Can't Fool Me Twice: Sweet Contemporary Romance: Belles in the City Book 1 (19 page)

Anthony hopped out of his chair and assisted Ms. Chambray to the closer one. "How did you manage to get all the way back here?" he asked.

"It wasn't easy, but when I'm on a mission, I can do whatever I set my mind to."

Dante resisted the urge to smile. He rarely saw his brother intimidated by anyone, but it was obvious that he was by Ms. Chambray.

"I'm glad you're both here," she said as she propped her cane against the desk and scooted back in the chair. "We have some air to clear, and I need to ask both of you some point blank questions. I have a feeling I'll get better answers with the two of you in the same place."

Frustration flooded Dante, but not with Ms. Chambray. If Anthony had minded his own business, he wouldn't be sitting here having this discussion. Instead, he'd be tending to business.

"What exactly did you tell Sunny?" Ms. Chambray asked Anthony.

He squirmed in his seat and let out a nervous laugh. "She probably told you."

"I want to hear it from you."

He looked up at the ceiling and than at Dante before looking at Ms. Chambray. "I think I might have said something about my brother attracting a lot of women."

"Something like that," she agreed. "But it was more pointed than that … and directed at his nature of being a ladies' man." She made a sour face. "Specifically a love-'em-and-leave-'em ladies man."

Again, Anthony gave a nervous laugh before shooting an apologetic glance in Dante's direction. "He is a charmer."

Ms. Chambray shook her head. "That's not the same thing. I think we all know he's a charmer, but there's nothing wrong with that. What you said might have cost your brother and this very sweet girl a chance at love."

A stricken look came over Anthony's face. "I didn't mean to—"

"No, I know you didn't, and I'm sure Bubba Dante knows it too. You had good intentions … and a girl in mind. But take yourself out of the equation and try to see things from his perspective."

Dante listened in amazement to her chastisement. The woman was good.

Anthony folded his arms, studied the floor for what seemed like forever but was probably only about a minute, and then looked at Dante. "Hey, listen, bro, if I messed up your life, I'm sorry."

Before Dante could respond, Ms. Chambray spoke up again. "You didn't mess up his life, but you participated in complicating it."

"I'll fix it."

She chuckled. "You'll do no such thing." She turned her attention to Dante. "I'm giving you the day off. It's time you and Sunny had some one-on-one quality time without the interference of your brother, Sunny's mama, Riley, or anyone else who thinks they know better than you … including me." She laughed again.

"I appreciate all of this," Dante said. "But I can't take the day off. I have to place some orders and go handle some business details at the Harlem location before I go to the diner and—"

Ms. Chambray lifted her hands. "That's all been taken care of. I spoke with Stan this morning, and he's moving your appointment with Tyrone to next week. He said they don't need you to start retrofitting the kitchen. You can finish what you have to do here." She tilted her head toward him. "That shouldn't take more than an hour, so I'll expect to see you at my place in an hour and a half or so."

Dante saw the look on Anthony's face and almost burst into laughter. Very few people saw this side of her, but when they did, their respect soared.

"Anthony, I trust that you can handle any emergencies that may come up, although I doubt anything will." She lifted an eyebrow as she locked gazes with him.

He appeared to still be in shock, but he nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

She smiled. "Okay, you're both dismissed." She stood and grabbed her cane. "I'll see you in an hour and a half, Bubba Dante."

"But what about Sunny?"

"Her mama's dealing with her. She'll be ready to go wherever you choose, but make sure it's someplace where you can talk without interference."

"Okay." Dante thought for a moment. "I'll be there."

"By the way, Twila found another lump, so I'm sending her back to Dr. Simone. She called Riley to go with her this time, and she made it very clear she doesn't want Sunny there. In fact, she doesn't want Sunny to know about the lump."

Dante glanced over at Anthony who narrowed his gaze. "Sunny's going to need you, bro. Don't let her down."

"Oh, trust me, I'll be there for her." Dante swallowed hard before he looked directly at Ms. Chambray. "But I'm not going to keep any secrets from her. It doesn't work out."

"That's probably a good time for y'all to talk. Twila doesn't want to tell Sunny, so maybe you can redeem yourself by being the one to tell her. I've scheduled her appointment for tomorrow morning. I'll have her call you as soon as she knows something" She started for the door and stopped. "And remember, no distractions." And then she left.

Once they heard the elevator ding, Anthony shook his head. "I'm not sure what just happened, but it was amazing."

"Yes," Dante agreed. "And I'd better get to work so I can be at her house in an hour and a half, or no telling what else might happen."

Anthony took a tentative step toward Dante and without another word, pulled him in for a hug before quickly letting go. "I want you to be happy, and if Sunny is the person you want to be with, then go get her."

"That's what I intend to do." Dante gestured toward the door. "I'll see you tomorrow."

*

"She what?" Sunny frowned at Mama as she seethed with frustration. "Why would Miss Lucille go talk to Dante?"

"Calm down, sweetie. This is for your own good."

Whenever Mama said something was for her own good, it was never what she wanted. "Why can't y'all just leave us alone?"

"We tried, but it's not working. Sometimes folks just gotta do somethin' to get things goin'." She smiled. "You know, like priming the pump."

Sunny let out a low growl. "I really need to work today. We have a special that—"

"Miss Lucille had me call everyone and ask them to work today. We don't even have a spot for you if you do come in."

"But—"

"No buts." Mama gave her a stern look as she pointed toward Sunny's room. "Now go get yourself ready for a day out with Dante." She glanced at the clock. "I have to leave in a few minutes."

"You don't have to go to work until ten."

"True, but I have to go somewhere else first." Mama made a shooing gesture. "Stop stalling and get ready."

