Chapter 10
Wednesday evening/Thursday morning.
Twenty minutes after she left Madeline’s that evening, Carole pulled up to the huge house in Hillman City. Lights gleamed in all the windows. Small solar lights lined the paver walk to the front porch. It was a beautiful house in a wealthy neighborhood. And Kent, the man who lived in this amazing house, seemed to be crazy about her.
Maybe her luck was changing. Maybe, eventually, she and Harper would move out of that crappy apartment and into this gorgeous place.
Smiling, she stepped out of her car and closed the door. Hurried up to Kent’s front door.
She’d barely pressed the doorbell before Kent opened the door. As if he couldn’t wait to see her.
“Hey, babe, come on in,” he said, holding the door open for her.
Once she was inside with the door closed, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her deeply. Passionately, as if he couldn’t get enough of her.
When he broke the kiss, he whispered, “I missed you, babe.”
“I missed you, too,” she said in a low voice, desire already moving through her. “I was so excited about seeing you tonight I could barely concentrate on my job.”
“Tell me about it,” he said, rubbing his hand down her back, then taking her hand to lead her up the stairs to his bedroom. “I didn’t get any work done tonight. All I could think about was you.”
“Mmmm,” she said as he led her into his sumptuous bedroom and began undressing her. She reached for his shirt and pulled it apart, sending buttons flying. For a moment he looked… annoyed, then his expression turned hungry.
“I want you just as much as you want me,” he whispered.
He finished stripping her and led her to his enormous bed. Ripped back the duvet and top sheet, then eased her down.
An hour later, wearing the robe he’d given her, she sat beside him in his bed, sipping Champagne. “Tell me about your evening,” he said. “Did everything go smoothly?”
Carole nodded as she drank the lush French Champagne. “No problems. Everyone showed up to work, and I made a good chunk of money in my extra tips.” She took another sip of her wine and frowned. “Everything went well, but that new busser I told you about? There’s something about him I don’t like.”
Kent shifted so he faced her. “What don’t you like about him? Is he mouthy? A lazy worker? Irresponsible?”
She shook her head slowly, knowing she had no reason to dislike Nico. But there was something about him that put her on edge. “None of those things. He’s just… I don’t know. He doesn’t look like a busser. He looks… he looks like a soldier. All muscly and fit. And smart.” She scowled. “Too smart, maybe. He watches everything that’s going on in the restaurant.”
“Whoa, babe,” Kent said, his voice playful, although there was an edge beneath it. “You interested in him?”
She set her glass on the night table beside her and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Of course not, Kent. Compared to you, he’s just a child. I haven’t been interested in anyone but you since the first time you walked into Madeline’s. He just… he gets on my last nerve.”
“You should fire him, then.” Kent shrugged and took another sip of his Champagne.
“I don’t have any valid reason for firing him.” She sighed. “I guess it pisses me off that Julia hired him without discussing it with me. I’m supposed to be in charge of hiring the bussers, but Julia said she’d just gotten his application and he’d worked at a number of restaurants. We were short a busser, so she hired him.
“The guy told me he wanted to work his way up to server. He works hard, he’s pleasant to the customers, and he’s respectful to me and to the servers. But there’s something about him I don’t like.”
Kent wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “You feel as if your authority was challenged when your boss hired him without consulting you. Of course you’re irritated. Upset.” He bent to kiss her neck. “Let it go, babe. You don’t want to rock the boat right now.”
Carole sighed, knowing Kent was right.
“Maybe he looks like a soldier because he just got out of the military,” her lover said. “Maybe he needed a job.”
Carole nodded slowly. “You’re right. I need to let this go.” It was stupid to fixate on Nico. “He does a good job,” Carole conceded. “He just moved to Seattle, so maybe he did just get out of the service. I’ll be nicer to him.”
“That’s smart,” Kent said, kissing her neck. “You’ve got a sweet gig going there at Madeline’s. Be a shame to screw it up for yourself.”
“You’re right, Kent.” She turned and curled around him. “Enough talking about Madeline’s. I’d rather be doing other things with you.”
He frowned. “You normally have to leave about now. What about your daughter?”