Enchanter (14 page)

“My friend is waiting for us.”

“Oh, right, wouldn’t want to disappoint the
friend
.”
I frowned, forcing a chuckle out of him.

“The night is still early.”

God, let that be a promise, please!

“Well, I guess you’re right about that.” I slipped into the
passenger seat as he held the door for me.

When I sat down, my already short dress rode up my thighs a
bit, exposing my legs for my quiet-yet-appreciative companion to see. Even
though Brandon was a gentleman, he was no less of a man than most twenty-two-year-olds,
and his eyebrows shot up as soon as my attire decided to take over and do the
flirting for me.

Mortified that I had all but shown my underwear to the
handsome, blue-eyed young man trying his best not to stare, I tugged at the hem
of the dress and rewarded him with an awkward smile. He nodded before shutting
the door and walking around the car to the driver side.

The second he was comfortably seated next to me, Brandon
turned to me and said, “I’m eternally grateful to whoever chose that little
number.”

I can honestly say that I never considered myself to be
conceited, nor had I ever cared if a guy found me easy on the eyes or even
sexy, but damn if my heart did not thud painfully in my chest when Brandon
uttered those words. I was incredibly aware of the havoc he was causing in my
now actively-hormonal female body.

“We… um… well… it was a mutual decision,” I mumbled, unable
to clear my thoughts from what those eyes did to me. “I’m glad you like it.”

“My only problem with it is that I’ll either be fighting off
other admirers for the rest of the night, or I’ll be too distracted to pay
attention to anyone else.”

“Flatterer.”

“No, it’s not flattery, Leah. I think you’re beautiful.”

Ah, man, how come it took me this long to see how much of
a sweetheart he is?

“Thank you.” I blushed right down to my toes. “I happen to
think you’re mighty fine too.”
I can’t keep myself from igniting the fire between
us over and over again, can I? Every time he says something I dive right in,
inviting him to either say more or make room for me to stick my foot in my
mouth. What is wrong with me? How come I never reacted this strongly to anyone else’s
gaze, or words for that matter?

To say that I was completed rattled by my reaction to
Brandon was an understatement. I had spent most of my life avoiding eye contact
with him, and the second our gazes locked that Tuesday morning after my
cellphone nearly suffered a horrible death by a pair of sharp heels, I could not
fight off the weird vibrations I got every time he looked at me.

Is this what being smitten feels like?

We smiled at each other for a few short seconds before
Brandon finally shifted in his seat and started the ignition. We buckled up and
moments later he drove off the parking lot and onto the road.

He had the good grace to turn the radio on, and that
provided some distraction from the sexually charged energy in the car. I was
idly relieved by the fact that he was not so quick to take advantage of my obvious
physical response to him, because had it been anyone else I would have been
deflowered already.

Wait… what if he doesn’t find me attractive enough? What
if this is just some game to him and I’m just making a fool of myself? No, that
can’t be. I didn’t imagine what I saw behind those pale blue eyes. Although he
hides his emotions well most of the time, whenever we’re near I see that he’s
as affected by me as I am by him.

“So, ah, where are we headed? You said something about a
restaurant, but that’s about it.”

He lowered the already-low volume of the radio before responding,
“Well, I won’t go on to describe it because your about three minutes away from
seeing it for yourself, but I will tell you that it’s a very pleasant place and
I’m sure you’ll like it.”

“My curiosity is already peeked. But with that certainty in
your voice, how can I not assume that I’ll love it?”

My condensation appeared to please him, if that sparkle in
his eyes was any indication.

“It’s a new business and we hope others will feel drawn to
the place.”

This matter sounded kind of personal to him and I could not help
but wonder at that.

“We?”

“My friend and I.”

“Sounds like you’re more involved in this than you’ve led
on.”

“Well, let’s say that I might be involved to some extent.”

“Being modest, huh?”

“Maybe.”

As he drove, Brandon focused his attention to the road, but
I had the feeling he was ever alert to my presence next to him. Every few
seconds he would turn to scrutinize me for a few seconds and I was silently
pleased by the fact that he was not entirely immune to me either.