Sunny tried to think of a way out, but nothing came to mind. She was still in a state of shock over what Mama and Miss Lucille had done. She wondered how Dante felt about this. If she were him she'd be spittin' mad.

She went to her room to figure out what to wear, but as she stood in front of her closet, she realized that clothes were the least of her concerns. The big problem was what she'd say when she and Dante were together. Alone.

She shuddered. When he stood next to her, she never failed to get all weak and confused about why she'd even want to avoid him, even after she'd resolved to keep their relationship professional. All common sense seemed to fly right out of her head.

Miss Lucille made quite a bit of racket when she arrived. "Girls, I need to talk to both of you now!

Sunny had never heard Miss Lucille holler before, so she scurried out to see what was so all-fired important. Mama was already in the foyer when she joined them.

"Okay, I'm going to tell both of you something for your own good. If you don't want to follow my advice, it's your prerogative. But do so at your own peril."

Mama cast a curious look at Sunny and then as Miss Lucille. "What advice is that?"

"I'll say this once, so listen up." She narrowed her gaze as she made sure both Sunny and Mama were listening. "When you fall in love, don't try to analyze it too much. If the chemistry is there, pray about it, and leave everything up to the Lord."

Sunny swallowed hard as she remembered what happened with Chase. "But—"

"I know you had a bad experience, but I bet you knew deep down that something wasn't right with that boy." Miss Lucille nodded as she made a fist and touched her chest over her heart. "We women know these things, even if we don't want to admit them to ourselves. Besides, did you pray about your relationship with him?"

Sunny thought about it and shook her head. "Probably not."

"Well, there ya go." Miss Lucille gestured for them to step closer. As they did, she reached for their hands. "We're gonna say a prayer right now. Bow your heads."

As Miss Lucille prayed for Sunny and Mama's relationships and Mama's health, Sunny forced herself to relax and be in the moment. When she opened her eyes, she realized that some of the worry and stress had faded.

"Feel better now?" Miss Lucille asked.

Sunny and Mama both nodded. "I need to get ready in case Dante gets here on time."

"Oh, he will." Miss Lucille winked. "Trust me on this."

And he was. Sunny had barely finished getting ready when she heard the doorbell. Mama arrived at her bedroom door. "You look nice. He's here."

"I know." Sunny zipped the front of her lightweight jacket and followed Mama to the study where Dante was standing beside Miss Lucille who was clearly giving him instructions. She cleared her throat.

"Just do what I told you to do," Miss Lucille said, "and everything will be just fine. Now run along, you two. I have work to do."

Once they got outside, Sunny stopped and turned to Dante. "You don't have to do this, ya know."

"But I do want to."

"Don't you have more important work to do?"

He shrugged. "I have plenty of work to do, but nothing is more important than being with you."

She sighed. "Okay, so what's the plan?"

"First of all, we're meeting my brother for coffee. He has some explaining to do."

Sunny's insides tightened. "Your brother? What does he have to do with this?"

"You'll soon find out." He lifted his hand as a cab approached and then helped Sunny into it. After giving the driver instructions, he faced Sunny and touched her cheek before pulling his hand back. "Sorry. I lost myself there for a moment."

Sunny's cheek still tingled from his feather light touch. She wanted nothing more than to lean into him, but she couldn't, or she might lose her heart.

They pulled up in front of a small Italian restaurant. "This is an offshoot of Anthony's full-service restaurant. I thought it would be best to meet him here rather than some noisy place where we wouldn't have any privacy."

Anthony greeted them at the door and led them to a section in the back, away from the other tables. The ambient lighting and classical music set a tone for reflection, soft discussion, and deep thoughts. He held out his hand for her to sit. Then he and Dante sat on either side of her.

The brothers exchanged a glance, and then Anthony spoke up. "Look, Sunny, I'm afraid I made some huge mistakes based on my own misunderstanding and the fact that I never really listened to my brother, and I need to apologize. I've already told Dante how sorry I am. Now it's your turn."

"You didn't do—"

"I did plenty, and I need to be beaten with a homemade broom." He chuckled. "That's something Mom used to say when we were little. I've never even seen a homemade broom ... so she obviously never beat me with one."

"Anthony." Dante's voice had a warning tone. "Get to the point."

"Okay." Anthony held up his hands and brought them down to the table. "First of all, my brother was always a charmer, and plenty of ladies were attracted to him. And I've seen him date lots of beautiful women." He cast a teasing glance at his brother. "But I've never seen him fall head over heels as he did with you."

"You said—" Sunny began.

"I know what I said, and it was wrong. He was a ladies' man only in the way he attracted them with his charm. But he was never actually a love-'em-and-leave-'em kind of guy."

Sunny glanced down at the table and took it all in. The guys were quiet, which gave her a chance to think about what she'd just heard. Deep down, she knew she was in love with Dante but hadn't allowed herself to explore her feelings. Mama was right; fear had prevented her from living life.

"And the other issue that seems to be a bigger concern is the girl in the diner when you and your mother returned from South Carolina." Anthony pursed his lips and shook his head slowly. "I should have known better than to bring someone to Dante's work."

Sunny's heart twisted as she remembered what she'd seen when she walked into the diner and spotted the foursome sitting at the table looking like they were on a double date. "You don't need to explain anything."

"Oh, yes I do. He didn't even know Carmella before that day. I've been trying to fix him up with her for the longest time. Her dad is one of my best customers, and he's been concerned that she hasn't dated anyone seriously. I mentioned that I had a single brother, and next thing I knew, we were planning their future." Anthony puffed his cheeks. "That was just wrong. In fact, when I mentioned her before, Dante wasn't the slightest bit interested."