Chapter Four
I haven’t been on a ton of first dates in my life. I have only ever dated one guy seriously and we were together for my first three years of college. Since then, I wouldn’t necessarily say I’ve dated so much as I’ve met guys for a drink or at a party and then waited to see where the night took us. But of all the dates I’ve been on, Chris shot all of them out of the water. From one date, I could see he only knew how to do things one way and that was ‘the best.’
We are standing in front of the restaurant when a black BMW with tinted windows slows to a stop in front of us.
“I have a car to take you home.”
“I drove here,” I tell him, blinking at him several times.
“And you had a Manhattan and a glass of champagne.”
I sigh. “Right. You have seen how much I can drink though. You can’t possibly think those two drinks over the span of four hours could possibly affect my ability to drive home.”
“Humor me. I know you won’t let me take you home, but at least let me make sure you get home safely.”
“What about my car?”
“It’ll be there shortly after you.”
“Chris—”
He slides his hands into his pockets and I make yet another mental note of how good he looks. He really knew how to wear the hell out of a suit. “Don’t give me a hard time, alright? You said you wanted a gentleman. This is me on my best behavior.”
“What if I wanted to see you not on your best behavior?” I tease and though his eyes darken and drag down my body, he shakes his head and opens the back door of the car. I’ll admit I’m impressed by his restraint.
After our conversation, he surprisingly kept things pretty PG at dinner. He held my hand a few times and there was one brush of his knuckles down my face that had me almost melting into a puddle, but he didn’t push for more. If I’d had another drink, I may have but I’d put boundaries in place and he respected them.
And dammit, if that didn’t make me want him more.
He shakes his head slowly, with a smug grin on his face like he’s enjoying this. “You said only dinner.”
“Fine.” I move to stand in front of the open door and a part of me hopes he’ll attempt to kiss me.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Right. Yes.” I nod but don’t get in the car. Smooth, Marissa.
He looks towards the backseat and then back at me. “Is there…something else?” he asks with a knowing smirk and I hate that I’m being so obvious.
“Nope,” I say before I tap his nose gently. “Thanks for dinner.”
“Pleasure was all mine,” he says as I slide in and he closes the door behind me. He taps the window gently with one knuckle and when I roll it down, he leans down so we’re at eye level. “So, when can I see you again?”
I look at the driver and a part of me wonders if he knows that Chris is married and that I am most definitely not his wife. I wonder if he’s the loyal driver who knows where all the bodies are buried. I turn back to Chris and flash him my most flirty smile, just as I send the window back up. “Tomorrow at work, obviously,” I say just before it hits the top.
I’ve only been home about twenty minutes when my phone lights up with a message.
Chris: Thank you for tonight. Did you make it home?
You know I did. I giggle to myself thinking about the fact that his driver probably had strict instructions to let him know the second I was through my door. My car arrived a few minutes later.
Me: You don’t know the answer to that?
Chris: You give me a lot of shit, you know that?
Me: Yep, and I’m not sorry.
Chris: Good. It makes my dick hard.
I gasp and almost drop my phone because did I read that correctly ? I pick up my phone and scan the word again and I don’t miss the way my nipples tingle at the salacious words.
Chris: I only promised to be a gentleman at dinner. Now, that dinner is over, I can tell you that I wanted to fuck you all over every inch of that private room.
Me: Is that why you requested one?
Chris: No. I requested one because I wanted privacy for the conversation we were going to have. I wanted you to be free to yell at me if you wanted to.
Me: What a shame I didn’t capitalize.
Chris: You will have plenty of chances to yell at me.
Me: You sound awfully sure of yourself.
Chris: Says the woman that was begging me to kiss her with her eyes before she left.
Me: I was not!
Chris: You definitely were and it took everything out of me not to climb into that car with you and kiss you for the entire drive to your house.
Me: I may have let you.
Chris: Now you tell me this
I drop my phone on my bed and head into the bathroom and when I return to my room, I see I have a missed call from Chris. I go to call him back when I see the bubbles indicating that he’s typing and I decide to wait and see what he’s going to say.
Chris: I don’t know if you fell asleep, but what are the chances that you’ll go out with me again on Saturday?
I press the number to call him and he answers after only two rings. “Want to take me out again, huh?” I’m sure he can hear the smile in my voice but at the moment, I don’t care. I haven’t even taken my makeup off from the date we’d just been on and he’s calling to take me out again. Gotta love a man that’s consistent.
“Yes.”
“What did you have in mind?”
