Wanting to Remember,Trying to Forget(6)

Max walked into the living room, switched on the TV and threw himself onto the sofa. He wanted to call Charlie and ask if he could sit in on poker tonight, but he knew that he wouldn’t be good company. He flipped through the channels, hoping the imagery would take away the sight of her popping out from behind the cupboard, her pulling that black dress tight over her breasts. It was memories like that that made forgetting so damn hard. And then to top it all off, she’d kissed him and his first instinct was to shift his head so that her lips would land on his lips instead of his cheek. The more he thought about it, the more he felt like he had imagined it.

Was it just him or did that kiss linger a little longer than usual?

* * *

Danny stood outside Bon Appetite, the classiest restaurant in California, and she was going to be dining with the hottest man in the world. A girl could not ask for more. If she had to be completely honest, this sort of thing wasn’t really her style. She would choose Rocko’s Pizza and Pasta hands down any day, but Richard loved to spoil her and who was she to say no.

She had been freaking out for being late but now she realized that there was no need to. Richard had not arrived yet. She felt a bit foolish standing out there all by herself but Richard was not aware of the fact that she had moved in with Max and she did not want to go through the trouble of giving directions to the apartment.

Well, if she had to be honest about that, too, the real reason was that she just did not feel right telling Richard that she had moved in with another man over the phone. He generally wasn’t the jealous type—he was too confident to be insecure—but she wanted to have the conversation in person so that she could properly explain herself.

She peered into the restaurant to make sure that she had not missed him, but she couldn’t see past the reception area. She sighed and looked at her watch.

She looked up again and just like that, the world was perfect again. More than perfect. There he was, strolling across the street towards her. The most heavenly sight. His jet-black hair was slicked back. The top two buttons of his black shirt were left undone, exposing his broad chest. His green eyes sparkled and the sexiest smile curved on that gorgeous face as he approached her. She took a deep breath. The temperature just went up a few degrees.

“Hi, sweetheart,” He planted a quick kiss on her cheek. “Let’s go in. I’m famished.”

That’s it? Six weeks with no contact and that was it? Just one kiss…on the cheek? No I missed you? No it’s good to see you? Just one kiss and let’s eat?

Danny shook her head. She was just emotional. That was all. It was just because of that argument she had with Max that she was feeling like this. She was making a big deal out of nothing.

She smiled up at Richard. “That sounds great.”

Richard held the door open as she walked in. He led her through the extravagant reception to the maître d’, who smiled at them with a plastic smile. Ordinarily a man would not be allowed to dine here without a jacket and tie but Bon Appetite afforded certain concessions for supermodels, especially one with a status like Richard.

“Good evening,” he said pleasantly. “Richard Fox. Reservation for two.”

The maître d’ nodded. “I know who you are.” She pulled out two menus and started walking. “Follow me.”

She led them through the equally extravagant foyer to the seating area. Danny inhaled deeply. Even though Richard had brought her here many times before, she still felt anxiety every time she came here. It was so beyond the lifestyle she was used to. This place was for the rich and famous, but if she wanted her relationship with Richard to progress, she needed to learn to fit in.

Her heels clicked on the black and gold marble tiles and she found herself noticing every detail of the restaurant as an attempt to stop her discomfort. The ceilings were high and angels had been engraved in it with delicate expertise. A dimly lit crystal chandelier hung from the center of the roof and it was the slight luminous glow that gave the entire place a romantic atmosphere. Plush tablecloths were laid over the tables, alternating between black and white, and low-set candles were placed in the middle of each of those tables.

They were led to the far side of the restaurant to a secluded table near the window overlooking the ocean.

“I asked for this table,” Richard said. “I wanted some privacy. I haven’t seen my baby in weeks and I wanted you all to myself.”

Danny smiled. She knew it was probably the dorky smile that made her look like an idiot but she didn’t care. That was all she needed to hear to set her mind at ease.

He pulled out the chair for her and waited for her to be seated before he sat down. He was such a gentleman, always making sure that she was taken care of.

