Page 81 of Dance with Me
Her expression softened. “Yeah, it is.”
“Good. Well, enjoy.”
As he chewed, he wanted to say more. He wanted to tell her he loved her again, but having her here, in the restaurant, was already too much, and there was no telling how she’d respond. In any case, he was supposed to be showing her, not telling her. Instead, he turned the conversation to her.
“There’s one thing I’m curious about,” he said.
She sent him a wary look. “Shoot.”
“Why did you work there?”
Her brow creased. “You know why. I was out of money.”
Like now. He narrowed his eyes, wondering at the parallels. “That’s not what I meant. You said that woman—Damaris?—got you the interview. How did you meet her?”
“I was interviewing for a waitressing job, but they basically told me my tits were too small.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m sure you can guess which restaurant. Damaris was working there, too, and after we chatted a bit, she told me about the Planet. I went in, met Jeff and Renee, and the rest is history.”
He finished chewing and set down his fork. “It doesn’t change anything,” he said in a low voice. “For me, I mean. It doesn’t change what I think about you.”
She sighed. “I appreciate that. But I have the same question for you.” She gestured with her fork. “Why do you work here? You’re a movie star.”
He took another bite and thought about her question. “There’s the easy answer.”
“Which is?”
“It’s smart to diversify your interests and have multiple streams of income.”
“Especially for dancers.” She poked at the beet salad left on the table. “Our careers won’t last forever.”
“Right. But that’s still the easy answer.”
She turned her full attention on him, her dark eyes serious. “So, what’s the real reason?”
He could tell her that it was a low-risk venture. That Alex had done most of the legwork. That it turned out he liked owning a restaurant. But he went with the deepest reason. “My uncle owned a bakery in Brooklyn. I spent a lot of time there, and the employees and customers were like family. I wanted to recreate that out here on the West Coast, since all my real family—my grandmothers, aunts, uncles, cousins, parents—are all back on the East Coast.”
“But on a more extravagant scale,” she said, glancing over her shoulders at the other diners.
“Of course.” He grinned. “You know I don’t do things by halves. We have a lot of regular customers, and the employees stick around.”
“I don’t know what that’s like.” She picked at her napkin. “The family part, I mean. I barely know my extended family. Every so often I think about hopping a plane to Puerto Rico to try to form a connection with my grandparents, maybe even try to find my father, but what’s the point? They’d be strangers. I’m not even close with the relatives I have in New York.”
“Have you ever been to Puerto Rico?”
She shook her head. “Can you believe that? Sometimes I can’t. I was almost born there, and I’ve never even visited.”
“I haven’t been back. To Ukraine.” He shrugged. “Everyone left and never looked back. There’s nothing there for me.”
She squeezed his hand. “That’s how I feel, too. I don’t even go to New York, except for work. My great-grandmother died, and Gina moved to LA with me. My mother is the only one left there, and we . . . well, we don’t get along.”
And now Gina was gone, leaving Natasha alone. He cupped her hand in both of his and rubbed. They’d both lost the two people closest to them in this city when Gina and Nik’s careers took them away from Los Angeles.
But they’d found each other. And finally, after all this time, they were getting out their own way and coming together.
He’d make it work. He didn’t know how yet, but he was determined. For now, he just had to show her she deserved love. Once she accepted that he loved her, they could take the next step, whatever that might be.
33
By the time they finished eating, the restaurant had cleared out significantly. It was late, and the staff were prepping to close.
