In front of the apartment, we waited only a few moments before a limousine pulled up to the curb. I gaped at Jake in disbelief.
“You’re not telling me…” I trailed off. Jake opened the limousine door and held out a hand.
“It’s not every night I get to take a beautiful woman out to dinner,” he said.
I would have bet money that wasn’t true. Jake Carville seemed like the kind of man who could take a different beautiful woman out to dinner every night for a year if he felt like it. But tonight, he had eyes only for me.
I decided to enjoy it. Inside of the limousine, Jake made me a cocktail from the built-in bar. He mixed gin, vermouth, anisette, and a pink liquor I couldn’t identify immediately. He winked at me when he saw me watching.
“Well then, my little bartender, I’m sure you know what this is.”
“Looks like a Peggy,” I said. “If that’s—”
“Dubonnet Rouge. Yes, it is. We always called it a Fever because of the blush.”
“I’ve never heard that before,” I said. His fingers brushed against mine as he handed over the cocktail.
“Sorry for assuming. Do you drink?” Jake asked teasingly.
“Only when I’m not working,” I said, sipping at the cocktail.
“Good. You’re more mature than women ten years older than you.”
I bit my tongue. I wasn’t mature at all, not sexually at least. And sitting next to Jake brought up all kinds of images of him teaching me all about sex. I shook my head and stared out of the window, catching his glance. I want you to be hot and ready for me, he’d said.
When we arrived at the restaurant, flashes of light came from the crowd on the sidewalk. Some of them seemed like professional cameramen.
“Wait here,” Jake said, before I could open the door.
He came around and opened the door for me. I stepped out carefully, and his fingers pinched the slit of my dress together.
“Wouldn’t want your underwear on the front of the tabloids tomorrow,” he said.
Why was he so famous? Every detail he told me only led to further questions. If I’d had my phone, I would have looked him up. Right now, though, I was happy just to be at his side, living in a dream.
We went up the stairs to the restaurant. It was a Brazilian place situated just outside of Battery Park. The walls were trellises with flowered vines growing over them, and candles made the rooms dance with fire. It was a beautifully elegant setting.
As we sat down at the table, I looked out at the view to the west. The Statue of Liberty was lit up by a spotlight across the water.
“She looks so tiny from here,” I said.
A man stopped at our table, staring at me strangely. I stared right back at him. Who was he, a waiter? No. He was blond and tall, the picture of a movie star. He looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t place him. Then I heard Jake’s voice boom out from behind.
“Lucas!”
I watched in confusion as Jake leaned over and clapped a hand to the man’s shoulder. When he turned to me and introduced his friend, I realized how I’d heard the name before.
“Lucas. So you’re the one who…” I didn’t know how else to say it. He was the man who’d given another girl as a gift to Jake. What kind of a person did that, just straight up bought another person for a week? It seemed oddly repulsive, although I suppose anyone could say that I was in the same position.
“This isn’t the girl I sent you,” Lucas said, his eyes narrowing.
“Lucas, Lucas. You always have such good taste. When I saw this beautiful young lady, I thought for certain that you had sent her. And by the time your actual gift came, I was already smitten.”
Smitten. That was a word I hadn’t heard except in romance novels. Jake’s eyes were dancing with humor, though, and I thought he was joking. Surely he was joking.
“How did you two meet?” Lucas asked.
“Well,” Jake said, giving my hand a squeeze on the table, “I saw her bare feet peeking out from a canvas in my art gallery.”
“You broke into his art gallery?”
I flushed in shame.
“Well, I mean, I didn’t break into it—”
“She was delivering a cake.”
“A cake? How serendipitous.”
“I told her the universe sent her to me.”
“The universe is a better gift-giver than I am, apparently.”
“Please, don’t be offended.”
“Of course not. I understand how you could get wrapped up in this girl’s charms.”
He looked at me. I had no idea what he was talking about. Charms? I was about as uncharming as a tomboy could be.
“Excuse me. I was about to use the restroom,” Jake said, standing up. Lucas slipped into his seat as quickly as if they’d been playing musical chairs.