I half expect him to say something along the lines of a repeat of Alexis and Owen’s wedding. “Well, I was thinking we’d go to New York.”
“On Saturday?” I love New York. It’s one of my favorite cities and I love being so close to it. Growing up only an hour train ride away, we spent more weekends than not discovering all the places to go. Even when it was probably way too dangerous to go with just a handful of your other barely legal friends.
“Actually, I was thinking we would leave tomorrow night.”
“Uh huh. Is that so?”
He chuckles. “I’ll get you your own room at the hotel.”
“I see and when would we come back?”
“Sunday.”
“So, you want the whole weekend? Not just a date on Saturday,” I correct.
“We could leave Saturday night if you want, it might just be late after the show.”
“Show?”
“Yes, I was thinking we could see a show if you wanted. Beckham Securities has a box and we can see pretty much anything we want. We just have to let them know a few days in advance if we won’t be using it, but we typically use them.” He laughs. “If no one in the office wants to use the box, we offer it to clients.”
I remember them mentioning taking future and existing clients to shows but I hadn’t realized they had tickets all the time. “Okay, what show is it?”
“Have you seen Hamilton yet?”
My eyes widen and my mouth drops open in shock. “Are you kidding me?! No, I haven’t seen it. Tickets have been sold out for what…a year!?”
He chuckles. “So, I’ll take that as a yes to another date then.”
I would have said yes to a picnic in Central Park but HAMILTON!?
“Yes definitely, sounds great,” I tell him as I practically jump off my bed and run to my walk-in closet to try to decide what to wear.
“So, you’re okay with leaving tomorrow night? We can leave Saturday if you prefer.”
“And what’s the plan for tomorrow?”
“Well, I was thinking we could have dinner.”
I drag a hanger across the rack nixing dress after dress. “Okay, what time should I be ready?”
“Can I pick you up?”
I think about how vague I can be when I tell my parents I’m going to New York for the weekend without having to lie to them. I hate lying to them, probably because I’ve never really had to. But I really don’t want a bunch of questions if they figure out I’m crossing state lines to spend the weekend with a man that they’ve never heard me speak of. “I suppose,” I say. “Just…don’t get out of the car.”
“You embarrassed of me or something?” he jokes.
“I would prefer not to explain who the gorgeous older man is that’s picking me up for a weekend in another state if you don’t mind?”
“Would your parents have a problem with my age?”
“No. They’ll have a problem with your marital status though.”
“Fair.”
“My parents are…” I squint my eyes because my parents are very hard to explain. Very smart, opinionated, a little judgmental, and it takes a while for them to warm up to you. But when they do, they’re loyal as hell and they’ll go to war for you like you are family. “They’ll just have a lot of questions and my mom will want to have you over for dinner and know all about your family and…”
“I can come over for dinner. It’s been a while since anyone’s cooked for me.”
WHAT? “I am not ready for that.”
“I’m kidding. I get it. I won’t get out of the car.”
“Okay, what time?”
“How’s six? It will give us time to get to the city and get settled before dinner.”
“Are we taking the train?”
“No, I want as much time alone with you as possible. I’m going to drive.”
Fuck. I mouth thinking about being in an enclosed space with Chris for almost two hours. I squeeze my eyes shut and send up a silent prayer that the ride won’t end up feeling like foreplay.
At least, he’ll have to focus on the road.
“Where are you going, young lady?” My mother peeks her head out of her office as I roll my carry-on suitcase towards the door. She pushes her glasses down on her nose and gives me a look similar to the ones she’d give me as a teenager when I was off to get into trouble. “Overnight it seems?”
“Yeah, it’s a work thing.” I nod, knowing that the fewer details I give the better. I’ll admit, Shane and Autumn were right in some ways. I definitely have always gotten away with more. In my early teens, I could sleep over at any of my friend’s houses without a ton of pushback. I had a later curfew and I rarely got grounded for breaking it. Which I did often.
By the time I was eighteen, my parents were ready to be empty nesters and spent most of that year traveling around Europe then Africa and then Asia. I threw so many parties that year. Even now, my parents treat me like I’m just a third roommate who just happens to not pay any bills and have made zero comments about me needing to move anytime soon. Shane and Autumn had three months to get their lives together before they were pushed out the door.
Maybe I am the favorite?
“On a weekend?” She crosses her arms as if to say yeah right . “Don’t lie to me.”
“It’s for team building. All the new hires were invited. We are even going to see Hamilton .”
