Chapter 6: Date Night
Max leaned against the front door trembling like a leaf in a gale. Ev’s kiss lingered like a brand on her skin, and she put a hand to her cheek as if she could somehow keep it there. She had known that he was attracted to her before they had gone out together, but the waves of electric energy that had sparked between them had never slowed or disappeared, as she had thought they would. If anything, at the end of their date the chemistry was stronger, the need greater. Eventually she locked the door and walked into her bedroom, dropping her pocketbook and wrap and kicking off her shoes. Then she went to the kitchen and helped herself to a glass of wine. She was free to get drunk in the privacy of her own home if she so chose.
Everett Morgan was much too interesting a man, one she knew she would have increasing difficulty in resisting. Their conversation over dinner had been pleasant and varied, and she had come away knowing much more about him than she had even realized she wanted to know. And there was so much she still wanted to ask. She sat at the table thinking about the way he had talked about his friends, about the pact they had made, about the friend who chose to race cars instead of make millions. They sounded like the kind of people who would be fun to interact with, the kind of men who could inspire the boys in her youth programs, especially the ones who had a less orthodox view of the world, and the ones who felt there was no hope for them at all.
Sipping the wine slowly, she considered how she could get Ev to bring his buddies in to help her with one of Hope For All’s annual events. After the New Year, the organization hosted a week of seminars and activities called “Revolutions” which looked at ways to change that went beyond mere New Year’s resolutions. Perhaps she could get Ev and his friends to participate somehow. Maybe give a talk, or perhaps sponsor a field trip to their various enterprises. She knew for a fact that some of the boys would jump at the chance to visit with Jim the race car driver, and maybe he could have them visit his auto dealership and garage. She got excited about the idea the longer she thought about it. She’d need to find out what exactly all his friends did…she only knew about some of them.
Draining the glass, she put it in the sink…she’d wash it in the morning with the breakfast things. For now, she needed to put her ideas and questions down on paper. Tomorrow, after the housework and laundry were done, she’d compose an email to Ev in which she laid out her idea, asked her questions, and invited a new conversation about ways to help that did not involve more money being spent. She didn’t want him to think she only saw him as an endless supply of money and nothing more. Retrieving the items she had discarded on her way to the kitchen, she walked into her bedroom and was undressing when her cell phone rang. Who the hell was calling her on a Friday night at this hour? She was entitled to a few hours off every now and again, for Pete’s sake!
Picking up the phone, she saw it was Ev, and immediately her limbs began to tremble lightly. She sat quickly on the edge of the bed before answering.
“Hello?” Words failed her. This man was having quite an effect on her.
“I hope I didn’t wake you, Maxine?” His voice in her ear sent a shaft of electricity through her.
“No…no, I was just getting…”
She stopped, realizing what she had been about to tell him. TMI much, Max? She rolled her eyes at herself, and chose not to finish that sentence.
“No, I wasn’t asleep.”
Ev chuckled, and Max knew at once that he knew what she hadn’t said. Her face heated, although he was nowhere near to see her embarrassment.
“I’ll let you get back to getting ready for bed in a few minutes. I just wanted to say thank you again for allowing me to take you to dinner. And to say that I’d like to do it again, if you have no objection to an absent-minded man who sometimes bumps into strangers in stores.”
Max laughed, suddenly at ease. That he could make a joke of something that at the time was incredibly upsetting and embarrassing told her she was forgiven, and more, it told her that he did not hold a grudge. Relief swept through her. She hadn’t realized until that moment how worried she had been that he would always hold it against her.
“Well, if you can forget the shrewish fish wife who cursed at you, I’m sure we can muddle along well enough.”
“Minx!” he exclaimed. “Is that a ‘yes’?”
Max swallowed the giggle that rose in her throat at the nickname. She would absolutely not let him know how much she liked it, and definitely not how special it made her feel.
“That’s Max to you,” she said, her voice going lower on its own in a frankly flirtatious way that appalled her brain, which was not on board with flirting at all.
“Is that a ‘yes’, Max?” He repeated his question patiently, though she heard the amusement in it distinctly.
She sighed dramatically. “Yes, Ev, it is.” What the hell was wrong with her?
“How about tomorrow evening then? The Boston Pops Orchestra will be in town and I have two tickets. We can do dinner before the show, which is at eight.”
Max only hesitated for a second before deciding it was fine to go on a second date with him, especially as she could hit him up about her idea.
“I’d like that, thank you,” she said. “It’ll give me a chance to discuss an idea I have with you…”
“No talking shop,” he interrupted her. “I’m taking you out on a date because I want to spend more time with Maxine Cousins the woman, not Maxine Cousins the director of Hope For All. Anything related to our business connection will have to wait until I visit you in your offices, or you come to me in mine next week.”
