Chapter Four

I'm on cloud nine. If there were a cloud ten or eleven, I'd be on cloud fifteen.

I'm going out on a date with Jonathan Lewis. The man I have loved since boys stopped having cooties.

I'm positively giddy.

He holds my hand as we walk out of the hotel lobby and across the street. My heels click on the sidewalk as we walk through the twilight. I see people look over at us and smile. I hope that they see two people who are meant to be together.

The restaurant is way out of my price range. Most nice restaurants in the city are. Once again, I'm sure this is fate. The universe is setting me up for something amazing. Why else would I be wearing my best dress? Why else would Jonathan happen to be having dinner in the restaurant across from my conference.

It's fate. It has to be.

Jonathan goes to the check in desk and gives his name. The lobby for the restaurant is still packed with people, but the waitress simply waves Jonathan and me inside. I try to ignore the angry glares directed my way as we pass those that are waiting.

I've been waiting my whole life, I think to myself. It's my turn.

Jonathan pulls out my chair for me like a gentleman. I smile and sit carefully, making sure the hem of my skirt doesn't ride up too much. I can't help but notice that Jonathan looks at my legs. I like the way his face goes a little bit hungry for a split second before he goes to his own seat. We sit with only a corner of the table between us. A candle flickers romantically.

“Would you like some wine?” Jonathan asks, motioning to a waitress. I nod. A little courage juice might help stop the excited shaking in my fingers. He orders two glasses of white wine for us.

“Where's your friend?” I ask, looking around. There's two empty seats at our table.

“He'll be here in a minute,” Jonathan replies, checking his phone. “Now, tell me all about yourself.”

I laugh, seeing through the ruse easily.

“Let's see, what can I tell you that doesn't give my identity away,” I say, tapping my lower lip with my finger while I think. “I was recently in the Caribbean.”

“I love the Caribbean,” Jonathan tells me. “I found the best little resort there. Maybe I can take you some time. It's amazing.”

The idea of a Caribbean adventure with Jonathan makes my brain go all woozy as blood rushes to other parts of my body.

“I think I'd like that.” The words come out in a whispery moan that makes Jonathan smile and me blush.

“What else?” Jonathan asks. “I have to know more about you.”

“What do you want to know?” I'll tell him anything. Everything.

Jonathan's eyes go to mine and I'm lost in them. He scoots his chair just a little bit closer to me, our legs touching under the table. I feel like he could lean over and kiss me at any moment. I close my eyes, letting fate take control.

“Jonathan!” A man in a suit greets him, ruining my moment. I'm guessing this is the friend Jonathan is meeting. I wish he hadn't interrupted, especially when Jonathan pulls away from me to shake the man's hand.

“Is this your soon-to-be lovely bride? I haven't met her yet,” the man asks, smiling brightly at me. I flush hard.

“No, this is my very good friend, um...” Jonathan says, trailing off. He starts casually, like he's not being called out for being with another woman, but gets nervous when he realizes he still doesn't know my name.

“Nora,” I said, extending my hand to the newcomer.

“Oh, I just thought...” The man glances back and forth between the two of us and then clears his throat. “It's very nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.” I try to copy Jonathan's easy manner, but I'm embarrassed. My father would be appalled. I hope that I sound as confident as the women Jonathan usually dates. Most of them are models or famous actresses.

The only upside is that there is no way Jonathan's friend is going to reveal who I am.

“I hate to do this to you, Jonathan, but I can't stay,” the man says. “My brother is in the hospital. Apparently he sat on a wine glass or something.”

“That sounds terrible,” Jonathan says. “And very painful.”

The man nods. “Anyway, I'm on my way to the hospital now. I'm sorry about dinner. Maybe Christopher can join you or something.”

“Christopher is working. He's always working,” Jonathan says, voicing my thoughts. He shrugs. “It's okay. I invited Nora to join us,” he says, letting me know that he knows my name now. “So I'm not alone.”

The man turns and looks at me. “I'm sorry about all this.”

“Another time,” I tell him with a smile. “I hope your brother is okay.”

“Me too. It's nice to meet you. Sorry again, Jonathan.” The man smiles and then disappears out of the restaurant.

“Sat on a wine glass. That sounds awful,” I say, being just a little more careful with the wine glass full of water on the table.

“No kidding.” Jonathan makes a pained grimace, but then shifts it into a smile. “But it works out for me. Now I have you all to myself.”

I giggle, feeling love struck and excited.

“Have you ever been here before?” Jonathan asks.

I shake my head. “No. This is a new restaurant to me.”

“Me too,” he replies. “We shall explore it together.”

The love struck feeling intensifies and I'm afraid I might melt into happy goo.

The waitress comes with the wine and takes our order. I get the risotto and Jonathan orders a scallop dish.

“So, my mysterious date likes risotto,” Jonathan observes when the waitress leaves us. He grins at me. “Not only beautiful, but you have good taste too.”

I try not to gulp at my wine.

The man of my dreams thinks I'm beautiful and mysterious. We are talking. Flirting. We're both happy. I wish this could be how I feel every time I see him. I wish this was the start of our life together. That this would be our meet-cute that we tell our children. But he is supposedly getting married.

The future I have planned for us is all just in my head. As usual.

Still, I need to know for sure.

I clear my throat. “I heard that you're getting married.”

His answer comes fast as he pulls his hand away. “No, no. I'm not.” He chuckles nervously.

“You're not?” Hope starts to rise in my chest. I try not to let it fill my lungs and overpower me, but it's hard. He's not engaged. The dream of the two of us could still happen. “You're really not engaged?”

“No, not engaged.” He clears his throat. “I am kind of seeing someone. It's not serious though.”

