I dish up the chicken parmigiana with steamed broccoli and green beans and, after folding the kitchen towel over my shoulder, I carry them out into Renee’s dining room.
Her eyes come to me as soon as I walk through the door, her gaze warming as I slide the plate in front of her.
“Buon appetito,” I say, nodding to the food.
“Damn. He cooks, he speaks Italian. . . your talent knows no bounds.”
I grin at that. “Don’t get your hopes up. I know maybe ten words and I’m a so-so cook.”
She narrows her gaze and I try to keep a straight face, but my twitching lips mean I fail miserably. She knocks my leg with hers. “You’re so full of shit. This smells amazing.”
“Have to pull out the big guns if I want another date.”
Renee lifts her glass of white wine to her lips, her brow arching. “Already planning another date?”
I reach out and gently lift her free hand to brush my lips against her skin, my eyes locked with hers. “Gotta lock you in early before I lose my shot.”
“You haven’t done anything to minimize your chances so far.”
My grin widens. “Good to know.”
“Except maybe delay me eating this amazing-smelling food.”
I reluctantly release her hand and hold my drink up between us. “To official first dates and gorgeous company.” A blush colors her cheeks as she gently clinks her glass against mine.
“To men who cook and swoop in to save damsels in distress,” she replies.
I chuckle and shake my head. “Something tells me you’re not a person who needs saving often. You’re one of the most headstrong, determined women I’ve met, and I’m related to three half-Italian women who would kick my ass without any hesitation if I ever put a step wrong.”
Her beautiful eyes soften, a wry smile playing on her lips as she lowers her glass and picks up her cutlery.
Instead of doing the same, I watch as she cuts off a small piece of chicken and takes her first bite. Her eyes close and she hums a satisfied moan that has me needing to adjust myself. Everything about this woman intrigues me. In some ways, she wears her emotions on her sleeve; in others, she’s a locked treasure chest I’m aching to crack open.
“How did you learn to cook? Your mother, or for self-preservation as a single man?” she asks.
“A lot of column A, a bit of column B. But I’ve only ever wanted to be a firefighter so that doesn’t work if I don’t look after myself. Can’t pass the annual physical and do the Tough Mudder if I’m eating takeout all the time.”
Her head jerks back. “The Tough Mudder? That’s the dirty obstacle course, right?”
“Dirty obstacle course sounds so filthy coming from your lips,” I say, my eyes drifting down to her mouth.
Renee’s eyes dance with mischief as she quirks a brow. “Everything I want to say is probably not appropriate for a first date.”
I lean forward in my seat. “Say it, just once. Just for me,” I whisper, looking from side to side conspiratorially.
She laughs, her whole face lighting up. “So are you part of a team or . . .?”
“Our whole crew is doing it against another firehouse in six months, and all the money we raise goes to the winner’s chosen charity.”
Her whole face softens. ”Who’s your charity?”
“Big Brothers Big Sisters.”
Renee’s eyes light up and she smiles over at me. “I go to their charity ball every year. I used to volunteer when I was at college.”
I look at her in wonder. “How are you single?”
Her lips tug up on the side. “I could ask you the same question.”
“I’ve already told you.”
“You did?”
My smile broadens. “Yep. I was waiting for my show stopper.”
“Ah yes,” she says, watching me over her glass. “I do remember that.”
“So, you?”
“Waiting for a knight in turnout pants?”
I throw my head back and laugh. ”I know you’re no fire bunny. Your sister said you don’t like firefighters.”
She shrugs but I don’t miss the blink-and-you’d-miss-it fall in her expression before she quickly catches it. I decide to backtrack and get back to safer territory. She’ll tell me in her own time. It’s up to me to show her I’m not the same as her ex—whoever he is and whatever he did. Do I have my suspicions about the kind of man he might’ve been? Sure. But I also know what people say about making assumptions.
“Okay. Tell me about your family. Is your grandmother your only other family in Chicago?” I ask, after a few moments of comfortable silence as we start eating.
“How did you remember that?”
“Remember your grandmother? You said you were at her house the other night when I was with Rhodes and Jake.”
Her lips twitch.
“And I know he texted you when I left the room,” I say with a chuckle. “That boy is the best almost-man I know.”
“I’m thinking he’s got good male role models in his life then.”
