Sarah's Private Dick Ch. 08

The breakfast that Derrick cooked Sarah that morning was fantastic. A bacon and egg omelet seasoned with onions and herbs, with a side of fresh sliced melon. Despite his reassurance she'd still taken the time to brush out her hair and pull it back into a ponytail so that it would have some semblance of order. Since he'd gone downstairs in nothing but his slacks she'd put on some yoga pants that hugged her curves and bottom quite nicely in the stretchy fabric. Paired with a tank top that had some lace stretched over the bosom she felt and looked both comfortable and a little sexy. The appreciative look Derrick gave her when she came into the kitchen made her feel even more attractive.

It was incredible how much she'd blossomed under his attention, even before they'd consummated their attraction. The effect that he had on her body and her emotions was incredible. Right now she didn't know how long he planned on continuing to see her, but she wasn't going to complain. However much time he spent with her she knew she would cherish, and she certainly didn't expect anything more than that. Derrick was so far out of her league, with his rippling muscles that she was drooling over even as he cooked her breakfast, his capable determination and sweetly fun loving personality. But being around him made Sarah feel like more than a drab housewife trying to cope with inheriting a restaurant from her unfaithful husband.

They ate together companionably, and Sarah reflected on how nice it was not to be the one who had to cook. But she wouldn't let Derrick do the dishes afterwards, it should be a fair trade after all. He insisted on drying as she washed, and every time their fingers touched she felt that same electric current of excitement flowing through her, despite the fact that it was only their fingers brushing against each other. From the amused look in his eyes as she blushed, he was not unaware of her distraction.

Unfortunately, just as they had started kissing again after finishing breakfast, the phone rang and all of Sarah's plans for a relaxed day were gone out the window. The attorney had called her in, saying that Victor had agreed to sell only if she was there by noon, which through her into a flurry of activity. She called Patricia and Lloyd while Derrick was on the phone with his bank, and then she called her bank while he drove her over to the attorney's. To her relief she didn't have to face Victor again, and it was a surprisingly fast time - only a couple of hours - before all the business was concluded and the portions of ownership were properly allocated in the paperwork.

The entire time Patricia was shooting her little darting glances of surprise and speculation, although she didn't say anything in front of Lloyd or the attorney. Sarah knew that her friend was dying to interrogate her about why Derrick, of all people, was buying into the restaurant. To tell the truth Sarah wasn't entirely sure either but at the moment she was glad of it. Even if things didn't work out between them in the long run, she truly appreciated him giving her the time to build up her savings. And in the meantime, both of them being involved in the restaurant would mean that they would get much more time together.

As they left the attorney's office and stepped out into the bright sunshine of the day, Lloyd let out a heart chuckle and slapped Derrick on the back.

"Well, it's been wonderful doing business with you. Now who's hungry?"

"Yes, I think we should all go to lunch together," Patricia put in immediately, her eyes lighting up. "Now that we all own parts of the restaurant we should get to know each other better."

Considering that Patricia was her best friend Sarah knew that what her friend was really saying was that she wanted to get to know Derrick. Sarah shot Patricia a sharp look which, as usual, her friend ignored.

"Why don't we go to Polenta?" Patricia suggested brightly, turning slightly away from Sarah and grinning up at Derrick. Simultaneously she looped her arm through Lloyd's, as if ensuring that everyone got the message that she truly wanted Derrick to join them for lunch, but that her interest in his company was in no way sexual because she was so devoted to her husband. Sarah had to admire Patricia's mastery of body language; she always did everything deliberately and was never thrown off guard by other people's assumptions or misunderstandings, because she was so very clear in what she was saying. "We'll need to announce the changes to everyone anyway, and by the time we're done eating the lunch shift will be just wrapping up and the dinner shift arriving. It's perfect timing."

Sarah looked up at Derrick.

"I'm free," he said, smiling down at her. The look on his face was both hopeful and a little pleading, and she realized that he didn't really want to be left alone to the interrogation techniques of her best friend. She laughed.

