A Heart to Rescue (5 page)

“Nathan, I have your table ready,” she said, not bothering to look in Mel’s direction.

A few minutes later, Mel found herself ensconced
with Nate
in one of the deep booths that offered an unobstructed view of the stage. With pursed lips, Daphne promised that
their server would be over shortly
and then turned on her heel with an annoyed flick of her hair.

“I hope you weren’t going to try to get me a job here,” Mel said
,
watching the other woman fl
ounce away. Mel noticed that Daphne’s
movement through the tables drew the eye
s of almost every man in the restaurant
; every man except the one sitting next to her.
He was looking at Mel.

“Why’s that?” Nate said
,
taking a sip of his drink.

“Pretty sure your
friend
there doesn’t think too highly of me,” Mel said.

Nate looked confused and then he jerked his thumb toward the front of the restaurant. “You mean Daphne? She’s really very sweet.”

“I’ll bet,” Mel grumbled.

“You’re cute when you’re jealous,” Nate said.

Mel choked on her sip of soda. “I’m not jealous. I barely know you.”

“Well, we’ve already established that you know something about me. I know a little bit about you. And for the record, I’m not interested in Daphne. I’m interested in you.”

Mel’s heart started to race faster. “Me? Why?”

Nate shook his head and laughed. “You are a complex woman, Mel. I admire that. Does it offend you to think that I’m interested in you?”

Mel was afraid of saying something else stupid, so she just shook her head. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end as Nate leaned in close and his lips grazed her earlobe. “I’m happy to hear that.”

Mel thought she was going to swoon. She cleared her throat. “Maybe you should tell me about this job that you
think you can line up for me.”

“Let’s order first,” Nate suggested.

The server arrived at their table as if on cue and recited the specials. Nate steered Mel toward one of his favorites, and then they were alone once again.

“So you were saying about this job?” Mel pushed. She wanted to keep them on a safe topic until she had time to catch her breath and figure out how to act. She was definitely on a date. She had to play it cool.

“I told you that I did a little research on you too. You have a Master’s in Art History and have exhibited
your own
work in galleries all over the state.
Personally, I have to say that
I don’t think the restaurant industry is probably the best use of your skills.”

Mel’s spine straightened. Just like that, they were back in the minefield. “I don’t paint anymore, and I think
that
I’m the best judge of where I’d like to use my skills.”

Nate continued on as if he hadn’t heard her reply.
“
I saw several pieces of your work on a gallery website.
I have to say, I was surprised t
o see an artist of your caliber
choosing to serve beer in a joint like the Rumbling Rock.”

All the relaxed, happy feelings that had been coursing through her body moments before were gone.
She was on the defensive.
“It’s a job. It served its purpose.”

“What was what?
From what I could tell, y
ou completely disappeared from the art scene six months ago
and you had been doing pretty well for yourself
.”

“I don’t really want to talk about it,” Mel said
,
scooting a few inches away from him. She was trying to calculate how she was going to get home if she decided to leave, which she was almost ready to do.

Nate’s hand on her arm stilled her. “Mel, I’m not trying to upset you. You can talk to me. Sometimes it helps to talk to someone who is impartial. I learned that one first hand.”

Mel looked down at his hand. She knew that her self-imposed exile was going to come to an end at some point. She just thought that
she
would feel more ready to deal with it when it did.

She closed her eyes and sighed. Maybe he was right. She just had to get it all out there.
“I worked in one of the galleries downtown. I started there right after college and grew really close to the owner. Her work was everything that I wanted mine to be. She mentored me, introduced me to everyone there was to know to help me build my network, and even sponsored my early shows to help me get my feet wet.
Lacy
was my best friend.”

“So far, doesn’t sound horrible,” Nate said.

Mel drew in a shuddering breath. “My ex, Harrison, was an artist too. I met him during one of t
he shows
,
and we hit it off even though he was so different
from
me.
Lacy
was very supportive of him as well, and that really helped us out when we first got together. Harrison was selling a bit more than I was at the time, but that didn’t matter
to me
because I never saw him as competition.”

“But let me guess, he saw you as competition,” Nate said.

“I had no idea,” Mel said as she fidgeted with her clutch. “Some of the things he said to me towards the end were so vile and nasty. He must have been bott
ling those feelings up for quite awhile
. Then one afternoon, I came home from the gallery early because I wasn’t feeling well, and I found Harrison in bed with another woman.”

“
Oh, that is awful.
I’m sorry, Mel,” Nate said
,
reaching for her hand.

Her eyes lifted his
,
and she dropped the bomb
. “He was with Lacy
.”

Nate’s eyes widened and then he winced. “Ouch.”

“Ouch is an understatement,” Mel said.
“
I quit t
he gallery and
kicked Harrison out
of my condo
. Then when they went public with their relationship,
I didn’t know how to deal with it.
I
cut everyone associated with them out of my life. Which pretty
much
meant that I had no one left. That wasn’t even the worst part.”

