Of Love and Corn Dogs (12 page)

“He's going job hunting again tomorrow. And he had to get home to feed his cat.”

“Um. You hate cats.”

Not entirely true. He'd never had pets growing up. His parents had told him he'd need to wait until he was older, because he had to learn responsibility first. He didn't find out until much later why his parents didn't allow animals in the house.

“I don't know cats. Except for the guard dogs that they used to have, I don't even know dogs.”

Henley took his plate from the microwave, placed it on the table, and sliced into a cabbage roll, then glared at Darwin. “You know how much I loved living here, but honestly? Your parents were too uptight. Kids are supposed to get messy. They're supposed to have pets to play with.”

“Yeah, well, it's hard to have the governor in your home when you're worried that Muffy or Tiffy will jump all over him,” Darwin replied. “They told me when I turned eighteen the real reason. Appearances and all that.”

“Not sure I could live like that,” Henley admitted.

“Well, you could have a dog now. Why don't you?”

Henley shrugged. “I'm not home enough. If we're not out on the road, then I'm out at the bar.”

Henley didn't really go to the bar that often, but he liked using it as an excuse. Darwin knew his friend needed someone in his life, but he also knew it had to be a very special person to catch the attention of Henley Davidson.

“So, how was the night?”

“Honestly? It was amazing. Dinner was delicious, but the company? That made the night perfect. And when we got home, he gave me a kiss that nearly melted me.”

Henley made a pained noise. When Darwin looked up, his friend smiled. “Sorry, swallowed wrong.”

“I'm going to take him for a drive this weekend,” Darwin said. “We'll head down Lake Drive and check out some of the houses and also enjoy the view of the water.”

Henley gaped at him. “Who's driving?”

Darwin sighed. “I am.”

“That's funny,” Henley said, but he wasn't laughing. In fact, he actually looked a little angry. “I've been your driver since you were eighteen. I don't know that you've ever even been behind the wheel. If you want to go, I'll take you.”

A moment of panic gripped Darwin. “No, that's fine. I've got my license, even if I don't use it. I'm going to rent a car for the day, so there's no need.”

“You think I don't know what this is about, right?”

“What do you mean?” Darwin asked, trying not to show his discomfort.

“He doesn't know who you are, does he?”

“Sure, he does.”

“No,” Henley corrected. “He knows the man who ate in his section at a restaurant. The one who brought corn dogs in so they could have dinner. He doesn't know the man who could call his pilot and have the private jet fly them to Paris for a midnight snack, and then hop over to Australia to watch the sunrise. What's up with that?”

The concern in Henley's expression loosened some of the guilt Darwin had been carrying around. “It's not like I want to deceive him,” he said. “But I want him to like
me
, not who the money supposedly makes me.”

Before he'd met Dean, he'd been asked on a couple of dates. He'd turned them down, because the men had been so transparent. Darwin had seen the dollar signs in their eyes. They hadn't wanted him, only the money and prestige that were part and parcel of being with him.

“And you don't trust him enough to do that? Has he given you any indication he would like you less?”

Darwin chose his words carefully, wanting Henley to understand his reasoning. “I bought some Macallan M when I had dinner that night. He gasped, literally, when I told him what I wanted. He tried to tell me how much it cost, and I told him I knew the price. Then apologized for my behavior, which had been atrocious. He forgave me, then teased me about my attitude. So the waters started out choppy, then calmed to the point where he teased me, made me feel…better.

“After that, it had been corn dogs and shakes, him buying me drinks at a bar and dancing the night away. Window-shopping in stores he said he'd never be able to buy from, but he liked looking at the fancy things. Money isn't him. And I don't want him to look at me differently.”

Henley put a hand on Darwin's shoulder and gave a slight squeeze. “So you'd rather lie to him. Pretend to be something you're not. I can see that being the basis of a good relationship.”

“You don't understand…” Darwin protested. He really needed Henley to see what he meant. He wasn't sure why it was so important, but Darwin needed his friend's blessing.

