she said, “Where is everyone?”
“There’s only one way to find out.” His smug expression told her he had something up his sleeve.
Sure enough, as soon as she stepped inside, she knew what he’d done. All the other guests had been seated in one section of the restaurant, leaving the best corner unoccupied, waiting for them. “You booked that entire section?”
“I set it up while you were napping.”
“And the phone call to book a table?”
“Fake. I wanted it to be a surprise. It’s a dramatic apology gesture.”
Manipulation. But a sweet one? She couldn’t decide. Damn it. She hated feeling indecisive.
“Come on.” He put a hand on her lower back, but she shook him off.
“I’ll listen to your apology, but don’t touch me.”