Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
S pending a night tossing and turning after dreaming about kissing a sexy movie star wasn’t conducive to looking your best at dinner with his best friend. Noah had walked her to her door after their meal the night before and kissed her thoroughly at the front door but then a flashbulb had gone off in their faces and they’d turned round in horror to find out that a member of the paparazzi had clearly been following them. Noah had broken away and immediately gone to speak to him and Maya had shivered while the guy looked over Noah’s shoulder at her and then nodded his head.
‘He’s leaving?’ she’d asked in a shaky voice. ‘He knows where I live…’ Noah hadn’t gotten too close to her again, but had tilted her chin up with his fingers, so she’d had to look into his eyes.
‘I’ve offered him an exclusive on my new girlfriend,’ she’d gasped and he’d given her shoulder a reassuring squeeze that didn’t feel that reassuring. ‘I’ve asked him not to print it yet and he’s agreed. As long as he gets the full story first. We will want people to know at some point. It was all I could think of to hold him off.’ Maya closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose at the memory, trying to stave off a headache that had been looming all day.
Stepping out of the red sports car Robbie had picked her up in, she finally felt some tension float away. She’d spent ages trawling the internet for the photo from last night, but it hadn’t appeared. He’d kept her laughing the entire journey and when he handed the key to the valet who was outside the restaurant, she was glad she’d worn a dress. It was still her usual style, but was fit for a glitzy restaurant like this. Robbie hadn’t asked her for her preference in food or location, but she was more at home in a local eatery than a sleek and industrial looking all-white restaurant. It looked beautiful though, and she could see some exotic plants inside that she was already interested in looking at. Her granddad would have rolled his eyes about them for being a decoration, but she felt they were more than a nod to art with their formal white blooms and wide green leaves standing tall in glossy white plant pots.
Her fitted dress was woven with different shades of blue fabric. The tones were so subtle that she’d noticed people stopping and looking at her, as the colours changed as she moved. The dress had thin straps on each shoulder and the skirt ended just above her knees. She’d teamed it with tall dark blue heels, but she much preferred wearing flip-flops, if she was honest. She sent up silent thanks to her grandmother for insisting that she had a decent wardrobe full of clothes for every occasion, even though she rarely went out.
Robbie took her hand as they weaved their way through the restaurant to their table. She looked around with interest. This was the kind of place Blake liked to frequent when they had been together and before they could really afford it. He’d said they needed to be ‘seen’ in the right places.
The simplistic lines and design of the restaurant should appeal to her tendencies towards cleanliness and order, but she found it cold and shivered slightly. She craved more softness and texture from some cushions or an abundance of atmosphere and colour, like the bistro that Noah had taken her to the night before. He was great company, she had to admit and they’d spent most of the meal chatting about their respective childhoods.
It was beautiful here, but the murmur of conversation was muted and as they reached their table, her old self would have felt she stood out for all the wrong reasons with her colourful dress. But the Maya of today didn’t care. People could take her as they found her or leave her alone. She had found her confidence growing as her little business became more successful and she didn’t shy away from experiences that she’d have put off before.
The waiter held out her seat for her and handed her a drinks menu. It didn’t have prices and that would have made her heart flutter with anxiety a few months ago, but now it just made her sigh. She ordered a cool glass of Sauvignon Blanc and zoned back in to what Robbie was saying.
‘You look beautiful,’ he said appreciatively, with a flirtatious smile.
‘Thank you.’ She felt her skin flush and fiddled with the clasp of her handbag. ‘Have you been here before?’ she asked as he picked up the menu and glanced at it.
‘A few times. Thanks for agreeing to join me.’
They waited while their glasses were filled with sparkling water. ‘Can I take your food order?’ asked the attentive waiter.
‘I’d love the scallops and the sea bass drizzled with herb butter sauce,’ requested Maya with a smile as she handed the menu back .
‘I’ll have the oysters with smoked uni butter,’ added Robbie. ‘Then the classic lobster thermidor for main course,’ he said as he snapped the menu closed with a flourish and focussed back on her. ‘The wine based sauce is to die for,’ he grinned at her and she smiled back. ‘You can try some of mine,’ he winked and she couldn’t help but shake her head at his antics.
Maya sat back and enjoy being wined and dined by one of the nation’s favourite comedians. ‘Thank you for saving my life,’ he said, serious suddenly. ‘I can’t believe you were there at that exact moment. I was clearly being funnier than I thought because Tabitha found me so hilarious that she nudged my chest and I lost my footing.’
Maya thought it to be more of a shove, but it had actually been the high-pitched laugh that had drawn her attention. ‘You don’t have to keep saying that. You’ve already sent me enough food to feed a football team, and it was nothing, really. I always jump off of boats into the river to get asked for dinner. It’s my go to move.’
