From This Day Forward: Multicultural Romance (5 page)

Chapter 6

Ah, yes
, she thought, remembering the handsome man who had insulted her in Baggage Claim at the airport.
It was just a coincidence
, she was sure.
It couldn’t be the same man.
Loretta waved her hand and dismissed the thought as she took in the charm of the place.

As they got out of the truck and walked toward the oval shaped stone entrance, Loretta marveled.

“It feels like we’re in one of those Italian places I’ve seen on the Travel channel.” Her eyes flitted from the hanging, wrought-iron, outdoor candelabras, to the terra cotta and multi-colored stone pathway, to the charming restaurant less than 200 feet away. The outside verandah was wide and deep. A towering outdoor brick oven was visible from the entryway.

“Is that it? Oh my goodness!” Loretta’s eyes lit up.

“That’s it,” Velma said as she watched her friend rush toward the open verandah in the distance.

Velma knew she would like the place.

“Velma?” a familiar Italian accent said from behind.  She tensed up at the sound of his voice, finally taking a deep breath and turning around to face him. Studying his eyes, she let out a soft sigh of relief. 

“Alonzo,” Velma said. “It’s been too long.” She laughed as the tall, broad man almost picked her up with his strong embrace.

“Yes, it has been my friend,” he said. “You are good for my eyes.”

“And mine, too,” Velma said with sincerity. “Mine, too.”

Loretta turned around to glimpse the commotion. 

It was the same man from the airport.

Butterflies filled her stomach as she locked eyes with the tall, dark stranger. She couldn’t move.

As they approached, his eyes let her know he recognized her, too.

Alonzo’s gaze fastened on hers.  He smiled and nodded a polite hello, and seemingly an apology, too.

But she steeled her body and tried to remind herself she was angry at him.

Alonzo’s gaze held Loretta’s.

Velma studied them.  They were clearly having a conversation that had nothing to do with her or the restaurant space. She looked back and forth at both of them, realizing they’d forgotten she was in their midst.

Velma cleared her throat. “Alonzo, this is my friend Loretta I was telling you about. Loretta this is --,” she started.

“Alonzo Thornton,” Loretta said with a coolness that did not match the adoration shooting from her eyes in his direction. 

“You know each other?” Velma asked, confused.

“Yes, we’ve met. This is the gentleman I was telling you about. The one who assumed I was his new
maid
,” she said, folding her arms and thrusting her nose up a little.

Alonzo shook his head from side to side with a slight chuckle.

Velma looked back and forth between the two of them.

“And would that have been so bad?” Alonzo asked, not taking kindly to her attitude toward the profession.  “My mother was a domestic servant in Italy most of her life. And my father, God rest his soul, when he first came to your country, performed domestic work to put food in my belly. Would that have been so bad, being a maid?”

Who did he think he was questioning her right to be highly offended? He didn’t know anything about her.

“No, it wouldn’t have,” Loretta shot.  “I have no problem with the occupation. It’s the
stereotype
that offends me, Mr. Thornton. You didn’t know me from Adam, but because I was the only African-American woman in that airport, you assumed I was
the help.
Of that, I took -- and still take -- offense,” Loretta stated emphatically.

Understanding creased Alonzo’s brow as he chuckled, now clearly amused.

“I don’t see anything funny!” Loretta huffed.

Alonzo couldn’t help himself. He threw his head back and let out a throaty laugh. 

“I thought you were my new hire because you wore a pink scarf.  That’s what the agency said the employee would be wearing so I could identify her in the airport. It had nothing to do with anything else.”  He shook his head, still smiling.

Loretta was rendered speechless -- again -- by this handsome man.

“Oh--,” was the only thing she could finally muster. She looked around as if admiring the place.

“What a lovely place you have here,” she sang, trying to change the subject. 

“I think you owe me an apology, Miss Devon,” Alonzo said, a serious undertone in his voice.

“I do,” she admitted right away, clearly embarrassed at her own assumption. “I apologize, sincerely,” Loretta said, looking into intense, dark eyes that made her want to blush.

“Apology accepted,” Alonzo said, giving her a warm smile back.

Velma cleared her throat to interject.  “Let’s try this again.”

They both dropped their heads, then looked at her.  

“Alonzo Thornton, this is my best friend in the whole world, Loretta Devon. Loretta, I present to you Alonzo Thornton,” Velma said, motioning for them to shake hands as if they’d just met for the first time.

The two laughed and shook hands. The sensation of his strong hand on hers made her feel something she hadn’t felt in a long time …
sheer lust. 
As Alonzo’s rugged palm held onto her fingers for what was a noticeable few seconds longer than a handshake should last, their eyes met again. 

In that instant, something passed between them.  Their touch, accompanied by a quick darting of the eyes, resulted in an unspoken desire to learn more about each other.

Alonzo let Loretta’s hand go and gestured for them to follow him inside the restaurant.