"That sounds fine to me," she said. Derrick really wasn't entirely free. Nick had left a voicemail for him while they'd been in the attorney's office, which he hadn't gotten a chance to listen to yet, but the truth was that he found himself reluctant to leave Sarah's side. And he wanted to make a good impression on her friends, who were now also his business partners. And Patricia's logic about the restaurant did make a lot of sense. He found it all to easy to push aside his work and concentrate on his conversation with Sarah as they headed to Polenta.

He could tell that she was both excited and anxious about the changes, as she'd been planning on relinquishing her responsibility to others. Now she had a lot of support from Patricia and her husband, not to mention himself, but she was still obviously feeling a little under qualified. As she confessed some of her fears to him in the car on the way over he reached out and held her hand again, enjoying the feel of her small hand in his. Being privileged to hear her anxieties was not an honor that he dismissed lightly. From her hesitancy when she first started, he had been able to tell that she was a little nervous about showing any fear, but he'd coaxed it out of her on the ride over and then countered all of her fears with support.

By the time they arrived at the restaurant Sarah was feeling ready to take on the world. She couldn't believe how easy it had been to unload everything on Derrick, he not only seemed genuinely interested, but he didn't appear to look down on her at all for her insecurities. Instead he'd pointed out that she'd been running things since Martin had left and the restaurant didn't seem to be suffering any. Then he'd asked several pointed questions about what it took to be a partial owner, for his own education, and she found that she was able to answer all of them fully, which gave her even more confidence. And his reminder that he was even newer to the situation than she was made her feel even better.

Walking into the restaurant, Derrick didn't hold her hand but he did keep his on the small of her back. Not that she felt like he was pushing her anywhere, it was a remarkably possessive feeling gesture that made her feel like the two of them were still connected in a special way. Patricia saw everything of course, although Lloyd didn't seem to be noticing.

"Girl's trip to the bathroom," Patricia said in a sing song voice, grabbing Sarah's arm before she could sit down. Derrick and Lloyd both looked amused, nodding, as they took their seats and picked up their menus. As Patricia dragged her off to the ladies' room, she glanced back to see the two men already in deep discussion. Well that was good at least.

"So? Spill," demanded Patricia as soon as she got Sarah alone. "How on earth did tall dark and studly end up as one of our partners? Not that I'm complaining, mind you. He's great scenery, and considering that he seems to know your value I've got to give him a lot of props for intelligence. But are you sure this is smart? I can see the way you look at him and how he is around you; what if things go bad and you're tied to him financially?"

Sarah held up her hand to stem the flow of questions.

"I know. But we did talk about that, I promise. He's even the one who brought it up. While we were out at dinner last night I was telling him about my day and your offer and how I still needed to cover some of the costs, and he just upped and offered. I have no idea what he was thinking. But he said that if things didn't work out between us and we didn't want to see each other anymore that he'd sell it to me, and by then I'd have more in savings to pay for it with."

"Wait, he actually said that? As in, there are things to work out between you and that he wants to be around for awhile?"

Patricia squealed and did a happy victory dance around the bathroom as Sarah laughed at her. The implications of Derrick's actions and words hadn't really sunk in, what with all her other confused emotions, and the realization was a little overwhelming.

"I can't really date him yet, you know," Sarah said, trying to calm her friend down. "I mean, what would people say?"

"They would say that you deserve to be happy," Patricia said brutally. "And that you can't help when you meet someone." Sarah gave her a look and Patricia rolled her eyes. "Oh okay, some jerks might gossip a little, but no one who knows you and cares about you would ever think badly of you just because you met a guy. Even before he died you and Martin barely had a marriage, you were more like roommates than anything else. Friends." Which pretty much summed up Sarah's own thoughts.

Maybe she really didn't need to feel that slight twinge of guilt at how much she was enjoying herself. Or how much she liked Derrick and was attracted to him. He made her feel sexy, and at the same time like he respected her. Being around him made her feel like she really could do anything she wanted. And she wanted to get out of the house more. Be more involved in the restaurant.