“Oh.” I'm not sure how to feel about that, but I'm still just relieved he's not engaged.

“We're not exclusive or anything,” Jonathan assures me, tossing a smile my way. “It's based on business. My brother wants to merge his business with hers. He's doing it through me.” He pauses and then laughs. “It sounds dirty when I say it like that.”

I laugh, feeling my fears start to vanish. He's not engaged. The only reason he's dating someone is for business. There's a chance that the stars are aligning for us to be together.

“So your brother wants you to date her?” I ask.

“Yeah. It's all part of his business plan,” he replies. “But I'm thinking I need to find my own way. My brother isn't always right about everything.”

I raise my eyebrows.

“Don't worry about that, though,” Jonathan tells me. “I'm more interested in finding out more about you. Do you like to play tennis?”

“I'm actually pretty terrible at tennis,” I admit. “I'm more of a swimmer.”

“That's too bad,” Jonathan replies. “I'm not much of a swimmer. That's more my brother's sport.”

“Maybe I haven't found the right person to play with,” I tell him, not wanting him to lose interest with any part of me.

His eyes glow in the candlelight as he grins at me. “I'm always looking for someone to play tennis with me.”

* * *

Dinner is a dream come true.

Jonathan is everything I knew he was going to be. He's smart and funny. He's charming and incredibly handsome. He asks me questions, really trying to get to know me. Granted, I know that he's just trying to figure me out, but I don't really care.

I'm ready to marry him right now, to be honest.

“Do you work with my brother?” Jonathan asks as he finishes his meal. Our knees touch under the table and every time he moves, my heart speeds up just a little.

I scrunch up my face and shake my head. “No.”

“My mother?” He watches me carefully, seeing how I react. “You don't look like one of her DAR ladies, but they are trying to recruit younger ladies these days.”

“I have no involvement in DAR.” I doubt they'd let me in the door. “I don't work with your mother, although she is a very nice lady.”

He frowns, studying my face. “I'm going to figure this out.”

“I'm sure you will,” I tell him, patting at my lips with a napkin. “Or you'll just find out tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow feels like it's forever,” he tells me. “A whole dinner and all I know is that you don't play tennis, you like to swim, you don't work with my family, and you were in the Caribbean recently.”

I just grin at him. “You also learned that I'm allergic to penicillin and I still have my appendix.”

“Yes, because that helps me so much.” He rolls his eyes making me laugh.

He leans over and touches my hand. I feel like this is a real date. He's smiling at me and touching me at every opportunity. This is how people fall in love. This is how love stories go.

Jonathan pays without even looking at the bill.

“Thank you for a wonderful dinner,” I say as we leave the restaurant. The night is cool and I wish I had brought a sweater. I wrap my arms around me. I'm not used to the weather here yet. It feels cold to me after the heat of the Caribbean islands.

“Thank you for being such wonderful company,” he replies.

“Can I interest you in a drink?” I ask him. I'm hoping it will lead to more. That all my dreams will come true.

Jonathan starts to nod, a sexy as hell grin crossing his face. He steps closer to me, his body pressing into mine for a moment, teasing me with what could happen next.

And then his pocket vibrates.

“Excuse me for a second,” he says, pulling out his phone. He looks at the number and frowns. “Hey, Christopher. What's wrong now?”

I can hear Christopher's voice on the other end, but not what he's saying. He doesn't sound happy.

“I'm just having dinner,” Jonathan tells him. “No need to get riled about it. Are you having me watched?”

Jonathan puts his hand over the speaker and rolls his eyes.

“Yes, it was with a woman, but I am still allowed to eat, aren't I? I'm not doing anything wrong.”

I think I hear Christopher say something about Adeline in response, but I'm not sure. Adeline is the name of the woman I thought Jonathan was engaged to marry. But Jonathan said he was just dating Adeline Timbers, founder of the TimberTech company. He's certainly allowed to date more than one person at a time. He gives one word answers to Christopher, growing more agitated with every sentence.

Something about the conversation makes my stomach tighten uncomfortably and my shoulders tense. There's something here that I'm missing, but I'm not sure what it is. Surely Jonathan wouldn't lie to me about his engagement, would he?

“Of course I'll come to the office,” Jonathan says with a sigh. Christopher says something that makes him roll his eyes. “Yes, I'll do it right now.”

He clicks off the phone and stuffs it into his pocket.

“Trouble?” I ask.

“Just my brother being obnoxiously nosy and controlling.” Irritation thrums through Jonathan's voice. “I'm really sorry, but I'm going to have to pass on the drink.”

I have no concrete reason, but I blame Christopher for my evening being cut short. Granted, Jonathan hadn't actually said yes yet, but he looked like he was going to. The fact that I heard Adeline's name in their phone conversation makes me even more suspicious about why Christopher is calling Jonathan into the office.

“But I'll be back here tomorrow,” Jonathan promises. He reaches for my hands, taking them in his as he gazes into my eyes. All thoughts of Christopher leave my head, especially when Jonathan brings my hands to his lips and kisses them. “Can I walk you home?”

He glances across the street to the hotel. I don't correct him that I'm not staying at the hotel with the conference. I'm not about to tell him where I really live.

“I'd like that.”

He keeps hold of one of my hands, and together we cross the street. At the doorway to the hotel, he lets go, much to my sorrow.

“I'll see you tomorrow, Mystery Woman.” The small smile and the sparkle in his eyes make the low tones of his voice even more sexy. “See you at ten.”

I step forward, hoping for a goodnight kiss, but he pulls away. In moments, he lost to the crowds on the street.

I stare after him, aching for more yet amazed at what I got.

I had dinner with Jonathan Lewis. And tomorrow, I'll get even more.