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“I told you, this is my apology. We need drinks.” He gestured to a server behind the bar, who immediately hurried over with a tray that held two drinks. A martini for him, a vodka-tonic with lime for her. Dominic still remembered her favorite drink.
As soon as the server was gone, she firmly pushed her drink away. “I’m not taking a sip until you answer some questions.”
Dominic put his own frosty martini glass to his lips. “Too bad for you, this is top-tier liquor. I’m impressed so far.”
“Why did you really call the board?”
“You didn’t really want that job, did you? You’re an entrepreneur at heart. Working for a town government? You’d be miserable.”
He might be right about that.
“That was my choice. Why did you care what I did?”
“I’ve always cared about you.” Innocent amber eyes shimmered at her over the rim of his glass. While she’d been asleep in the car, he’d changed into a black cashmere shirt that probably cost more than her Lexus.
She clenched her jaw so tight she felt a muscle spasm. “The job, Dom. Why didn’t you want me to get that job?”
“It would have been a waste of your abilities.” She narrowed her eyes, refusing to back off. He set down his glass. “Fine. I should have known I couldn’t play games with you. The company I’m working for wants to acquire Explastica. I’m here with an offer. A substantial one. And tickets to London so we can close the deal in person. They want you to stay on in some capacity. That’s all negotiable.”
Kendra put a hand to her head. “Tickets to London? When?”
“Tonight. Well, tomorrow, strictly speaking. The flight leaves at three in the morning from Minneapolis. We can finish dinner and then catch an Uber. Sleep in our first-class seats and wake up in rainy London. They’ll put you up at the Dorchester. It’s one of the best hotels in London.”
“And…us…all this…you’re not…”
“Look, Kendra. I know I did you dirty. Maybe I can win back your trust, over time. But that’s not what this is about.”
“So it’s not an apology dinner. That was a lie.”
“Why are you so stuck on that apology? This is better than that. It’s an opportunity. You should at least come to London and talk with my superiors. I’ve been raving about you. It’ll be bloody brilliant, Kendra. Your chance to see the world. If you don’t want to accept the offer after you meet them, you can always fly back home to this…” he waved a hand at the picture window, through which she could see the moon rising over the lake, “Beautiful little dot on the map. Come on, Kendra. When’s the last time you had a vacation?”
Her last vacation, she and Dominic had spent a weekend at an AirBnb on the Mississippi River. But instead of canoeing or swimming or fishing, they’d spent the entire time brainstorming ways to recruit investors. Did that even qualify as a vacation?
The quarry flashed through her mind, her and Jason making love on the sunlit rocks. Stretched out on the blanket together afterwards. So relaxed, so happy.
“None of this means anything in terms of us, right?”
“Us as a couple? No. I’m not expecting instant forgiveness. But there’s hope for us as a business partnership. We were brilliant together, and you’re a practical woman. Business comes first.”
The server arrived with the first course. Kendra barely listened as he described the special five-course tasting menu based on indigenous recipes from the area. Sage-stuffed mushroom caps with wild rice were the first course.
“I know you love all that Native American stuff,” Dominic said proudly after the server left. “Remember when you dragged me to that new restaurant with the indigenous chef?”
“Is that supposed to make me forgive you? That you remember random details like that? And by the way, this was their home before the settlers—”
He cut her off before she could go any further. “Let’s stay on topic. We have a time crunch here. I’m not asking you to forget anything that happened between us, or anything I might or might not have done to you.”
Goddamn. Might or might not? She could fight him over those words alone, but what was the point? This wasn’t about their romantic relationship.
Dominic continued. “I’m suggesting you think logically and practically, as I know you always do, about your future and what this offer could mean. You’d be hanging out with the big boys. The power is in your hands, Kendra Carter. Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted?”
Twenty-Seven
Halfway to Galen’s house for that beer, Jason remembered that it was jam session night out in Braddock. Luckily, his trombone case was still in his truck from the last session, taking up half the crew cab. No time to practice when he was hanging out with Kendra so much.
He could use a good jam session right now. That would be a great way to let off steam; besides, the group always had a cooler of beer on hand. He did a U-turn in the middle of an intersection and headed toward Braddock. Another advantage—he wouldn’t be in the same town as Kendra and Dominic for a few blessed hours.
Maybe that would give him time to figure out how to “fight for” her, as Holly suggested. What would that look like? He’d already told her how he felt. Should he go after Dominic in a physical way? He could probably take the guy, and damn, that would feel good. He’d been fantasizing about it ever since he set eyes on him.