“He and Rhodes lost Lily five years ago. I went through the academy with Rhodes so I’ve been around for all of Jake’s life, but when Lils died, the entire firehouse rallied around them. The two of them might as well have the last name Rossi—they would if Mama had her way.”
“That’s amazing. Jake’s already proved to me he’s an impressive young man. And smart. I figured he deleted all evidence of his messages to me.”
“He did. He just made sure to screw with me after doing it so I had no idea what he said but he told me he’d appreciate gratitude when he’s in his twenties.”
She smiles. I want to make her look like that over and over again. Huh. How about that?
Renee rests her hand around the stem of her glass. ”So, my gram . . .” She tilts her head and looks at me. “She’s the best, most nimble eighty-year-old woman I’ve ever known, and she was there for us when nobody else was.” She pauses and stares into my eyes. “Did we want heavy on a first date?”
“If it was an official, official first date, then maybe we’d stay on the surface, but I want to get to know more about you—all about you—which means we can go as fast or slow as you feel ready to go. The rest can be like an onion.”
“Layer by layer?” she says softly.
“Absolutely. Because I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of delving deeper and discovering all that makes up you.”
She shakes her head. “You’re one of a kind, Lieutenant.”
“And we haven’t even slept together yet,” I say jokingly.
“Things you say aren’t what I’m used to hearing from the men I date.”
“Or you’ve been dating the wrong men, because any man who just wants a quick lay shouldn’t be wasting a woman’s time with false promises of more. Or, worse still, leading her on thinking it’s going somewhere when he’s not in the mindset to entertain anything past convenient sex on tap.”
She stares at me, her breath catching, her fork stopped in mid-air. Quickly recovering, she takes the mouthful then studious eyes watch me, so much going on behind them as she takes another sip of wine.
“Usually, hearing a man say these things—things a woman like me wants to hear—would make me roll my eyes and scoff and write them off as just some guy trying to get into my pants.”
I put my hand up, my devilish smirk unrelenting. “I’m gonna put it out there that I’m absolutely, one hundred percent not opposed to any part of me getting into your pants. Hell, it doesn’t even have to be in. I’d be happy with on.”
When Renee responds with an arched brow and I can see she’s trying hard to keep a straight face, I wink and she cracks up, her infectious giggle making me laugh with her.
“Okay. So let’s stay away from heavy for tonight. I promise I’m not hiding anything. I just like talking with you and eating this delicious food,” she says. “If you were aiming to impress, you’ve succeeded.”
“I wanted to dazzle.”
“You’ve dazzled me.”
“Wait until we see the eclipse. That’ll wow you.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” she says, her grin as gratifying as it is satisfying.
I nod to her half-eaten plate as I reach over for the bottle and top up her glass. “Then eat up so we can get this date on the road. Unfortunately, a lunar eclipse waits for no one.”
She gasps dramatically. “Not even the great Sir Marco Rossi?”
I chuckle. “Not even for me. Now, eat.”
She gives me a mock salute. “Yes, Lieutenant.”
I shake my head as I return my attention to my own plate “Smartass,” I mutter.
If I wanted a meek woman, I wouldn’t have been drawn to someone like Renee. And judging by how this date is going right now, I’m so fucking glad I was.
I stand beside Renee amongst the large crowd gathered on the big grass clearing next to the Adler Planetarium.
In front of us, there’s a giant projector screen that’s been set up for those who want a magnified look at the full moon lunar eclipse, which is almost due to start.
Even standing here now, I still haven’t let go of her hand, loving the physical connection. I’ve always been a demonstrative guy in relationships—not that there have been any long-term or even serious ‘I could spend my life with this woman’ ones. Many haven’t been happy with my hours or the danger aspect of my job, or supportive enough to accept my dedication to furthering my career. So when I started getting a little older and looking to make headway in my personal life, I became a lot more selective on my dating choices. This meant fewer options because my focus was on quality over quantity, and two of the most important parts of that are honesty and equality.
“It’s starting,” Renee says, squeezing my hand. I don’t miss the shiver in her voice. It may be late summer but it’s also a crystal-clear night, and there’s a chilly breeze coming off the lake which has brought the temperature down to the high fifties.
I shrug off my jacket and hold it out for her, helping her slip it on and zip it closed.