Max nodded, then realized he couldn’t see her. “Okay, that’s fine, too.”
“Fair warning,” he went on. “I intend to go on as many dates with you as you will allow. And we will never discuss business on any of them. I like to keep my professional and my personal lives separate. Think you can handle that?”
“Yes…yes, of course.”
For a moment, she couldn’t think past the revelation that the man on the other end of the line was actively pursuing her. It boggled her mind just a little bit. She would remember that he was a playboy after she hung up, and plan her strategy for keeping herself immune to his charms. But for right this second, she wanted to bask in the warm glow that his interest generated.
“I’ll send you an email with the idea I wanted to float by you, and on Monday we can see how our schedules line up so we can meet to discuss it…if that’s okay?”
“That’s okay,” he said. “Now, go ahead and finish undressing and go to bed. Sweet dreams, Minx.”
He hung up before she could answer, leaving her smiling like a loon, and then scolding herself all through her nighttime face-cleansing ritual. After she brushed her teeth, she slid into bed, once again smiling foolishly at the idea of being sought after by a playboy. It was troubling in a niggling worry kind of way, but she was too tired to think about it. She’d worry in the morning, when daylight would no doubt bring her back to sanity.
She woke to gray skies and drizzle, and by the time she had showered and slid into her lazy day sweats and socks, it was pouring down with rain. Would it still be raining when it was time for her date? At the thought, the bedtime conversation with Ev came back to remind her that she was playing with fire. Everett Morgan was a playboy. Everything she had read about his social life in the past year made that abundantly clear. She could not afford to get involved with a man who thought women only existed for his sexual pleasure and nothing more.
Except, nothing in the way he had treated her the night before bespoke a man who thought like that. He had been the soul of courtesy, of decorum, and even his evident interest in her had been tasteful rather than lascivious. He was clearly serious about getting to know her outside of work, but his reasons were unknown to her. And that was where all her hesitation lay. She wasn’t about to lose herself to the blandishments of a man who used his charm to seduce women into his bed and then discarded them like old newspapers afterwards. She had too much self-respect for that. And yet she knew being seen with him would be good for her image both personally and professionally.
She went out to feed her cats, and after eating her own breakfast, she sat with her laptop working out the idea she had come up with before sending it to Ev in an email. She needed his business card for the address, and once she hit send, she added his information to her cell phone, so that if she lost the card she wouldn’t need to ask for a second one. Remembering that she had a date with him later, she went in search of what to wear, in the process adding a load of laundry to the washing machine and changing her bed linen. After she did a thorough bathroom and kitchen cleaning, she vacuumed and dusted, and then made herself a large late lunch. If she was going out to dinner, she wouldn’t have anything else to eat until then.
Ev called while she was tidying away her lunch mess. “Hi. I forgot to mention where we’re having dinner and what time I’ll be there to get you. We’re eating at Manelli’s and dinner is at six.”
“I’ll be ready,” she said. “Thank you.”
“I’ll see you later,” he said. “Looking forward to it.”
“So am I,” she replied before she could censor herself.
Ev inhaled loudly enough for her to hear him before saying, “Good. I wouldn’t want the anticipation to be one-sided. See you soon, Minx.”
She was barely able to say “Bye!” before he hung up. And it took her a good five minutes to stop shivering at the sound of his voice as he called her ‘Minx’ again. It was outright flirtatious, low and sultry. She would really need to bring her A game if she were to manage to resist this man’s seduction later. Because something told her he was going to pull out all the stops. Maybe if she made it into a game, she would survive the onslaught.
She decided that basic black would be not just tasteful but also elegant enough for dinner and a concert. The dress was a strapless tea-length satin dress with a sweetheart neckline and a wide plum-colored satin bow at the back for a pop of color. Her shoes were plum-colored to match the bow, and she wore silver jewelry that lay against her dusky skin like the star in the night sky. Tonight she pinned her hair up in an elegant chignon, leaving a few wavy strands to whisper at her left cheek. The silver drop earrings matched the diamond-chip necklace and bracelet she wore. Her fingers were ringless, but she had managed to polish the short nails to match her shoes. Very little makeup adorned her face…she went with the almost-nude look, relieving it only with a splash of color at her lips, and eye shadow that drew attention to her deep brown eyes and naturally long lashes.
Thankfully, the rain stopped by the time she was ready. It was much too early, but she didn’t want to keep him waiting while she fetched anything from her bedroom this time. She fidgeted, fed and watered the cats, washed her hands and reapplied lotion, checked her appearance in the hall mirror for the umpteenth time, and was driving herself crazy with worry about whether she was sending the wrong message to Ev about her interest by going all out to look good for their date. When the doorbell sounded, she had just decided that it was okay to want the man to notice her, and it was okay to enjoy any compliments she might receive, but she wouldn’t take them to mean anything more.
