Forbidden Bride - Penny Wylder Page 0,12
me and my new position here. Maybe even my friendship with her father.
She’s worth the risk to me. I need to make sure that she knows that. But if I’m not worth it to her, I would understand that. Things change. I can only hope that I can show her that what she always dreamed about can be true. We can have a life together.
Glancing at my phone, the screen is still empty.
I distract myself with the work. Lots of introduction emails to contact points looking to market with us. Lots of enquiries that need to be followed up on now that the position is full again. I need to analyze potential marketplaces across the country to see which ones have the best opportunities for expansion. There’s enough work here to keep me busy for weeks, and it’s a good way to get distracted.
It seems like it’s only been a few minutes when Bruce is hovering in my doorway again. “Ready to go?”
“Yeah, one second.” I finish up the last line of an email I’m sending before grabbing my coat and wallet. “Where are we going?”
“How do you feel about Callie’s?”
I can’t keep the grin off my face. Everyone in the world thinks that their local pizza place is the best pizza. But I’m pretty sure that Callie’s actually takes the cake. And I haven’t been there in a couple years, since my last whirlwind visit to Leighton City. “I feel great about that.”
Bruce smirks. “I thought you might.”
We hop in our cars, and meet at the restaurant. It’s snowing in that perfect movie way with big, fat flakes that probably won’t stick more than a few hours but look amazing while falling anyway. It was snowing just like this four years ago when I left, and I can’t help but wonder what Nicola and I might have done in the snow together had I been braver than I am now.
Walking through the door to Callie’s, I freeze. It’s not just the amazing scent of pizza, but it’s the fact that Nicola and her mother are already sitting at a table, chatting. “I didn’t realize that I was crashing a family lunch.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Bruce says, clapping me on the shoulder. “You are family, Tristan. Got to know that by now, right?”
“Right.” I wonder if he would say the same if he knew about Nicola and me. But that’s a problem for another day. Today’s problem is figuring out if there even will be a Nicola and me.
“Sorry we’re late,” Bruce says as we approach the table. “Had to pick up this slacker.”
Nicola and her mother look up and the words that she had been saying die on her lips. She looks shocked. I give her a warm smile, one that I hope is reassuring.
“Tristan!” Bruce’s wife Valerie jumps up from the table and envelops me in a hug. “My god, we missed you.” She hits me in the arm hard enough that it might leave a bruise. “I’m glad you got your head far enough out of your ass to come back here.”
“That’s quite the welcome, Val.”
She makes a face as she sits back down beside her daughter. “You deserve it.”
“Did you order yet?” Bruce asks.
Nicola speaks up, though her eyes are still on me. “No, we were waiting for you.”
“Well, we’re here now,” he says. “Tristan, what do you want?”
Normally I’m a meat guy. I like a good meat-lover’s pizza. And Nicola does too. But there’s one thing that she can’t stand, and one thing I guarantee will get her to talk to me, even if she’s yelling. “I thought I might go for some Hawaiian.”
Nicola’s jaw drops. “You did not just say that.”
“What?” I act innocent.
“You know what.”
The waitress has set down a glass of water in front of me and I just take a sip, locking my eyes with hers. I can play innocent all day. “No.”
She narrows her eyes. “Pineapple does not belong on pizza.”
“Hmm,” I say. “I think pretty much anything you want can belong on pizza.”
Bruce and Valerie laugh, but Nicola doesn’t. “Bullshit. You used to agree with me too. I distinctly remember us having multiple conversations about the travesty that is pineapple on pizza.”
I shrug. “It’s been a few years. People change.”
“Not that much.” Her eyes are fire and I like the spark. That’s the response I was looking for.
“Fine,” I say, raising my hands in surrender. “Maybe I just wanted to see if the hatred of pineapple stood.”
“It does,” Valerie says.