Chapter 21
Addison
As I watched Daniel converse with the box office attendant outside the theater, I could tell I wasn’t the only one completely enamored by him. The young woman behind the glass window could barely tear her eyes away from him to retrieve our tickets. Could I blame her?
His words practically oozed off his tongue in that deep, but somehow gentle voice of his.
The way he ran his hand through his dark hair as he waited patiently.
It was effortlessly sexy because he didn’t even know he was doing it.
The suit helped, too. It hugged him in all the right places as if it were made for him, which it probably was.
A part of me felt pride in knowing that I was here as his date. I slightly tightened the grip on his hand that had found its way in mine on more than one occasion tonight.
He looked at me and gave me that megawatt smile that made my knees feel weak.
The box office attendant slid the tickets through the small opening in the window and told him to enjoy the show.
I wondered if she made the conscious decision to leave me out of that sentiment.
I laughed softly as Daniel led me to the entrance of the theater.
“Shit,” I heard him whisper suddenly.
I looked up and gave him a questioning look, but then I saw them.
A few men with cameras slung around their necks peering over at us from the side alley of the theater.
Paparazzi. I suddenly felt on edge, and I could tell Daniel did, too.
He led me into the line of people waiting to enter the theater, concealing us behind the other theatergoers.
“How did they find you?” I asked, looking over my shoulder and back at him.
He shrugged. “They always do. Maybe someone tipped them off after our dinner at Le CouCou. It wouldn’t be the first time.”
“That’s insane,” I said.
“I’m sorry,” he said softly.
“It’s not your fault.”
To me, being followed around by cameramen all day felt like such an intrusion of privacy.
I didn’t understand how it could be okay to take photos of people without their permission and sell them on the internet.
I felt sorry for Daniel, even though I had been sucked in by the tabloids and gossip pages with his photos.
There were hundreds, and most of them were with women.
All different ones, except for that awful woman, Kiera.
I tried to shake her image from my head.
Her honey blonde hair and wispy limbs that fit into any outfit seamlessly.
Hell, she would look good in a potato sack.
I suddenly felt very insignificant as I played a mental slideshow of Daniel and his various conquests.
“If we are among the crowd, it’s harder for them to sell photos,” said Daniel, ducking down. His six-foot frame was hard to miss. It made me laugh to see him try to make himself small when he was one of the tallest and sought-after men in this crowd. I laughed softly.
“What?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“You couldn’t fit in if you tried,” I said.
“Neither could you,” he quipped.
“Yeah, right.”
“I mean it. You don’t see it. But even if you didn’t have that red dress on that’s made every man in Manhattan get whiplash tonight, you’d still have everyone’s attention.”
I swallowed hard as I felt heat creep up toward my cheeks. No one had ever given me a compliment like that. His words had swallowed me whole and I didn’t want to come up for air. I could just happily replay what he said in my head for the rest of time.
The line started moving forward and soon we were in the safety of the theater. I had seen a couple of flashes go off, but I doubted they got anything good. Daniel seemed relieved as we made our way through the lobby and to our seats.
We walked down the aisle until we stopped just before the pit of the orchestra.
“Here we are,” said Daniel, pulling me gently behind him as he found our seats at the center of the stage.
“ These are our seats?” I asked, looking wide-eyed.
“Do you like them?”
I leaned over the railing and looked at the orchestra below as they were busy turning their composition pages and preparing their instruments. I turned to Daniel and shook my head in awe.
“Daniel, this is incredible.”
A look of pride overtook his perfect face. I could tell he was enjoying this. Wining and dining me. It made it all the more special.
“I’m glad you think so,” he said.
We both sat down in the plush chairs, and I took everything in.
The velvet curtains that hung over the stage matched the deep red of our seats, and gold, braided tassels hung on either side.
The ceiling of the theater was covered in stained-glass octagonal panels and the largest chandeliers I had ever seen.
I didn’t think I had ever been anywhere so beautiful.
After I was done admiring the theater, I turned toward Daniel and noticed his eyes were already on me.
“Thank you for bringing me,” I said.
“You already thanked me,” he replied with a smile.
“Well, it just didn’t seem like enough.”
The lights dimmed around us and the soft sounds of the orchestra began to play.
I felt Daniel’s hand graze my upper thigh and settle comfortably against me.
His touch made a shudder roll through my spine from top to bottom.
I sucked in a shaky breath as I wondered how I was going to make it through this show without completely losing my head.
All night I had been trying to keep my wits about me, but the way he looked at me, like I was the only one in the room, completely threw me.
