Secret North: Book 4 of The Wishes Series (5 page)

Ryan smiled down at her. “
Dans ce cas, d’accord, Bridget. Je ne la marierai pas ce soir
.”

He pronounced her name differently when speaking French. Unlike me, she wasn’t enamoured by his gorgeous tone. Her worried frown remained.

We loaded our respective children into the waiting cars. I glanced around, convinced that people were staring. Patrons at Ginger’s generally don’t depart in chauffeured town cars. The Décaries didn’t seem to share my embarrassment; obviously it was nothing out of the ordinary for them. I’m sure dining at Ginger’s was, though.

“So I’ll meet you in an hour?” asked Ryan.

“Yes, where?”

“Your driver has the details.”

I tilted my head and sighed. “I don’t know about this, Ryan. You’re so secretive. Secretive destinations, secretive conversations …”

He put his hand to his heart. “I am completely transparent.”

“Yeah? What did Bridget say?”

He looked back at his car, making sure his niece was in it and out of earshot. “She asked me not to marry you. I don’t think she’s keen on having Malibu in the family.” The corner of his mouth lifted. “I told her I wouldn’t marry you tonight. That’s the best I could do.”

I nodded, slightly dumbstruck. “I’ll see you soon,” I stammered.

He held a finger up. “One hour.”

9. CONQUER AND KEEP

Ryan

I don’t know what possessed me to call Bridget’s parents and let them know that she was on her way home – but I was glad I did. We’d obviously interrupted something very non-PG. The first thing I noticed when Adam answered the door was his inside-out T-shirt.

Bridget wrapped herself around him like a vine. “I’m back again!”

“Yes you are,” he beamed insincerely, putting his hand on her head. “It’s as if you only just left.”

Bridget abandoned her grip on her dad and took off into the apartment. I was afraid to venture further than the doorway. “Thanks for the nice time, Bridge,” I called. “I’ll see you later.”

“Okay,” came a distant reply.

“This is her leftover food.” I thrust the box at Adam, giving him no choice but to take it. “My advice would be to ditch it. It didn’t look good to begin with.”

“Right.”

The longer I stood there, the harder it was to keep a straight face.

“One word, Ryan,” he warned. “Say one word and –”

I held both hands up. “I’m not saying a thing ... except that you really need to work on your time management skills.”

The door closed in my face and I chuckled my way back to the elevator.

***

I’d arranged for the driver to take Bente to Nellie’s. The look on her face as she walked in led me to think she was disappointed by my choice of venue. Her outfit screamed disappointment too. She’d changed out of her jeans and was now wearing a silky red dress that perfectly matched the colour of her lips.

My heart sank a little. She’d reiterated her need to keep things casual at least ten times. Maybe I got it wrong.

I met her at the door. “Everything okay?” I asked.

She forced a smile. “Fine.”

I knew enough about women to know that fine didn’t mean fine. I also knew that calling her out on it wasn’t smart, so I said nothing. I took her hand instead and led her to a small table near the kitchen door. It wasn’t an ideal spot. In fact, it was probably the worst table in the whole place, but the others were occupied and I wasn’t a big enough jerk to move anyone.

I pulled out her chair and Bente sat down, scanning the room with her eyes. “Business is obviously booming,” she noted. “It’s a full house tonight.”

The kitchen doors crashed open, making us jump. A server rushed past, carrying four plates.

“Business is good,” I awkwardly confirmed.

“This wasn’t quite what I was expecting when you suggested a change in venue, Ryan.”

“No?”

She shook her head and almost smiled.

I leaned back and busied my hands by fussing with the edge of the tablecloth. I’m not a fidgety person but I was having trouble looking her in the eye. Bente is easily irritated. I usually loved that about her, but in this instance it worried me. She was probably fighting the urge to slap me.

“You were the one who insisted on keeping it casual. Nellie’s is low key.”

“Ginger’s was low key too,” she retorted.

The kitchen doors crashed open again, but neither of us reacted.

“You’re sending mixed signals, Bente.” I frowned at the tablecloth. “I thought you’d be happier here. We don’t serve salmonella and the floor is clean. So if you’re unhappy enough to take a leaf out of Animal’s book and hurl yourself on the floor, your pretty dress will stay clean.”

Her glare gave way to a look of disbelief. “You call my niece Animal?”

My insults were usually intentional but not this one. “I said that out loud?”

She huffed out a sharp laugh. “Totally out loud.”

“I don’t mean it in a bad way,” I lied. “She reminds me of Animal, the Muppet.” Even I knew the hole was getting deeper. “The drummer Muppet. He’s quite talented.”

“Just stop talking, Ryan.”

I nodded, and dropped my head to hide my smile. When I glanced up for a second, I saw she was doing the same thing.

Neither of us spoke for a long time. The silence was excruciating but Bente finally put me out of my misery. “She is a bit like Animal,” she conceded, rolling the stem of her glass between her fingers.

I didn’t agree, because I’m not a total idiot. I changed the subject instead. “We can go to Billet-doux if you want,” I offered. “Or somewhere completely different. Your call.”

“I’m not sure what I want,” she mumbled. “I have no clue what I’m doing.”

At least I wasn’t the only one out of my depth. I’d never put so much effort into trying to win over a date in my life.

I’d dated a lot of women – too many to admit to a number. The way I operated hadn’t changed since my teens. I chase, I conquer and I release, usually the next morning. When it came to conquering and keeping, I was clueless. And I’d known from the first minute I’d laid eyes on Bente that she was a keeper. I just hadn’t been ready for her before.

I thought quickly, trying to come up with some semblance of a plan to stop the evening completely unravelling. “Look,” I began, “the way I see it, we have two options here. We can keep it casual if you want to. We’ll order the special and spend the night discussing politics and the weather.”