Knowing that her date was a killer in formal wear, she was better prepared for the onslaught on her senses when she opened the door to Ev. And he didn’t disappoint, dressed in a dark gray suit that fitted his frame like a second skin. Still, she couldn’t stop the shiver of awareness that skittered up her spine when he smiled at her.
“Good evening, Ev,” she said, stepping into the hallway. She turned to lock the door and he took the key from her again and did the honors himself, once again pocketing the key. The no-nonsense Maxine wanted to stand her ground and ask for her key back, but the flattered Maxine loved that he felt the need to make even small gestures of proprietary protectiveness towards her.
“Good evening, Maxine. You look ravishing.”
She dared to look up at him, even with the note of hunger that he had let escape in his tone. “I’d rather have dinner first, if you don’t mind,” she said. “I haven’t eaten since lunch time.”
She was going to play this flirting game like a boss, and still come out the winner. At least, that was the plan. Ev laughed, and she smiled in relief. He didn’t find her totally ridiculous, after all.
“It’s official,” he said, leading her out of the elevator. “You’re a minx by nature, so from now on it’ll be your nickname as well.”
He helped her into the car, and while he walked around to the driver’s side, she took several deep, calming breaths and fought to keep the stupid grin off her face.
“All set?” He looked over at her as she adjusted her seatbelt.
“Yes, thank you.”
She looked up to smile at him, and the open admiration in his gaze shifted something inside her. She looked away quickly, not willing to incite him any further. The evening had only just begun, and if she allowed him to let loose his charm too soon, she’d be putty in his hands by the end of the date.
Thankfully, he looked away, and in another few seconds they were on their way. Neither one spoke, but the silence was not uncomfortable. Max let her thoughts wander to the night before and the ease with which they had connected. Tonight should be even better, now that any preliminary awkwardness had been overcome. She thought of that kiss on the cheek before she closed the door last night and tried not to hope it would be repeated.
“Ready?”
She looked up to see him staring at her with his hand on the door latch. They had arrived and she hadn’t even noticed.
“Yes, sure.”
He exited the vehicle quickly while she unbuckled her seatbelt and picked up her evening bag. She took his hand when he opened the door for her, and once she was out of the car, he slid his arm behind her, lightly guiding her forward while he handed his keys to the valet. The restaurant was crowded, and the hostess’s smile was strained, as though she was having a time of it keeping the customers happy.
“Good evening, and welcome to Manelli’s.”
“Good evening. I have reservations,” Ev said, “under the name Morgan.”
She looked down at her tablet. “Oh, yes, Mr. Morgan. A table for two, Right this way, sir.”
They followed her through a labyrinth of tables to an intimate one at the side of the restaurant. The space was filled with other diners, and Max knew their arrival was being noted. Suddenly she was glad she had chosen to dress up for the evening. It never hurt to give her ego a boost, especially since she very rarely went out on the town, and never on the arm of a gorgeous hunk like Everett Morgan. Until now.
He helped her into her seat, and then sat across from her, all without breaking eye contact. She felt herself growing warm under his stare, and he smiled, as though he knew the effect he was having on her, and was pleased by it. When the server arrived to take their drink orders, she chose a virgin piña colada this time, and he chose something from the wine list.
“How adventurous of an eater are you?” he asked, picking up the menu.
“I’ll try anything once,” she said, “but most times, I stick to a few favorites. Why?”
“I’d like to try their tasting menu this evening. Will that be okay? And will you be okay with me choosing what we taste?”
“Sure, this time,” she said, and then shut her mouth with a snap when she realized what she had said.
She hadn’t meant to suggest that they would be going out together to dinner again, despite what he had said the night before about wanting to repeat their date. For some reason, her mouth had wrested control from her brain, but he didn’t seem to be at all offended by the lapse. In fact, he was smiling and nodding.
“Next time, I’ll let you choose,” he agreed, and then looked down at the menu.
When the server returned, Ev made his order for each course of samples, and then sat back and watched her over the rim of his wine glass. It was curiously unnerving, and after a few moments, when she could bear the unwavering scrutiny no longer, she said sharply,
“It’s rude to stare. Did no one ever tell you that?”
“I’m sorry if it offends you, my looking at you. You’re a beautiful woman. Very beautiful, in fact. It’s hard not to stare.”
He didn’t sound at all repentant. In fact, a small smile played about his lips as he spoke, as though he knew a secret he wasn’t going to share with her.
“Try, anyway,” she retorted.
