Where Dreams Continue

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

It was while he was getting in an hour’s swim on Lake Washington, the bracing water knocking some sense into him, that Tony figured out that he’d literally stumbled onto his plan. The next Friday he was ready.

Raquel breezed into the shop with her six dollars and ever-present smile. He took her money, handed over her pre-filled bag, then lifted one of his own and sent her a questioning glance.

Her smile quirked up on one side and lit her eyes. Damn! And he’d thought she was a knock-out before. That’s when he understood that a regular smile was her default state. But it was only when it went sideways that he’d really tickled her funny bone.

She tipped her head to the side, causing her hair to cascade down over one shoulder in thick waves that just begged to be gently brushed back from her face. Then with a nod, she turned for the door.

Tony held up a hand palm out toward his cousin.

Vic automatically raised his hand, not really sure why. Tony slapped it with a hard high-five. This time it was Vic’s jaw that was down.

Tony shed his jacket, grabbed his bag of chocolates, and bolted for the door so as not to lose Raquel. She didn’t slow down a moment and he had to jog to catch up with those long legs.

Her bench was taken so they strolled along the pathways of Madison Park, past playgrounds loud with pre-dinnertime mobs of kids, along the winding walkway above the equally popular beach, and under the small section of quieter trees. It wasn’t a big park, so the view was constantly changing: the cluster of shops at the end of Madison Street, a beach full of kids, a pretty little garden of rose bushes, shade trees, and from everywhere the sun sparkling off the surface of the lake.

As they walked, they talked of what she did for a living. At first he thought she just sold clothes, but as CFO of a rising clothier she was way more. A bit daunting, in fact, because even he’d heard of Perrin’s Glorious Garb. The only thing about clothes that he usually paid attention to was how to take them off a willing woman. But Raquel was part of a powerhouse company that had commanded the cover and a major spread in the latest SI swimsuit issue. The fabulous Melanie claiming her fifth cover.

He, on the other hand, was an assistant in his cousin’s chocolate shop. His only stake in the business was a shared heritage and a conching machine. It rapidly became clear that she was a very focused gal. She clearly ate, slept, and breathed the fashion business. He just didn’t rate.

But as they strolled by the water and talked, he began to feel less overwhelmed. She wasn’t some accounting nerd; she was as passionate for the business of clothing as he was for chocolate. It appeared to rise from that same deep core, reaching back into childhood and superseding all else.

That was a passion he could appreciate.

As summer drifted toward fall, they continued to walk or sit together on the bench each Friday. He’d never spent so much time with a woman he wasn’t sleeping with, but it was hard to complain as he was so enjoying their weekly afternoons together.

She still refused to taste his chocolates, though he brought a different one each week. It had become a thing between them: he would plumb the depths of another of Granddad’s recipes, and she would politely insist that she was happy with ones she knew.