Mafia Daddy’s Smart Little by Mary Potter
CHAPTER FIVE
Jennifer
It wasn’t hard bumping into anyone at the Mount Arena in Leevens if you wanted to.
I had planned how my day would go and it had to end with me having a little chat with Holland Kennedy. I had been watching him these past few days. This wasn’t my first time watching a guy.
It wasn’t hard to find out he bought burgers and coffee every day at the Mount Arena and then drove back to Lincoln Park to buy a newspaper and read for a while.
Who still read newspapers? Holland Kennedy did. Somehow, it was intriguing to watch him sit on a bench at the park, face hidden behind his cap and sunglasses while he flipped through the pages of the newspaper.
I had time to stalk anyone between pouring drinks at my father’s pub and chatting with Laurel every evening. There wasn’t anything special about my days. I was boring.
Even my father must have suspected it. That had to be the reason he didn’t object to me leaving the pub at exactly nine in the morning and returning two hours later.
“Seeing someone?” He grinned as I slipped into my coat.
“Something like that.”
“That’s my girl!”
I could almost sense his excitement. Ever since my mother died, I became picky about who I went on dates with. If he wasn’t wealthy, I ruled him out.
“There he is,” I said to myself as Holland walked out of the Mount with only a cup of coffee this time.
It wasn’t hard recognizing him. From the way he walked to the way he sipped his coffee; I knew that was my man. It was time to make my move.
With my own coffee in hand, I began to walk toward the building, pretending to speak with someone on the phone. Just as I got to Holland, I turned, said something, and turned back at the right moment to collide with him. A soft gasp escaped my lips as our coffee spilled, mine on his sleek shoes and his on my coat.
“Watch where you’re going,” I cried and hoped he would recognize me.
“I am so sorry,” Holland apologized and then stared at my face. “I know you.”
I feigned trying to remember if I had seen him somewhere before. Damn, I was a good actress!
“I don’t recognize you.”
Then he pushed his sunglasses down so I could peer into his captivating eyes and remember how incredibly buff he was.
I tried to compose myself. There were things Holland Kennedy did to me that I couldn’t possibly fathom. Aside from his long hair and chiseled face, Holland had an athletic body that made me want to reach out and wrap my arms around him forever.
“You remember now?” Holland asked, chuckling, “Back at the pub, you…”
“Holland Kennedy!” I exclaimed.
“Hey, hey,” the celebrity said. “Can we keep it down on the name? I’m trying to sneak out of here without people knowing.”
“Oooh, my bad,” I said to him. “Sorry about the coffee. It’s my fault. I was on the phone…”
“It’s nothing,” he cut in. “I think it’s mine.”
It was rather awkward standing there with him and arguing about whose fault it was. My heart began to sink when I realized he wasn’t trying to ask for my number. He just kept talking about how grateful he was that my father and I had saved him that night.
“Uh, I have to go,” I said after a few minutes.
It was another waste of time. No way a popular guy like Holland would be interested in me.
I was moving away from him when he spoke up.
“Hey, Jennifer.”
I spun around and wondered if he saw the look of surprise on my face. Holland Kennedy remembered my name?
“You remember my name?” I said, almost chuckling.
His sexy smile stretched across his face. “I’m very good with names.”
It was as though the universe had just given me the best gift. A man like Holland would most probably not remember the peasant girl he met at the bar a week ago.
“What do you say with meet for a cup of coffee tomorrow? At Lincoln Park?”
If I wasn’t able to keep my cool in the face of shocking moments like this, I might have fainted right on the spot. This man hadn’t only remembered my name. He was asking me to go out with him.
“Sure!” I answered and hoped I wasn’t shown too much of my excitement. “I don’t mind.”
His smile refused to leave his face. “Tomorrow morning then. 9:30.”
“I’ll meet you there.”
I turned around to enter the Mount before I could embarrass myself. Somehow, I felt his eyes on me as I walked away. Maybe Holland Kennedy was interested in me.
“Laurel!” I cried on the phone as soon as my best friend picked it. “You won’t believe what just happened!”
“Oh, come on, did you mess up? Did you beg him to take you out for a drink?”
“That was two years ago, and it isn’t going to happen again.”
“What did you do this time?”
“Nothing. He just asked to go out with me.”
“Really? That’s good news, girl!”
“I’m meeting him for coffee tomorrow,” I continued. “You don’t know how excited I am.”
I was walking back out of the Mount when I saw him. Not Holland, but someone I had not expected to see in a place like this.
“Shit! It’s Williams!”
“What? Get the hell out of there.”
“On it,” I answered and walked hurriedly away from the building just as Williams got off the phone and entered the Mount through the revolving doors.
