I took a deep, nervous breath before I stepped out of the cab when it finally pulled up in front of the Long Island Marriott. I’d had the cabdriver circle the block five times before I built up the courage to ask him to stop. I still couldn’t believe I was sneaking around behind Harris’s back to have drinks with Tony. Less than a month ago, you couldn’t have paid me to talk to another man, let alone meet him for a drink, but Harris and his bitch had really pushed my buttons this morning. Granted, I had no intentions of doing anything other than having a drink. I mean, yes, I was meeting him at hotel, but the hotel was nothing more than a convenient meeting place, because it wasn’t likely I’d run into anybody I knew on this side of town at a hotel. After all, who would be hanging out at a bar at the Marriott in the middle of the week other than someone from out of town ... or someone having an affair? We weren’t having an affair, but if I was being honest with myself, it sure as hell would look like it, wouldn’t it?
What the hell am I doing? I asked myself as I paid the driver and headed toward the lobby. I wanted to believe I was only getting a little payback for the smack I got this morning. So why the hell was I feeling so guilty? I didn’t know which emotion was more overwhelming at the moment as I made my way through the hotel entrance: guilt or fear. I was feeling guilty about sharing my time with another man, but also fearful about what could happen if someone saw me.
“Can you point me to the bar, please?” I asked the bellman, wondering if I looked like someone who might be getting ready to cheat.
“Right that way, ma’am.” He pointed over his shoulder, barely even acknowledging my presence.
It’s just a drink. It’s just a drink, I kept telling myself as I headed toward the bar. There was nothing to feel guilty about. The man saved me and my daughter, for Christ’s sake. Couldn’t this friendly little meeting be considered just a form of thanks? That was all it was—a drink and conversation. Lord knows I could use a little adult conversation these days. Harris always acted like he was too damn busy to give me the time of day, so I was left to converse with no one but my four-year-old daughter. Hell, if no one else could be bothered with me, I was going to talk to Tony.
It sure wasn’t hard to spot Tony in the small bar. All I had to do was follow the stares of the women in the bar, every one of whom seemed to be ogling him. Maybe it was the light in the bar, or maybe it was just all the attention he was getting, but I suddenly realized just how attractive he was.
“And the lady has arrived,” Tony stated, looking down at his watch and then back at me.
“Fashionably late.” I slid into the seat next to him.
“No worries. I was expecting as much,” he replied with a wink.
“And just what is that supposed to mean?”
“Well, if you’re like most women, you’re always running late. That way, when you make your grand entrance, all eyes are on you.”
“Humph!” I grunted, not sure if I should be offended. After all, there was some truth to what he was saying. “Anyway, I’d say all eyes in this place are on someone else tonight, wouldn’t you?” I teased, looking around the bar at the women who were still staring in our direction.