“No, I don't. And you're not explaining it very well either. You want to keep him in the dark, pretend with him. What if it turns serious? Do you really think you can keep this a secret? How long before he finds out?” Henley paused a moment, took a bite, then started again. “Seriously, Dare, it's not like your face isn't on the financial pages often enough. What's he going to think when he sees that the guy he's been going out with has more money that God?”

“I don't have that much money,” Darwin replied, hating the whine in his voice.

Henley snorted. “You were one of the richest men under thirty-five for the last four years. Pretty soon you'll be on the list for under forty. How much money do you think that takes?”

“Why are you being like this?' Darwin demanded.

Henley sighed. “Because I'm your friend, Dare. The one person who is always going to be honest with you. If you care for him, and I mean really care, you'll trust him and tell him the truth. Because if you can't, then you obviously don't have true feelings for him and are only interested in the situation.” He picked up his plate. “Let me know if you need to go anywhere. I'm going to my room to watch some television.”

Darwin stood as Henley's footsteps echoed down the hall.

“Why does he have to be so…” Darwin sighed. “Right.”

He'd needed to hear it, he knew. The thought scared him to death, though. Darwin rarely felt comfortable with people. Only special people could slip under his defenses, and Ricky definitely qualified. But he wasn't being fair to the man. A lie of omission still counted as a lie. He finished his cabbage roll, rinsed off the plate, and slipped it into the dishwasher. Then he sucked in a deep breath and went down the hall to Henley's room.

His friend didn't get angry often, but he could hold a grudge over stupid things at times. Darwin hesitated for a moment before he knocked. He breathed a sigh of relief when Henley told him to come in.

“Figured you'd be here soon,” he said, polishing off the last of his cabbage rolls. He pointed at his plate, then asked, “You didn't bring any more, did you?”

Darwin laughed. Henley usually ate healthy meals, but when Maria made her specialty, all bets went out the window.

“No, sorry.” Darwin pointed to the chair at the desk. “Can I sit?

Henley nodded, and Darwin pulled out the chair. He glanced around his friend's room. Auto magazines were piled in a neat stack on the desk, and his Mac had tabs open on fixing cars. He loved that the man took such great pride in his work, and that it carried over into his own passions.

“You were right,” Darwin admitted. “I'm afraid. How do you tell someone you're rich, especially when they don't have anything?”

“You look him in the eye, and say, ‘hey, just so you know, I've got money.'”

Darwin huffed and glared at his friend. “Can you be serious?”

“I am. Maybe you'll be less blunt, but there really isn't a way to break it gently.”

“And what do I do if he gets angry?” Darwin fisted his hair. “I've never had to do this before, damn it. Dean had money. He knew the kind of life we have. Ricky told me his idea of high cuisine is eating a Big Mac.”

“Okay, let me ask you something. Do you think the man is worth it?”

Darwin thought for a moment. “Is it okay if I say I really want him to be?”

Henley smiled. “Yeah, that's perfect.”

The week crawled by for Ricky. He'd figured out the bus routes he'd need to get to Rossi's. A sense of relief flooded him when he discovered it would only be two busses, and that the travel time wouldn't be as long as he'd feared.

He applied on Tuesday afternoon and was delighted to hear back from Bertina Rossi Wednesday morning. She'd invited him in for an interview. When he sat down, she offered him a glass of water, which he declined. An older woman with the deepest laugh lines Ricky had ever seen, she had her gray hair pulled back into a bun. Ricky could tell from the gleam in her eye she definitely wasn't matronly. In fact, he imagined she had quite a devilish streak in her.

“Why do you want to work here, Richard?” she asked, giving him a smile that soothed the butterflies. This had been the first callback he'd gotten, and things were getting a little tight. He
really
needed to ace this interview.

“Well, we had dinner here on Monday. I like the atmosphere, and the food was absolutely delicious. When I looked around, I saw the customers and they seemed to really enjoy the place. I want to be a part of that. I like making people happy, and I think I could be a good fit here.”

She tapped her pen on the desk and hummed. “I'll be honest. I love your application, but I'm a little concerned over your job at Asiago. You didn't stay there very long. May I ask why?”

