6. Chapter 6
Chapter 6
“Miss—”
“No, really, it’s fine!” I waved a jittery hand at my driver and slid out of the matte black Range Rover. The door slammed shut, blocking out the slick, low-lit interior and the smell of new leather.
“I’d have stayed in the car,” Sonia chimed unhelpfully in my ear.
“Of course you would have stayed in the car. The driver was hot,” I muttered, navigating the sidewalk leading to the Lincoln Zoo. Most times, I’d have stayed in the car, too. Mal had gone all out with whatever car service he’d hired to pick me up.
The new model SUV was pristine. The driver had been polite and obviously very experienced navigating Chicago traffic, getting me across town to the zoo in no time. He’d even worn an earpiece. I wasn’t sure what sort of emergency driver situations would warrant an earpiece, or know who would be on the other side of the line, but it was official as hell. While I appreciated the obviously high caliber of the services being rendered, I’d been too antsy all day—all week, really—to sit still for any longer.
My gold heels clicked on the concrete as I strode past the long line of Beemers and Escalades jockeying to drop guests off at the entrance. Around me, other gala attendants stood out with their tuxes and silk gowns, lining up to get into the event venue. Apparently, this year’s gala benefitting the Children’s Hospital was going to be lit.
“Wait, you didn’t say he was hot. Why didn’t you tell me he was hot? How hot?”
“Umm,” I tried to remember the guy’s face. I had registered that he’d been attractive, with lots of muscles underneath that black button down, but truth be told, I hadn’t been able to focus on anything but the thought of seeing Malachi.
I hadn’t been able to switch shifts, so I’d been stuck in the OR all day. I’d emerged, feet sore and body sweaty, to a barrage of texts from him. One when his plane touched down in Chicago. Later, a photo of his brand new apartment key in his hand. Then, a photo of a king-sized bed, perfectly made up, surrounded by cardboard boxes. He had not bothered to add a caption to the picture. I’d still gotten the point.
Now, not only was he here, in my city, but he was here, like, just a few yards away. I shuffled up to a line snaking around the sidewalk, joining the other gala guests waiting to get inside.
“God, you’re the worst! No wonder you’re in a dry spell. You can’t even properly describe a hot guy. I need hair color, height, distinguishing markings.” Sonia’s voice pulled me back onto the sidewalk and out of my head, where I was fixated on Malachi’s bed, made up just for me.
Her call couldn’t have come at a better time. After a week alone in our apartment, I felt like I was going crazy. Though, that could have been because Malachi had also been ridiculously busy ever since he’d left me on the patio with a half-full pitcher of virgin sangria.
I couldn’t really blame him. It was a tall order to hand off responsibilities at the clinic he’d founded in Colorado five years ago. Despite having secretly worked on this move to Chicago for months, I got the feeling he was having a harder time letting go than he’d admit. His social media channels might have made him famous, but his clinical work was his true passion.
On the rare occasions I’d been able to reach him for a FaceTime call this week, he’d looked harried, maybe even a little sad. He did his best to hide it, and he’d almost succeeded once he started describing in full sensory detail what he’d do to me when he saw me next, when he could actually touch me. Oh, my God!
But after we hung up, usually a little breathless and grinning like fools, I couldn’t quite forget the shadow of worry in his eyes.
I stepped forward as the line moved up. I’d just have to assess him in person. When I saw him. In mere minutes. And all the barriers of secrets and rules and guilt would be gone, just like that. Poof . I clenched shaking fingers around my gold clutch, mouth dry as a desert.
“He was tall. Dark hair,” I offered. I had at least noticed that when he’d opened the car door for me back at the apartment. “Muscle-y.”
She groaned as I moved up a few more paces until I could see the entrance. “The hot driver is completely squandered on you. I should be there, reaping the rewards of his attractiveness. Did he hit on you? I bet he hit on you. You look hot.”
“You sure? I feel like a mess.” I glanced down at my red dress, wishing for the thousandth time today I’d had more time to get ready. As it was, I’d practically sprinted into my apartment for a quick shower, thrown my dress on, and barely had time to dab on some makeup and sloppily curl a few chunks of my hair.
“Yes, I’m sure! Stop being a bitch and tell yourself how beautiful you are. Why are you being so rude to my best friend? Say it. Out loud, right now. Go on.”
