Chapter 1 #2
“People who wouldn’t appreciate my property or keep it what it is,” he says slowly. His voice sends shivers down my spine, and I know right away that I’m highly attracted to this man. “Why don’t you tell Michael to leave you alone?”
That question makes me scoff. “You think I haven’t done that already?
” I take a swig from the bottle. “If anything, it makes him want me even more. He said, and I quote, ‘We had something real. It’s obvious that we still do by the look in your eyes. We’ll be together again someday.
’” I finish my imitation of Michael, and it brings a chuckle from the man.
During my imitation, I almost let my name slip, but I noticed that neither of us have said our names, and there’s something exciting about it. Still, I have to call him something.
He smirks. “You know what? I’m convinced that’s exactly what he sounded like.”
Smiling, I nod. “It was pretty accurate.” I shift on the couch to sit up straighter and adjust my dress, causing one spaghetti strap to slip. Putting it back in place, I notice the man giving me a once-over from head to toe, his fists tightening. He quickly finds my eyes and clears his throat.
All right, so it’s lust at first sight on both sides. Good to know. This is one of the few moments I wish I were a one-night stand kind of girl, but alas, those never end well for me, not that I’ve had many. “What kind of property do you own?”
The man grabs the back of his neck. “Uh, a couple of restaurants. Mostly holes-in-the-wall.”
Narrowing my eyes, I read the lie in his. The color of which I haven’t been able to decipher from so far away. “That’s bullshit. You’re being modest. They’re more than holes-in-the-wall, or else you wouldn’t be in this predicament.”
He rubs his jaw on both sides with one hand, and it’s one of those moves that’s not sexual but hot nonetheless.
“They do all right.”
“Mhm.” I raise both brows knowingly.
“Fine.” He exhales loudly. “They do more than all right.”
Laughing, I swallow more of the fizzy drink from the bottle.
“Does it hurt to take off those nipple pasties after a long night?”
I nearly spit out the champagne at his bold question. “What kind of question is that?”
“It’s not my fault that you came in talking about them.” There’s a hint of humor in his voice.
My coughing finally ceases, and I remember my words from a couple of minutes ago. I shut my eyes and shake my head in embarrassment. “We’re going to pretend I didn’t say that and go back to one of my original questions.”
“That’s a tough thing to forget when the dress you’re wearing is quite flattering, but all right.
” His flirtatious words make me pause. I see him smiling again.
This man is something else. The kind of compliments he’s giving me are ones I haven’t experienced much with most men.
Either they don’t know how to flirt, or they stumble over their words, but not this guy.
He’s confident. I could tell from the moment I saw him. “What’s your question?”
Composing myself, I ask what I’ve been wanting to since I decided to stay in the room. “Who are you?”
“I told you—”
“What’s your name?” I clarify.
He tips his head to the side and looks at every angle of my face. I try to control my breathing. His stare is intense yet somehow soft, and it’s driving me crazy. Being this turned on by a stranger is a first for me.
“You can call me Ace,” he finally says.
I keep perfectly still, noticing the sparkle of mischief and half lie behind his eyes. “I’m assuming that’s a nickname.”
He dips his chin. “That would be correct. Although it isn’t one that I use.” Ace’s gaze narrows. “You’re good at reading people. Are you a therapist? Because if that’s the case, I should tell you therapy makes me extremely uncomfortable.”
“No.” I roll my lips inward. “Do I look old enough to be a therapist?”
Ace slams his glass down. “Please tell me you’re old enough to drink legally.”
Wanting to scare him a little more, I say, “We’re in England, so you’re asking me if I’m at least eighteen—”
He stands. “This is highly inappropriate—”
Flying off the couch, I grab his forearm.
“Don’t leave.” My eyes widen at how panicked I sound at the thought of him leaving, but I don’t want tonight to end just yet.
“I’m twenty-one.” He hesitates. “There’s no one under twenty-one allowed into this ball, remember?
You can’t enter without an invitation and ID. ”
Ace shakes his head and lets out a sigh of relief. “That completely escaped my mind. I apologize. And here I thought I was attrac—”
His pause causes the air in the room to crackle with tension.
We stare at each other, still standing. That’s when I realize how tall he is.
I’m used to being around tall men, but not without heels.
When I notice that my hand is still on his forearm, I quickly pull it back as if I were burned, and I take a large step away.