Robbie spluttered into his wine and the couple at the next table looked their way before returning to their meal. ‘How did Noah convince you to pretend to date him?’ Robbie asked candidly. ‘I can’t say it’s ever happened before and we’ve known each other for years. Noah rarely has to make up relationships. He’s a bit of a catch.’
She felt there was an underlying tension to his question. ‘I’m quite enjoying it now,’ she said carefully. She gazed around the restaurant and watched the other diners for a moment. She wondered if any of them were concocting such schemes to stop people from bothering them. ‘I’m sure I’m not his usual type, so how believable can we be?’ She pictured Tabitha’s sleek red hair and tall, lithe body.
‘You’re more his type than you realise,’ said Robbie as he sipped his wine. ‘It’s Tabitha who isn’t, but she wore him down. Noah appreciates creativity and individuality and you have that in spades, plus you’re beautiful,’ he added and she felt her cheeks grow warm in embarrassment. ‘Tabitha wants to control every aspect of his life.’
Robbie sat back in his seat and linked his hands on the table, looking serious suddenly. ‘I’ve been telling Noah that he needs to remove Tabitha from his life for ages. When he told me about your plan, I admit I was sceptical at first.’
Maya rubbed her temples. ‘It was a joke. I said we should date to get our families to leave us alone… or he did. I can’t even remember the details, as it was so silly. I wasn’t serious. Why would I ever think Noah Benedict would want to date a stranger?’
Robbie frowned and leaned forward to stare at her. ‘To be honest, I was astounded that he’d just met you and confided in you about Tabitha, as he can be pretty closed off emotionally.’
‘Because of his parents?’ she asked, her stomach grumbling, so she rubbed it with her hand under the table.
‘He told you about them too?’ Robbie seemed flummoxed. ‘You literally know about as much about him as half of his friends!’ he joked. ‘Fame hunters have hurt him one too many times.’
‘Me too,’ she grumbled and then wished she hadn’t.
‘You too?’ he queried, frowning, as he waited for an answer.
‘Umm… not fame hunters, but my ex treated me pretty badly. He’s been trying to get into contact lately after seeing us together in the press and I could really do without it.’
Robbie groaned and held his head in his hands. ‘I’m so sorry.’
‘Don’t be. He’s always been celeb-obsessed. ’
‘Was he awful?’
Maya pictured a kinder Blake, who had been tender to her when they were first dating. ‘No. He just had sex with another woman in our bed.’
Robbie almost choked on his wine and he signalled they needed another bottle.
‘We’ll get a taxi home… Tell me everything,’ he added. Their appetisers arrived and the aroma of charred scallop and toasted pecans made her stomach rumble. She wondered if he’d think her rude if she stuffed the whole plump morsel in her mouth in one bite. It was the only thing on the plate apart from half a lettuce leaf.
‘Why did you ask me to dinner?’ she wondered out loud, then wished she hadn’t, as she wasn’t sure she really wanted to know.
‘Didn’t you know that we’re already soul mates because you saved my life?’ he asked. ‘Some cultures believe that we have a karmic connection with certain souls that are brought into our lives by destiny.’ He smiled into her eyes and she was mesmerised for a moment. She could see how he held stadiums of people in rapt attention to his words, even though he was usually telling them jokes. He was a born storyteller. ‘It’s not always about lovers…’ he waggled his eyebrows at her and she laughed. ‘It’s the idea that people come into your life for a reason.’
Maya felt her cheeks grow warm and looked away before turning back to him. ‘I’m lost for words.’
‘You jumped into a freezing murky river to save me – someone you’d never met - without thinking twice. Plus, I enjoy winding Noah up,’ he grinned suddenly and sipped his wine with mirth, winking at her.
‘Why would us having dinner wind him up?’ she wanted to know, but began fidgeting in her seat.
‘Because he has his own interest in you,’ he laughed, as if she should know that already. ‘He told me about the coffee incident, that he’d seen you on a steamboat on the river a few times and that you were painting. It’s why he tried to find your art, hoping to meet you.’
‘He knew it was my art when we met?’
‘Of course! He probably couldn’t believe his luck that I fell in the river and you dived in to save me.’ He held up his hand to show he was joking, and Maya’s stomach clenched. What did Robbie mean? She thought back to when Noah had said he’d sent his interior designer to find more of her work and she faltered. She’d forgotten about that. Noah had said he’d seen her on the boat, but she hadn’t connected the dots. Now she was confused.
‘You’re wondering if me jumping into the river by his house is a coincidence?’ she asked, frown lines filling her forehead. ‘I had no clue he’d bought my art. Penny – the owner of the café – didn’t tell me.’