Her mouth drops open and she puts a hand over her chest. “You’re kiddin’! Your Dad and I saw it in its first run. Fabulous.” She claps. “I thought tickets were sold out?”
“ Beckham Securities has a box.”
“Okay, fancy!” She pushes her glasses into her hair before making her way towards me. “What are you wearing?”
“No clue.” I sigh. “There’s like four different dresses in here. I guess, I just have to see what everyone’s wearing.” Or whichever one makes Chris lose his mind.
She nods in understanding before running her fingers through my hair. “What about your hair?”
“What about it?” I run my fingers through the curls and hold a few strands under my nose. “I just washed it today.”
“Oh, that’s why.” She nods before she scrunches her nose. “You know your hair always looks better on day two.”
“Thanks.” Sarcasm drips from my voice as I follow her to the kitchen.
“You have time to eat before you go?”
“Oh, I’m going to eat in New York. There’s a dinner!” I say. At least, I haven’t had to lie too much.
“Okay. Well, when will you be back? Sunday?”
“Yep.” I grab a bottle of water from the fridge. “I’m getting picked up in about twenty minutes,” I say as nonchalantly as possible so that maybe she’ll think it’s just an Uber.
“Okay, well make good choices. Have fun. Be careful. Take pictures. Let us know when you get there, please. Are you taking the train?” she says all in one breath.
“No…we’re driving.”
“Driving.” She scrunches her nose again. “Why?”
Fuck, I should have said the train. “They just thought it would be fun.”
She narrows her eyes. “Driving…into the city…on a Friday night…? Who in the world thought that would be fun?”
“Mom, it’ll be fine.”
“It just seems silly when the train is an option and you can have a drink.” My parents have become the life of the party in their older age and have the mindset of nineteen-year-olds where every activity requires a pregame.
“Again, I’m going for work and I’m new. I’m not planning to be hammered the whole weekend.”
She shrugs. “Well, your father and I are going bowling. Did you know on Friday nights it’s Cosmic Bowling!?”
“Yes, mother, I know.”
“Ah, it feels like my youth. Bowling and cheap pitchers of beer.”
“Mom, you don’t even drink beer.”I chuckle.
“I know,” she scrunches her nose. “Maybe I’ll just bring a bottle of Pinot Grige with me. Oh! Can I borrow your green Gucci bag since it’s neon? I feel like it will go with the vibe I’m going for.” She swings her hips from side to side and I roll my eyes before letting out a chuckle.
“To go get drunk with teenagers at Cosmic Bowling?” I blink at her before I relent because to be fair, she did buy it for me. “Sure, let me go get it.” I chuckle as I head up the stairs.
I’m just grabbing it from my closet when I hear my mother. “Whose Maserati is this outside? If your father bought one, I’ll kill him! He was supposed to take me when he went to look at them!”
My heart plummets as I look at the watch on my wrist. FUCK! I almost stumble over my feet as I hear the front door open and then steps retreating. No no no no no!
“Mom, wait!” I say as I fly down the two flights of stairs to the main floor just in time to see my mother approach the car not in our driveway but sitting in front of our house.
“God, I know you are not really on my side about the whole married man thing, but PLEASE, cut me some slack,” I whisper as I cross my fingers and look up. I drop the bag on the credenza in the foyer before grabbing my suitcase and purse and begin rolling it out the front door towards my mother who is already walking around the car to the driver’s side.
“Fuuuuck me,” I mutter under my breath. “Mom!”
The door opens and I watch as Chris steps out looking like pure sex. Dressed casually in jeans and a Henley with sunglasses in front of his gorgeous eyes, he towers over my mother’s tiny frame. I watch as she lowers her glasses and sizes him up slowly before she turns her head even slower to look at me over her frames with a raised eyebrow.
I give her my best smile like everything’s normal and nothing out of the ordinary about an older man that looks like that picking me up. I point behind me towards our house. “I left the bag for you.”
“Hello there,” Chris says as he holds a hand out. “It’s so nice to meet you, I’m Chris. You must be Marissa’s older sister.” He flashes that grin at her and twenty-one years of knowing Kimberly Holt shows me that my mother is already on board.
My mother giggles in that way she does when she’s flattered. “Oh, you’re trouble.” She points at him before she shakes his hand. “Marissa’s mother.”
“Impossible,” he retorts and I roll my eyes, even if I’m slightly impressed at how quickly he’s winning my mother over.
“Yes, well I was ten when I had her,” she says as she waves him off and she makes her way back towards me. He follows behind her and grabs my suitcase from me, smiling at me like he knows he’s probably in trouble for this but it was all worth it.
