“How much?”
Rob was taken aback by her dismay. “A hundred and fifty dollars.”
“How much did I just eat?”
“Half an ounce?” Rob guessed, confused by her response.
Slapping a hand across her mouth, Meg shook her head.
“Are you okay?”
“You should have warned me it was so expensive,” she chastised him. “I would have chewed longer. Hell, I wouldn’t have eaten so much. My God. Do you know what you can do with that kind of money?”
Rob tried to stifle the laughter welling up inside of him at her words because he could see she was serious. Finally, the laughter won out. “Chewed longer?”
Meg rose from the table, her arms akimbo and her eyes narrowed. She pointed a finger at him. “You should be ashamed of yourself. Your company is nice enough to give you a free place to stay and to pay for all your meals and you take advantage of that. If I were your boss, I’d take that caviar out of your unappreciative hide.”
Shaking his head at her impassioned words, Rob stopped laughing and considered her point of view. From her perspective, he certainly did look like a greedy employee and for a moment, he considered confessing his true identity. His entire life he had lived a lifestyle most people could only dream about. He was born to an affluent family and, during his adulthood, he’d worked hard to increase his own personal wealth.
No doubt his upbringing and standard of living had blinded him to the travails of the middle class who worked hard to chisel out an existence. He felt humbled by this teacher’s words. For him, eating hundreds of dollars worth of caviar in a single sitting meant nothing, but to Meg, such extravagance seemed greedy and wasteful.
“I’m sorry to upset you, Meg. I thought you knew how expensive caviar was. I should have warned you of the cost and let you make the decision.” He was amazed to hear himself apologizing. Rob Madison was not a man to apologize for his actions and certainly not for something as innocuous as offering a woman caviar.
“Damn.” She closed her eyes. “I sound like the biggest bitch on earth. I’m sorry, Rob. Just so you know—I’m a pain in the ass to all of my friends. I’m way too out-spoken and opinionated.”
For the first time in his entire life, Rob was making a friend based on his own personality and not by how much money he had in the bank. He was sick of having women throw themselves at him merely because they desired the power of his name and the bottom line on his paycheck. He’d grown up in a world surrounded by the rich and famous and, aside from his employees, he couldn’t remember ever meeting and befriending a real person.
“Don’t worry about it, Meg. What do you say we dig in?” He was desperate to get them back on solid ground.
Smiling, Meg agreed and they talked and ate until nearly dawn. Underlying their entire conversation was Rob’s intense sexual desire for her, but strangely, he felt no rush to take her to bed. He enjoyed getting to know her as a person and he sensed this time together was going a long way toward setting her own mind at ease. Meg truly wasn’t the type to hop into a stranger’s bed.
He glanced out the window. “I’m afraid this foul weather is going to upset some of the festivities today.”
“That’s right. There’s supposed to be a parade of some sort, isn’t there?”
“Yes. There is a big parade down Main Street, lots of bands and heart-shaped floats. Bit ridiculous really. Venus and Cupid ride in on the last float and officially declare Lover’s Lane open.”
“Lover’s Lane?”
“It’s the marketplace in the city center. All the merchants hawk their romantic wares.”
“Dare I ask what’s considered romantic wares?”
“Oh, you know, aphrodisiacs, lingerie, leather, sex toys, whips…that kind of thing.”
She choked on her cup of coffee. “You’re kidding!”
“Nope. Don’t worry, Meg. As soon as the weather clears, I’ll take you. I wouldn’t let you miss it. I’m already thinking about all the things I want to buy you there.”
Meg narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “You are?”
“Yep.”
She tapped her lips as if considering his plan. “Just so you know we’re skipping the booth with the whips.”
“Don’t be so quick to dismiss the idea.” Rob didn’t miss her quick intake of breath—it wasn’t one of fear as much as interest—and his arousal hit fever pitch.
Turning to her, he reached out and pulled her closer, releasing the reins on his building need and taking her lips in a kiss utterly different from the first. He wanted Meg with a passion that bordered on painful and the thought of buying her sexy clothing, body lotions and toys—and yes, even a whip—had him rock hard.
Unwilling to wait another minute, he reached down and pulled his oversized T-shirt over her head, pleased to discover she hadn’t put her bra back on after her shower.