A car pulled up behind them. He hadn’t even had to call for it. Maybe that’s just how things worked for very rich people?
“Family is funny. We think we need them and, sometimes, if they’re worthy, we do. We don’t owe our parents anything for giving us life. Sometimes we think we do. I wanted my father’s approval more than anything. I had a funny way of showing it. It landed both of us in a great deal of trouble.”
She walked forward, placing her hand on his arm. “You’ve lost him, too. I’m sorry.”
He blinked rapidly. “Of course you’d know that. I obviously inherited his estate. Yes, he’s gone now.”
He opened the door to the car, and she got in. He scooted in next to her and, after a quick word with the driver, they were off. Quiet surrounded them and she didn’t, for a change, feel the need to speak. Alec had a way about him that said it was okay to simply be in his presence.
She yawned again, and he put his arm around her. His warmth surrounded her like a cocoon.
“This has been such a nice evening.” She really did want to thank him. “I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed myself.”
His grip tightened on her shoulder. “Enough to do it again?”
“Absolutely.” He wanted to see her again. She tried to keep her cool. He was probably used to women throwing themselves at him. Why was he bothering with her?
“Great. When are you free?” His profile was strong, his eyes straight ahead. He never flinched, never made a move. He’d been more relaxed in the restaurant.
When you get nervous, you become so still it’s almost frightening…
The woman’s voice, the one she didn’t know but kept hearing, drifted through the car. Alec didn’t seem to hear it and turned his head to her. “Essence?”
“What?” She hated that she was hearing voices. Maybe she should go see a doctor. Of course, even with her insurance, seeing the doctor had to be budgeted in advance.
“I asked when you were free.”
“Oh,” she rubbed the back of her neck. “I’m sorry. My mind wanders sometimes. Um, well, next weekend I’m completely open.” And every weekend after that. The men in New York weren’t exactly lining up to date her. She didn’t fit in.
“What about tomorrow?”
She turned to look at him. Was he kidding? Only an earnest interest showed on his face. “Tomorrow is Halloween. I was invited to go to a party, but I’ve cancelled because I doubt very much after a full day of working and my head still pounding on and off that I’ll be up for a party. So, no I have no plans.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Who invited you?”
“A man I know a little bit.” Why was she justifying herself to him? It was none of his business. Still, she kept talking. “He asked me.”
“And you’ve cancelled.” He nodded. “Okay, beautiful. Tomorrow night. We won’t do anything too big. I want to make sure that you’re okay. Nine o’clock.”
He really liked to eat late. “Um, tonight was great, but I’m not sure I can do nine o’clock dinners over and over. I’m not used to eating very much and late meals can have a tendency to make me not feel very well.”
“Of course. I’d completely forgotten. Yes. You should eat earlier and we’ll do something else. Leave it all to me.”
The car pulled up to her building, and she got out of the car. Turning around, she expected him to leave her there but instead he exited the vehicle and followed her into her building.
“This is where you live?”
She pointed upstairs. “Second floor.”
The same muscles that had ticked earlier did so again. “I see.”
They travelled up the stairs together and then she opened the door. He once again followed her into the apartment for exactly ten seconds. After that, he stepped back into the hallway. “This is your apartment?”
At dinner he hadn’t asked so many obvious questions. “That’s right.”
“I see. Okay, goodnight, Essence. Please lay down and take care of your head. And, just out of curiosity, does your hip hurt?”
She stared down at her hip for a second. His question had thrown her. How did he know? “I have a bit of glitch with my hip. I injured it for the last time when I finally made it into a dance company. Put an end to the whole thing. It hurts sometimes, but I can’t afford the physical therapy. I’m mostly fine. Thanks for asking.”
“I see.” He seemed to like to say that a lot.
Not wanting to overthink it, she got up on her tiptoes and kissed him on his cheek. “Thanks for dinner.”
She closed the door before she could think too much about what she’d done.
*
The second set of roses arrived at her desk the next day while she worked on a brief. This time, the delivery person was less chatty. He dumped the roses onto the side of her computer and walked away.
Essence looked left and right. It felt like every woman in the whole office stared at her. She stood up and tried to pretend her cheeks weren’t bright red. A dozen roses yesterday and now a dozen today. She pulled out the card and wasn’t surprised when it wasn’t signed.