Page 113 of Some Kinda Romance

One of my chefs walked out, followed by a small contingent of his people. Each of them carried a couple of plates, and they set them down on the table between us. Once every free inch of space was covered, Angelo stepped forward.

“We hope you like it, boss,” he said. “I checked everything myself. Nothing will make anyone sick.”

I chuckled and Serenity winced once he was gone. “That’s why you did this?”

“Well, I didn’t want you getting sick every time I take you to dinner,” I replied, giving her a goofy smile. “I enjoy your company too much to get you scared of going out with me.”

She sighed, but I could see that she was amused by it. “This looks amazing. I might have to poach this chef from you. Think I could lure him over to my side?”

“Not a chance,” I said confidently. “He loves working for me and he’s one of the best paid members of my staff. Trust me, he’s not going anywhere.”

She pumped her eyebrows at me. “We’ll see. I have to try, right?”

“Have at it,” I said. “I’m confident he’ll come to me as soon as you make him an offer.”

“Well, I suppose I can’t have all the best chefs working for me. You can have him.” She picked up one of the canapes he’d prepared. She popped it in her mouth and moaned as she chewed it. “I take it back. I’m definitely going to try to steal him.”

I chuckled, trying a few canapes myself. Angelo had outdone himself. I couldn’t say I’d blame her if she did try to hire him. “How was your day?”

“Ethan showed up this morning,” she said, speaking quickly before I had time to react. “He tried to convince me that you were just using me.”

“Using you?” I grimaced. “For what? Sex?”

“Fame,” she said. “Apparently, you admitted it to him the other day.”

I shook my head and scoffed. “I’m not chasing fame, Serenity. All I want is to be with you. In fact, if we could lose the paparazzi forever, that would be great.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, showing me the palms of her hands. “I’m not saying I believe him. I don’t. I’m just wondering if that’s something important to you.”

“All I want from you is you.” I looked right into her eyes. “I have money and success, and I’m already more famous than I ever wanted to be. If anything, your fame made me hesitate to be with you. Not anymore, of course. When you smile at me, I don’t care how many cameras are watching us. I just want to be yours.”

She blessed me with that smile, and it was like the sun peeking from behind a cloud. “I believe you.”

After we’d feasted on all the amazing food, everyone left the roof at a prearranged motion from me. Once we were finally alone, I got up and put on some music on my phone. Setting it down on the table, I held out my hand. “Dance with me.”

“Happily,” she murmured, placing her palm in mine and relaxing into my arms. “I just want to be yours too, you know. You said all you wanted from me is me, and that’s all I want from you too. I guess I’m still having trouble trusting someone again. It’s not your fault.”

“It’s not your fault either,” I said, holding her close and resting my head on top of hers. “There’s nothing we can do to change the past, but together, we can have a hell of a future.”