Chapter 26
Saturday night – Ellie
Turns out “fancy” didn’t do justice to the restaurant we ate at. Just like the burger bar in Nashville, we pulled around behind the place in a big black SUV and were escorted in through the back door. This time there were paparazzi calling Luke’s name from the alleyway.
“How did they know you were here?” I asked after we’d taken our seats in another private room.
“I have no clue,” Luke said, clearly frustrated. “My guess is someone at the condo tipped them off about which car to follow. Are you okay?”
Was I okay? It was sweet that he was worried about me when he was the one who’d been going to therapy over his lack of privacy.
“I’m fine,” I assured him. I left it there. Luke was clearly unhappy about being seen, and no doubt the idea of someone at his condo selling him out to the press was weighing on him like Tiffany’s betrayal.
The super-attentive waitress handed us our drinks the moment we sat down. Luke had asked me what I wanted in the car, and after I’d answered, he’d texted someone. Did all rich people get this sort of treatment? Or was it reserved only for famous rich people? Seemed to me money was money. But what did I know?
As I sipped my excellent dirty vodka martini, I glanced around at the room we were in. It was cozy and dimly lit, though filled with candlelight and fresh white roses in crystal vases. Did Luke order white roses in crystal vases everywhere he went? More to think about.
I’d decided to go classic tonight with a sleek little black dress that I’d picked up at a shop in Nashville on Friday afternoon. The dress cost several hundred dollars, but Luke had given me his credit card, and after knowing how much his couch cost, I figured a few hundred on a LBD wasn’t going to hurt him. Not that I expected him to buy anything for me. I didn’t. But it was nice being taken care of instead of being the caretaker for once. I felt like I’d played that role my entire life. Even as a child, I’d had to take care of my grandma. We’d lived off her Social Security and she’d put a roof over my head, but I’d been bringing her her medicine, making sure she took it, cooking her dinner, and cleaning the house for as long as I could remember.
Luke was dressed in a light-gray fitted suit with a white shirt and a black tie and looked like a million bucks.
“I need to send a picture of us to Meg,” I told him with a laugh. “She won’t believe how well we clean up.”
“Well, I don’t know about me, but you look amazing,” Luke said, his blue eyes sparkling at me from across the table draped with the finest white linen tablecloth I’d ever touched.
“So do you,” I said, my cheeks heating. Why was I blushing? Oh, yeah…because we were totally on a date.
“I still can’t believe Meggie didn’t say much when we took off together for Miami,” Luke added, smiling.
“She knows we’ve been making out.” I laughed.
Luke’s eyes narrowed. “And yet she’s oddly quiet on the subject.”
“You’re right,” I said, narrowing my eyes too. “That is suspicious.”
Luke didn’t get a chance to reply because the door to our little dining room opened and the chef came in. After profusely welcoming us to the restaurant and speaking with us for a few minutes, we didn’t even have to order. The chef proceeded to send us course after course of the most delicious food I’d ever encountered. There was a pancetta crisp with goat cheese and pears, a chestnut soup, a white bean and beets appetizer, a wilted spinach salad with shaved parmesan and vinaigrette, blackened salmon (which Luke would not admit to requesting for me), brie-stuffed chicken with a mushroom wine sauce, chocolate cheesecake with raspberry coulis, and at the very end, there was something called a mignardise, which I’d never heard of but was essentially tiny little bites of macaroon-like desserts paired with the most delicious cup of coffee evah. Each course was practically bite-sized, so it felt as if I could go on eating forever. And between each course, a restaurant employee came out to brush the crumbs off the table with a little metal thing that kinda looked like a knife but wasn’t. I guess that’s how rich people ate.
“So, how do you like Miami?” Luke asked between the salad and the salmon.
“It’s great. The views are amazing, and I’ve never had a pool attendant bring me drinks, towels, and spritz me with water when it got too hot.” That part had seriously been next level.
“Nice, right?” Luke replied.
After I nodded, he said, “Is your room comfy?”
“Oh, yeah. Perfect.” The bedroom at the condo was all white. White walls, white marble floor, white bedding, white pillows. But somehow it felt cozy and refreshing at the same time. Very Miami.
Luke gave me a wolfish grin. “Truth?”
“Go for it.”
“I purposely gave you the room farthest from mine so I wouldn’t be tempted to knock on your door tonight.”
A little thrill shot through me. Ooh, Luke was flirting with me again. And I liked it again. It was fun to be out with a man for the first time in far too long and enjoying myself. Plus, this particular evening out wasn’t even fraught with the whole question about whether we would have sex later. The answer was already no, and we both knew it. Kissing, kissing, and more kissing was the only thing on the menu for Mr. Knightley and me.
“Probably the safest bet,” I said, shamelessly flirting back.
By the time we finished dinner and left, Luke had ordered a different car but requested that the original car remain behind at the restaurant. We left through a side door and managed to escape the paparazzi.
By the time we made it back to the condo, Luke seemed relaxed.
“That dinner was amazing,” I said, peeling off my black high heels and dropping them next to the front door. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure.”
“Thanks for the threads too,” I said, glancing down at my dress.
His gaze roved over me appreciatively. “You look amazing.”
I smiled shyly and bit my lip.
“You want to watch a movie?” he asked, shucking off his shoes by the front door too.
So like tenth grade. “Sure. What do you want to watch?”
I padded over to the big, comfy-looking white couch. Wonder how much this one cost. When had I become so obsessed with couch prices?
Luke was pulling off his tie, and I helped him carefully remove his jacket and replace his sling over his shirt while he looked deep into my eyes. “It doesn’t matter which movie we pick, Ellie. We’re not really going to watch it.”
My stomach did a little flip, and I quickly hopped onto the couch, waiting for him to come sit next to me. He didn’t take long, and his mouth was on mine before I had a chance to say another word.
As usual, the kissing was epic. He pulled me on top of him and I straddled his hips, careful not to jostle his hurt arm. His right arm snaked around my waist, and with one solid pull, he melded us together. Oh, damn. His erection pressed against me. My skirt was pushed up my thighs and his right hand went up the side of my leg to grasp my hip. I had on a pair of barely-there panties that I was kinda hoping he would rip off in one swift motion.
His mouth crushed mine, and I was already panting as his lips made their way down my neck. Only tonight, I couldn’t help myself. I stopped him briefly to pull down the sleeves of my LBD. No more stick in my you-know-what, buddy.
His eyes flared as he took in my lacy black bra. “Ellie,” he breathed.
When he pulled me to him again, his mouth traveled down to my cleavage, and I nearly sobbed when I realized he had no intention of taking off my bra. He licked my nipples through the flimsy lace though, and I moaned. Did he need help? It took two hands to unclasp a bra, after all. But I wasn’t confident enough to do it myself. We’d agreed to just kissing. Second base hadn’t been approached until tonight. And if he’d wanted to get rid of my bra, he could have just pushed it aside.
His lips came crashing back to mine, and I whimpered in his mouth, trying not to pump my hips against his. I wanted him so bad.
Finally, he pulled his mouth from mine and whispered against my lips. “Damn. I wish…”
He didn’t say more. He didn’t have to. I knew what he wished because I wished for it too. This had all started out innocent and fun. But kissing was no longer enough.