Biting back a smile, I turned my attention to the window and
focused on the huge, elegant, three-story building we were fast approaching.

The closer we got to the structure, the more I stared. It
looked impressive even from the outside, and I was anxious to step in and see
for myself how amazing it truly was. Looking for a name that would identify it,
my gaze traveled upward and I spotted the big blue letters that clearly spelled
The Blue Flame
on top of the main doors.

Within seconds of arriving, Brandon chose a parking space which
had been reserved for him. There was a tall, bald man standing next to the
parking spot, and once he spotted the Navy Blue Honda, he removed the thin pole
with a huge white sign that read
Reserved Parking
, allowing for Brandon to
direct his small car in the small gap between a red pickup truck and a white
SUV.

“Someone’s expecting you,” I pointed out the obvious.

“I’m sure Dmitri has been counting the minutes too.”

Oh, thank God, the person waiting for him is a man.

“Well, let’s not keep him waiting.” I made to unbuckled my
seatbelt, but the thing would not budge. “Brandon, I think I’m stuck.”

“Oh, here.” He leaned over me from across the driver seat. “Sometimes
it gets stuck, so you have to pull hard on it while pushing on the button.” He
demonstrated and the seatbelt released me. “There.”

“Thanks,” I murmured, hoping we had more time to spare so
that I could kiss him.

“No problem,” he whispered, and planted a quick kiss on my
lips.

Brandon exited the car and shut the driver-side door before
marching around the vehicle to the passenger side. After helping me out, he
locked the doors and we turned to greet the tall man waiting for us.

“We’ve been expecting you,” the man said, echoing my previous
words.

“I’m sorry we’re late.”

“Dmitri doesn’t mind, but you know how he is, he won’t start
accommodating his other guests to the VIP section until his most important
accomplice arrives.”

The man’s statement amused Brandon.

“The restaurant looks busy already,” he pointed out. The
other man’s head bobbed up and down agreeably.

“Yes, but his VIP guests are waiting downstairs by the bar.”

Brandon is the most important one in the bunch then! I
mean, why else would this man make his other VIP guests wait by the bar?

“How rude.” Brandon laughed.

“I agree,” the other man responded, laughing.

“This is Miss Parker, my date,” Brandon introduced me.

“Nice to meet you, Miss Parker, I’m Leon.” He extended his
huge dark hand for me, which I took.

“Nice to meet you, Leon.” I shook his hand briefly before he
released me. “But please call me Leah.”

“Leah.”

“So, you two know each other long?” I asked Leon.

“Yes, we see each other often. I work for the owner of the
place and Brandon and I cross paths often.”

“I see.”

“Let’s get going before Dmitri comes looking for us.” Brandon
pulled me gently by the arm, leading the way to the restaurant’s front
entrance.

Leon followed us all the way to the entrance without saying
another word. As we approached the front entrance, he gestured to another man
holding a clipboard, and the man left the line of irritated-looking customers to
saunter over to us.

“Name?” the man asked as we stopped in front of him.

Brandon opened his mouth to answer, but a deep, masculine
voice interrupted.

“This is Brandon Morris, one of my VIP guests.”

We turned to our right to catch the tall and tan figure of a
handsome man strolling toward us. The brown-haired, green-eyed stranger
approached and smiled as Brandon and he embraced. The familiarity between the
two gave me the impression they were close.

“Ever impatient, Dmitri.” Brandon shook his head. “You’ve
been waiting for me by the door for a while, haven’t you?”

“Guilty as charged.” Dmitri smiled briefly before turning
his attention to me. “And who is this charming young lady?”

Dmitri’s green eyes appreciatively assessed my face for a
few seconds before nodding in what I deduced must have been approval.

“This is Leah.”

Dmitri took one good look at me and tossed a smile Brandon’s
way, which made me think he knew exactly who I was, or that at the very least he
had heard about me before tonight. “Ah, Leah. I meet you at last.”