It felt good to laugh. It released some of the tension that built with every step I took towards the entrance. I was close, just a few people ahead of me. “I’m beautiful,” I repeated obediently, wrinkling my nose at the woman in front of me, who’d looked back at my declaration.
“You are,” she agreed. “Love that dress.” We shared a smile before she turned back to her date. I loved people sometimes.
“See? That lady knew.” Sonia crunched on something on her end of the line. “Who was she?”
“Another attendee here. We’re all in line to get in. I’m not sure what the hold up…oh, dang.” The crowd parted, and I got a look at what was taking so long. A team of black-clad security officers were patiently combing through purses and patting down dinner jackets. “There’s security here. Like a lot. Who knew the children’s hospital fundraiser would be so ritzy?”
“Weird. There wasn’t security last year. Are the security people hot? Let’s try to be more detailed this time, Ri.”
“I, um,” I smiled at the security officer who gestured me forward. “Just a sec.”
I offered him my clutch right as Sonia screeched in my ear. “Not just a sec! Is. The. Security. Dude. Hot? Report. I need a description. I want to feel like I’m right there, Ri.”
The man in front of me grinned, obviously overhearing her loud demands. He poked a flashlight through my lipstick and my ID. “Well?” His deep voice rumbled with barely restrained laughter. “Your friend is waiting.”
Sonia gasped in my ear. “Wait, he sounded hot. SIR, PLEASE DESCRIBE YOURSELF .” Her voice yelled out of my phone, making me laugh even while I pulled it away from my ear. Leave it to my best friend to have some sort of long-distance flirtation with a man she’d never met. I loved her so much, even if my cheeks were burning.
“Six-two. Brown hair, green eyes. Tattoos.” He returned my clutch with a wicked smile. “Single.”
“ SIR, MY FRIEND IS ALSO SINGLE. SHE —”
Oh, hell no. I didn’t need Sonia setting me up on a blind date all the way from New York. Especially when she was the one who didn’t know what the guy looked like. Even if he was admittedly rather attractive.
“I’m not, actually,” I interrupted, shaking my head at the man. His shirt had a white embroidered logo that said RISI Securities — Asher . “I’m meeting someone.”
“ THAT IS CORRECT, SHE IS MEETING SOMEONE. HOWEVER, I AM SINGLE .” Sonia changed tack on a dime. I shushed her, backing away while Asher grinned.
“My friend is single and also ridiculous,” I informed Asher as he waved a security wand over my dress. It clicked benignly. “She also said this thing didn’t have security last year.”
He shrugged, stepping back to clear the way for me. “Big hotshot celebrity here tonight. Gotta keep the crazies away.”
“ SIR, IT MIGHT NOT SEEM LIKE IT, BUT I AM NOT CRAZY. JUST IN NEED OF SOME GOOD DI -”
“Thank you, Asher. Have a nice night.” I cut Sonia off, covering my whole phone with my hand to drown her out. Asher cackled.
“If your friend’s as pretty as you, tell her I’d be interested.”
Even though I covered the receiver, we both heard Sonia squeal. I gave Asher a mock glare. “Look what you’ve done.” I wiggled my phone at him. It sounded like some sort of pealing alarm was going off on the other side of the line. He shot another wicked, unrepentant grin my way.
“Enjoy your evening,” he winked, gesturing for someone behind me to step forward.
In the several minutes it took to shush Sonia and convince her I would not turn back around and take Asher’s picture, I made my way to Café Brauer, where the main event was being hosted.
“Okay, I’m here now, thank you for humiliating me in front of strangers, yet again.” I had to raise my volume as I walked in, the voices and clatter of hundreds of people echoing off the polished hard woods. I handed my wrap to a smiling coat check attendant and waited for a ticket.
“Any time, babe. Remember, your objective is simple. Keep the cougars off my brother. I swear, last year, one of them tried to crawl into his lap.”
“Right. I’m on it,” I told her, turning back to the teeming room. What I couldn’t tell her was that I, myself, planned to crawl into Malachi’s lap soon, so there likely wouldn’t be room for anyone else. I nabbed a glass of champagne from a passing server’s tray.
“I’m serious, Ri. Stick with him. Get up in there. Protect his virtue.”
“Mm hmm.” I downed the drink in a few gulps. I would not be protecting Malachi Dobrev’s virtue tonight. Not even a little. “Listen, I gotta go. I need to go find him.”
“I love you. Be good but not too good. Let loose a little, Ri. You’ve been working that juicy booty off. You deserve to have some fun tonight.”