“Chris works at Beckham Securities also,” I say because I don’t want my mother to think I lied right to her face.
She looks me up and down once before leaning in to kiss me on my cheek. “Mmmhmmm. Well, you two kids have fun,” she whispers in my ear. “Wear the shortest dress.”
“Mom!” I whisper.
“Phew, if I was just a few years younger.”
“I’ll be sure to tell your husband that.” I roll my eyes at her.
“Snitch,” she says back to me before she waves at Chris who’s standing in front of the passenger’s side open door. “Take care of my child, please!”
“Yes ma’am.” He nods and I watch her scurry back into the house. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was on the phone with my aunt before Chris is even back in the car.
I’m still rubbing my forehead when he’s back in the car and I slowly turn my gaze towards him and stare through narrowed slits.
“What did you want me to do!?” He laughs.
“Park down the block!?”
“And what? Have you walk? No, Marissa.” He snorts and I note we aren’t moving.
“Can we go? Before my mom starts running your plates and figures out your whole life story? As is, she’s probably already running a background check.”
He props his elbow on the console between us and pulls his sunglasses off so I can see those blue eyes. “Can I have a kiss first?”
I blink away from him because I think if I stare into them too long, they could convince me to do anything. “No.”
“I can sit here all day, you know.”
I cross my arms and shoot him a look, half annoyed and half amused. “You really want the first time we kiss again to be out of manipulation?”
“Ah, so you admit there will be another kiss?” I scowl but I can feel the smile trying to force its way through. He shifts the car out of park and pulls away from the house. “That’s enough for now.” He makes it to the end of our street and I let out a sigh of relief because at least my dad wasn’t home.
We’re an hour into the ride when we hit the first bit of traffic. We’d been listening to music for the most part, the silence comfortable and sensual as the sounds of a pretty decent playlist plays through his speakers.
Al Green, Adele, Bruno Mars, The Beatles, Stevie Wonder.
And he’s got taste in music.
He turns down the music as the red brake lights get closer. “So, is your mom a cop?”
“Huh?” I ask.
“You said she’d be running my plates. Is she a cop?”
“Oh. No. She’s a retired college professor.”
“Very cool. What subject?”
“Sociology. She was a social worker but she stopped after she had my older brother and decided to teach a few years after she had me.” I pause. “But my dad’s a retired judge. So, yeah, she has access.” I laugh.
He whistles. “Intense.”
“Yes. I’m glad he wasn’t home. You may want to drop me off around the corner on Sunday unless they’re out somewhere.”
He nods, though something tells me he’s not in agreement with doing that. “Your mom seems fun.”
“The life of the party.”
“I like that. My mom is far from that.” He laughs.
“What’s she like?”
“Quiet. Very quiet. She didn’t used to be but…losing my Dad hit her hard.”
“Oh.” I frown, thinking about losing one of my parents. “I’m really sorry. How long has it been?”
He narrows his eyes like he’s trying to count. “Maybe thirteen years now?” He whistles again. “Damn, doesn’t seem like it’s been that long. I was a junior in college, so yeah, that’s about right.”
Younger than I am now. I frown, my heart breaking for him because I couldn’t imagine not having either of my parents. “You were so young. I’m sorry.” My frown deepens. “Has she not remarried?”
“Nope.” He shakes his head. “I think she might be seeing someone now though. I don’t know the details; I only know that there’s been a new guy sniffing around. She still lives in Michigan where I’m from and I think my sisters are keeping me out of the loop on purpose because they don’t want me to come to town and scare him off.”
“Would you?” I ask, tilting my head to the side. “Scare him off?”
“No, but I don’t want some asshole taking advantage of my mother.”
I eye him curiously. “And your sisters wouldn’t make sure that doesn’t happen?”
“Not the same way I would,” he says. “My sisters are…too sweet. They have no bite to them.”
“Ah.” I giggle, thinking about Chris’ assistant saying that he also had no bite.
“I know I’m supposedly the nice one at the office, especially compared to Beck, but that’s work. I can be ruthless when it comes to my family. I guess it came with being the only man once my dad died.” I nod, though a nagging feeling flashes through me, reminding me that he has another family. “Or anyone I care about,” he adds and when I turn to look at him, I can sense his gaze on me.
I’m glad I’m wearing a maxi dress under a denim jacket because goosebumps arise everywhere. The last of the sun is starting to set so he pulls his sunglasses off.