“Hello, it’s nice to meet you Mister…?”

“Salvatore. Dmitri Salvatore is the name, but you can call
me Dmitri.”

My eyebrows shot up as he formally introduced himself.

“Dmitri Salvatore, as in Salvatore Enterprises?”

“Ah, so you have heard of me?”

Heard of him? He owned half the town!

“I’m surprised. I had no idea I was coming to meet you.”

“I see.” Dmitri nodded, eying Brandon with a mixture of
amusement and respect. “Well, you should know that Brandon is very modest about
telling others who he associates with.”

“So I’m starting to learn.”

Brandon smiled sheepishly and reached out to take my small
hand in his.

“Leon,” Dmitri gestured to the guard, “can you please direct
my other guests up to the lounge on the second floor?”

The way Dmitri spoke, as if he was raised some hundred years
ago, caught my attention. Of course, his accent added to the allure of his
well-bred, well-spoken mannerism.

“I’ll meet you up there.” Leon headed inside.

“Now that we have been pleasantly introduced,” Dmitri smiled
again, “shall we go inside and partake in the feast my chefs have prepared for
you both?”

 “Of course.”

Dmitri led the way inside the huge building, and as soon as
I walked through the double front doors I was taken aback by how beautiful the
place was. Upon entering, my eyes focused on the corridor that trailed straight
from the main entrance to a hostess stand in the middle of the room.

To the right of the stand were two sets of glass double
doors, each opened up to an enormous dining area. Even from where I stood, I
could see the vast amount of rounded tables strategically placed throughout the
room so that they could easily accommodate up to eight people per table without
crowding the neighboring one.

Wow, talk about a five-star restaurant. This place looks
like it cost a fortune to build!

Never in my life had I set foot inside such a high class
place, and to say that I was a little intimidated was a bit of an
understatement. Although I was properly dressed for the occasion, I still felt
oddly out of place. My only measure of comfort was the big hand holding onto
mine. As I glanced up, I caught Brandon’s handsome gaze on me and we both
smiled.

“This place is amazing,” I whispered so that only he could
hear me. “What am I doing here?”

“You are here because I wanted to share this special moment
with someone who means a lot to me.”

Surprised, I furrowed my brows for a second before grinning.

“This whole event has a deeper meaning that what you’ve let on,
doesn’t it?”

“Yes, and you’re about to find out.”

“Do I really mean that much to you?” I mean, a few days ago
I was probably his worst enemy.

“Do you even have to ask?”

“Well, it’s just that yesterday we were practically killing
each other and now… I’m about to share something major with you? It’s kind of
surreal.”

“I would’ve shared a lot more if we had gotten reacquainted
before.”

Somehow, I did not doubt that at all. Every time he said
something sweet, I felt even guiltier for turning my back on him when we were
kids and ignoring him for the next sixteen years.

“Well, it’s never too late to correct mistakes.” My response
pleased him and he let it show by planting a quick peck on my lips before we
continued to follow Dmitri.

Before crossing the length of the corridor, I glanced inside
the room to my right and noticed that each table was packed with men, women,
and children of all ages.

To my left stood another room, this one was also huge, but
instead of tables distribute evenly across the area, there was an enormous
round bar in the middle of the floor. At the opposite side of the bar, I could
see a dance floor, a small stage, and a few tables, each capable of sitting up
to four people, aligned in a straight line just a couple of feet from where the
dance floor started.

As we moseyed on by, I took noticed of the jazz band playing
on the stage and the many couples comfortably accommodated either by the bar or
on the dance floor. Some were dancing, others enjoying a couple of drinks while
listening to the music. Everyone appeared to be having a great time. Even the bartender,
who was busy at work, seemed to be enjoying himself.

Dmitri headed toward the staircase, which was some thirty or
so feet from the front entrance, and ambled up the steps with Brandon and me
silently following. Once we arrived on the second floor, Dmitri took a right
down another hallway. Within a few seconds we came upon another set of glass double
doors, which led to a room reserved for private parties.