He smiled over at her. “Yes, usually. But tonight, they have a special reason for having it open.”
She lifted a brow. “What’s the special reason?”
“Our wedding.”
She stared at him, and then his words sank in. “You had them open the restaurant just for us?”
“Yes. So, honey, we have it all to ourselves.”
She was determined not to let his term of endearment go to her head. Instead, she sat up straight in her seat and looked out the windshield. The place was lit up, but there were only two cars in the huge parking lot. She glanced over at Jamison. “How did you arrange this?”
“I had connections. The owner is the brother of one of my clients back in L.A.”
“Oh.”
“I wanted to make the evening special.”
Although she parted her lips, she fought back the temptation to tell him that he had in ways he would never know. She broke eye contact with him and looked out the window again when he pulled up to the door for valet parking. As if on cue, a guy seemed to materialize from within the shadows. It seemed Jamison had thought of everything.
Within minutes, he was escorting her up the walkway to the entrance, where they were greeted by an older man with silver-gray hair and a huge smile. “Welcome to Arcana’s, and congratulations on your marriage.”
“Thanks, Lowery. And I would like you to meet my wife, Kendal Savoy.”
Kendal drew in a deep breath. Hearing Jamison introduce her as his wife did something to her insides, sent a funny feeling cascading through her stomach.
Kendal Savoy.
She remembered how at fourteen she would fancy that being her name one day.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Savoy, and welcome to Arcana’s,” Lowery said, offering her his hand.
“Thank you.”
“If the two of you will follow me, your table is ready.”
Kendal noticed the lights had been turned down, which gave the interior of the restaurant a warm, romantic feel. She knew she was probably imagining things since there was no reason for Jamison to set a mood of romance with her. It wasn’t that kind of party. He was merely being kind. And considerate. He had been married before, so it wasn’t a big deal to him. But he knew that, whether their marriage was real or not, it was her first and evidently he wanted her to remember some positive aspect of it.
And she would.
Jamison held out the chair for Kendal, and she glanced around. The walls and beams were all historic, probably dating back to the late seventeen hundreds, although the exterior had been given a face-lift in the eighteen hundreds. But the differences in era didn’t in any way clash. Instead, what they provided was a very interesting décor.
She glanced back at the table and the beautiful, huge candle in the shape of a rose. It was sitting in a bed of water and mimosa leaves. And when she glanced over at Jamison and caught him staring at her, she couldn’t help asking, “Is anything wrong?”
He smiled and shook his head. “No. Everything is just right. Perfect.”
She smiled back, unable to do anything else. He had that type of smile. It was engaging, inviting, not forced or restrained.
Lowery came and handed them menus while going over the list of wines, making a suggestion that they try a bottle from the Jules winery in California. Since it came highly recommended by Lowery, they went along with his suggestion.
“This place is beautiful.”
Jamison lifted a brow. “You’ve never been here before?”
Kendal shook her head. “No.”
Never could afford to,
she didn’t add. She’d always believed in living within her budget.
“Well, I’m glad I brought you here.”
She was glad, too. And to think he had arranged this entire evening just for them. Jamison broke eye contact with Kendal to glance down at his menu, and she knew she should do the same. It didn’t take her long to conclude that all the dishes were too rich for her, but she decided to break her “only salad” rule and get something she could really sink her teeth into. She figured she would walk it off at Busch Gardens tomorrow.
“So, are you looking forward to our trip tomorrow?” she glanced up to ask Jamison.
He looked back up at her, and she thought he had the most arresting hazel eyes. She remembered when she was younger and he would come over to her house with Conley, how she would find any excuse to hang around just to stare into them.
“Yes. What about you?”
“Don’t have much choice. I think the girls will wear us out this weekend.”
Jamison chuckled. “I know they will wear me out. I’m used to one, but two…”
Kendal grinned. “It’s going to be fun.”
“Yes, it will be.”
At that moment, Lowery returned with their wine.
***
Jamison sighed in contentment the moment he bit into his steak. This had to be the best he’d ever tasted. He glanced over at Kendal’s plate and was glad she’d ordered something other than a salad. She had ordered baked chicken with stuffed mushrooms and chinaberry peas.
“Have you told Carr yet that she’s moving?” he asked. His home sat on two acres of land in a gated community. And since it was nearly four times the size of her condo, with a huge yard and what almost looked like an Olympic-sized pool as well as an area set up like a kid’s private playground with every kind of fun equipment imaginable, they had decided to live at his place. Already his younger twin cousins, Laya and Maya, who’d graduated from high school this past June, had expressed an interest.
“Yes, she’s excited and was ready to move in this week,” Kendal said. “I calmed her down and told her we would pack and move after we returned from Busch Gardens. I think the swimming pool was a big boost, and the playground in the backyard was hard to pass up as well.”
She paused a moment and then asked, “Have you told Kia?”
“Yes, and she’s ready. I think it would be nice if Carr has her own bedroom, but Kia is not having any of that. She’s insisting that Carr stay in her room with her.”
“And Carr wants to be Kia’s roommate as well.”
Jamison wiped his mouth. “Let’s see how long that’s going to last. Kia has never had to share before, and the few times she tried, I hate to admit, she wasn’t good at it.”
“That’s fine, and I think the girls will get along beautifully if this week is anything to go by.”
He agreed and then decided to ask her the question he had put off asking her all week, but considering they were man and wife it was time for them to discuss it. “And what about us, Kendal? Have you come up with any ideas about how we’re going to handle our sleeping arrangements?”
