They sat at a table near the kitchen as Dante said, " Nice guy."
"He was one of my father's best friends," she said by way of explanation.
Dante nodded. "That explains your relationship and the fact we're getting fed in a closed restaurant without a fight."
Robyn smiled softly and looked around. "I used to spend a lot of time here forever ago. I have so many fond memories. I'll have to bring you back when they're open. It's even better then."
He leaned towards her and placed his arms on the table. "Promise?" he asked, looking at her.
He had removed his coat revealing a t-shirt and bare forearms. Robyn wondered how the heck she could be attracted to a man's forearms flexed on a table, but here she was. To be fair, she's pretty sure there wasn't a part of the man she wasn't attracted to. After all, she'd technically seen every delicious looking inch of him. "Promise," she said, gazing back at him.
They were interrupted when one of Cedric's waiters brought out their early lunch. Their plates contained massive fully loaded burgers and a huge pile of seasoned curly fries. The waiter brought their drink requests as they began to eat.
"Wow. This is good," Dante said around a bite of his burger and gesturing to his plate.
"Always is," Robyn agreed as she took her own bite.
While they ate, Cedric came out to sit with them, and with the help of Robyn, told Dante some stories of famous musical performances and Robyn's visits as a kid with her dad. A couple of hours of laughter later, they were full, the table was clear and they were standing up to put on their coats and leave. Cedric stood with them as they started to walk out.
"Come back soon kiddo," Cedric demanded as he pulled her into another hug. "You too!" he said, turning to face Dante and giving him another handshake. "I've determined you're good people."
"I'll be back very soon," Robyn promised.
"Me too," Dante agreed, shaking the man's hand. "I definitely want to see this place when it's open."
Cedric turned to look at Robyn with a raised eyebrow and a grin. "It's pretty amazing if I say so myself. We've had some really great acts here, huh kid?"'
Robyn rolled her eyes. "We did. Don't start with that again," she laughed, giving Cedric another hug. Dante and Robyn left the restaurant and walked back to the waterfront. Their fingers entwined again, they started the walk back to their parking spots.
"Why do I feel like there is more to these great acts Cedric mentioned at the end?" Dante inquired after a few minutes.
Robyn glanced at him and paused before answering. "He was just referring to some of the amazing musicians that have graced the stage over the years." she said evasively. "They're on the walls of pictures. I'll show you later whenever we go back."
For some reason, Dante got the feeling this was one of those situations where he shouldn't push, so he let the topic drop. Maybe her apprehension was because her dad was in the memories, but not here now. "Thanks for taking me there," he said. "The food was great and I enjoyed the company and conversation."
Robyn smiled and said, "Thanks for listening to our stories of yesteryear. It was nice thinking about old times." They talked more about random topics until they reached Robyn's motorcycle. She swung her leg over to mount it and picked up her helmet. "I'm glad you ran into me and were able to spend time with me." She gently tugged on the hem of his jacket.
"It was my pleasure," Dante promised with a sexy smile. "Now, go home and relax," he commanded.
"Already on my to-do list," she responded with a grin.
As Robyn put her helmet on and drove off, he turned and slowly completed the walk to his car. There was still so much about Robyn that was a mystery to him. He had different thoughts and ideas about her, but not much confirmation. He just wanted to be there for her and let her know she wasn't alone, but she had a tendency to make it hard. She had no problem flirting with him, but actually talking about what she was going through personally? Nothing she was willing to talk about. He understood why she held information about herself so close. She had a history with the CIA, and after everything that had happened to her recently, he'd begun to understand her desire for privacy even more in the past few weeks. Still, it was nice to hear a few stories about what had helped to make her the woman she was today. He knew there was a part of her past life he would probably never know, but he had a feeling there was more to some of the stories about The Lush Lounge he could figure out. There was time to figure that out later. For now, all he could do was continue to offer to be there when she needed him, even if she didn't take him up on his offer. Reaching his car, he climbed in and drove home.
A few hours later, Robyn woke from a nap. Apparently, it had been much needed after the walking and heavy thinking she had done earlier. She'd fallen asleep almost as soon as she got home. At least her muscles were looser than they would have been if she'd just laid around doing nothing all day. Plus, she got the added surprise of getting to see Marcus and spending more time with him. She got out of bed and wandered downstairs to find something to eat. Locating a container of meatloaf, she made a plate and heated it. She decided to make a bowl of salad to go with it. There you go, dinner of champions. No lie though, she loved her Aunt Vi's meatloaf.
She responded to emails and texts while she ate. Aunt Vi letting her know the status of her trip to Conniticut, Dee asking if she'd left her sweatshirt by the door before she left, Mel sending memes and videos, and Harry telling corny jokes. When she finished eating, she decided since she was home alone, a relaxing bath was in order. She could use some quiet moments of peace.
Walking back to her bedroom, she flipped on the stereo for her room and walked into the bathroom to start the water. After adding a generous amount of vanilla-scented bubble bath, she turned to light a couple of gardenia candles she kept around the tub. She selected an R&B playlist on the stereo and set her phone on the table next to the tub. She piled her hair on top of her head and then proceeded to get undressed. Before turning out the lights, she reviewed the collection of remaining bruises that covered her body.
"So colorful," she muttered as she flipped off the lights. She turned off the water and then lowered herself into the tub. She pushed the bubbles around as she thought about today's trip to The Lush Lounge. Going there today was an impulse. She hadn't been there in quite a few years. She'd ended up there because she knew Dante would like it. Once he saw it open with live jazz, he would love it just like everyone else did. The atmosphere had a way of drawing you in.
It was really good to see Curtis. While she'd talked to him regularly over the years, she hadn't been to see him and get one of his trademark bear hugs in a long time. She was going to make a habit of going back on a more regular basis. Especially now that she was home again for good. She had fun telling Dante about some of her young adult antics. She's always kept information about herself private. At this point, she didn't second-guess herself too much when she was talking to Dante. Well, about most things anyway. She still had a wall around her family issues. She didn't want Dante to have to deal with Miles and all of his rules and expected entitlements. If they ended up having a future, he'd have to deal with Miles at some point, but let the man have peace for now. She knew he'd figure everything out eventually, but she was okay dodging it for a bit.
Her phone rang, startling her out of her thoughts. The screen showed a picture of a smiling Marcus. Interesting, another bath time call. She wondered if he had developed a radar, but wasn't mad at his timing. She reached over and tapped the speaker button to answer.
"Detective," her sultry voice greeted him.