A little while later, at the end of the tour, Loretta already knew she wanted the place.

And she knew she wanted something else, too.

The space was perfect, more than she could have ever dreamed of. The back courtyard was breathtaking. It looked out over the vineyards toward a large, shimmering pond in the distance. Alonzo walked them almost to the back of the area that was slated for use by the restaurant to host catered events.

“Well, what do you think?” Alonzo asked. He was hoping she liked it. Something about her fit the place like a glove -- even through their rocky start. He enjoyed the sound of her voice filling the air. Her soft, yet slightly high-pitched tone was almost like song when she spoke, and her smile filled the air as he watched her envisioning this or that for the space the mother of his child had conceptualized.

“It’s nice,” Loretta said, trying to use a nonchalant tone.  She actually liked it a lot, but she was trying to contain her excitement. 

“Well, does that mean you’re going to take it?” Velma egged her on, knowing it was perfect for what she wanted to do.

Loretta wanted to say yes, but she’d learned from her business classes to take her time before signing a long-term commitment for a space. She also remembered it didn’t hurt to negotiate terms beyond the initial ones being presented by a leaser.

“It means I’m going to give it serious consideration, but first, I want to discuss the lease terms again,” she said.

Alonzo had given her the details of his proposed long-term lease. They were excellent terms, Loretta couldn’t argue with that, but she had her sights on something else, too.

“Well, what do you want to know?” Alonzo asked, intrigued that she would perhaps try to get a lower price.

“That empty cottage out back, down the path, near the pond, can it be included in the lease price? I’m new to the area and it would be great to have a home near my restaurant?”

Alonzo remembered the cottage and how it came to be built. He hesitated, but only for a second.  The past was the past, and there were no happy memories associated with how the cottage had come about.  It was a long time ago, and it was time to move on.

“The cottage?  Yes, I don’t see why not,” Alonzo said, to Loretta’s surprise and delight. “It most certainly can be included as part of your lease.”

The cottage was perfect. It was a small stone dwelling with a matching, traveling fence which was enclosed by a tall, ornate gate resembling the one at the front of the vineyard. The house was flanked by wild flowers and blossoming trees. A small area with rows of what looked like wild grapes was fenced off behind the home.

It was all too perfect!
  Before she knew it, Loretta had stuck her hand out to seal the deal.

“Mr. Thornton, you’ve got yourself a new tenant.”

Alonzo smiled wide and shook her hand back. “That’s great,” he said, nodding a thank you to Velma for bringing her friend by to see the restaurant.  “Miss Devon, welcome to Thornton Vineyard. I hope you’ll be very happy here for years to come.”

“Thank you!” Loretta beamed. “I think I will.” Tears began to rim her eyes as she realized her dream of owning her own restaurant was coming true. She lifted her lids up to the heavens and said a silent thank you.

Before they left, she and Alonzo set up an appointment for the next day to sign the lease and to discuss the build-out schedule. Loretta planned to move into the cottage sooner rather than later.

Velma and Alonzo embraced like old friends and bid each other goodbye. Loretta overheard him say something to Velma about Malachi as she was returning from the restroom, but she dismissed the thought as she gazed around at
her restaurant
. 

“You ready?” Velma asked.

“No, not really,” Loretta said. “I wish I could roll up my sleeves and get to work now.”

“You’ll have plenty of time for that,” Velma said.  “Let’s go home, crack open this expensive bottle of wine your new landlord was gracious enough to give to us, and celebrate.”

“Sounds like a great idea,” Loretta gushed.

“Alonzo, feel free to join us,” Velma said. “You haven’t been out to the house in a long time.” He’d come by a few times when Velma and Malachi hosted small, infrequent dinner parties.  “Come on out when you finish up here,” Velma felt comfortable enough to offer.

Alonzo looked at Loretta. His mind was clearly turning.

Loretta glanced in his direction, hoping he’d say yes.

Alonzo wanted to go. It had been a long while it seemed since he’d done any socializing that didn’t involve promoting the vineyard. But he thought better of mixing business with pleasure.

“I’d better not,” he said. “I still have tons to do here. But thank you, Velma. I appreciate that.”

“No problem,” she said. “We need to catch up. It’s been too long.”

“Well I suspect I’ll be seeing a lot more of you now,” he said, referring to her friend now having a business at the vineyard.

“You bet you will,” Velma said. “Just like old times.”

Velma bid Alonzo goodbye with a quick hug.

Loretta thanked him with a smile. “See you tomorrow,” she said.

“See you tomorrow,” Alonzo said. He watched the women walk away, his eyes discreetly glued to Loretta’s enticing full figure.

His chauffer, Pep, came up behind him from the grounds. 

“Is that the same woman from the airport?” Pep asked, having overheard him showing someone around Miss Marissa’s old restaurant.

“It sure is,” Alonzo said, not able to tear his eyes away from Loretta.