Jamison watched Kendal nibble on her bottom lip and thought it was the most sensuous thing he’d seen in a long time. Watching her mouth reminded him of how good it had tasted when he’d kissed her. He would have kept on going if he hadn’t needed to come up for air. He was sure of it.
She wiped those lips with her napkin and then took a sip of her wine. Jamison watched the entire thing and enjoyed doing so. “Yes, I’ve come up with a plan,” Kendal said, looking at him with a tentative smile on the corners of her lips. I got the idea from a cruise I went on a couple of years ago with a girlfriend.”
“I hope you’re not going to suggest bunk beds,” he said.
She shook her head and grinned. “No. But when we got to our cabin, we saw there was one big bed, and we called guest services to let them know they’d made a mistake. We thought we would be given another cabin, but a few moments later, a guy came and merely pulled the beds apart, turning a single king bed into two double beds.”
He got the picture. “And you’re suggesting that we share the bedroom but not the bed?”
“Exactly.”
She said it like she assumed doing so would be a piece of cake. He had news for her. It wouldn’t be. He was attracted to her and had tried fighting that attraction since she’d walked into Parker’s that day to join him for lunch and discuss the aspects of her ad. Kendal Fischer was a very attractive woman with a beautiful face and a curvy and voluptuous body. And that was with clothes on. Lately, he’d been thinking about her with clothes off. She looked soft, feminine, and very, very luscious, even without trying. Whether she knew it or not, she had the ability to emit a very sexy effect.
“The beds will be apart; however, if we have guests, it will be easy to slide them together to make them into one big bed.”
“And you’re okay with us sharing a bedroom?” he asked to make sure.
“Yes, I’m okay with it.”
He rested his chin on his hands, studied her a moment, and then asked, “And what happens if I can’t help myself?”
She lifted a perfectly arched brow. “Help yourself from what?”
“You.”
She stared at him a second before bursting out laughing and waving off his words. “Can’t help yourself from me? Please. Don’t insult my intelligence.”
He didn’t say anything as he continued to look at her. Her words let him know that she still didn’t think she met his standards. If only she knew how wrong she was. “I won’t insult your intelligence.”
“Thanks.”
He decided not to push it. She would discover soon enough just how much he would love to help himself to her.
“Okay girls, wait up. Don’t get too far ahead.”
Kendal let out a deep sigh as she kept her gaze sharp on the two little girls who were holding hands and skipping toward the next ride. She glanced at the man walking beside her and knew his eyes were glued to the girls as well. They had agreed to let Carr and Kia enjoy themselves without overcrowding them, but they were watching like hawks to keep the girls safe.
“How about if we sit this one out?” Jamison leaned over to whisper in Kendal’s ear. “There’s a bench where we can sit and keep an eye on them while they’re on the ride.”
He didn’t know how much Kendal appreciated that suggestion. Although she was wearing good walking shoes, her feet were killing her. “All right.”
“Girls, come back here,” Jamison called out. Kendal watched when the girls stopped skipping, turned, and began walking back to them while still holding hands.
“Yes, Daddy?”
“Yes, Uncle J?”
The girls responded simultaneously. To keep it simple, Carr would call Jamison “Uncle J,” and Kia would call Kendal “Aunt K,” just as Carr did. “Kendal and I are going to sit right over there,” Jamison was saying. “When the ride is over, come to us, okay?”
The girls nodded excitedly while smiling. They were about to get on an amusement ride by themselves. Kendal knew they were probably thinking that since they would be riding all by themselves, they were considered big girls. And in their little minds, that was a big thing.
Kendal and Jamison sat on the bench and watched the girls race over to the go-carts. “I think they’re having fun,” she leaned close to Jamison and said.
“I know they’re having fun. Hell, they’re about to wear me out, and I got a good night’s sleep anticipating today.”
Kendal nodded, glad he’d gotten a good night’s sleep, because she hadn’t. He had stayed over at her place last night, since the painters hadn’t finished repainting his kitchen. The girls had stayed overnight with Gramma Thelma, who was one of the only persons who knew about the marriage. Kendal and Jamison had called their parents and told them but didn’t hang on the phone long enough for questions. And because there was no one around for them to pretend, Jamison had slept in Carr’s room last night.
“Just so you know,” he broke into her thoughts and said. “I got a couple of calls already. The word is out about our marriage, so I expect a posse of Savoys ready to hang us when we get back for not telling them. Do you think they’ll believe our story?”
She shrugged. “I don’t see why not. Your grandmother did.”
No she didn’t,
Jamison decided not to say. He knew for a fact that his grandmother had not believed a word of the lie they’d put together about why they got married. He knew his grandmother. Others might believe the story that when he got back to town he’d run into Kendal a few times and had taken her out and quickly decided he was madly in love with her. But since Thelma Savoy was the only person he’d had a long and deep conversation with about his marriage and just how bitter Vonetta’s deceit had left him and that under no circumstances would he ever marry again, his grandmother had to be wondering why he’d gone back on his word.
He’d seen the way she had studied him and Kendal, and she had even pulled him aside when Kendal had left the room to get the girls settled with cookies and milk in the kitchen. Gramma Thelma had said, “If you love Kendal as much as you claim, then maybe you need to learn how to touch her more. You know, show more affection. The two of you act more like friends than husband and wife.”
He glanced over at Kendal. She had her laser-sharp eyes on the girls, who were in the go-carts. So he decided to place his laser-sharp eyes on her. She was wearing a pair of buttercup-colored denim capris that coordinated well with her floral printed tunic tank top. Even though today was a scorcher, she looked cool and refreshed with not one strand of hair out of place.