“You’re short,” he states, catching me off guard.
I snap back to reality at his random comment. “Really? I hadn’t noticed in the past twenty years,” I deadpan.
He laughs gently. “What should I call you?”
I’d already come up with a name minutes ago. Not a nickname of mine, but of someone in one of my favorite novels. “You can call me Lizzy.”
“Nickname?”
I shake my head. “Not mine.”
He twists his lips and nods. “Well, Lizzy,” he says sarcastically, “before I ask you my next question, I need to be honest and tell you that I think you’re gorgeous, but I’m leaving the country tomorrow. Indefinitely.”
My head rears back. “My, my, aren’t we presumptuous?”
Ace takes a step closer to me. “I just wanted to let you know that I don’t expect anything, and neither should you. I saw the way you were looking at me, and I’m too old to be playing these kinds of games, Lizzy.”
Following his movement, I take a step forward, never having been in this situation before. My heart beats erratically. “First off, I’m not sleeping with you tonight.”
Ace grins. “I must’ve misread the signs.”
“Secondly,” I say quickly, “how old are you, exactly?”
His smile falls. “Thirty-one.”
Just like I guessed. He’s in his thirties. He’s not old by any means, but I tend to stick to guys in their twenties. And no, he did not misread the signs, but I can’t let the guy know he has a chance to get into my pants.
“What was it that you wanted to ask me?”
Ace puts his hands in his pockets. “Do you want to get out of here?”
Putting down the bottle of champagne, I mull it over. I need to grab my purse and shawl from the coat check. Other than that, I can safely make an Irish exit to avoid my grandparents and anyone else who might recognize me.
Am I really going to go somewhere with this stranger? I’ve never done it before. Then again, I’ve never been drawn to a man like this in such a short amount of time.
It is only ten p.m. on a Saturday. The city is wide awake.
If it’s in a public place, what’s the harm?
I’m not ready for the night to end, and I never do anything this spontaneous with strangers.
I’ve been to Europe dozens of times in my life and have yet to experience something like I’ve read in so many of my favorite romance novels.
This is my one chance to do something new.
To do something I’ll never forget with a person I’ll never see again.
“As long as it’s not where you live or to a torture chamber, then yes.”
He fastens his suit buttons. “Still not a serial killer.”
As I put on my heels, he opens the door for me. “You wouldn’t tell me even if you were.”
Twenty minutes after we leave the banquet hall, we’re rounding a busy corner to a quieter street, and I ask for the fifth time, “Where are you taking me?” Quickly, I add, “I just realized we haven’t taken off our masks. Are we keeping them on all night?”
Ace keeps pace with me and replies with the same answer he’s been giving since we left the ball. “Patience, Lizzy. And only if you want to.”
I’m anything but patient. I may be trying to be spontaneous, but I’m not the kind of person who doesn’t like not being in the know, which is why I’m unsure about this whole taking off the mask thing. I’m desperate and curious to see what his full face looks like, but then I’d have to follow suit.
After passing a couple of closed storefronts, I’m suddenly aware of how deserted this block is at night.
I know my way around the city well enough, but I’m with someone I met merely an hour ago.
Maybe being spontaneous wasn’t such a good idea.
When I thought about doing something I could only experience once, it wasn’t getting murdered.
“Okay, Ace. I should let you know that I’ve taken self-defense classes and have weapons at the ready.”
Out of sheer panic, I reach for the pepper spray in my purse when he looks over his shoulder at me. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re a tad dramatic?”
Okay, now I feel like pepper-spraying him for calling me that. Of course, people have said that to me before, but the only ones I take it from are my friends.
“Ace,” I grit out, officially running out of patience.
His large frame stops a couple of steps ahead of me when he turns to a closed restaurant. It’s small and cozy, from what the lights of the street are allowing me to see. There’s a small sign above it that reads Fenice.
“Phoenix,” I whisper to myself. He named his restaurant after the Italian word for phoenix.
“I’ve always liked the bird, and it’s easy to remember. Do you speak Italian?” Ace asks from beside me.
I hesitate, unsure how to reply. “A bit, but only enough to hold a simple conversation. I understand it well.”
“Color me impressed.” Ace unbuttons his suit and digs into a pocket inside his jacket. “I’m rusty too. It’s been a couple of years since I visited.” A second later, a simple phoenix key chain with three keys attached appears in his right hand.