Page 69 of Beautiful Broken Love

From the information I’d gathered online, I knew the woman laughing and chatting with him was the famous Leticia Brent. She was nearing her fifties but easily could’ve passed for early forties. Her upturned head swung in my direction when she noticed me, and Deke followed her gaze.

When Deke caught sight of me, he did a double take over his shoulder before turning around to drink me in. Those warm eyes of his traveled down the length of my body, and I was glad he liked what he saw.

I had given this brunch a lot of effort. In the back of my closet I’d found a sienna lantern-sleeved dress with a plunge at the neckline, and I’d plucked out my best push-up bra. And because I couldn’t sleep so easily last night, I decided to braid my hair into thick singles and unbraided them this morning for a cute braid-out.

I kept my makeup simple, with some concealer, a few brushes of mascara, blush, and a touch-up of the brows. I also took off my dragonfly necklace, which was bittersweet. I guess I wanted to show up as someone with a positive mindset, not someone attached to their grief.

“Davina.” Deke sounded breathless as his eyes kept roaming me, and I bit back a smile as I moved forward and offered a hand to Leticia.

“Hi, Leticia. I’m Davina Klein. I’m so honored to be here right now.” I smiled as she took my hand. “Figured I’d introduce myself, since this guy is too speechless to do so.” I bobbed my head at him, and he grinned.

“It’s lovely meeting you, Davina. I’m glad you could make it. Is this your first time?” Leticia asked.

“It is. I’ve heard incredible things about your food, so I’m very excited.”

Leticia let out a tinkle of a laugh and pressed her hands to her heart. “Aren’t you sweet?” She looked between me and Deke, who still hadn’t said a word. I could feel him still looking at me, though. “I was happy to hear Deke was coming in for a visit. He’s one of my favorites to serve.”

“Is he?” I looked up at Deke from beneath my lashes, and he finally snapped out of his silent stupor to point his attention to Leticia.

“Your food is the best, Leticia. You know I had to swing through. I appreciate you for setting me up in a private room.”

“Absolutely. Well, I’m going to let you two get to your brunch, but please let me know if there’s anything you need. Davina”—she took my hand and shook it again—“so lovely to meet you. Take care of this one.” She pointed a thumb at Deke, gave me a wink, then left the room.

Then there were two.

I found Deke’s eyes.

“Do, uh ... do you wanna sit?” he asked.

I laughed. “Please.”

He moved around me to pull out one of the chairs beneath the table.

“Thank you.” I sat and placed my purse on my lap.

He took the chair across from me, and after he slid in, he cleared his throat and said, “As always, you look divine. Davina the Divine. New nickname?”

“Oh, please no,” I snorted. “I’d rather take D-Baby over that one.”

His lips quirked up at the corners. “You got it, D-Baby.”

Okay. I had to stop smiling. I felt like a goof. I put my focus on the menu, just as a waiter appeared. Deke ordered a regular orange mimosa, and I decided to go with a mango version.

“But real talk, you look good, D,” Deke said, when the waiter took off with our drink orders. “Thank you for joining me ... and for shooting me your number.”

I smiled again. “It felt right.”

“How was your flight back from Miami?”

“Terrible.” I waved a hand. “There was a lot of turbulence for such a short flight.”

“Damn, that sucks.”

“You don’t have to worry about that, though, with your private jets and all. Doesn’t your team have a private charter or something?”

“We do, yeah, but it’s mostly used during the season. I can get you on a private jet if you want. Just say when.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

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