Chapter Twenty-Four
Artimus
Julia managed to stay busy and stay away from me for most of the day. She even went so far as to go to lunch with Nina, instead of eating with me.
I knew she was afraid. I couldn’t tell her I was ready for forever yet, but I could offer her one hell of a great time until I knew for sure one way or the other what I could give her.
The end of the day was near. I didn’t want her to leave and just let the whole day go by without us saying anything else to each other. I thought about who I knew in town and came up with an idea. One phone call got me an invitation sent my way, and Julia would soon get the email about it.
Only minutes later, she rushed into my office. “Artimus, I have no idea why this invitation came so late, but you’ve been invited to the mayor’s mansion for dinner this evening.”
Feigning surprise, I asked, “What time, and is there a plus one on the invitation?”
She looked at the paper she’d printed out. “Yes, there’s a plus one, and it’s in two hours.”
“Well, order a dress and have it sent over. Call my maid and have her give my driver a tux to bring to me.”
“I’ve already got one coming your way as we speak,” she said, ever the efficient assistant. “I called her before I came to tell you about this.”
“Good. So get a dress, get to hair and makeup downstairs, and we’ll go to this dinner.” I got up, taking her by the shoulders and escorting her back to her office before setting her down in her chair. “Get the dress ordered right away, Julia. And make sure it’s an expensive one. I want you to look amazing tonight.”
She huffed then waved me away. “Go on then. Leave me to it, Artimus.”
Smiling all the way out the door, I was feeling very proud of myself. We would be spending the whole evening together. Mission accomplished.
An hour and a half later, I met Julia in the lobby on the ground floor. When she stepped off the elevator, wearing a little black dress and heels to match, my breath caught in my throat.
Her dark hair was in a sexy pile on top of her head. Her makeup was perfect—red lips and cheeks, golden eyeshadow that made her gorgeous eyes pop. She waved at me as she came my way. “I’m ready.”
I stood right where I was, unable to move. “My God, you’re beautiful, Julia.”
“Thank you.” She looked me over. “You always make a tux look nice, Artimus.”
I was so mesmerized by her beauty that I couldn’t move until she walked past me. Then I shook myself out of it and followed her like Pepé Le Pew. Julia had no idea how gorgeous she looked.
The dress wasn’t daring at all, with its boatneck collar that went all the way up to the hollow of her throat. A long rope of pearls spilled down the front, all the way to about where her bellybutton would be. The bottom of the dress hit her just above the knees, and the sleeveless style showed off her well-toned arms, too. The sexiest thing about the dress was how it fit her form precisely, clinging to the curves of her breasts and accentuating her small waist, before blossoming over her round hips and bodacious ass. The black six-inch heels made her legs look long and lean, the way a thoroughbred’s look. I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
My driver held the car door open for us, and she got in first. I slid in right beside her, close enough for our legs to touch. I reached across her to put her seatbelt on and she smiled at me as I did. “I can do that, you know.”
“Um, hmm.” I clicked it shut. Moving back past her, I slowed down when our faces were very close. “You smell like jasmine.”
“It’s a perfume the makeup girl had. She spritzed me with it—said it went with my look.” She took a sniff of the crook of her arm. “I like it. I’ll have to ask her what the name of it is so that I can get some.”
I already had plans to ask the makeup girl myself and beat Julia to it. I would give it to her as a gift, along with some flowers, and maybe a box of dark chocolates too.
Would jewelry be too much?
I wanted to give the girl the world.
Her hand lay in her lap looking lonely, so I took it into mine, cradling it on top of my thigh. “I missed seeing you today. You made yourself quite busy. Was that so you didn’t have to be around me?”
Looking down, she blinked a few times before answering. “Maybe.” She looked at me with longing in her pretty brown eyes. “This isn’t as easy as I thought it would be.”
“No, it’s not.” I grazed my knuckles across her cheek. “Maybe we should stop pretending.”
She shook her head. “I don’t think we’re pretending at all. We’re being very honest with each other.”
I didn’t think either of us was being completely honest. “Are we?”
She couldn’t look me in the eye for some reason. Her head was slightly tilted, and she looked out the window instead of at me. “Yes.”
“Then I’ll ask you again. Do you know the man you want to give yourself too? The man you want to spend the rest of your life with?” It was selfish and I knew it, but I wanted to hear her say it again.
Now her eyes came back to mine. “I do.”
