“That’s his problem. He’s never been made to wait long enough,” Trina said leaving the room.
Ivy grabbed her coat and scarf out of her closet and stopped to take a deep breath. Everything had happened so suddenly that she was not able to think her actions through. Now it was too late. Hearing the sound of his deep baritone voice in the next room instantly made her heart skip a beat. Her fingers began to sweat again as she walked out of the bedroom. Okay, she thought as she walked out the room…Lights. Camera. Action!
Stunned by her entrance, Nicola stopped in mid-conversation and admired Ivy as she came out to greet him. Her smile made him melt. Trying to exude the confidence that he was now surely lacking, he extended his arms to hug her. As she wrapped her arms around his back, he caught a whiff her cologne. It would be nearly impossible to behave like a total gentleman tonight, which is why he prayed that she did not want to behave like a total lady.
“You look great,” Nicola said unable to find words to describe what he was thinking at that moment, and maybe that was best.
“Thank you,” Ivy said modestly. “You look great too.” She was extremely impressed with Nicola’s choice of clothing. Coincidently, he wore a gray cashmere turtleneck and a black leather jacket with black wool slacks that fit his large muscle bowlegs and a great pair of Kenneth Cole black leather loafers.
Wow, Ivy thought inwardly. He was far more attractive tonight than he was when she first met him, which was very hard to top.
As Nicola helped Ivy put on her coat, he was able to examine her long slender body closer. “Are you ready?”
“Yes.” Ivy opened the door. “Trina, I’ll see you later.” She could read in his eyes that he was pleased with her already.
“Be sweet,” Trina said rolling her eyes at Nicola as she closed the door.
“So, where are we going?” Ivy asked walking closely to Nicola.
“I made reservations at Café Society for seven, and then I thought we would catch a movie afterwards over at the Paradiso." Did she have a curfew?
There was a long silence as Ivy thought about his restaurant selection. True, it was a Saturday night and his plans sounded perfect, but Café Society was a known hangout for Grey’s friends and his father’s colleagues. She knew that going there would cause conflict.
“Nicola, can I be honest?” Ivy had to say something now before it was too late.
“Sure.” He prepared himself for what seemed to be a let down judging by the tone in her voice.
“Your dinner reservations sound great but my ex-fiancé and his friends go there a lot. I really wouldn’t…” she was interrupted.
“It’s cool. Memphis isn’t that small. We can find somewhere else to have dinner.” Nicola was glad that her request had been small. It also gave him a better option. One that he dare not suggest at first.
“Thanks for being understanding,” Ivy said feeling the lump in her chest go away.
“Look, I know that you don’t know me well, but if you would like to keep all the confusion down we could rent a movie and go to my place. I cook the best lobster in town, and I promise not to do anything that would make you feel uncomfortable.” He was sure that she could read between the lines well enough to understand what he meant.
“I trust you; it’s just that it wouldn’t look right.” Silence. “I wouldn’t feel right,” Ivy’s words fumbled out as she tried to find a way to politely decline.
“That’s cool. What ever you want to do is fine with me?” He didn’t’ want her to make this date more difficult than it had to be. So, he would let her make her own decision. It really didn’t matter to him, anyway.
“You know what?” Ivy said shedding her shyness suddenly.
“What?” his eyebrow raised in anticipation of her next comment.
“Who cares about how it looks. Let’s go to your place. To hell with Grey.”
“Yeah, fuck’em,” Nicola said tired of this Grey already. “This is me,” he said walking up to a black Cadillac Escalade and opening the door for her.
“Is this your babe-mobile?” Ivy asked with a sinister smile on her face.
“Yeah.” Nicola said grinning. Evidently, Trina had been talking already.
**
Hours later Nicola placed a garnished plate of Lobster, rice pilaf and Caesar salad on Ivy’s lap as she sat in front of his fireplace. The warm cushions of his couch made her want to snuggle up with a blanket and fall asleep listening to the jazz that he played in the background. The sea of scented candles danced about her head making her feel dizzy. She had already had five full glasses of champagne and was starting on her sixth. She smiled involuntarily as he sat down beside her.
“You don’t cease to impress me,” Ivy said looking down at the plate with her vision slightly blurred.
“Taste it first.” Nicola smiled as he took the glass out of her hand. “I think you’ve had enough of this.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t make up my mind at Blockbuster. I just really was not in the mood to watch anything once I got there.” She giggled a little.
“Hey, it’s fine. To tell you the truth, this is what I had in mind the entire time.” He placed her silverware on the table.
“This is what I had in mind, too. I should have just worn a pair of jeans.” Her smile disappeared.
“Uh oh, what’s wrong?” Nicola instantly noticed a change in her mood.
“I just really needed to get away from everything and everybody. This week has been hell. I keep dodging my parents, because I don’t want to tell them that the wedding is off and…” her words faded away as tears formed in the sides of her eyes. “And I keep hoping that he’ll call and apologize or something.” She tried to smile.
Unprepared for yet another
