Save the Date (Modern Arrangements, #1)

"Dance with me?" she said quickly, placing her champagne flute down on a nearby table. She grabbed my hand and led me out to the group of couples that had already congregated on the dance floor.

I put my hand on her lower back and held the other up as we began to move around the floor; she was good. She moved gracefully next to me as we swayed to the music filled air.

"So, can I ask your name?" I whispered into her ear and she shivered. I smiled.

"Natalia," she responded.

"Do you have a last name?"

She paused for a moment before she answered.

"Natalia Dimarci," she said hesitantly.

I stopped moving and looked back to her face. Her brow furrowed, nervousness crossing over her face.

"You’re related to Calvin Dimarci?"

"His daughter," she smiled weakly. I resumed dancing and she seemed to relax.

"I wasn’t aware that he had a daughter," I fished for further information.

Calvin Dimarci was Gideon’s brother in law. Though the two publicly didn’t see eye to eye, I was still curious and cautious about the woman in my arms.

"Yeah well, sons are more revered in my family. I’m sure you are aware of my older brother Alec?" I nodded. "Yes, well…" she let the sentence fall off.

Not willing to be a judgmental jerk, I continued the evening with her by my side. We talked more; her willingness to answer questions without hesitation relieved some of my apprehensions. Enough so that we made plans to see one another for dinner. A quiet dinner, alone, would prove a better atmosphere to clear my remaining hesitation where Natalia Dimarci was concerned.

Once I returned to work the following Monday, I made sure to have some of my assistants look into Natalia Dimarci. There wasn’t too much to find out about her. She spent the last six years finishing her degree in foreign business relations and working for a company based in Germany. Curious as to why she didn’t work for Gideon or, even, for her father, I decided to find out when we met for dinner this evening.

One week following our first date, where Natalia remained open and honest, I continued to pursue her. Three weeks after our first date, I am thoroughly enjoying spending time with Natalia. She is intelligent, friendly, classy and extremely physical. I think we have had sex on every surface in my apartment. Which was completely her fault, she chose to walk around my apartment half naked.

After a month and a half I wasn’t sure that Natalia was the ‘one’, but I made preparations with Mr. Devlin to set up papers before I approached Natalia with the idea of marriage and children. I figured that most decent women would need to at least think about this type of arrangement before making a decision, so, in a sense, I was also testing her. Yeah, it was an asshole move, but, at the same time, I had to be sure about this because I had a lot on the line. Not to mention, I only had a few more months before I had to be married.

Once the papers were complete, I planned on surprising Natalia at her place to ‘propose’. My first attempts were thwarted when she had to leave for a week on business. So, I planned for the night of her return. I was, however, called away on business a few days before her return. I was supposed to be out of town for a week but the negotiations were handled within a couple of days. I decided to surprise Nat.

Once I landed in New York, I called Liam, on my way to Natalia’s place, to tell him about the negotiations as well as my plan for tonight.

"Be careful, Aidan," Liam paused, "I know Calvin and Gideon are not friendly but family is family." His tone dropped in warning.

"I know, I’ve thought about the same thing but I've done all I could possibly think of, short from having her followed." I chuckled. "She has answered all of my questions, without hesitation, and not once has anything contradicted her replies."

"I know you are a smart man. I don’t mean to lecture." Liam said softly.

"You're just being fatherly, which I appreciate. Thank you Liam."

"No need to thank me." I smiled knowing Liam regarded me as a son, rather than his nephew. I respected him greatly. "Good work with the negotiation and congratulations with Natalia." He offered the best that he could in regards to Natalia."

"Thank you." We said our goodbyes and hung up.

When I arrived to Natalia’s apartment, she wasn’t home. After much coaxing and a small bribe, I had gotten the building manager to let me into her apartment.

Once in her place, I quickly placed the flowers I'd picked up on the way into a vase and then went to look for candles. Finding a couple as I walked around, I got more curious as I went from room to room. We didn’t spend much time at her apartment. To be honest, we'd only ever come here twice and it was never overnight.

Sadie Grubor's books