She wasn’t telling me exactly what I wanted to hear, so I pushed further. “Is he in this car right now?”
She looked down, letting out a long sigh as she did. “Let’s not do this, Artimus. It serves no purpose. You know you’re not ready for anything long-term. And I’m talking very, very long-term. I’m not ready to give up on my dream of being with only one man, but I know I can’t trust my body to follow my head around you.”
Just hearing her say that, I knew she was right. I wasn’t ready to tell her I wanted her and only her forever. Not yet. So I didn’t push it any further, but there was something else I wanted from her that I think we were both ready for. “Let’s just have a nice night then. It’s not every day that one gets to dine at Gracie Mansion with the mayor of New York.”
Finally, a smile pulled at her lips. “I know. I’m so excited.”
Running my arm along the back of the seat, I wrapped my hand around her shoulder then pulled her close to me. “So am I. And just so you know, tonight you are my date. Not just my companion, my actual date.” I kissed her cheek and felt my lips tingling right away. “I have to admit something to you, Julia. I’ve known the mayor for years, even before he was elected. He went to high school with my father. The two were good friends. I made a call and got us an invitation to dinner tonight because I wanted to spend the evening with you.”
She placed her hand on my chest, looking up at me. “Artimus, you’re such a sneak.” The smile never left her face. “As sweet as it is for you to call me your date, I don’t think it’s a good idea. Like I said earlier, I’m afraid you’ll start to expect certain things from me if we start dating. I don’t want to disappoint you in any way.”
It was about the kissing thing. She was afraid if we kissed that she would lose her resolve. “If I promise not to kiss you, then can I call this a date?”
“Dates typically end with at least one kiss, Artimus.” She shook her head. “No, you can’t call this a date. We are not dating, and that’s that.”
Her stubbornness on this told me she truly was afraid that she might give herself up to me before she was ready. Even without me making the commitment to her that she needed. That was a good sign in my books. Eventually, she wouldn’t be able to deny what was between us any longer.
The car slowed to a stop and I looked away from her to find we’d arrived at the mansion. “Here we are then, platonic friend who came with me as a favor.” I had to laugh. No matter what she wanted to call it, we were out together. In my opinion, that was a date—whether I kissed her or not.
We got out of the car and she shivered. “I didn’t realize it was this chilly.” She put her arms around herself to warm up.
“I can’t have you meeting everyone with goosebumps.” I wrapped my arm around her, pulling her close to my side as we walked up to the door, where a butler waited for all the guests to arrive.
Once inside, the cold air wasn’t bothering her anymore, so she tried to pull away from me. “It’s nice and warm in here. You can let me go, Artimus.”
I didn’t want to though. “I don’t mind.”
With a laugh, she took the hand I had around her shoulders and peeled it off her. “I do. You have no idea how you affect me, do you?”
I had every idea how I affected her because she did the same thing to me. I let her have her way though, removing my arm from her and feeling the loss right away.
A staff member approached us with a bright smile on her face. “Hi, I’m Tammy. The mayor told me to ask you two if you would like a tour of Gracie Mansion before dinner is served.”
Julia clapped her hands. “Yes. That would be great, Tammy. I’m Julia, by the way, and this is …”
Tammy put up a hand, stopping her. “I know who both of you are. Artimus Wolfe, owner of WOLF network. And you are his assistant, Julia Bengal. I saw pictures of you two not too long ago, from when you attended the Humane Society Ball. You make an attractive couple.”
“We’re not a couple,” Julia was much too quick to point out. “We work together so closely that it’s just easier to go to events like the ball and this dinner together. It saves Artimus from having to find a date at the last minute.”
I placed my hand on the small of her back, leaning in to say quietly, “I don’t think you need to explain things so completely, Julia. Just say thank you when someone gives you a compliment.” I looked at Tammy. “What she means to say is thank you, Tammy. Please proceed with the tour. I’ve never been here before either. This should be fun.”
With a smile and a nod, the girl led the way as I steered Julia to follow her. She looked up at me with a fire in her eyes. “Would you mind terribly removing your hand from my back?”
“Why?” I asked with a sexy grin. “Is my touch making you desperate for more?”
“Rogue,” she hissed.
Maybe I was a rogue. Maybe I wasn’t playing by her rules, but she had too many rules in my opinion. Maybe it was time she met a man who refused to play by them.
Maybe I was that man.