Chapter 11: Luna

The lounge hummed with jazz music and the laughter of the patrons – young go-getters letting their hair down after a long day at work. Men and women alike wore their suits like badges of honor. I loved the fact that my date looked like a powerful executive. One hundred and fifty percent, full-bodied and glorious male clad in merino wool like a holiday present. If only I could unwrap it.

I leaned back against the cushy chair in our booth, then lifted my glass from the table. I’d chosen merlot for the evening, though, man, I’d been tempted by the long list of cocktails. I always wanted to try something like a Sex on the Beach or a Blowjob, but I’d never worked up the courage to ask. My cheeks flushed scarlet at just the thought of saying those names out loud. Whenever I tried to articulate my passion, Thorn told me to shut up and act like a lady. Right before he stuffed his dick in my mouth.

“This place does the best tapas you’ll ever eat,” Corban said over the music, breaking the ugly memories of my ex-fiancé.

“Oh, yeah?” I shouted.

His eyebrows did a weird, wriggly dance, and he pushed his beer over to my side of the table. He scooted along the chair and around to me, then stopped just short, his leg inches from mine. Damn. I wished he’d close the gap.

I pulled the same move in that Borough restaurant, though I hadn’t dreamed it’d end in a kiss at the time. Ugh, I didn’t want to contemplate that damn kiss. He’d apologized for it. The last thing I wanted from Corban Drake’s lips was, “I’m sorry.”

I’d have settled for a follow-up make-out session. It was like he had some electromagnetic pull from his body to mine. Without thinking, I just kind of drifted ever closer.

“We should get some,” Corban said.

Oh, how I’d like to get some.

I jumped and met his gaze. I’d been totally lost in my thoughts about the man right beside me. “Get some what?”

“Tapas,” he replied with that sexy half-smile.

“Yeah, great, let’s do that.”

He was close enough to kiss again, and I broke the connection between us and opted for a sip of wine instead. Corban had ruined our experience yesterday by apologizing for it. Now that I knew he didn’t want me and was only interested in nailing his marketing strategy for Kiss Boutique, I had to work hard to push that image from my mind. There wouldn’t be a repeat. It had to stay all business.

Maybe I’d raised my hopes too high. After that kiss, my mind had gone into overdrive contemplating the possibility that this guy might be worth it. He might actually like me for me, since he’d seen the good and the bad, and the naked after that fiasco in his office.

The apology changed everything.

“Are you excited about the event?” I asked and put down my glass. “If we pull it off, it’ll be a big step up for you.”

“Hell yeah, I’m excited,” Corban replied. “I’ve spent too much time treading water in Global Marketing. I blame – nah, never mind. It’ll sound ridiculous if I bring it up.”

“No way.” I leaned in to give him my ear. “Tell me.”

“You’ll think I’m a big headed prick if I tell you.”

I tried hard not to grin. “Who says I don’t think that already?”

“Touché.” He chuckled and swigged his beer. I watched his full lips wrap around the neck of the bottle and then his throat as he swallowed. I longed to nuzzle into his neck to smell him again. “All right. I trust you not to take this the wrong way.”

Now, he had my full attention.

“I’ve always gotten the feeling that people judge me based on how I look on the outside, rather than how I perform in the office, if you know what I mean.”

“You’re too hot for corporate,” I said immediately.

“Basically,” he said and knuckled his forehead. “See? I’m a vain ass.”

I rested a hand on his forearm. “No, you’re not. And I understand exactly where you’re coming from. I’ve encountered the same thing in my business. People assume that this…” I gestured to my face, “is all I have going for me. They treat me like an idiot most of the time. I graduated from the Carlson School of Management. With honors.”

Corban nodded. “Yeah, that’s what I mean. It’s like you can’t have the best of both worlds. You can’t be pretty and smart and nice. You’ve got to be one or the other. I just got interviewed for some bullshit article about the most eligible bachelors in the Twin Cities. As if I wasn’t already a big enough target for gold diggers and clingers.”

