She pushed her black-framed glasses further onto her face. “I have!Bon Manjewill be a very unique experience.”
“Bon Manje? I know you and Ian support a mission in Haiti. Does Haiti play a part in the name?”
She emphatically nodded. “Haiti plays a part in it all.Bon Manjemeans good food in Creole. I’m taking some traditional Haitian dishes and ‘chefing’ them up, introducing these flavor profiles to the foodie world. The interior décor, the menu, the name, it’s all a result of my time cooking at the orphanage in Haiti. And, the profits will go there as well.”
Ian rubbed her back. “We’re very excited. She’s bringing one of the regular cooks at the orphanage here to help her with the menu planning. She’ll be here through opening week.”
Brad knew how much Ian’s family did to support the orphanage in Haiti. Dixon Contracting had contributed regularly to hurricane and earthquake relief efforts on his behalf. He appreciated the heart and thoughts behind Calla’s restaurant. “We are definitely praying for a great success for you,” he affirmed.
Calla nodded. “Thank you.”
Valerie finished her last Frenchfry and stood as the rest of the table stood. She looked at her watch. The quick lunch she intended to take before Sami abducted her from the lobby of the building had turned into forty-five minutes. She calculated how much time she had until her meeting with the design team for the Nashville project. She hadn’t slept more than two hours last night and felt fatigue tightening the muscles in her neck, forming a headache in her temples. She had to figure out how to get through the rest of the day without crumpling in a heap.
“I have to go with Calla and look at the colors she picked for tablecloths and napkins. Do you want to ride with us?” Sami asked her as they walked away from the table.
“No, I’ll walk back. I have a meeting in twenty minutes.” She slipped her purse strap over her shoulder.
Brad appeared at her side. “Ian’s on his way to a meeting. Want to walk with me back to the office?”
“Sure.” They walked outside into the bright sunlight. She waved at Calla and Sami as they headed in a different direction and fell into step beside Brad. “Sorry for the intrusion into your office yesterday. I feel like I stepped out of line.”
He let out a sigh before he spoke. “I think it’s hard for a friend to step out of line, truly. And, I really wish you didn’t feel like you had to apologize to me all the time. I honestly can’t think of anything you’ve ever done in the lifetime I’ve known you to merit an apology.”
“I’m so—” she cut herself off and laughed. “Fair enough.”
She lifted her face to the sun and felt the warmth. So many fears dissipated in the light of day. How could she transfer this feeling to the nighttime? What made the dark so scary? Tyrone had attacked her in the middle of an afternoon.
They stopped at a crosswalk. Brad slipped his hands into his pockets and looked down at her. “I’m glad we were able to walk back alone. I wanted to ask you something.”
She had started to look at her phone but slipped it back into her pocket. “What something?”
Of everything she could think he would ask her, what came out of his mouth didn’t even come close. “Would you be my date to Calla’s restaurant opening?”
She opened her mouth, then closed it again. What did he mean? Her heart rate increased. “A date date? Like a romantic date?”
As soon as she asked, she felt foolish. Of course, he didn’t mean a romantic date. He probably just didn’t want to go alone. His brothers probably weren’t going or something. As she thought that, though, his next words surprised her. “Yes, Valerie. A date date. A romantic date. A man and woman going out together kind of date.”
Her eyebrows came together as she considered his request. What would that mean to her life? What would people think about her showing up on Brad Dixon’s arm, the boss-man’s date? Did it matter? Could it be that the only thing that mattered at this point was how excited the prospect made her? She looked up at him, surprised to see a sour frown on his face. When she smiled, he relaxed, and the frown faded. “I’d love to.”
“Really?” She didn’t realize the light had changed until someone jostled her into Brad. He put his hands on her shoulders to steady her and looked menacingly at the back of the person who’d run into her.
“Yes. Really. That would be a lot of fun.” She gestured toward the crosswalk and stepped away from his hands. “Shall we?”
They walked the rest of the way in silence. When they entered the lobby of the Dixon Contracting building, she looked up at him. “Thanks for lunch. Buying for the table was very kind of you.”
“That was my pleasure.” They got into the elevator and Valerie selected their appropriate floors. “It was a fun lunch.”
“It was.” She laughed and put a hand on her stomach. “And filling. I think I’m going to have a hard time staying awake for my afternoon meetings.” The elevator doors opened, and she stepped out and turned around. “See you later.”
He smiled and lifted his hand in reply as the doors shut. She walked to her office, thinking about what had just transpired. Brad Dixon had asked her out, on a romantic boy-girl date. What in the world?
They weren’t teens anymore. Why would he askherout? He was Bradford Dixon, one of three of the most amazing men she’d ever met. He and his brothers were loyal, strong, smart… people like them didn’t ask people like her out. She was what? A woman broken, wounded, scared all the time? He must not realize the scope of damage done to her by Tyrone. If he had, he’d never even look at her twice, much less ask her on a date.
Maybe, years and years ago, she would have felt worthy of Brad Dixon. When he asked her to be his date for his senior prom and she’d felt like she could fly, she was so excited. It felt right on his arm, like she fit there. They’d had a great time, and when he took her home, he hesitated before kissing her on her cheek. Oh, how she’d wished he’d forget her role as a sister-figure and realize she was a young woman. She had so wanted the lips that brushed her cheek to move just a couple inches over.
She hadn’t seen him again until graduation day. He’d treated her warmly, attentively, and she barely noticed. Thoughts of the freedom that came with the diploma in her hand and a school somewhere away from Atlanta had occupied all her thoughts. He gradually became a memory of her childhood, someone she saw here and there as their paths crossed at occasional family holidays, a peripheral figure grouped with his brothers as a single unit referred to by everyone as The Dixon Boys.
Pushing aside her insecurities, she focused on the fact that hedidask her out – a dream come true.
