Twenty minutes later, I appeared in the kitchen doorway in a navy blue and white polka dot sundress and white sandals looking a million times better than I had a short while before. Twirling to show off my look, I smiled at Eric as he stood at the counter eating one of my sugar cookies.
"Better?"
"You clean up nice, Maddie," he joked as he took the last bite of cookie into his mouth.
"I thought you didn't like sweets."
Eric looked at the nearly empty plate of cookies and shrugged before looking back at me. "I never have. It's strange. Your creations make me want to eat more too."
"Good. It's the secret ingredient, you know."
He walked up to me and kissed me sweetly on the lips. "Tender loving care, right?"
"Uh-huh. That's it."
"Ready to go get something to eat?"
"Sure, but you've already had dessert. Where are we going?" I asked as he took my hand and began pulling me toward the front door.
"I thought I'd take you to the restaurant. We don't open until five tonight, so we'll have a quiet dinner alone, just the two of us, and you'll get to see my business."
Taking me to his workplace seemed like a big step, and even though I wasn't sure we were ready for that, I simply smiled and followed him out to his car, a red Porsche waiting for us in the driveway.
"Nice car. I guess the house isn't the only stunning thing you have," I mumbled as he opened the passenger door for me.
"No, it's not. I like surrounding myself with beautiful things," he answered with a sexy smile.
As I waited for him to come around the back of the car and get in, I wondered if I was one of those beautiful things he surrounded himself with.
Eric's restaurant,The Cask Room, was located just a few miles from his house. He'd mentioned on the drive there that the building used to be a saloon before Prohibition and was turned into a restaurant while alcohol was illegal, even though the back room with its hidden door to a separate secret room showed that the owners hadn't been the most lawful and upstanding citizens. The restaurant closed sometime in the 1970s, and the building stayed vacant until he and his friend Jack bought it for next to nothing and set about entirely redecorating the place so it could be an upscale restaurant.
As soon as we walked through the front door, my mouth dropped open at how impressive the inside was compared to the very ordinary brick outside of the building. Decorated in art deco style with its large geometric designs and lots of glass and stainless steel, The Cask Room looked like something straight out of a Hollywood movie set.
He turned to look at me and smiled. "It's pretty nice, isn't it? Jack and I couldn't agree on anything the designer suggested until she showed us this. I don't know if I'd want a whole house in art deco, but it works here."
I swiveled my head back and forth looking at the gold and crystal chandelier on the ceiling and the enormous light sculpture in the corner of the room that reminded me of the Chrysler building.
"It's stunning. I feel underdressed for this, though," I sheepishly admitted, even though he only wore black dress pants and a forest green button down shirt with no tie.
"Let's go to the back room. I told my staff that's where we'll have our meal so when the restaurant opens, we'll still have privacy."
He took my hand in his again and led me through the restaurant as I tried to see everything going by so quickly. We walked through a doorway to a small hallway and then the art deco style disappeared and we were standing in a much smaller room. Gone were the glass and stainless steel, and in their place were dark wood floors and walls with dimmed lights scattered around the room to give the place a secluded feel.
"The bootleggers supposedly did their illegal business right out of this part of the building," he explained as he led me to one of the four tables in the room.
"What do you use this room for now, other than intimate dinners?" I asked, impressed by how different this part of the restaurant looked compared to the other room.
"We do private parties here, and when it's not in use, it's where Jack and I sit at the end of the night and relax after a long day of the restaurant business."
Eric waved to a woman standing near the door, and moments later, two males began to serve us our meals. First came a salad with a dressing like I'd never tasted before. I didn't want to ask what it was and look stupid, but I was sure I tasted citrus and maybe sage. Eric and I said little as we ate, and I saw that what he said about himself was true. He didn't talk much, but I liked just sitting there with him.
A short time later, the servers brought out our meals of steak medallions with mushrooms, grilled lemon asparagus, and roasted garlic potatoes along with a cabernet better than any wine I'd ever had before. One bite of the meal and I thought I’d died and had been transported to heaven. The food tasted like nothing I'd ever eaten. No wonder he rarely ate at home. I wouldn't have eaten anywhere but the restaurant with food like this.
As I enjoyed the superb meal, I secretly felt a twinge of embarrassment. Eric was used to the finest food available, and I'd screwed up the very basic lasagna I'd tried to make. Even my desserts were nothing compared to what they probably had there.
"Is everything okay? You don't look like you're enjoying your meal, Maddie."
The look of concern in his eyes told me he likely hadn't thought about how inadequate my culinary offerings were, so I forced myself to smile. "No, it's wonderful. I can't say when I've had a more delicious meal. It's all wonderful. Thank you."