“There’s more?” Nate’s probe was gentle.

“I
lost the inspiration to paint,” Mel said, her voice choking. “Everything else I could deal with, but losing that part of me almost broke me. I thought that, given enough time, it would come back, but it’s been six months since I’ve felt the urge to pick up a brush. That was the part tha
t
was the most devastating. I blame them
for robbing
me of
my talent
even though I know that is completely irrational
.”

There was a silence as the food arrived. At the first bite, Mel had to admit that the food was delicious. She wondered if she had said too much too soon and if whatever had begun between her and Nate was already over.

“My ex-wife was a piece of work,” Nate said. “I was traveling so often that she was able to fool around all the time. I suspected
it
, but my work kept me busy
, and honestly we grew apart
. Plus I won’t say that I was a total saint. I told you already that there was a lot of partying and late nights in my life at that time.”

Mel
was relieved
. He was talking, and he wasn’t judging her. She n
odded as he looked up as if to confirm
that she was still listening.

“I loved her once, but she changed into a different person.
She seemed to relish throwing all of her indiscretions in my face. I couldn’t handle it anymore.
I stopped drinki
ng the day I moved out
. I refused to let her negativity and bitterness about me and
how she felt I had ruined her life
have
any kind of influence on my life anymore. It was…liberating. I felt like I had been set free. T
hen t
oday, my brother called to tell me that he was getting married. To Olivia, my ex-wife.”

Mel gasped. “Did you know they were together?”

“No.” Nate shook his head. “I was blindsided by the news.
The only thing I could think was that
she was using him to try to get back at me, and
he was making the biggest mistake of his life. The conversation ended in a screaming match
,
and we said some pretty unpleasant things to each other. After that, t
he only thing I could think about was that I needed a drink.”

It all made sense to Mel now. “
So you ended up at Rumbling Rock.”

“Thing is, I sat there
stari
ng at that drink and questioning
if
I was going to let her win
. Would I crumble and give into the rage that I fel
t inside? All of that stuff just kept spinning through my mind
,
and I couldn’t stop it. But
then a beautiful, spunky waitress put a glass
of water in front of me
and gave me a choice
not to
give into the temptation
to drink
.
In that moment, it all fell into place again. I won.”

Mel reached out and took Nate’s hand. “I’m glad I was able to help, Nate.”

He took both of her hands into his and turned them over, kneading her palms with his thumbs. “I’m telling you this because these hands were meant to paint. Don’t let yourself be distracted by the stupidity of those other people. You can be in control again. Y
ou just have decide that you want to be
.”

His thumbs were
sending shivers of warmth shooting through her hands
, and Mel almost thought for a moment that she could do what he said.
But he didn’t quite understand, even though he empathized with her situation.
“I appreciate you trying to help me, Nate. But I can’t.
It doesn’t work like that.
”

A shadow crossed his eyes. “I’d like you to come in and update the artwork in my restaurants. I’m also still doing consulting, and I’d like you to join my design
team. I think you’d be a perfect fit.
”

The offer was so unexpected that Mel didn’t know what to say. “That is really generous of you, Nate, but I can’t ask you to do that. You don’t even know me.”

“I’ve been in the business a long time, and I may not know all there is to know about art, but I know talent when I see it. Don’t make a decision right now. Just
say
you’ll think about it.”

Mel opened her mouth to try to decline again, but at the st
ern look on Nate’s face she
sighed. “Okay.”

Nate smiled
triumphantly
. “Great.”

The rest of dinner was spent talking about various places where they bo
th had traveled, and Mel discovered
that Nate was even more charming and outgoing
than she first
suspected
.
It felt good to laugh and forget about everything for a couple of hours. She couldn’t explain it, but everything about the evening felt right. She found that she wanted to trust that feeling and not let it go.
Nate had found a crack in the wall she had built around herself, and for once, she didn’t mind.

After sharing a decadent chocolate dessert, Mel sat back from the table.
“I can’t eat another bite,” she said.

Nate reached around her and pulled her closer
to him. Her heart skipped a beat
as she fou
nd herself staring
up into his
dark
blue eyes. Then his
thumb came up
,
and he licked it, causing Mel to think all sorts of dirty thoughts about what she
wanted him to
do with his tongue. Then he rubbed it against the corner of her mouth.

“Got a little chocolate there.
Hmm, it d
oesn’t seem to be coming off,”
he said. When Mel didn’t respond
, his head came down
,
and her eyes closed. She felt his breath as his lips stopped just shy of hers. Then she felt the flick of his tongue on the corner of her mouth, and she pushed her lips onto his, eager for his kiss.

Nate groaned against her
mouth, which made her even
bold
er
. Her mouth opened
,
and his tongue slipped inside of hers as he deepened the kiss. She reached up and grabbed a fistful of his hair and tried to get closer. His strong hands grasped her waist as he pulled her against him. Feeling his hardness pressing against her thigh, she knew then that he wanted her as much as she wanted him.