After hearing how Taylor’s past was, I doubted she had anything positive in her life, other than Michael. Taylor took another sip of her wine and her eyes seemed calm again.
“Michael said there were times that you stood in front of him and took the brunt of his father. How did your parents react?”
“They didn’t know. I kept that from them, and I could handle it. If I could keep Michael from getting hit or groped, I did.”
“Your parents probably would have gone crazy.” I shrugged.
“For what it’s worth, Taylor, I would have stepped in front of you to keep your foster father away from you.”
Taylor’s lips parted to say something, but nothing came out. Her eyes became watery, and her nostrils flared. I didn’t want to upset her. I stood fully upright and stopped leaning on the bar.
“It’s the wine, sweetheart.” I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and then moved her wine glass away from her. I caught the attention of the bartender and gestured upward with my head to call him over.
“Yes, sir?”
“We’re going to our table now. Thank you.” He would know to put the drinks on the bill for the table.
“Enjoy your dinner,” he said.
As soon as we walked out of the bar and into the lobby, the maître d’ saw us coming and stepped out from behind the podium.
“Ready for your table, Mr. Lombardi?” he asked.
“Yes, we’re ready, thank you.”
I kept my arm around Taylor as we followed him into the dining area. All of the tables were occupied except for a table for two beside a window. The maître d’ pulled out my chair and then hurried to the other chair, pulled it out, and remained behind it. I stayed standing until Taylor had taken her seat. I sat down as soon as the maître d’ pushed Taylor’s chair in. A server appeared and poured water into our goblets as the maître d’ opened a menu and handed it to Taylor and then handed me mine.
“Antonio will be your server this evening.” Antonio appeared and smiled. “Enjoy your dinner.”
As soon as the maître d’ left and Antonio took our drink order, I leaned back in my seat and looked around the busy restaurant.
“What do you recommend, Mr. Lombardi?” Taylor asked.
“The fettuccine is my favorite, but everything is good.”
“Then I’ll get that based on the recommendation of the owner.” She smiled and closed her menu.
Moments later, Antonio returned with our drinks, and we both ordered the fettuccine. I reached into the pocket of my jacket and pulled out the four bottles of hand sanitizer. I pushed them toward Taylor.
“Congratulations on your promotion,” I said and grinned.
Taylor’s mouth dropped, and she tilted her head to the side in disbelief. She opened and sniffed each one as she smiled.
“You got me hand sanitizer. Thank you.”
“You don’t seem like the kind of woman who wants flowers.” I paused and then said, “You’re welcome. I also still have that partial lemon one of yours.”
“Wait. You took my lemon hand sanitizer? I thought I lost it somewhere in Sweden.”
“It may or may not have fallen into my possession.”
“Wait a second… Vail doesn’t have this store. Did you go into Denver to buy these?”
“I had some errands to run in Denver this morning, so I picked you up some. It’s your promotion gift. Yay!” I said as I tried to make the hand sanitizer sound great. I leaned forward and pinned her with a serious look. “And it’s also a thank you gift.”
“A thank you gift? What are you thanking me for?”
“For coming back to Solsidan for me. If you hadn’t, there’s a good chance I’d be dead, and God only knows what would have happened to Jensen.”
