Page 9 of Dirty Little Secret
Chapter 4
Kane
My best buddy, Rocco, called to invite me to his family’s traditional Italian restaurant in downtown Charleston. Seeing as it was a Saturday night, and my aunt and uncle had taken Fox to Florida to spend the weekend at their vacation home in Miami, I accepted his offer.
The vino flowed like rain, his huge family refilling the glasses all night. One long table ran along the back of the dining room, and close to closing time the family would always eat dinner together, letting the staff take over what was left of the customers.
Rocco and I had been friends since grade school, and I felt like a part of his family. His father clapped me on the back as he filled my glass with red wine. “So, what are you two handsome devils going to be doing after closing tonight, Kane?”
“Going home and getting some sleep,” came my quick answer.
Rocco shook his head, his dark eyes peering into mine. “No. We are not doin’ that, bro.”
“I don’t know about you, but that’s been my plan all along. I’m stuffed and getting soused from all the wine. I think bed sounds like an amazing idea.” I took another drink of the fruity wine, which had a nice, crisp finish, savoring the flavors that burst inside my mouth. “Oh, Papa, this one is delicious!”
“Glad ya like,” he said with a nod. “That one came straight from my cousin Sal’s vineyard in Italy. He brought me a case when he visited last month. Mama and I are taking a trip to see them all in the summer. You should bring Fox, and we can make a real trip of it.”
“That sounds awesome. I might just take you up on that offer.” I thought about Fox getting to see Italy and a real working winery. He’d get a kick out of it, I was sure.
“Please do, Kane.” Papa jerked his head toward his son. “And we’ll take the meatball there too.”
Shaking his meaty fist in the air, Rocco growled, “The meatball would love to come with you, Papa.” He kicked the leg of my chair as he sat across from me. “For tonight, though, I’ve got plans for you, my best bud.”
Not in the mood to go out at all, but deciding to humor him anyway, I asked, “And what are these plans, Rocco?”
“Mynt,” came his one-word statement, which told me nothing at all.
“Mint?” Crossing my arms over my chest, I leaned back to think about what mint could possibly be. “Is that like a dessert shop of some kind? Because I can tell you right now, I cannot possibly eat another bite of anything.”
Loud laughter peeled through the air as he cracked up for some reason. “No! Ha!” Then he stopped laughing. “Unless you consider gorgeous females a dessert, then yes.”
“Gorgeous females, huh?” I still wasn’t convinced. I had no desire to hook up with anyone after the brutal week I’d had. I’d taken two shifts for another doctor who had been fighting a losing battle with his allergies. On top of that, the clinic was overflowing with sick patients each and every day. All I wanted to do was sleep.
“Very beautiful women, Kane. And God knows you could use a woman.” Kicking the leg of my chair again, he wiggled his dark brows at me. “You get what I’m throwing out there, man?”
His cousin Louisa came up behind him. She’d had a crush on me for years. Her slender hands ran down her cousin’s arms as she looked at me, both things seeming rather inappropriate to me. “Don’t go throwing things like that at my man, Rocco.”
“He ain’t your man, Louisa,” Rocco corrected her.
Louisa was drop-dead gorgeous—she had the face of a supermodel and her body was round in all the right places. But beauty on its own wasn’t enough for me, and I’d always found that her brand of aggressive sexuality just didn’t work for me.
“He ain’t my man yet, Rocco. One day he’ll see that I’m the woman for him, though.” She licked her ruby red lips. “One day.”
“Don’t wait on me, honey,” I told her.
“Like she’s waiting,” Rocco said with a chuckle. “This one here went out three times this week. Once with the guy who delivers our tomatoes, once with the man who delivers the beer, and once with the guy who comes in to ask if anyone wants their cars washed.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. The woman certainly liked variety!
Red cheeks blazing, she hit Rocco upside the head then turned to leave. “Idiot!”
Shaking his head, Rocco added, “I might be an idiot, but I ain’t lying.”
We laughed even harder. I wasn’t usually a jackass, but that woman had been coming on to me forever. But then again, she came on to every man within a 10-foot radius. Either way, I was getting sick of her not being able to accept my disinterest.
“So, this place with the gorgeous women. Tell me about it,” I conceded. I wasn’t saying I would go, but I did want to know what the hell it was.
With a flourish of his massive arm, he told me, “Mynt is one badass nightclub. The beauties are endless, the drinks keep on flowing, and the chances of not getting any leg are slim to none.”
