ignored this answer that popped into his head, and the excitement that flowed through his other head as well. He wasn’t in the market for a girlfriend and had enough friends with benefits to keep him more than satisfied.
So why was he taking Aliyah to dinner?
By the time he’d broken out his favorite pair of jeans, paired them with a navy button-down complemented by a platinum bracelet and thin chain, whipped out his solitaire diamond stud, removed his five-o’clock shadow and splashed on an exclusive blend of designer cologne, he’d convinced himself that he was just being a nice guy. That and he was hungry. Everyone had to eat, right?
He gathered his wallet and keys, and was heading to the door of his west wing suite when the estate’s intercom sounded in his room.
“Terrell?”
“Yes, Mom?”
“Are you joining us for dinner, dear?”
“No. I’m heading out.”
“Dinner meeting?”
He paused. “Something like that.”
“Oh, I see. Have fun on your date, dear.”
“Who said anything about a date?”
The sound of Jennifer’s light chuckle made him smile. “Indirectly, you did. ’Bye now.”
“’Bye, Mom. Love you.”
“I love you more.”
* * *
Aliyah pulled into the crowded parking lot, found a space and cut the engine. Grabbing a sweater from the backseat to ward off the slight October chill, she was pleasantly surprised to see the café Terrell had suggested was a homey-looking diner and not a swanky five-star restaurant. After getting Kyle enrolled in the community center’s fall program she’d returned home, gone online and typed Terrell Drake in the search engine. What she’d seen there would impress most women. She was no exception. But it hadn’t made her excited to meet him. She was all too familiar with men like him. Those who had the world by the tail, and thought they ruled it, from a family that practically owned the town or at least helped build it. One brother a grape grower and rancher and another one the mayor? Elite affiliations and country clubs for sure. The more she’d read, the more she’d been tempted to cancel their meeting. When he’d called and boldly requested dinner, and she accepted, it was to possibly secure a west coast casual who could periodically scratch her sexual itch. It had been months, she had been busy and a woman had needs. But now? With his lifestyle sounding so much like the ex whose family made it clear that she didn’t and could never fit into their world? Why pull the scab off of a sore still healing? Because the attraction she’d felt in the community center office earlier was greater than her fear. So here she was.
She saw him right away, standing in a bar area with a group near the hostess stand. As she neared them he turned and reached for her, forcing the two women standing in front of her to step aside and let her through. Two men greeted her cordially and then walked away. The two women remained: appraising, waiting.
He made the introductions. Greetings were exchanged. He looked at Aliyah. “Shall we?”
“Yes.”
“Ladies.” With a nod goodbye in their direction, he placed a hand on the small of Aliyah’s back as they followed the hostess to a corner booth.
But the ladies followed, hot on their heels.
“Did you have any trouble finding the place?”
Aliyah shook her head. “Not at all. Have GPS, will travel.”
“That system does make it easier.”
The woman closest to her, a cute brunette with expressive gray eyes, cleared her throat. “Where’d you drive from?”
Aliyah looked at Terrell, then turned to address the woman behind her. “Davis.”
“You live there?” asked the woman who’d been fawning over Terrell when she walked in, and when introduced had offered a smile about as real as a three-dollar bill. The obvious competition, had Aliyah been in the hunt for a handsome, wealthy, well-built, charismatic, sexy example of male magnificence. She wasn’t. So Nosy Nancy had nothing to worry about. And no need to know her business.
They reached the booth. Aliyah sat without answering. The server immediately came over. “Is this who you were waiting for, Terrell?”
“Yes, it is.”
She placed menus in front of Aliyah and Terrell, then looked at the women. “Do y’all need menus?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
The server looked between Terrell and Nosy, from whom the simultaneous answer had come.
“It will just be Aliyah and myself tonight,” Terrell said. “My friends were just leaving.”
“Oh, okay.” Expressive Eyes gave a general wave. “I guess I’ll see you guys later.” She walked over and joined the two men who’d left Terrell to sit at the bar.
“Speak for yourself,” Nosy Nancy said, before looking at Terrell. “Are you going to scoot over or get up and let me in?” He didn’t move, just looked at her. “This isn’t a date, is it? I mean, you’re at the Cove Café for goodness sake, so obviously—” she looked at Aliyah “—it’s no big deal.”
So this was how it went down in Terrell’s hometown? Girlfriend didn’t know but the poised, polite chick in front of her was east coast all day long, where people kept it real. She could switch it up and hurt her feelings. But instead, Aliyah ignored her. Why spar with someone trying to crash into where she had been invited? She casually picked up her menu and began to browse.
Terrell’s voice remained low and casual, but his eyes were those of someone who’d had enough. “You have a nice evening...okay?”
“Oh. Okay.” She flung long black hair over her shoulder and adjusted a nice designer bag over store-bought boobs. “Sorry I upset you, Alicia. Terrell and I go way back, to preschool almost.”
The misspoken name was intentional, and catty. Aliyah knew that, and offered advice instead of correction. “Don’t be sorry.”
Terrell’s brief but knowing smile did things to her insides. The man was dangerous, too sexy for her own good. With no man in her life for the past few months, she wished he were on the menu she held. He had her so distracted she barely noticed Nosy mosey away.
“Sorry about that.”
Aliyah’s eyes turned devilish. “Don’t be—”
“Stop it!” He laughed. “You know you’re wrong. Clever, though.”
“I learned from the best—been dealing with girls like her since I was fourteen.”
“In Davis?”
“No. On Manhattan’s Upper East Side,
