CHAPTER 22
N ICHOLAS
O h yeah? Then why are you the only one I’m thinking about…
My cousin Gabriel’s album kept us company as we drove to the new Italian restaurant I scoped out in Buckhead, Vittolli’s.
On the ride here I was talking too much, laughing too loudly.
Madison normally hides her natural beauty probably because she doesn’t know about it. But damn if tonight I can’t stop doing backflips trying to impress her.
With a distracted glance to the host, I inform him, “I have a reservation.”
“Name?”
Locked on Madison I answer, “Nicholas Cocker.”
“Cocker?” he exclaims, excited. We turn our heads as the guy beams at me. He’s somewhere in his early forties with a smattering of salt in his pepper. “Any relation to Jeremy and Meagan Cocker?”
“Those are my parents.”
“I was a waiter at Burn! This is my place! They inspired me to get this, to buy my own!”
My eyebrows go up because I don’t recognize him, and while I’m happy he knows my folks, the guy doesn’t look Italian, so now I’m wondering if the food is going to be any good here.
I shake his hand, “Nice to meet you.”
“Name’s Barry Silvers. I worked days so you were in school. Saw you running around once or twice, but you were much scrawnier then!”
Madison stifles a laugh, eyes darting to me.
With a sideways smile I warn him, “Okay, I’m on a date, Barry. Don’t make me look bad.”
He laughs, glancing to the list. “Ah, here you are! I didn’t take down the reservation or I would’ve recognized that name in a second. Your folks are great people. And boy, your mom can cook! I asked her to be my head chef but she said that evil word: retirement! What a waste! Right this way.”
We follow the enthusiastic guy—who did not name this place Silvers—into dark wood, low lighting, rows of red booths and blessed privacy. It’s perfect. Still not optimistic about the food but he got the ambiance right.
Madison slips into the booth, breasts jiggling above the top of her dress like crazy. Cocking an eyebrow I tell Barry. “Bring us your best red. Don’t worry about price.”
Impressed, his eyes gleam dollar signs as he practically taps his fingers with jubilation. “I’ve got the perfect thing!”
Laying down menus he hurries off.
I slide in, patting the leather cushion by my thigh. “Come a little closer.”
She eyes me. “I’ll stay where I am.”
“Afraid my hands might wander?”
“Yes.”
I chuckle and lay the napkin on my lap. “I was really just wanting you closer.”
“You can see me better from here.”
A grin flashes as I nod, reaching for the menu. “Make it difficult for me.”
“Oh, I plan to.”
We watch each other, her menu untouched. I set mine down and throw an arm over the back of the booth, twisting in it to face her. “You’re right. This is better.”
She blushes, a slight smile tugging at reluctant and very full, magenta lips. “Nicholas, you’re acting very…”
“Interested?”
Biting her lip she nods. “Yes.”
“You think it’s an act?”
“I’m not sure what it is.”
Staring at her a long moment, I confess, “Neither of us can figure the other one out. I just know that while you were gone, I looked for you.”
Madison’s eyelashes drop to her lap then slowly rise again, the wall cracked. “I wasn’t gone, I just wasn’t there.”
“Where were you?”
“Denise’s grandmother died the night of the fire.”
Frowning I straighten up. “Oh shit, I didn’t know that. I’m so sorry.”
“We were in Virginia when Billy had his first party.”
“You went for the funeral?”
Fiddling with her napkin she stares at it, then places it on her lap. “Yes. I’ve known Denise since we were three.” Maddie chews on her lip, eyes far away. “Weird when people leave forever. It’s hard to grasp.”
“I bet.”
“You haven’t lost anyone?”
“Not yet.”
Barry walks around the bend with a bottle in one hand and a red napkin over his arm. I motion for him to give us a minute. He glances to Maddie and backs out of sight.
“How’d she handle it?”
“She drank. I’m kidding. We both drank. Her mom did something really unexpected at the funeral, so it was a very emotional day. You don’t want to hear about that.”
“Try me.”
Madison stares at me a second, unsure if I deserve this private information. “Your family is very important to you.”
“More important than anything.”
“Would you share with me something like this?”
“I don’t know what it is, but if it wasn’t too private, and I liked you, then yeah.”
She smiles and glances away. “Maybe I don’t like you.”
“I meant as a friend. Because I don’t share this type of stuff with girls I…” The words lay in the air between us, unspoken and unneeded. “But we’re friends, aren’t we?”
Under her breath she laughs and rolls her eyes. “Well, I won’t share anything that Denise wouldn’t want me to. She and her mom had this big fight the night before the funeral. It was pretty bad. They got past it. Something broke, I think. Because when her mother was giving the eulogy, she said that it should be Denise up there talking, not her. And she gave up the mic. We were shocked.”
“Did Denise go up?”
“Mmhmm. In front of everyone, and Nana was very loved in the community so there were a couple hundred people present. Denise could hardly talk she was so choked up. She waved me up and I stood with her and held her hand while she told a roomful of mourning people how much Nana meant to her.” Madison clears her throat and looks away. “She wasn’t in the mood for parties after that for a while.”
“I can imagine,” I whisper, thinking about how I would have felt. “I’m very close with my family. My grandfather had a heart attack four years ago and that’s why Caden’s studying to be a doctor. He doesn’t want us out there in the waiting room ever again not knowing what’s going on when one of our own is in trouble.” I tap the table as I stare