“Perhaps if you give me something else to focus on it might help,” he said, his shoulders shaking with silent laughter. “I’m very amenable to being distracted.” But before she could respond, he added, “Just don’t forget the rule. No talking shop.” And then he winked at her, as though he knew that she had forgotten and was about to do just that.
She hunted around for something to take his focus off her but could only come up with, “Tell me about yourself.”
He quirked a brow at her. “What else would you like to know?”
“There’s a lot I don’t know,” she said. “Are your parents still alive? Do you have any siblings? What’s your favorite color? Food? What do you do for fun?”
She was drawing a blank, and then she recalled the question he had asked her the night before. Time to turn the tables on him.
“And of course, just as you wanted to know what makes a man interesting to me, I’d like to know the same about you.”
The first course arrived and he smiled and said, “Let’s try these first. Then I’ll begin.”
It was some kind of mousse with blue cheese and beets, followed quickly by a shared Caesar salad, then shrimp and arugula. So far, everything had been delicious, but Max wondered if she would be full enough to avoid a grumbling tummy during the concert. The intermezzo was a light and flavorful sorbet and a sparkling wine. Ev paused with his spoon to his lips to a ask,
“Are you enjoying the food?”
Max watched him put the spoonful of sorbet between his lips and bit back a groan at the sight. She blinked and looked away before answering.
“Yes, thank you, everything is quite delicious.”
She sipped some of the wine, and hoped she wouldn’t lose control. This was the second glass of wine she had been offered, and while she had only tasted the first one, paired with the shrimp course, she knew she was enough of a lightweight that too much sipping could be dangerous. While they waited for the next course, Ev began to answer her questions. He started with what kind of woman interested him.
“I find myself intrigued by sassy women who speak their minds and take no prisoners,” he said, looking her dead in the eye. “There’s something about an outspoken woman that gets me going.”
Words failed Max. She cleared her throat, hoping the respite would give her some idea of how to respond, but even after swallowing another sip of the wine, she still had nothing. His eyes darkened when she wet her lips before saying truthfully,
“I can’t think of a single thing to say in response to that.”
“Honesty is also very endearing, and quite a turn-on,” he said at once. “It shows a willingness to be vulnerable to others.”
That added sentence made Max’s ears perk up. “Is that something you would do for the woman who caught your eye? Allow yourself to be vulnerable to her as well?”
He inhaled deeply, giving his answer some thought. “That depends. If the woman I’m into shows no sign of reciprocating my interest, then no, I wouldn’t.”
The next course, some kind of decadent lamb dish for her and salmon for Ev, was placed before them before she could respond. And he didn’t seem to care whether she commented or not.
“Lend me your fork,” he said, and when she did, he offered her a taste of his salmon, spearing it with the fork and presenting it to her.
When she tried to take the fork from him, he held on to it and said, “Open wide!”
She laughed. He sounded just like a father then, coaxing his child to eat. She opened obediently and closed her lips around the tines of the fork, pulling the fish off and into her mouth. It was delicious and she moaned in appreciation. She could feel his eyes on her as she savored the bite he had given her.
“This is delicious!” she said when she had swallowed. “How did you know I’d like it?”
He smiled. “I’ve been here before and had this. I can’t think of anyone who’s had it who hasn’t loved it.” He speared a second bite and said, “Here, have another.”
Max’s cheeks heated up this time, because there was no mistaking the look in his eyes as he offered her the fork. She reached for the fork again, and this time he captured her fingers, holding her hand as she took the second bite. He refused to let her go, and she released the fork in hopes that he would take the hint. Instead, he took the fork from their joined hands and laid it on the table, bringing her hand to his lips. He kissed each knuckle, letting his lips linger on them, and then he turned her palm up and placed a sensual kiss in the center, just touching his tongue to it.
Max gasped and pulled her hand away. “Ev, stop it! I’m not one of those women who is easily bowled over by sweet words and slick moves. And we don’t know each other well enough for you to be taking such liberties with me.”
“Then perhaps you should know now that I intend to get to know you that well. It would be much easier if you didn’t put roadblocks in my way.”
He spoke arrogantly, and then proceeded to cut into his salmon and take his first bite of it. Max shook her head in disbelief.
“You may not be conceited, but you can be as arrogant as ever, can’t you?”
“You call it arrogant, I call it confident,” he said, putting more food on his fork. “It’s all about perspective.” He put the food in his mouth, chewed and swallowed and then gestured at her with his fork. “Go on, then, eat up! Don’t want your meal to get cold.”
Max picked up her fork, caught between shock at his brazen attempt at seduction and disappointment that he had not seemed upset at her rejection. He was proving to be a challenge she could not have anticipated, and she wasn’t sure any longer that she was equipped to withstand him. Or that she even wanted to.