"We should probably get back to the men," Sarah said, feeling suddenly eager to be back in Derrick's company, without any of the slight shame that usually tinged a thought like that.

"Ooooo our first double date," Patricia gushed as they left the restroom. Wow. It really was. A silly grin lit up Sarah's face and she couldn't stop it. On their way back to the table she saw that the two men both already had beers in front of them and were still deep in conversation. When Derrick glanced up and saw her coming his dark face split open to reveal those gorgeous white teeth, a shining smile that warmed her from the inside out. Obviously not caring what her friends thought of their relationship, Derrick grabbed her hand and pulled her into the booth next to him, sliding his arm around her waist and tugging him close enough that their bodies were touching from their hips all the way down their legs.

Lloyd raised his eyebrows in surprise but didn't say anything as he and Derrick continued to talk about the inner workings of the restaurant. It sounded like Derrick really was interested and wanted to learn everything he could from the manager, preferably within the next five minutes. She felt a surge of emotion for him. Although she knew that she was falling for him, and that the more time she spent with him the deeper she fell, she couldn't bring herself to want to stay away. Sure, he probably had a few faults, but nothing that had come up yet that she couldn't live with. Unless she counted the fact that she had no idea how he actually felt about her and whether or not he was interested in any kind of committed relationship. Considering that he was a bachelor at 35 she was guessing not. So that was a pretty major fault.

Finally accepting that it was alright if she moved on from Martin had also made her start thinking about what she wanted in a relationship. Derrick fit all of those things except that she wanted commitment and children; two things that this man had obviously avoided for awhile. Maybe they could keep this up for a little bit, but unless she changed her mind about what she wanted, there was no future here. The thought made her sad and she realized that she was kind of hoping that maybe there could be some kind of future with Derrick. Was this what people meant by rebounding? But she didn't feel like she was rebounding, because she didn't have any dependence on Martin to transfer to anyone. No, for the first time in her life she felt like the romance books she'd read, like the other women who talked about their boyfriends or husbands. She was falling in love.

She really should have thought through all the implications of her feelings before agreeing that Derrick should get involved in the restaurant. On the other hand, didn't she deserve a little bit of love and happiness? Even if it wasn't returned from him, at least she'd know what it felt like for a little bit. But it could only be for a short period of time, because she wasn't getting any younger and she definitely still wanted children. If she could find someone to fall in love with who also wanted them. For a moment her shoulders sagged and she felt Derrick squeeze her lip. Looking up she could see concern in his eyes and she dredged up a smile for him.

If only he wasn't so damn perfect; he'd even noticed that her silence meant something was wrong. Because he cared. Even if he wasn't in love with her too, he did care. Sarah's smile became a little more genuine.

By the time dinner was over Sarah had made a decision. Derrick was an incredible lover, he cared about her, and he was part of the restaurant team now. Most importantly, it made her happy to spend time with him. So she'd appreciate the time that she'd get with him, save up her money to buy him out, and explore as much of her sexuality as she could while she was with him. Who knew if the next guy that came along in her life would have the kind of chemistry that she and Derrick did together.

Several times throughout the meal she'd thought about some new things that she wanted to try out with him, things that she had never thought about before in her life, and had been hard put to pay attention to the conversation. For his part, Derrick wondered about the heat that infused Sarah's face occasionally. The conversation never seemed to be anything that should put that look on his face. She looked rather lustful in fact. Aroused. God knew he was aroused just from sitting next to her. He wanted to get her back home, strip her down and make love to her all night.

If she wasn't still too sore anyway.

*****

The announcement to the staff went really well, apparently Vincent had been even less well liked than Sarah had realized. Everyone was thrilled that Patricia was now officially part of the restaurant family - Linda and Angela practically mobbed her with hugs. When she introduced Derrick to them there was a veritable flood of whispers and a few knowing winks, which she tried to ignore although she knew she was blushing. To her relief everyone was grinning about it and no one seemed upset at all. Since they were catching both the lunch and the dinner staff, only a few were missing the official announcement. One of which was Q, since he was part time. She wondered if Derrick had let his cousin know what he was up to.

