Slow No Wake - By Dakota Madison Page 0,47
the system.”
I rose. “Thanks so much, Tom.”
He gave me a knowing smile. “No problem. Leave Hannah to me and worry about your clients.”
***
At 11:45 on the nose, Brad came to my office to pick Hannah and me up for lunch.
“Where’s your sister?” he asked anxiously.
“I believe she’s in the reception area helping Lily stuff envelopes for the fund development drive,” I said.
“Does she still want to join me for lunch?” he asked, his tension level rising.
“I’m sure she does,” I said as calmly as I could. “She seemed really excited about it.”
“Okay,” Brad said, but I could tell he wasn’t convinced. He began pacing the small space between my desk and my door.
A few minutes later, my sister arrived and Brad breathed a sigh of relief.
“Are you ready for lunch?” Hannah asked Brad. She literally batted her eyelashes at him. My sister was a walking cliché.
Brad returned the gesture with a huge smile. “I’m ready if you are.”
The two were so enamored with each other’s presence, it was like I was invisible to both of them. “Where are we going for lunch?” I asked, hoping to break the spell between them.
“I have something very special planned,” Brad answered.
***
Fifteen minutes later, we were standing in front of the most expensive restaurants in town. Definitely not a place I would ever see myself at for lunch, or even dinner for that matter. When I glanced over at my sister, she looked awestruck. The exterior of the lavish place was ornate with beautiful palm trees and flowers everywhere.
Not surprising that every car in the parking lot was a luxury vehicle. Even Brad’s car was a Lexus, which surprised me. I wondered how he afforded such an expensive vehicle on a therapist’s salary. I knew he was a little older than me, so he was probably higher up the pay scale, but could it be that much higher? I could barely make the payments on a Kia Soul after paying for my dump of an apartment.
As we entered the restaurant, I noticed my sister’s eyes went wide. The place was stunning and certainly inspired awe. The grand entrance had a beautiful fountain that was glistening with blue and gold underwater. There were small sparkle lights all over the ceiling that twinkled like stars. I suddenly felt a wave a nausea as I thought about how much the meals at a place like this would cost.
Maybe Brad could see my expression had changed, because he leaned over to Hannah and me and whispered, “I’m sure it goes without saying, but lunch is on me.”
“This place is amazing,” muttered my sister as she stared at the twinkle lights above her.
“This is one of my favorite places,” Brad said.
My sister’s face fell, but she quickly recovered. “So, you come here often?” The way she asked it insinuated that she didn’t want to be one of many women.
Brad’s face went white. “I do,” he said cautiously. “But not on dates. I don’t go on many dates. I just don’t like to cook, so I go out a lot.”
“I can cook for you,” Hannah blurted, then looked at Brad hopefully.
When Brad returned my sister’s gaze, I could see a sparkle in his eyes that I had never seen before. “You would do that for me?”
“Of course,” she said. Then, as if remembering she was living in my house, she turned to me and said, “If it’s okay with Lexie.”
Far be it from me to stand in the way of a budding romance. “No problem,” I said and gave my sister a reassuring little smile. Now she was the one with a sparkle in her eyes; it was a sparkle I had never seen there before either.
A host came and took us to our seats. I was surprised that he addressed Brad as Mr. Collins. He said he came here a lot, but enough for them to know him by name?
We had a lovely view of the water, which didn’t surprise me. What did surprise me, was how many people filled the restaurant during the lunch hour.
“This place is always packed,” Brad told us. “But I know the owner, so I can usually get a table.”
Just as I suspected, the prices were way out of my league. This was one of those places that I might go to for a very special occasion. I wondered how Brad could afford to eat here on a regular basis. Maybe knowing the owner qualified him for some kind of discount.
When I looked at