“Right,” I said, not sure what else to say about the gold digger remark. Was that what was causing his withdrawal from me? Did he have an inkling about my bleak financial situation? No. Larissa and Ross would never betray me like that. It must have just been an offhand comment. “And it wouldn’t bother me so much if it didn’t literally affect the quality of clientele I draw to my business. People are quick to judge based on what they see. And when it comes to the event planning business, that’s a huge problem.”

“Explain.” Corban shifted his craft beer onto a coaster.

“When I interview a new client, I get one chance to impress. If they’re fixated on how I look or their initial opinion of me, say that I’m a bimbo, for instance, I lose all leverage. They cut the meeting short, and I never hear from them again. And in my business, one client lost counts as two, since I rely on referrals for the most part.”

“Right, you host a great party, and they tell Marge and Bill who’re looking to get married next.”

“Exactly,” I said. “That’s exactly right. But I guess it’s idiocy to whine about it. I know Larissa would whack me on the back of the head and tell me to get a grip, and she’d kill to have my body or face.” I spoke from experience there. My bestie had done exactly that on multiple occasions.

Corban’s eyes dropped to my lips. “Don’t take that to heart.”

“I take everything Larissa says to heart because she means everything she says,” I replied. “And she means everything to me. She’s one of those people who doesn’t just call a spade a spade. She picks it up and hits you over the head with it. The spade is truth, by the way.”

Corban burst out laughing, and a little beer squirted over his bottom lip.

My wild side urged me to lick the fluid off his chin and heat up the evening. I ignored wine-drinking Luna where gaffs reigned supreme and stayed in the present. “Anyway, I didn’t mean to make this all about me. I really want this event to go off without a hitch. You deserve a promotion. Larissa told me how long you stayed in Japan for the sake of the company.”

Corban dabbed his lip and chin with a napkin. “Yeah, I missed their wedding. They’ll never let me live that down.” He grimaced. “It’s a pity I did. I might’ve met you there. I hear you planned the whole thing.”

“I did.” It was a point of pride. Larissa’s wedding was one of my best. A permanent addition to the portfolio. “And you definitely would’ve seen me there. “

“I’m kicking myself for missing it. Trust me.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond to that after his apology. What was the deal with this guy? He was an Armani-clad enigma.

I emptied the last of my wine and placed the glass on the edge of the table. A waiter appeared and whisked it away immediately. I nodded for a refill.

“Larissa tells me that you’ve had some trouble with your business lately,” Corban said. “It can’t just be because you’re gorgeous.”

Smooth. “I went through a difficult time a while back. It affected my business negatively,” I said and left it at that. There wasn’t much to add because I couldn’t tell Corban about why Thorn and I split up.

It ate at me every day. Signing the nondisclosure agreement and the prenup had been the worst decisions of my entire life. I’d suffered every day since.

Corban tapped his nail against the side of his beer bottle. “This, uh, difficult time you mentioned…” I could tell he was curious but didn’t take it further.

“Yeah?”

“It didn’t have anything to do with a guy, did it?”

“Maybe.”

The waiter arrived with my refill, and the topic faded, thank god. He didn’t know I was Thorn Edwards’ ex just yet, and I’d prefer to keep it that way for as long as possible.

But how long could I hold out? Eventually, someone would tell him, or I’d have to let it slip and any romantic intentions Corban held would fly out the window on the wings of my negative but inaccurate public persona.

“I went through something too,” Corban said. “It was part of the reason I left the states for Japan. You know, apart from the opportunity to live in another country, which was awesome.”

“What was the reason?” I could kinda guess.

“A woman. Well, that was sort of the reason. I also wanted to get ahead in my career, and honestly, I needed space from anything familiar. But it had a price.”

“A price?”

“Yeah. I left to lose myself in work, and that’s exactly what happened. I also lost myself somewhere along the way.” He laid his hand on top of mine. “But I don’t feel that way when I’m with you.”