While his eyes would wander, skimming my breasts or the high cut of my dress, they would always find their way back to mine.
The piercing blue filled with an unspoken desire.
And his hands seemed to always find their way to me, whether he was intertwining his fingers with mine or placing his hand on my lower back, or now, holding my thigh. Every touch lit a match in me and I felt like I would catch fire.
I watched as his thumb slowly stroked my inner thigh, and while I felt like I could get off just from that, he stared straight ahead as if he didn’t even know he was doing it.
The stage lights came on slowly and the play began. I watched as the performers danced their way around the stage, making the theater come alive. In my seat, I swayed to the music and watched as their colorful costumes swished to the sounds of the orchestra. It was pure magic.
At intermission, Daniel helped me from my seat and led me out to the lobby.
“Are you thirsty?” he asked.
“I could use a water,” I answered.
We walked to a small bar area and stood in line.
My eyes grazed over a bottle of cabernet longingly.
If only I could have a glass. Maybe it would help calm my nerves that had barely let up all night.
I wondered if I was confusing nerves for butterflies.
Whatever it was, being around Daniel gave me feelings I had never felt before.
“Two waters, please,” said Daniel, as he retrieved his wallet from his jacket pocket.
“Are you sure you don’t want a drink?” I said, eyeing the cocktail list.
“Nah, I’m good,” he replied, putting up his hand.
The cocktail waitress handed him two water bottles, eye-fucking him the whole time. He didn’t even seem to notice. He carried our waters to a nearby bench and we sat down.
“You really don’t know the effect you have on women, do you?”
“What do you mean?” he asked, looking taken aback.
“That cocktail waitress was ready to take you right there behind the bar.” I laughed, nodding toward the bar.
Daniel looked over at her and looked back at me with a puzzled look.
“You’re clueless,” I said, nudging him.
I took a sip of water and leaned back against the wall, wondering what this man was doing here with me.
“I don’t really see anyone else when I’m with you,” he leaned in and whispered.
I turned toward him and our noses almost brushed, that was how close he was. I looked from his eyes to his lips and desperately wanted to kiss him right then and there. I had forgotten what he tasted like, and it was something I needed to remember.
His eyes fell to mine as he reached his hand up. He trailed his thumb over my lips that were slick with water. The tip of his thumb stopped as it touched the beauty mark above my right lip.
“I love this,” he said.
“Really?” I asked with a little laugh.
“It’s one of the first things I noticed about you out in the garden.”
It was funny because my mole had always made me feel self-conscious. When I was younger, I would often cover my mouth when I talked, or slightly turn my head. I had grown used to it by now, but had never seen it as something beautiful.
The lights flashed in the lobby and I reluctantly pulled my gaze from his as I looked around with confusion.
“It means the second half is about to start,” said Daniel with a smile.
“Oh, right.”
Broadway show virgin over here.
We stood from the bench, even though I would have happily missed the second half if it meant more sweet nothings and gentle touches from Daniel.
God, I wanted him so badly. I thought being pregnant would hinder my libido, but it was quite the opposite.
I wondered how he felt about having sex with a pregnant woman.
It wasn’t like I was showing. I didn’t even have a bump yet.
I was getting ahead of myself. I didn’t know where this night was going to lead.
Back in our seats, the theater lights dimmed again.
The stage was different now. The set was completely new and the costumes had changed, too.
It was even more magical than the first half.
I hummed along to one of the songs and I felt Daniel press his lips to the top of my head, bringing me to a still silence.
Every touch up until now had an electric charge to it, but that kiss was warm and soft.
It was hard not to become completely lost in him. A part of me wanted to let it all go and lose myself in whatever this was. Another part of me was still skeptical. I hated that part of me. The part that didn’t want to get hurt by this man that I hardly knew, with a reputation that everyone knew.
What if this was all an act? Maybe the check and this whole magical night was to keep me quiet about the baby and not tarnish his image.
He did hide away from the paparazzi, when in the photos I had seen, he was proudly walking out of hotels and clubs with the latest Victoria’s Secret models.
I frowned at the thought. I didn’t want it to ruin our night.
Still, it was hard for me to believe that he was falling for me. Me. A nobody. Except for the fact that I was carrying his baby.
As if he was reading my mind, Daniel reached for my hand and laced his fingers through mine as some sort of quiet reassurance he didn’t even know I needed in that moment. I nuzzled my head further into the crook of his neck. Just enjoy this moment , I thought to myself.