A beep in my ear made me pull my phone back. Malachi’s name flashed across the screen. My heart leaped. “I will, love you!” I hung up on Sonnie, switching the call to Mal.
“Hello?”
“It’s six oh five. You were supposed to be in my arms five minutes ago.” Mal’s voice sank into me like a caress, even as the background noise on his end clashed with the chatter I heard in real time from the people around me. “Where are you?”
I glanced around, trying to orient myself. The café was a popular spot for these types of functions. High-end weddings and corporate fundraisers. The setup was a familiar one.
Candles gleamed from the tables that circled the room, leaving space for a dance floor in the center. Fun, colorful flower arrangements were dotted here and there. A jazz band crooned on a stage, just soft enough not to disturb the conversations throughout the room. They’d probably crank up the volume for dancing after dinner and the auction.
Digital screens around the room scrolled through images of what would be auctioned off tonight, as well as pictures and stories of children who would benefit from our donations.
“I’m on the left side. Near one of the screens.”
“Left side from the stage? Or the door?” He sounded urgent, rushed like the pulse pounding through my veins. This was it. This was it . I was about to be face-to-face with Malachi Dobrev and there was nothing stopping me from grabbing him the way I wanted. Kissing him. Feeling him against me. Stripping him out of his tux later and running my hands down his chest.
My heart squeezed. “The stage. I’m circling around.”
“I’m towards the middle. What are you wearing?”
Malachi had asked me that question over the phone many times in the last few months. I’d never heard him say the words with such frustrated desperation.
“Red. Silk.” I scooted around a table, heading into the melee.
“I…that’s not you. Wait, I… Rija.”
I turned, the whispered wonder in his voice steering me, somehow. And there he was, staring at me, looking like a Calvin Klein model. Jaw freshly shaved, hair combed back from his face. He had a rainbow polka dot handkerchief sticking artfully out of his pocket. The perfect counterbalance of whimsy to what would otherwise be a devastating package.
“Mal.”
Despite the people milling back and forth in front of us, he smiled like he heard me. I realized we were still holding our phones to our ears, standing in the middle of a fancy party, gazing at each other like star-crossed lovers from across the room.
He slid his phone in to his breast pocket while he strode toward me. I stumbled to meet him halfway, shoving my phone back into my purse to free my hands up for…for what, I wasn’t sure. This moment had played a starring role in my fantasies—both PG and X rated—all week long.
Would he sweep me into a chaste kiss? Would I leap into his arms? Would we haul each other into the coat closet? (Those specific daydreams got X rated, fast.)
He strode forward, turning to slip past a woman in a sparkly navy dress, and then he was there, arms reaching around me, pulling me into his chest.
“Rija.” He sounded like he’d been searching for me his whole life. Like he’d been waiting for too long to have me here—right here, in this room, in this dress, in his arms.
I understood the feeling. I buried my face against his neck as his hand ran up my spine to bury into my hair. He breathed me in. My arms clasped around him, feeling the muscles of his back flex through his jacket as we swayed in place.
In the middle of a crowded ballroom, surrounded by strangers, it felt like coming home. So momentous my throat tightened.
His chest shuddered against mine as he breathed once more, inhaling deeply. His fingers flexed, massaging my scalp before slipping downwards to cup the back of my neck, stroking over the sensitive spot behind my ear. I shivered.
“Hi, Mal.”
I grinned into his skin. There was a strong likelihood that my lipstick would smudge all over his collar and I didn’t give a fuck. Actually, the thought made me ridiculously happy. I nuzzled him once more, feeling territorial.
“Hi, Kitten. Christ, you smell…so good.”
I laughed, clenching him tighter to me. “I worked a ten today and barely had time to shave my legs. I smell like a hospital.” An unfortunate fact: when you worked ten hours straight in the OR, you ended up smelling like latex gloves and alcohol wipes.
“Not true. You smell like flowers and Rija. My favorite.” His hand traveled down my neck, stroking over the skin between my shoulder blades. He grunted. I nearly purred.
“Rija,” he began. He had that tortured, if-you-don’t-move-the-vibrator-and-get-yourself-off- right-now- I’m-going-to-jump-through-the-screen-to-get-my-hands-on-you tone I’d heard from him many times before. Well, he had his hands on me, now.
I couldn’t wait to hear what he was finally going to do about it.