I pick up some clothes and smile to myself all the way to the bathroom.He is totally cute!
Chapter 11
“Where are we going?” I ask as we stand side by side, fingers entwined as we wait for the elevator to descend. Denham had said to dress for dinner but remained tight lipped about what he had planned.
“It’s a surprise.”
“I don’t like surprises…” Surprises make me nervous.
“You’ll like this one,” he says with certainty, keeping his focus forward but I can see his lips curl at the corners.
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because, Arianna,” he turns to face me with smug certainty, “we’ve only know each other for a few days, but it might as well have been a hundred years. Iknowyou’re going to like this.”
Well, that shuts me up.
He steers me through the people in the foyer and we enter a beautiful restaurant. It’s dimly lit, sultry rather than dull, and every table is intimately lit with candles. The room is filled with the gentle, sophisticated tone of someone playing a baby grand piano in the corner.
“It’s beautiful,” I remark.
Denham gives me a knowing smile and a wink. Yes, he was right. So far, I do like this surprise. We are greeted by the maître d’ and he gestures Denham in the right direction. Denham whispers something to him and he nods in return.
“I have someone I’d like you to see…”
I look up at him nervously “You do?”
“Yes.”
He guides me in the direction of the private booths situated across the room and my heart starts to beat faster. When we near the booth, Denham slows and stands in front of me. He kisses my cheek, lingering a fraction longer than a peck, then stands to the side.
This can’t be real. This doesn’t feel real.
“Mom!” I cry.
“Arianna, my girl!” She leaps out of the booth and we both wrap our arms around each other.
I can’t let go. It’s been so long and I’ve wanted to see my mom for what seems like an eternity. I want to hold on tight and not ever let go. I have a lot of time to make up.
I look up through watery eyes to see Lottie, Brent, and Spike, seated at the table. In my excitement, I hadn’t seen them initially.
“Lottie!” I release my mom from the tight embrace but keep her hand snug in mine. “What are you all doing here?”
“Denham called and said there’d be a free meal in it for us, so of course, I was all over that,” Lottie jokes, and everyone laughs. One by one, I get a warm hug from all of them, even Spike who squeezes me like he’s known me forever.
I’m ushered into the booth and sandwiched between my mom and Lottie. Denham sends little looks of happiness my way and his eyes dance. I smile wide, letting him know that indeed, hewas right, Idolove this surprise. This is by far the kindest thing anyone has done for me.
We eat, we talk and we laugh. It all feels normal, and I love it. Hope blooms in my chest that this isn’t a one off. This is what I want my life to be like, spending time with the people I love.
Mom looks brighter than when I saw her last. Her hair is longer than I remember it being with beautiful soft waves the color of brown sugar falling just below her shoulders. She looks happy. Brent and my Mom only met a couple of years ago, and married after four weeks, so I hadn’t spent a lot of time with him before I’d left and didn’t know him very well.
Brent is her fourth husband. The previous three were good for nothing and didn’t treat her as anything more than someone to look good on their arm. It seems different with Brent; he treats her with respect and gives her enough love to make her skin glow. I know from the look in my mom’s eye when she looks at him that he takes care of her and makes her happy, so that makes him one of the good guys in my book.
I watch Lottie and Spike. They are like a couple of teenagers, so cute and carefree with each other. I know from experience that Lottie has no control over what comes out of her mouth, and it seems that she has found someone who not only accepts it, but loves her for it. I can see it in the way they look at each other. From our conversation at dinner a couple of days ago, I’m pretty sure they haven’t declared their love for each other, but it’s plain as day that they are smitten.
“So, darling, how long are you staying here? What will you do now?” Mom asks.
“Well, there’s still a lot to sort out…”
