“Come on up.” I pressed the button to open the inner door. I swept my gaze around my apartment one last time, then stood by my door and waited for Tony to arrive.
A million years later, there was a knock on my door. I hurriedly unlocked it and swung it open. Tony was wearing dark blue jeans and a short-sleeved black Henley that showed off his muscular chest and arms. He had a black leather jacket slung over one shoulder.
“Hi,” I breathed out. “You look hot.” My eyes went wide when I realized what I’d said, and I clapped my hand over my mouth.
Tony chuckled. His gaze raked the length of my body. “Thanks. You’re pretty hot yourself.”
I shook my head, smiling at our silliness. “Come in.”
Once the door was closed and locked, Tony took me in his arms and kissed me long and slow. When he finally pulled back, I felt like I was going to melt into a puddle of goo.
“Hey, baby,” he said, his voice raspy.
I pressed myself against his hard body, in part so I wouldn’t fall down. “Wow. You’re a really good kisser.” I took his hand and led him into the living room. “I bought a bottle of wine. I thought we could have a pre-dinner drink.”
“Sounds good,” he replied.
I went into the kitchen to get the bottle of red wine I’d opened before he arrived. I poured us both a glass and brought them out to the living room. I handed Tony his glass and then sat beside him on the sofa with mine, close enough that our thighs were touching.
I raised my glass to his. “To starting anew.”
He touched his glass to mine. “Hear, hear.” He took a sip, and his brows rose. “This is good.”
“It’s from Tuscany,” I said. “I don’t know much about wine, but the guy at the liquor store said this was a good one.”
“He was right,” Tony said.
Tony took another sip of his wine and smiled. “This reminds me of being in Italy. When we go visit our family, we always take a tour of the Tuscan Valley.”
Warmth filled my chest at his words. “Really? I’m so glad I got it then.” This time when I drank the wine, I let it rest in my mouth, savoring the flavors. I imagined going to Italy with Tony and having him introduce me to a host of new experiences. I brought myself up short.Slow down there. We just started dating for real.
We drank our wine in comfortable silence for a little while. It was nice. I didn’t feel the need to fill the silence with chatter. When I took my last swallow of wine, I sighed. “That’s really good wine. I wouldn’t mind touring the Tuscan Valley someday.”
When I looked over at Tony, he was smiling at me. He set his wine glass on the coffee table and reached for mine. Once both my hands were free, he took them in his. “Thank you for giving this a chance.”
I felt my face heat. “You made it easy to decide. I know I can trust you.”
To my surprise, Tony’s eyes got glassy. “You have no idea how happy I am to hear that.”
I felt bad for all the time I’d spent not trusting him. I squeezed his hands. “It was never about you or anything you did. It was my way of coping with the abuse and being controlled. I lost so much because I trusted my ex. I was afraid to believe that another man wouldn’t do the same thing.” I raised one of his hands to my lips. “And then you came along with all your respect for my boundaries.” I smiled as I shook my head. “I didn’t know what to do with you.” My throat constricted. “I only knew I had to stop hurting you.”
His expression softened. “Oh, baby.” He took my face in his hands and kissed me tenderly. “I know you were protecting yourself. I’m sorry if I made you feel bad.”
I rested my forehead against his. “We could go ’round and ’round about this forever. I want us to have a fresh start. Let’slet go of what went before—except the spectacular sex—and give this a real try.”
Tony chuckled. “You got it.”
My stomach chose that moment to rumble its discontent. I sighed. “We should get some dinner.”
His eyes narrowed. “Did you forget to eat lunch again?”
I looked at him with faux innocence. “Who, me?”
He rose from the couch, chuckling. Holding out his hand, he said, “Come on. Let’s get you something to eat.”
The sun had just dipped below the horizon by the time we got outside my apartment building, leaving the city bathed in streaks of orange and purple light. Tony took my hand when we started walking down the block, and something warm wrapped around my heart. Randy had hated any form of PDA. I hadn’t held hands with anyone since high school.
The restaurant wasn’t far from my place, and the evening was crisp but not too chilly. Spring was finally making itself known. The restaurant was close to full when we got there, no doubt because of the gorgeous weather we’d had all day. I didn’t even mind waiting to be seated because Tony stood behind me with his arms wrapped around me the whole time.