Robbie seemed appeased by that. ‘Maybe she didn’t know?’
‘Noah said he sent his stylist,’ she recalled. ‘If I’d have known he was trying to get in touch and wanted to meet him, I would have asked her to give him my number. Surely?’ she tilted her head at him and he held up his hands in surrender at her flashing eyes. ‘Much simpler that arriving soaking wet and covered in river weed. I’d have at least had time to brush my hair,’ she added sarcastically and he winced.
‘Sorry,’ he apologised but actually looked like he was enjoying their sparring, which annoyed her further. ‘I’m also wondering how you really feel about Noah? Women often latch on to him for a certain lifestyle.’ He shrugged and waited for her response .
Maya fumed as she straightened her skirt and sat further back in her seat. How presumptuous. This ‘date’ was more like an inquisition now. So this was why he’d invited her out! ‘You think I'm a gold digger?'
She placed her glass down before she threw it in his face, wondering how the evening had so quickly turned sour. ‘I need nothing from Noah, or you,’ she said firmly and Robbie stared at her thoughtfully as if he was making a judgement call. ‘Noah and I aren’t dating for real, so how can he affect my lifestyle? In fact, I don’t want him to. I’m content as I am,’ she added, eyes flaming.
Robbie could clearly see her anger rising. He refreshed her wine rapidly. 'I obviously didn't mean you!’ he backtracked. ‘He's definitely had his share of fortune hunters in the past. It's hard for men like him to trust.'
'Men like him, or men like you?' she asked, her eyes narrowing, and he shrugged.
'Both of us, I guess.'
'Do you always take Noah's ‘friends’ out to dinner to check out their credentials?'
'No,’ he admitted, gravely. ‘I can tell someone like Tabitha a mile off and I wanted to get to know you better, especially if you and Noah are really doing this hair-brained scheme! I’m sorry for the ambush but I needed to be sure Noah wasn’t getting himself into an even bigger mess. To be fair, now that we've spoken properly, I think it might be genius,' he grinned cheekily, and she felt some of the tension in her shoulders ease away and her indignation settle.
‘Are you sure that you and Noah can just be friends?’ Robbie asked suddenly. ‘He’s been pretty keen to see you again after he met you at the bridge, even though he was being chased by an angry mob.’ Maya sipped her wine and tried to ease the sudden butterflies in her tummy. She tried to think of signs from Noah that he ‘liked’ her – other than their practice kisses - but although a furnace burned in her body every time he was near and excitement flowed through her veins whenever he texted her, she really didn’t trust her instincts where men were concerned.
‘Wow!’ said Robbie after she took so long to answer, leaning back in his chair and crossing his hands in his lap. ‘Noah really needs to get his signals right,’ he laughed and she couldn’t help but giggle at his gentle teasing, even though she was still cross at him in case he thought she was after Noah’s money. She didn’t need anyone to finance anything on her behalf. She’d literally gone from losing everything to becoming quite wealthy again.
‘From your reaction to my questions and the look on your face when I mentioned his name… I think maybe we could drop the fake part? You two would really complement each other, even if it was just for fun,’ Robbie grinned, as if he’d sorted everything out.
‘What does that mean?’ Maya threw her hands up in exasperation.
‘He’s a pretty loveable guy. You might fall for him for real,’ he grinned.
‘I won’t,’ she responded firmly. ‘I’ve got enough of my own drama without courting more by falling in love with someone famous.’
‘Who said anything about falling in love?’ said Robbie with a grin. ‘Maybe it’s time that both of you slipped the restraints and had some fun?’
Maya liked the sound of that. Could she spend time with someone with such magnetism as Noah and not develop feelings? She wasn’t sure. Robbie’s words weirdly didn’t dent her ego because the likelihood of her and Noah falling in love was about ten million to one, but finally she let herself enjoy the evening and not take everything Robbie said to heart.
‘Have you been dating Amethyst recently?’ she asked innocently, picturing Matt's wagging finger at her prying, even though he’d be the first to ask for the gossip.
‘We were. We were dating on and off for a long time, but it didn’t work out.’ He gazed off into the distance for a moment and his demeanour grew serious. She must have inadvertently hit a nerve.
‘What went wrong?’
He paused and rubbed the bridge of his nose. ‘I’m not sure I even know the answer to that,’ as if it was a question he pondered often. ‘We date, then we don’t, then we fall back in love and get back together, then she hates me again.’
Maya frowned. Love and hate were strong words. ‘I can’t imagine that she hates you,’ she said, making his eyes twinkle suddenly.
‘Tell me about her,’ she said, and she scooped the last forkful of rice into her mouth while she settled in to find out about the woman who, it seemed, had already captured Robbie’s heart. She must be a saint , Maya thought, because he was annoying as hell!