“Are your sisters younger? Older?” I ask, not trying to go down the road of unpacking what he meant or if he was implying that he cares about me.
“One older, one younger. I know you have an older sister, but is that all?”
“An older brother also,” I tell him.
“Fuck, and you’re the baby. I’m screwed.” He chuckles as he changes lanes with ease and I hate how fucking hot he looks maneuvering this very sexy car through the traffic. “Tell me about your brother. How can I win him over?”
“Why? It’s not like you’re going to meet him.”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“Chris…this is all very cute in an ‘ I’m probably going to hell for this’ kind of way, but I’m not about to drag my family into…whatever this is.”
“I mean eventually I’ll have to meet them?”
“How do you figure?”
“I don’t see you as someone who wouldn’t want your family at your wedding.”
“Who said I was marrying you?!” I squeal probably about three octaves too high.
He shoots me a wolfish grin before he runs his eyes over me so sexily that I look down to make sure I’m not accidentally flashing him or something. “Me.”
My eyes move back to his and I blink at him several times in confusion. “You’re married.”
“So, you’re not okay with being someone’s second wife? That could be a problem.”
My stomach twists with nerves and excitement and confusion and I wish I was not in the small confines of his car because I want to text Autumn right the fuck now.
“You’re insane,” I say finally, before turning my head to look out the window.
His hand on mine, and his thumb rubbing over my knuckles drags my attention to where they are connected. “I know I’m complicated and asking a lot of you, but give me time to be worthy of you, please.”
I grit my teeth, wanting to say something smart, but go for honesty instead. “I’m here, aren’t I?” Okay, that was smart.
He chuckles and then my fingers are being brushed across his mouth. “Yes, thank you.”
We pull up to The Plaza Hotel and while I assumed we’d be staying somewhere nice, I was not expecting one of the most expensive hotels in the city. He pulls into the valet spot and someone is already opening my door before the car is fully in park. “Mr. Holt.” I hear from behind me and there’s a man in front of me, handing me a glass of champagne.
“Miss.” The young man says with a boyish smile. “Welcome.”
“Thank you,” I say as I lift the flute from the tray with a nervous smile.
Chris comes around the car, two people following behind him with our luggage. “You ready?” He pulls the other flute off the tray as he nods at the guy and shakes his hand more than likely giving him money. He guides me up the stairs and through the revolving door before we make it into the massive lobby which is exactly what I pictured and still I’m in awe. It screams wealth and glamor and prestige, and while I grew up very comfortably, this is another lifestyle entirely.
He guides me towards the elevator and I eye him curiously. “We don’t have to check in?”
“They gave me the keys at the valet.” He hands me my own keycard. “Should I drop you off at your room first?”
“You…got me my own room?”
“I said I would.”
“I know but…” I trail off just as the doors open and he guides me in with his hand on my back.
As soon as we are inside, flashes of the last time we were in an elevator together come rushing back and I can tell a noticeable difference in my breathing. “But what?” I hear next to me and when I turn my face, he is standing very close to me, looking down at me with a smirk on his full lips, and I wonder if he’s thinking the same thing I am.
“I guess I figured you’d tell me there was some kind of mix up and they only had one room for us.” I roll my eyes and he chuckles as the elevator dings on one of the penthouse floors.
“With the kind of money Beckham Securities spends here, they know better than to come to me with a mix-up.”
I’m grateful he’s behind me and doesn’t catch the flush of lust that heats my face in response. Why is that so hot?
He leads me towards a door. “Here you are.”
“Where…are…you?” I ask, not sure I even want to know the answer. I’m trying to sound nonchalant but I wonder if I come off very chalant.
He nods one door down. “Want to see my room too?”
You know you’re going to sleep with him again. If you weren’t, what exactly was the point of yesterday’s wax?
Okay yes, but make him work for it.
Harder than he already has?
Yes.
I shake my head as I press my key against the reader. “Just curious.”
He follows me inside but keeps a respectable distance and I’m shocked to see my bag already inside. “How…?” I point at my luggage in shock because how did it get here so fast?
“Magic,” Chris says as he holds his hands out, wiggling his fingers. “We are cutting it a little close for dinner. I’m going to push the reservations unless you think you can be ready in thirty minutes?”
Uh. NO?
“Yes…umm…I can be,” I say weakly, not even believing the words as they leave my lips.
“I’ll push them.” He chuckles before he heads towards the door. “I meant to tell you earlier. You look beautiful.” He smiles and then he’s out the door.