I stared at the hand that enveloped mine, focusing on the electric warmth. That had gotten real, fast. We’d known each other a few days. He couldn’t be serious.

“I – uh. I honestly don’t know what to say to that.”

Corban ran his thumb across my knuckles and stared into my eyes.

There was so much soul in them. Feelings I hadn’t expected to see from anyone. I’d pretty much resigned myself to being the eternal bachelorette.

It was better than divorcee.

Corban’s free hand cupped my cheek. He pulled me in for the kiss.

I jerked out of his grasp and knocked the wine glass over. It clattered on the table but didn’t break.

“Damn it.” I stood up and waved for the waiter. “Clean up on aisle nine.” The joke fell flat.

Corban lifted the glass out of the puddle of wine. “Is everything okay?”

Was it? He just tried to kiss me again after arriving at my house a couple hours ago with an apology for doing the exact same thing the day before.

Should I expect another make-out session then an atonement thereafter? Not happening.

“Luna?”

“Everything’s fine,” I said and pointed at the front of my cocktail dress. “No mess. I didn’t get you, did I?”

“No.”

“Oh good. I guess I should have told you this during our first phone consult. Corban Drake? I’m a klutz.”

The waiter arrived with a cloth and a grin. “What happened here?”

“Nuclear fission,” Corban replied dryly.

The waiter’s smile wilted like a flower on a hot summer’s day.

I didn’t sit back down. The moment had faded away during the aftermath of my self-consciousness. The electric vibe between Corban and me had passed.

“I’ll be right back,” I said. “Ladies room.” I picked up my clutch and walked down the two steps elevating our booth. I wound between the tables and made for the bathrooms.

I didn’t look back at Corban. I didn’t want him to know how difficult it had been to pull away from that kiss.

I burst into the bathroom and startled two women in front of the mirrors. One of them almost poked her eye out with a mascara wand. “Ouch.”

“Sorry,” I said. “My bad.”

The blonde shrugged. “No big deal. You in a rush for the bathroom or something?”

“No. I just needed a minute.”

“Wait a second,” the brunette said and pointed at me with her lipstick tube.

Oh boy, here we go again.

“Aren’t you here with that hunky guy? The one in the suit?”

I burst out laughing.

The women raised their eyebrows and exchanged glances.

“Sorry,” I said. “I thought you were going to ask me something else. But yeah, I’m here with him.”

“Lucky girl.”

“Tell me. What would you think if someone kissed you then apologized for kissing you, then tried to kiss you again?” The question came out before I could stop it. Corban’s uncertainty had infiltrated me.

The blonde capped her mascara, then placed it in her handbag. “That he’s not ready for whatever reason. Like, he likes you and wants you, but he’s not ready. Or he’s not sure. All I can say, honey, is that neither one is good. Even though hunky suit guy is hot as hell, run.”

“No way. Maybe he wants to test the waters first. See if he likes the merchandise,” the brunette added and winked at me. “Hey, if you don’t want to test the waters with him, I’d be happy to take your place.”

“Oh my god, Jill, you’re such a skank.”

“I learned from the best,” Jill said and grinned at her friend.

I could tell they had the kind of friendship Larissa and I shared. Man, I missed her when confusing stuff happened. She was out on date night with her hubby, so my questions about Corban would have to wait until tomorrow.

“The best advice I’ve ever heard,” Jill said and tossed her dark, curly hair back, “is to follow your vagina. If she says yes, you know it’s for real.”

My jaw dropped.

“I’m totally kidding.” Jill gathered her bag and slung the straps over her shoulder. “The pussy is the biggest damn liar in the history of the world. Never let her lead. Though, the only way you can tell if a guy is truly into you is what he’ll do for you.”

“How do you mean?”

“A grand gesture,” she said. “There’s always that moment in a relationship at the beginning, where you realize, like, okay, this is it. Look out for that.”

The women hurried out of the bathroom and jazz music swelled through the open door, then cut out again as it clicked shut.

A grand gesture. I’d yet to see one.