 

Ricky hedged. It would be bad form to talk about a former employer in an unflattering way. “I hope you don't mind, but I'm not really comfortable explaining that. If you speak to the manager at Asiago—Louisa—she said she would give me a good reference. I just feel it wouldn't be right for me to talk about my former employers in a way that may portray them in anything less than a fair light.”

Bertina stood, and Ricky's heart slumped. Yet another job he wouldn't be getting. He got up and held out his hand.

“I appreciate your time.”

She took his hand in hers and held him there for a moment. “Thank you for coming. Would you be available to start training on Monday?”

At first, he thought he heard wrong. “I'm sorry, what?”

She laughed, and it reminded him of his grandmother. A deep, rich alto—the kind that read the best bedtime stories. “If you want the job, it's yours. Can you start Monday?”

“Yes, ma'am.”

“There are no ma'ams here. You can call me Bertie. Welcome to Rossi's.”

She gave him copies of the menu for both lunch and dinner, a list of drinks available from the bar, and an employee packet that explained responsibilities, side work, breaks, free meals, hours, and many other things. For a family run restaurant, it seemed a lot more thorough than Asiago had been.

“Thank you, Bertie. I really appreciate the chance,” he told her truthfully.

“So you know, I already talked to Louisa. I honestly did like your application. In fact, the job was yours before you walked in the door. But Louisa told me what happened had nothing to do with you, even if she wouldn't go into detail. She spoke about you in glowing terms. I just wanted to see what you'd tell me. I admire loyalty, Richard. Even when a job screwed you over, you still didn't need to sink to their level. That's class.”

Ricky's cheeks grew warm at the unexpected praise.

“Besides, I know Gregory Berkhardt. I've got no problem believing everything was his fault,” she said, giving him a knowing look. “His loss will definitely be our gain. We're looking forward to Monday, Richard.”

“Please, call me Ricky.”

“All right then. See you soon…Ricky.”

They shook hands again, and he walked out into the too hot afternoon. He had a job. What's more, he had a job that seemed tailor made for him. He couldn't wait to tell his mom and Trish. Darwin would flip when… Darwin.

He drew in a deep breath. Funny how, when he had news to share, Darwin came to mind right away.

He made his phone calls to Mom and Trish when he got home, secure in the overworked AC's life-giving coolness. They were over the moon for him, but oddly enough, they wanted to talk more about Darwin. Ricky had no problems doing that.

After they talked, he thought about calling Darwin to tell him about the job, but he hesitated. He wanted to see him in person. To hug him when he gave him the news. He gave thought to calling him and inviting him out, but he'd stretched his finances pretty close to the breaking point. He'd split the leftover food from their dinner into meals and frozen it so that he wouldn't have to buy groceries. He wouldn't get a paycheck for a few weeks, and who knew how much he'd actually make in tips? But still, he had a job. Something solid to hold onto, and that would get him through this tough time.

He finally decided he would tell Darwin on their date. Though he'd probably crack long before then. But Darwin had encouraged him to apply, so Ricky knew he'd be almost as excited. If everything worked out, when they went on dates in the future, Ricky could afford to pay for things, too.

He didn't talk to Darwin until Friday afternoon. He called to see if Ricky still wanted to go for the drive on Saturday morning.

“Of course. I've been looking forward to it. And I've got something to tell you!”

Darwin seemed subdued when he replied he, too, had something he needed to talk about.

“Everything okay?”

Ricky didn't believe it when Darwin said, “Sure. All good. I'll pick you up tomorrow at nine. Will that be okay?”

“Yes, it will be. Are we going to stop for lunch?”

A voice in the background called for Mr. Kincade, and Darwin sighed. “I've got to go. Yes, we can stop for lunch. There are a few nice places along the way, but not ones where you'd need to get dressed up. Sound good?”

“Perfect. I'll see you tomorrow then.”

He disconnected the call, then spent the afternoon reading over the paperwork Bertie had given him and playing with Merlin. He had a good feeling about the upcoming drive with Darwin.