“I’ve got it.”
“You can’t possibly pay for everyone’s stay. That’s ridiculous.”
“I’m not trying to be an asshole when I ask this, Kaya, but do you know how much money I’m worth?”
“Not really.” I shrug my shoulders. “A lot?”
“A lot.”
“But there’s twenty of us,” I say again softly, although it’s clear that Peter has overheard everything we said in this car. How could he not?
“I’ve got it. I swear. Even if I never played another snap in the NFL, I’d still be able to pay for this trip. I want to do this for Kyle and Dena. It’s the least I can do for two of my oldest friends.”
“Are you trying to buy off Dena’s silence?” I say playfully, but am wondering if that’s Brick’s motivation for such a generous gesture.
“Maybe,” he grins, but I’m not sure if I’m buying his answer.
Suddenly emboldened with desire, I reach out ever so slowly, placing one hand behind Brick’s neck while pressing myself against him with the other hand flat against his chest before finally leaning in and pressing a soft kiss onto those tempting lips.
“Thank you,” I say, realizing that whatever his motivations are, it’s a really gracious thing to do. “You could have probably fed a third-world country dinner for a week with that kind of money.”
“I don’t just spend carelessly, Kaya. My grandmother taught me some good savings habits and I also give back to a local food bank in Harlem.”
“Wow, Brick, that’s amazing. I had no idea.”
“I want to do something here too, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet.”
“What about one of those restaurants where you pay whatever you can afford? It gives people who are unemployed or underemployed the dignity of a meal out. These kinds of restaurants tend not to work for the typical restauranteur who needs to live off the profits, but for someone like you, it might work really well.”
“That look in your eyes is exactly what I’m talking about.”
“What look?”
“You’re excited about the sliding scale restaurant thing.”
“For you.”
“But if money were no object, you’d consider it, wouldn’t you?”
“I can’t think that wildly, Brick. I didn’t even finish a year of community college.”
“Because you weren’t passionate about what you were learning, but imagine you cooking a delicious menu of farm fresh food that people on a tight budget could afford? I’ve met families in New York that have never taken their kids out to anywhere but a fast food place because they can’t afford to and even burgers and fries are becoming expensive.”
“I guess if we’re talking hypotheticals, then yes, that sounds like a dream. I don’t think that a dining experience with good food should be limited to the wealthy.”
“And all I’m saying is the light in your eyes when you talk about this differs greatly from when you talk about tax law and Mr. Solomon.”
“Not everyone lights up when they talk about work, Brick.”
“Now you sound like your brother.”
Why is he pushing this food thing so hard? Is virtual legal assistant Kaya not good enough for him?
“And there’s nothing wrong with that.”
I notice Peter grinning at us in the rearview mirror. For some reason, I feel like he has a sixth sense about what’s going on between me and Brick and has been rooting for us to get together from the start. Either that or lover’s spats entertain him.
“How much time to we have, Peter?” Brick asks him.
