Friday night, Dani crossed to the door of the café and turned the lock with a sigh of relief. She turned to the Memory Wall and laid a hand on Aunt Helen’s picture.
“We did it, Aunt Helen. We really did it. I had to scramble a bit. We ran out of coffee on Wednesday, and on Thursday I had to throw extra pans of mostaccioli straight from the freezer into the oven when a counseling session let out at 6:30, and everyone came on over for dinner. We packed the house that night.”
She pushed in chairs as she continued to the back.
“But overall, I’d call us a success! I’ve got regulars, Aunt Helen!”
Dani did a little happy dance, thinking of all the faces that had come through her door that week, many more than once. Slowly but surely, Dani could see the community she had hoped to build coming together. She watched strangers sit down for a meal next to each other and share dessert as friends. Conversations flew fast and furious around her tables and warmed her heart.
“I’ve got to stock up the freezer again, and ask Jimmy to take on more of the baking, but today was a good day.”
These were problems Dani was happy to have. Her legs were aching, and her shoulders were full of knots. But her soul was glowing, and her heart was happy. She had done it. With her aunt’s meddling, she had pushed herself off the path and found her calling. Giving the frame a quick polish, she smiled. The crushing grief was no longer so unbearable. She had a part of Aunt Helen with her everyday, in the form of the café. That empty ache in her chest had been filled by the bustle of other people who needed her. Memories of her aunt still popped up at odd moments throughout the day, but they brought peace instead of sadness.
“I miss you, Aunt Helen. But I know that you’re up there keeping an eye on me as always. Thanks for giving me a push. We really did something special here.”
With a soft smile, she walked out the back door and locked up for the night. As Dani strolled the few blocks home, she turned her thoughts to her date. What would Captain America look like? An image began to take shape in her head. He'd be tall, like the hero in the movie, and have strong arms and hands that could hold the weight of the world's problems. Golden brown hair cut short and finely honed features encasing deep brown eyes flashed into the image before she could stop them, and she realized whose face had just entered her fantasy.
She wasn’t even surprised by it. Her dreams had not subsided. In fact, they'd grown hotter and harder for her to ignore. Every innocent touch drove her overwrought system crazy. But he didn’t want her. He had been very clear about that and even after weeks of working close together he hadn’t so much as tried to kiss her. He was moving on. It was time she did, too.
She really hoped that Captain America lit a similar spark in her. It would make life so much easier if she could feel this attraction for someone else. She trusted Captain America, perhaps more than she should given that she'd never actually met him. Still, she knew him so well. He was sweet and funny and honest and supportive. She was ready to try for new relationship, maybe even a new love. She had found her purpose professionally, it was time to find someone special to share her heart.
Saturday evening arrived too quickly. Her baking had held her up at the restaurant longer than she'd expected. Thankfully, Nick had been absent, and she'd been able to concentrate fully on her recipes, but a bad batch of blueberries had slowed her down. She rushed home to shower and change, adding an extra fifteen minutes to her routine to attempt to blow-dry her curls with a diffuser. Date makeup took another ten, and walking in the sky-high pumps that made her ass look amazing in the clingy coral dress, slowed her down even more. She sent a message via the app and hoped he would check it before thinking she was standing him up.
By the time she parked at Rafaelli's, she was a solid twenty minutes late and hoped that Captain America hadn't given up on her.
She entered the restaurant and approached the hostess.
“Hi, I’m meeting someone special tonight. I’m running late though.”
“What is the name on the reservation?”
“Um,…”
The hostess leaned closer and whispered. “Are you here for Captain America?”
Dani nodded and giggled.
“Well, Sunny D, you are a lucky woman. That man is…well, let’s just say if you hadn’t shown up, he wouldn’t have gone home alone.” Dani had to laugh.
“Sorry to disappoint, but if he’s going home with anyone, it’s going to be me.”
“Let me take you to his table. Right this way.” Dani followed the hostess as they wove their way through the tables to the very back of the restaurant. She spotted a bouquet of sunflowers resting on the table, overhanging the edge of the booth. Dani rushed past the hostess in her eagerness to meet him. She could just see the top of his brown hair and the sleeve of his suit as she came up behind him. She slid into the spot across from him, fairly bouncing with excitement.
"Hi, I'm so sorry I'm late. I'm..." She trailed off into silence, her jaw having gone slack, as she looked up and saw Nick Gantry sitting at her table.
"Hi. You must be SunnyD. I'm Captain America, though it feels a little foolish to be saying that out loud." Nick took her hand in his, gave it a squeeze. "Please, don’t panic. Give me a chance to explain."
"What are you doing here? How did you…?” As her voice returned, it rose higher and higher in disbelief. Dani was unable to complete any of the questions swirling through her head, and fell back gracelessly into the booth seat. Shoulders down, she shook her head, feeling completely stupid. Tears for her own foolishness and naive trust welled in her eyes.
"Dani, it's me. It's just me. Shit! Why didn't I listen to Seth and Whiskey? Dani, please don't cry. I'm sorry. I just..." Nick broke off.
“Is this supposed to be funny? Is this a joke to you?” Dani’s initial shock was giving way to anger at his betrayal. “Did you sit in your apartment and laugh with Seth and Whiskey? ‘Poor Dani can’t even get a date online. Watch this.’ You have all been lying to me! For weeks!”
Nick reached for hand, “No, Dani! Honestly, I…”
“Honestly? You can sit there and try to make me think you know the first thing about honesty. Well here is some honesty for you! I thought I was finally had chance to meet someone who might think I was special. But no. Instead it was you. Lying to my face all day while I poured my heart out to you online, and you just led me right along! What the hell kind of ‘friend’ does that? How can I trust a word coming out of your mouth?”
With that she turned and slowly walked away from him, head held high, in her too tight dress and murderous heels, every step pulling her heart further from her chest. She had to walk past all of the other tables, wondering if they’d heard her meltdown. But she made it out the door before the first tear fell.
Nick lowered his head to his arms on the white linen tablecloth in defeat. The other patrons, who had clearly heard every word out her mouth, tried not to look at him. Even the waiter had the decency not to approach the table to fill the water glass again.
She hadn't seen it. She hadn't seen that she was special to him, no matter what the hell his name was. She hadn't even given him a chance to explain. He was an idiot. God, Seth was right and he was never, never going to live that down. He'd tried to win by tricking her. It seemed so obvious now. He betrayed her trust. The trust that she gave so freely.
He had to fix this. His spine straightened as his resolve returned, lifting his head off the table. He wasn't about to scrap the whole project because of one bad cut. He’d take her measure again, and make sure he said the right things this time. He could fix this. He’d spent too much time building up her trust to just throw it all away. He’d leave his heart at her feet. Then she could decide if she wanted to stomp on it or pick it up. He pushed away from the table, leaving a generous tip for the waiter who'd let him sit there for half an hour without ordering, and hustled home to catch Dani before she went to sleep.