Sarah was elated when Derrick asked her if she wanted to come back to his place for dinner. She'd already been wondering whether or not to invite him into her house when he took her home, since she didn't want to seem clingy or desperate but she truly did want to spend the night with him if she could. That he not only wanted to spend the night with her, but also wanted to show her his home, made her feel joyously happy. Really, too happy considering that she didn't know where this - whatever it was they were doing - was going, but she pushed the negative thoughts aside.

While Derrick checked out the options in his refrigerator and opened a bottle of wine she explored his bachelor pad. It was a lot cleaner than any bachelor pad she'd ever been in. A two bedroom condo, the smaller of which had both a bed for a guest and a desk with a computer for working, with a large den area, the entire feeling was very masculine and comfortable. All of the decor was done in soft earth tones, including a handmade afghan draped over the back of a dark brown leather couch that was far too comfortable to sit down on. She giggled as she sank into the seat, feeling like a child playing on her father's furniture. The couch cushion practically swallowed up her petite form. Across from her was a very large television with bookshelves on either side, some with DVDs on them and some with books.

"Do you like mahi-mahi?" Derrick asked as he came into the room to hand her a glass of crisp white wine.

"Mahi-mahi sounds lovely," she replied as she accepted the glass. "Thank you."

Seeing Sarah sitting on his couch in her business suit that she'd worn for going to the attorney's, her shoes off on the floor in front of her, with her legs curled underneath her cute little butt, sent an unexpected thrill through Derrick. She should have looked out of place with her petite, feminine form in his masculine apartment with the large furniture that was suited to his frame, but she didn't. Somehow she just seemed to fit right in with his home, something that probably should have scared him but right now it was just making him feel good. This woman was all to easy to be comfortable around. And the more he had her around, the more he liked it. Some part of him wondered why he wasn't fighting that, but the truth was he liked the feeling. Maybe he was starting to get old enough to think about settling down. Or something.

And watching her taste the wine, with a little purr of pleasure as she licked her lips was enough to stir the arousal that always seemed to be waiting in his groin when she was around. For a moment he debated just scooping her up and carrying her off to his bedroom caveman style to have his way with her and getting to dinner later, but he thought the better of it. After all, she deserved to be wined and dined, and he would just have to control the impulses of his body.

The wine Derrick had brought her was wonderfully chilled. Although it was crisp it was a good sipping wine with hints of apples and pear, depending on what he did with the fish, it would probably pair well with the mahi-mahi. Perhaps she should turn on the television, but mostly what she wanted to do was sit and think. It had been an extremely hectic couple of days. She'd had a couple of days to integrate Martin's deception and betrayal and to get very used to having Derrick in her life and she didn't fancy pondering the future with him anymore. At the moment she'd just wait and see what happened one day at a time. What she wanted to think about was Vincent. Not that he was a pleasant topic of thinking for her, but she couldn't figure out why he had capitulated so quickly over his shares in the restaurant. It would be one thing if he truly wasn't interested, but since he'd been thinking about buying her out then that didn't make sense. The other curiosity was how quickly he'd moved on selling her his portion, especially his confusing insistence that it had to be done today.

Biting her lip she pondered what it meant. In her rush to secure his shares, the excitement and distraction of Derrick, and her worry and elation over maintaining her own portion of the restaurant, she hadn't really taken the time to think about why he might have wanted his shares off his hands, and why it had to be so quickly. Getting up from her seat on the couch, she left her shoes behind and walked barefoot over to the kitchen. Watching Derrick make dinner was a treat. He flashed her a quick grin as she appeared in the door way, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows to show off his muscular forearms and a hand towel draped over one broad shoulder. Every movement was quick and precise. It was nearly as good as watching Cara at work in Polenta.