Page 10 of The Heart of a Capricorn
When we arrived, Lyric looked at me, then back at the building. “An art museum?”
“Yes.” I got out of the car without saying anything else, then helped Lyric out.
“Are we having dinner here?” Lyric questioned as she stepped out of the car.
The driver waited a minute before he pulled off. We had him for the night, so I would send him a message whenever we were ready.
I grabbed Lyric’s hand and led her to the entrance. “Yes, we are having dinner here.” I opened the door, then stepped back to let Lyric enter first.
I heard her gasp as I walked through the door behind her. Her eyes lit up as she took in all the artwork on the wall.
It was a fairly new museum, and it wasn’t big, which made it perfect for the night.
A man dressed in a sharp black three-piece suit approached us. “Hello, welcome. I’ll be your host for the evening. Let me show you to your table.”
“Thank you,” I said.
I put my hand on the small of Lyric’s back as we followed the guy to the table. There was only a table in the middle of the room with a black tablecloth. Two long, white candles sat in the middle of it. In between the candles was a small vase of red flowers. I didn’t know what kind they were, but Lyric seemed to like them. It was evident in how her eyes lit up when she looked at them. A bottle of wine sat in a bucket of ice. There was also a pitcher of water, with two glasses.
“The chef has prepared your meal, and it should be out shortly.” The waiter bowed, then walked away.
“Chauncey, this is so beautiful. How did you even pull this off?” Lyric’s eyes looked around the room in amazement.
Multiple art pieces filled the room. Some looked professionally done, while others looked a little childish, but I assumed it was because the owner’s children had made them.
“I know the owner and her husband. It’s funny that they actually met here in Vegas, waiting to get on the zip line of all places. Believe it or not, they got married within hours or days of meeting each other. I can’t remember the exact timeline. Anyway, he owns a few cigar bars, and she owns a few art studios. She wanted to open a small museum to showcase her work and other black artists, so they opened this place. Savannah and Daxson are their names. We can look at the artwork when we are finished.” I poured us each a glass of water, then set hers in front of her.
I didn’t want to feel rushed, so I reserved the place for a few hours to give us plenty of time to have dinner and look at some of the exhibits.
“Wow, this is incredible. Who would have thought Chauncey Baldwin would rent a museum for me?” Lyric’s cheeks had gotten rosy as she glanced around the room again.
“You’d be surprised about the things I would do for you.”
Lyric picked up her glass of water and looked at me. “Maybe we will find out.” She winked, and I’d be damned if I didn’t blush.
I chuckled and drank some of my water. Lyric made me nervous like this was my first ever date.
“I hope so.”
I turned to the side when I heard someone approaching.
“Good evening. I’m Chef Wynter. I just wanted to personally deliver your meal.” She put the plates down in front of us. “For dinner, we have a surf and turf with a creamy garlic sauce and aside of asparagus. I hope you enjoy the food and your evening.” She bowed like the waiter did, then left.
Chef Wynter lived in Sweetwater Hills, but I flew her out just so she could prepare this meal for us. I pulled out all the stops for this date. Over the years, I made connections with multiple business owners and built a good rapport with them all, so whenever I needed something, they were there.
“Chauncey, she doesn’t even live here. How did you pull that off?” Lyric whispered, but nobody could hear her. I already knew Chef Wynter left as soon as she dropped off our food.
“It’s a secret,” I teased. “Nah, I just know the right people. The wine is from a local brewery in North Valley. I don’t know if you’ve had it before, but the maker named it after his wife.” I reached for the bottle and popped the cork. I poured enough in each of our glasses.
Lyric and I took a moment to bless our food before we dug in.
R&B music played in the background as we ate and talked.
“Do you carry a gun everywhere you go?” Lyric asked after a few minutes.
I swallowed the food in my mouth before I answered. “Yes. Even when I’m not working, I still feel the need to be protective. It’s hard to turn that part of my brain off. Threats are everywhere.”
“You’re right about that.”