She turns and puts her hands on my shoulders. I look down and wrap my arms around her back, lowering my head and brushing my lips against hers. Her fingers glide up into my hair and hold me there, her tongue sneaking out and teasing mine before retreating. Accepting her invitation, I tighten my hold and press her harder against me as I deepen the kiss, loving the way she meets me stroke for languid stroke.
“Thank you,” she whispers against my lips when we pull apart, our eyes locked together, and I love the sexy-as-hell lust I see shining back at me. I know she can see the same reflecting back at her because I’m not hiding a single feeling when it comes to this woman—or the incessant hard-on I seem to have whenever she touches me. It would be a problem if I didn’t want her to feel exactly what she does to me.
“You’re kicking ass at this first official date gig,” she says, smiling up at me. She turns her head slightly, burying her nose in the collar of the jacket and inhaling deeply. “It also helps that your cologne smells really good.”
The announcer’s voice fills the air. “The lunar eclipse is due to begin in the next few minutes. It will be visible to the naked eye—thanks to the weather gods for tonight’s clear sky—or you can watch the magnified view from our telescope on-screen.” With the show about to start, I frame Renee’s hips with my hands and spin her slowly toward the screen again, wrapping my arms around her and pressing a barely there kiss to the back of her neck. When she covers my hands with hers and leans against me, I know I’ve read her right.
That’s how we stay as we tip our heads up to the sky and watch the amazing sight of the sun’s shadow being cast onto the moon.
Once we get back to Renee’s house, again, I find myself standing on her doorstep, looking into the same eyes I was on my birthday five nights earlier.
This time, I didn’t save her from a date; I was busy showing her what a date should be like.
And, judging by the look she’s giving me right now as she leans back against her front door, I think I got a passing grade.
“Do you want to come inside?” she asks, her eyes hooded.
Fuck. Do I ever.
I move in, my eyes not leaving hers for a second—not until our hips meet and I let my gaze drift slowly down as her tongue darts out to slowly wet her parted lips. Fuck me.
I touch my forehead to hers. Our bodies are pressed tight from chest to thigh and everywhere in between. I huff out a breath and a frustrated growl escapes me. “You have no idea how much I want to say yes.”
Her lips quirk up as she runs her hand around to my back and slowly glides it lower until she reaches the top of my ass. “Can you be persuaded?” she asks roughly.
I roll my hips against her. “What do you think?”
She laughs quietly, her fingers giving my butt a gentle squeeze. ”So why can’t you stay?”
“Because I have work at seven, and I don’t stay out on school nights.”
I lift my head back as she tips her chin and shoots me an adorable playful pout as Renee moves her hands around to smooth her palms up my chest.
“That is a real shame, Lieutenant,” she says, shaking her head slowly, her eyes warm and understanding yet still full of heat.
I quirk a brow. “Rain check?”
“Oh,” she says. Her smirk proves the amusement I hear in her tone. “Is this a little case of payback?”
“Believe me when I say I have far more creative and satisfying ways of dishing out payback that would make the both of us sleep well tonight—if there was sleep to be had.” Her body trembles against me, and it’s gratifying as hell.
“But,” I say, before leaning in and brushing my lips achingly slowly against hers. “I want you to keep my jacket until next time.”
She pulls back and scrunches her nose up. “Next time?”
“How about next Saturday? Wear it to my house when you come to cook dinner for me.”
Her eyes flash before they grow hooded and amused. “Oh, really?”
“Yeah? Are you asking or telling?”
“Telling,” I reply without missing a beat.
She hooks her hands around the back of my neck, bringing my face close to hers. “And why’s that?”
“Because,” I rasp, my voice thick with lust. I touch our lips together. “If you cook, I’ll take you to bed after and have you for dessert.”
“Damn, you’re good at this,” she breathes.
“Princess, you give me this rain check and I’ll prove just how true that is at the first opportunity we get on Saturday night.”
Renee flexes her fingers and traces the tip of her tongue along my bottom lip before I growl into her mouth and put all of my sexual frustration into a deep, wet, hard and long kiss, which ends with our tongues tangling together and Renee’s calf hooked behind my thigh. My hips grind against hers as I press her into the door and make out with her like the horny teenager she’s turned me into.
“Saturday,” I whisper.
“You’re on, Lieutenant,” she replies, smiling against my lips. “But you bet my ass I’m doing the dishes this time.”