Chapter 16
BETWEEN BUSINESS AND PLEASURE
WILL
Iwas meeting Natalie and it felt like a date. I was excited, counting down the minutes all afternoon like a total fool. I know it was supposed to be about business, but I couldn’t help how I felt.
I even called the restaurant to request a table in the back room for a bit more privacy.
Since I was a regular, the manager always took care of me.
I came straight from my office in Irvine, arriving at the place a little after six.
I handed my Porsche keys to the valet, and he pulled it right in front.
I had to admit this car was the first thing I bought after the divorce.
Kelly would have told me I was being hasty, but it felt like a small declaration of freedom.
At the hostess desk, a young woman with curly hair greeted me with a warm smile. “Welcome, Mr. Parker. Your guest hasn’t arrived yet. Would you like to be seated or wait?”
“I’ll wait,” I said, then pulled out my phone to look through work emails and check a few game scores to distract myself.
A few minutes later I saw Natalie, looking stunning in a black dress that showed off her slender figure. My eyes went to her legs, my mind wondering how it would feel to put my hands on them. I took a breath, snapping myself out of it, and greeted her with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
Oh, shit. Too much? She blushed, batting her eyes but then glancing away like nothing happened.
She was carrying a larger bag with her laptop and some other bulky things inside.
I offered to carry it, but she smiled and said it was fine.
The hostess grabbed two menus and led us to our table.
We sat in the back room at a cozy corner table.
There were only a few other tables in there, all of them empty.
It was not the most desired place to sit in a see and be seen restaurant.
I had a feeling we would have it to ourselves all night. If I was lucky.
Natalie opened her laptop, diving straight into business.
She looked focused, but there was a hint of fluster in her demeanor.
Our waiter came over to take our drink orders, and she asked for a glass of Sauvignon Blanc.
I ordered an Old Fashioned. She turned her laptop toward me, showing her design layouts for each room.
They were all labeled except for my oldest daughter’s room.
She said she wasn’t sure of her name since I didn’t talk much about my kids, other than Ivy.
“Her name is Madison,” I said. “She’s sixteen. She took the divorce the hardest and mostly blames me for it. She’s very close to her mom. I miss her,” I admitted.
Natalie seemed genuinely moved, and for a moment, I wondered if she was thinking of her own kids, and how they’d react if she were to get a divorce. Was she considering that possibility? Had my words struck that kind of a chord, I wondered?
“Do you think Madison would want to pick out her own décor? At 16, she probably has her own ideas. You mentioned she loves to ride horses.”
“She does,” I said. “Her mom loves horses, so all the kids have spent time around the barn. But Madison’s the one who loves it most. She has her own horse and spends every chance she gets out there; it’s her little oasis.”
Our drinks arrived, and I took a sip, resisting the urge to drink faster to calm my nerves. Natalie took a big swig, so I did the same. We were both clearly a bit nervous.
By the time our appetizers and second drinks came around, we’d loosened up.
We drifted away from decorating and the minefield of my divorce and onto topics like where we went to college and how many sibling we had.
She told me she went to IU in Indiana and was a sorority sister for two years, though she wasn’t a huge fan of the structured “sisterhood.” She had one sister, Meredith, who was single, lived in Manhattan, and proudly claimed the role of “cool aunt.”
Halfway through telling me about her family, Natalie stopped and apologized for talking too much.
“Not at all,” I said. “I want to hear everything about you.”
She blushed, doing that eye-batting thing, followed by looking away. I told her about my own siblings, the large expectations my parents had for us, and how my divorce was tough on them, in part, of course, because it didn’t exactly play well with their country club friends.
We ordered another round of drinks with dinner. Natalie hesitated, saying she probably shouldn’t, but then ordered anyway.
“I have to admit, I took an Uber here. I wasn’t sure about the parking,” she said.
“I’ll drive you home.” I could tell she wanted to resist but so thankful when she just nodded her head and continued on with our conversation.
She finally closed her laptop, and honestly, we hadn’t gotten that much work done. She offered to pay or at least split the bill, but I waved her off. No way that was happening, especially when I was pretty sure her income mostly came from her husband.
While the valet brought the car around, we lapsed into silence. I saw her lick her lips in a way that made me ache to kiss her.
On the drive, The Stones were coming through the speaker on low audio.
It felt comfortable being with her. She seemed comfortable, too.
“You could come back to my place for a drink, but I don’t want to overstep. Still, you’re more than welcome,” I said, hoping she would accept my offer.
She checked the time. It was nearly ten, and said, “I told my sitter I would be home between ten and ten thirty, so I should probably get home.”
When we pulled onto her street, she asked to be dropped off around the corner. I could see reality setting in. I looked at her, and she looked back. I knew we both wanted to kiss, but instead, she held my gaze.
“I had a nice time,” she said. “I’ll finish up your project.
” She leaned over and ever so slightly brushed a kiss on my cheek.
It made the hair on the back of my neck stick straight up.
Her soft skin and the scent of her hair lingered in the close confines of the car.
.. how I wanted her to stay, but I knew I had to let her go.
I watched her walk to her house before I drove home. I felt thrilled and completely on edge. The memory of her lips, her scent, stayed with me the whole ride.