“Yes.”
“Ladies.” With a nod goodbye in their direction, he placed a hand on the small of Aliyah’s back as they followed the hostess to a corner booth.
But the ladies followed, hot on their heels.
“Did you have any trouble finding the place?”
Aliyah shook her head. “Not at all. Have GPS, will travel.”
“That system does make it easier.”
The woman closest to her, a cute brunette with expressive gray eyes, cleared her throat. “Where’d you drive from?”
Aliyah looked at Terrell, then turned to address the woman behind her. “Davis.”
“You live there?” asked the woman who’d been fawning over Terrell when she walked in, and when introduced had offered a smile about as real as a three-dollar bill. The obvious competition, had Aliyah been in the hunt for a handsome, wealthy, well-built, charismatic, sexy example of male magnificence. She wasn’t. So Nosy Nancy had nothing to worry about. And no need to know her business.
They reached the booth. Aliyah sat without answering. The server immediately came over. “Is this who you were waiting for, Terrell?”
“Yes, it is.”
She placed menus in front of Aliyah and Terrell, then looked at the women. “Do y’all need menus?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
The server looked between Terrell and Nosy, from whom the simultaneous answer had come.
“It will just be Aliyah and myself tonight,” Terrell said. “My friends were just leaving.”
“Oh, okay.” Expressive Eyes gave a general wave. “I guess I’ll see you guys later.” She walked over and joined the two men who’d left Terrell to sit at the bar.
“Speak for yourself,” Nosy Nancy said, before looking at Terrell. “Are you going to scoot over or get up and let me in?” He didn’t move, just looked at her. “This isn’t a date, is it? I mean, you’re at the Cove Café for goodness sake, so obviously—” she looked at Aliyah “—it’s no big deal.”
So this was how it went down in Terrell’s hometown? Girlfriend didn’t know but the poised, polite chick in front of her was east coast all day long, where people kept it real. She could switch it up and hurt her feelings. But instead, Aliyah ignored her. Why spar with someone trying to crash into where she had been invited? She casually picked up her menu and began to browse.
Terrell’s voice remained low and casual, but his eyes were those of someone who’d had enough. “You have a nice evening...okay?”
“Oh. Okay.” She flung long black hair over her shoulder and adjusted a nice designer bag over store-bought boobs. “Sorry I upset you, Alicia. Terrell and I go way back, to preschool almost.”
The misspoken name was intentional, and catty. Aliyah knew that, and offered advice instead of correction. “Don’t be sorry.”
Terrell’s brief but knowing smile did things to her insides. The man was dangerous, too sexy for her own good. With no man in her life for the past few months, she wished he were on the menu she held. He had her so distracted she barely noticed Nosy mosey away.
“Sorry about that.”
Aliyah’s eyes turned devilish. “Don’t be—”
“Stop it!” He laughed. “You know you’re wrong. Clever, though.”
“I learned from the best—been dealing with girls like her since I was fourteen.”
“In Davis?”
“No. On Manhattan’s Upper East Side, where I went to private school on a scholastic scholarship.”
“You’re from New York?”
She nodded. “Brooklyn, more specifically. Born and bred in Prospect Heights.”
“But smart enough to go to school with the rich and privileged.”
“Yes, and at times that was most unfortunate. I watched girls who had everything become jealous of one who had nothing.”
He sat back, observing her keenly. “That’s not true. You’ve got a lot.”
“Yes, well, there’s that.”
“I’m not talking about your physical generosities...”
“Ha!”
“I’m talking about you.”
“You don’t even know me.”
“But you make a brother want to know you. And that’s what I’m talking about.”
“Looks like you’re a brother who knows everybody, and who everybody knows.”
“It’s one of the downsides of living in a small town. And one of the reasons I don’t eat here often even though the town’s dining options are limited. Everybody thinks they know you well enough to get all up in your business, even uninvited.”
“Most women who act like that have a reason for doing so.”
“She doesn’t.”
Aliyah shrugged. “Not my monkey, not my circus.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning whatever is between you two is not my concern. I just hope this place serves a good burger.”
“It’s not the best one in town but you won’t be disappointed.”
As if on cue, the server came over to take their orders.
Conversation halted as Aliyah perused the menu. Terrell watched. She noticed. “Clearly you’ve already decided what you want to order.”
“Absolutely,” he said, his eyes narrowing slightly. “I already know exactly what I want.”
She rolled her eyes. He didn’t know, but the action matched the roiling of her stomach as she took in the curly long lashes that framed chocolate-brown orbs, his cleanly shaven angular face and cushy lips. He smiled when she ordered the Cove Classic: double-patty cheeseburger, coleslaw and fries.
“Make that two,” he told the server, letting her walk away before he refocused his attention on Aliyah. “I love it. A woman with a healthy appetite and not afraid to show it.”
She fixed him with a sultry look of her own. “Oh, yes. I have a very healthy appetite.”
Check, and checkmate.
“So tell me about yourself, Aliyah Robinson.”
“What would you like to know?”
“Since you live in Davis, how’d you learn about our center here in Paradise Cove?”
“A good friend recommended it. Her youngest son is enrolled there. She watches Kyle for me. So it works out.”
“What’s her name?”
“Lauren Hensley. Do you know her?”
“No. But I’m only there three days a week, tutoring and mentoring teenaged boys between thirteen and sixteen years old. A buddy of mine named Luther works with your son’s age group.”
“I wouldn’t have pegged you as a guy who tutored teens.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know. You just don’t look the type.”
“What type do I look like?”
Like the type of man I need to take home. Tonight. “Let me think about that.” The honest answer remained unspoken, but a hint of it showed in her eyes.