She scrunched up her pretty face, clearly unenthused. “What’s the second option?”

My heart began thudding, willing my brain to come up with option two. “I will make this the most romantic, memorable evening you’ve ever had,” I declared.

“Wow.” She smiled at the cutlery she was pretending to straighten. “That’s sounds like an offer almost too good to refuse.”

“Two minutes,” I blurted. “All I need to make it happen is two minutes. Just say the word.”

She lifted her head and glanced around. Not only were all the tables full, a queue was forming at the door, which was great for business but not so great for romance. It made my offer sound like a complete crock, but I was still hopeful of pulling it off.

“I’ll take option two, please.” Her words came out sounding like she was daring me to do something wicked, which was very fitting. The only plan I’d come up with was about as wicked as they come.

“Excellent choice, Miss Denison,” I told her, trying to sound confident. “Are you ready?”

“Born ready.”

With a nod, I stood and walked the short distance to the fuse box hidden behind a pot plant. I opened the door, took a long moment to study the interior, and turned back to face her. “Option two, right?”

She wasn’t looking smug any more, but I took the stiff nod she gave me as a yes, reached inside and pulled the fire alarm.

A thrumming bell rang out. It was much louder than I expected it to be, but not loud enough to drown out the bedlam in the room. Confusion among the patrons quickly set in. Some panicked, abandoned their meals and rushed out the door; but some stayed put. I was surprised: the food was good, but not that good.

Thankfully, my staff were a little more on the ball. The kitchen doors crashed open over and over as they rushed in and out searching for the fire.

Bente stared at me in wide-eyed disbelief. “What the hell did you just do?”

I took her face in my hands and crushed my lips against hers. “You look so beautiful tonight. You should know that.”

It probably wasn’t the most appropriate time to be making such a declaration. We were in the midst of chaos.

“Thank you,” she choked. “I’ll remember those as your parting words. You’re going to jail, Ryan.”

“No one’s going to jail.” I released my hold and glanced at the mayhem I’d caused. “Okay, maybe I’m going to jail.”

“This is your idea of a memorable evening?”

I grinned at her. “Go big or go home, right?”

“You’re not going home,” she replied, shaking her head. “For years probably.”

Someone called my name. I looked up to see the manager waving me over. “Don’t go anywhere,” I ordered. “If I don’t come back, call Adam to bail me out. And when he says no, call Charli.”

10. ODD NUMBERS

Bente

When the fire department stormed the restaurant I was still sitting at the table, pondering whether Ryan Décarie was a romantic man or a stupid one. I felt no urge to flee the building. It wasn’t as if it was on fire or anything.

“You have to leave, Miss,” ordered an approaching fireman. He pulled my chair back and hooked his arm under mine, making sure I stood.

I wandered out, sharing none of the panic of those around me. The flashing lights of the emergency vehicles lit up the night and onlookers crowded both sides of the street, watching the mayhem unfold.

I stood in the crowd for a long time before spotting Ryan further down the street. He was having a conversation with a police officer and two firemen. I didn’t approach. I just stood there, studying him.

Ryan has a habit of talking with his hands. The more intense the conversation, the more animated he becomes. He must’ve been aware of the quirk because both hands were in his pockets, meaning he was in total control of himself and the conversation. I shuddered to think the lies he was spinning to get himself off the hook. They seemed to be buying it, though. There was a lot of nodding going on, and no sign of any handcuffs.

Ryan Décarie could charm the pants off anyone. It was his biggest talent and his biggest downfall. Every woman he’d ever wooed had been attracted by the same thing – bright brown bedroom eyes, sexy crooked smile and a body made for touching. If for some strange reason those attributes failed, he had a fat bank account to sweeten the deal.

The downfall was, no one ever looked past it – or got the chance to. Ryan’s relationships were notoriously short lived: one night, two if he thought she was worth the effort.

Claiming to be immune to his charms would’ve been a lie, but I was older, wiser and far better equipped to deal with him now. Perhaps that’s why I’d agreed to give the wasp’s nest another kick.

***

Ryan finally spotted me and waved me over. Just as I got to him, another fireman approached and declared the emergency a false alarm. “You might want to get the alarm system checked out,” he suggested, lifting the visor on his helmet. “Something’s obviously defective.”

Just the owner
, I answered silently.

“Thank you,” replied Ryan. “I’ll do that.” He curved his arm around my back and pulled me close and that’s when I realised his steely criminal resolve was a sham. I could feel his guilty heart pounding.

“You’re free to re-open if you want to,” said the police officer.

Ryan looked up at the sign above the front doors. “I think we’ll just call it a night,” he replied, feigning melancholy.

The emergency responders disappeared as quickly as they’d arrived. Once the trucks and flashing lights were gone, the crowd dissipated too. The only people who remained were the shell-shocked staff, waiting for instruction from Ryan.

“Give me a minute?” he asked.

I nodded. Ryan leaned in, lightly kissed my lips and ventured over to address his staff. I used the time alone to pull myself together. No amount of good looks and charm could change the fact that Ryan was trouble. Pulling a fire alarm to clear a restaurant was the perfect example of the kind of behaviour he was capable of.

When he reappeared, I let him know exactly what I thought of his fire alarm stunt. “What if there had been a real fire somewhere? They couldn’t have attended because they were busy dealing with your nonsense.”

“I’ll send the FDNY a sizeable donation tomorrow,” he promised.

“And what about your staff?” I demanded. “They rely on the tips they get. They’re getting nothing tonight.”

His arm swooped around me. I didn’t fight his hold, but I wedged my elbow between us to buy the distance required to keep my brain functioning. “I’ll take care of them too.”