“Not even a little,” I muttered with my head in my hands.
“Well, my mother always said a hot meal and a sweet dessert helps the heart heal faster.”
“How did you…”
He stepped closer. “Call it intuition.” He smiled knowingly.
After he left, I dove into the amazing fig and prosciutto pizzettes, and if I had been totally alone, I would have licked the plate. My glass was never empty, and once my dinner was finished and I’d settled back in my chair, a lovely glass plate of tiramisu was placed in front of me. I took the first taste, and before I knew it, I had eaten the whole thing. It was to die for.
Zack refused my money, and in spite of my protests, he sent me on my way. He said family was everything and that I was family. How could a complete stranger be so kind?
I sent a quick text off to Dell and headed for the door. Just as I was about to step outside, I saw an older woman with her shoulders hunched over sitting on the side of the room. She looked beyond finished. When she sniffed, I pulled out my package of tissues and handed them to her.
“Oh,” her bloodshot eyes found mine, “thank you, dear.”
“Of course.” She went to hand the package back to me, but I shook my head. “I have more.”
She dried her eyes, took a deep breath, and brushed her sandy blonde hair off her shoulders. “I never knew a person could cry this much.”
I could tell she needed someone to talk to, but I knew Dell would arrive any minute, and I needed to go.
“I hope your evening gets better.” I sent her the best warm smile I had in me, and that seemed to help her a little, because she matched it with an attempt at a smile and a nod.
I hurried up the street to where I had agreed to meet Dell. The wind whipped my hair and blocked my view as I placed my bags in the giant trunk then tugged the handle and hopped onto the warm leather seat.
“Thanks, Dell, for getting here so—” Oh! My hand went to my chest as John waited for me to buckle up. “Sorry. I thought Dell was coming for me.”
Tripper’s big wet tongue licked the side of my head. “Hey, boy!”
“Back,” John ordered, and he obeyed. “He called and said he needed to get back to the house, and as I was on my way into town, I offered to swing by and grab you.”
“I hope I didn’t put anyone out by staying so late.”
“Nope, you’re good.” He pulled away from the curb. “Did you have fun?”
“I did.” I tried to warm my frozen hands in the air vents. “I met Zack and Adam—who, by the way, is quite the little charmer.”
“So I hear.” He smirked behind his hand.
“I don’t think I have ever had such a great meal before.”
“Zack’s our town gem. Best food and the best bar for miles.”
“I believe it.” I started to say more, but his phone rang through the car, and his mood suddenly shifted to serious.
He switched off the speaker phone and pushed it through to his earpiece. “Hey.”
When I felt I could, I looked over at him and noticed his jaw was clenched. I could just barely hear a man’s voice on the other end. His hands tightened on the wheel, and he mouthed a curse word.
“I’ll come,” he said quickly and ended the call. Before I could ask what was going on, he pulled a U-turn, and we headed in the opposite direction.
“I need to deal with something before we can head back to the house. I’m sorry, but you’ll have to come along for the ride. It shouldn’t take that long.”
“That’s okay.” I wasn’t really sure I wanted to know what made him this stressed, so I remained quiet. When we pulled onto a side road, I noticed his grip on the steering wheel was literally turning his knuckles white. A big red house sat on top of a hill with a matching red barn a few yards away. It was a huge piece of property and looked to be some type of farm, although I couldn’t tell what they grew because of how dark it was. Lights shone on the lower half of the house, and it looked as though a man was pacing behind a curtain.
John parked and turned to look at me. “You could stay here,