The maître d’ set their menus down in front of them and then the plastic smile reared its ugly head once again. “Your waitress will be with you momentarily.” She turned around and after a moment’s thought, she turned back to them again. “Mister Fox,” she began nervously, “may I have your autograph?”

Danny shook her head. It was the same thing every time they went out. He was not the A-class kind of celebrity who was constantly hounded by the Paparazzi, but he definitely had his fair share of fans.

“Sure,” Richard said, taking out the pen that he always carried around with him in case such a situation presented itself. The hostess pulled out a piece of paper, he signed it, and then they were finally alone.

He reached over the table and took her hand. “So how are you, sweetheart? It seems like I haven’t seen you in ages.”

Danny tried to smile and almost got it right. “You haven’t.”

“What?”

“You haven’t seen me in ages.”

“I’m sorry. Things have been a little crazy. I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

“Watch yourself, Richard,” she teased. “I might just hold you to that promise.”

He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed each one of her fingers. “I hope you do.”

The waitress arrived and he was forced to release her hand. She was tall and slender, wearing a tight black skirt, a white shirt, and a black tie, but even the simple attire of her uniform took nothing away from her natural beauty.

“Hi, I’m Melissa,” she said sweetly. “I’ll be your waitress this evening.”

“Hi, Melissa,” Richard said with an easy smile. “We’ll have a bottle of your finest wine. Only the best for my baby.”

Danny lifted her hand to protest and Richard looked at her questioningly. “Is something the matter?”

She sighed and cast her gaze to the floor to hide the hurt on her face. She hated wine. She hated alcohol in general after that one rebellious night in college, the only exception being a stiff shot of tequila on a really bad day. She had told Richard twice before that she wasn’t much of a drinker and she especially didn’t like mixing alcohol with food. It probably just slipped his mind. “It’s nothing,” she said.

Once Melissa left to get their drinks, she decided that maybe she was being a tad bit tetchy and she wanted to enjoy herself. She needed to lighten the mood. “How was Miami?”

“It was amazing, basically a six-week party. Our shoots were scheduled between nine and eleven in the morning and once that was over, we had the rest of the day to relax. We just lazed on the beach, sipping cocktails.”

All she could hear was Max’s voice at the back of her head, shouting “Really demanding job, huh?”

“Oh.” She faked another smile. “Sounds like fun.”

“I would have come back to see you,” he added quickly. “I begged my agent for just one weekend to come back here, but he blatantly refused.”

“You could’ve called,” Danny retorted, her response soft but jagged.

Richard opened his mouth to defend himself but seemed to be at a loss for words. Melissa was his saving grace. She arrived with a bottle of wine and two wine goblets. She placed one in front of each of them, then filled it midway with the crisp red liquor.

“Are you ready to order?” Melissa asked, pulling out a small notepad and pen from her apron.

“I’ll have the chef’s specialty tonight,” Richard responded.

“I’ll have the butternut soup,” Danny said, having completely lost her appetite.

Melissa left again and Richard tried to change the topic of conversation as fast as possible. “So what’s new?”

“Well,” Danny began apprehensively, “I…uh…moved in with Max about three weeks ago.”

“Oh.” He smiled, but it was a smile that was dripping with bitter sarcasm. “You just thought you’d get closer to the best friend who can’t stand me?”

“It’s just more convenient, that’s all. We moved offices and…”

“You don’t have to explain. I don’t feel threatened by a guy like Max. I just think that living with him is going to cause problems…between us. He hates me, Danny.”

“He does not hate you, Richard. He’s just protective.”

Richard smiled and leaned back in his chair. “I think he has a crush on you.”

He winked at her and her stomach tightened. She felt shy all of sudden and could not decide what the root of it was. Was it the way Richard was looking at her with those gorgeous green eyes or… was it possibly the fact Max might have a crush on her? No, she told herself. It definitely was not the latter. That was just ridiculous.