CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Talen
Dani’s phone call took me by surprise. When she stormed out of Le Jean, I never thought I would hear from her again. I fully expected to get served with divorce papers in the next couple weeks. Instead, she called me and apologized. She still sounded slightly angry, but she admitted to being partially at fault. She was right. We both needed to be nicer to each other if our fake marriage was going to work. I hated that she continued to challenge me, but also appreciated her strength. Dani wasn’t the kind of woman who would roll over and play dead. She could hold her own against me and anyone else.
I picked her up with no real plan in mind. I was dressed casually. The last thing I wanted was a repeat of our last attempt at dinner. I thought Le Jean might have been too much pressure for her. She was just now ready to work things out, and I didn’t want to scare her away again. So, this time, I wore jeans and a tight-fitting button up. I looked good without trying too hard. As I knocked on Dani’s door, I felt that same nervousness that overwhelmed me the last time I arrived at her apartment.
Dani answered the door wearing a long sundress. She looked pretty in a simplistic way. I smiled at her and stood aside to let her out since she was clearly not letting me in. She smiled back and followed me to the car. Again, we didn’t say much as we climbed inside, but the air between us didn’t feel tense.
“I didn’t plan anything for tonight. Is there somewhere you’d like to go?”
“Um.” She looked surprised that I’d asked. “There’s a tiny little Italian place down the street. It’s a mom-and-pop shop, but the food is amazing.”
“Sounds perfect.” I backed out of the parking spot and followed her directions to the restaurant. We arrived within five minutes. When we stepped out of the car, I scanned the outside of the building. The restaurant really was tiny, but it had a certain charm to it that was appealing.
We walked inside. Dani led the way to an empty table without waiting to be seated. I assumed they didn’t have a hostess. I looked around, taking in the ambiance. The room was dimly lit, and the tablecloths were dark red. There were candles lit on each table. If I didn’t know better, I would have said this was the perfect place for a date, but I knew that wasn’t Dani’s intention. From the look of the menu, the food was going to be authentic.
I ordered manicotti, and Dani ordered chicken alfredo. We both stuck to the simple things, each of us ordering a glass of wine to accompany our meal. I smiled when Dani ordered hers, glad that she was loosening up a little. I could tell from the way she nursed her glass that she was drinking to calm her nerves, but I didn’t care. I was just happy to see her relaxing again.
“I’m glad you called,” I said. “Really, I am.”
“Me too,” she said with a shy smile that was so attractive. “I felt bad about the way we left things. This situation is so screwy. It’s hard to remember that it isn’t all your fault.”
“I know.” I wanted to take her hand, comfort her in some small way, but I didn’t think my touch would be welcomed. “I didn’t exactly make this easy for you, Dani.”
“Hey, you didn’t force me into that chapel.” She laughed and pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “That was both of us.”
“I still don’t know exactly how that happened,” I admitted, still trying to sort through that night.
“Me either.” She laughed again. “When in Vegas, right?”
“Something like that.” I laughed back and took a sip of my wine while Dani finished her first glass. I ordered her a second one, and she thanked me.
“So…” She drew out the word, her grin widening, causing my cock to twitch. “I guess we should come up with a backstory.”
I relaxed a little. “We should.”
“Well, since I don’t know these investors, what do you think we should say?”
I thought about it for a second. She was right. It really should be my decision, but I was nervous. I was afraid to say or do the wrong thing.
“I think we should say we met a few years ago. We met and became friends, but didn’t start dating for a while.”
Dani nodded. “Where did we meet?”
“Well, college is out.”
“We could always say a strip club,” Dani teased. “Stick to the truth.”
“Ha. Ha. Not funny.”
“A little funny,” she argued.
“Somehow, I don’t think my father would appreciate that very much.”
“How about an art show?” Dani suggested. “We met at one of my art shows.”
“You’re an artist?” I asked and realized how little I really knew about the woman across from me.
“I am.” She looked down at her fingers. “Not a very successful one, but I paint.”
“That’s amazing. Art show it is. We met at your art show and became friends. Then, we started dating a few months ago and just knew it was right. We got married privately, just the two of us because we wanted it to be intimate.”
“Perfect.” Dani nodded. “That way no one will ask too many questions about it.”
“Exactly. But we should decide where we did it. Maybe Paris? Or Rome?”
“I don’t know.” Dani shook her head. “That may be too far-fetched. I mean, I’ve never even been out of the country. And aren’t marriage licenses public record?”
She had a point. “Then where?”
“The church of Elvis, of course,” Dani teased.
I chuckled along with her, and soon, we were both laughing. It felt like back in the hotel room that Sunday morning. We laughed hard, and I watched as tears formed in Dani’s eyes. For the first time, I really believed we might be able to pull this off.
We ate and talked, drinking wine while getting to know each other. By the time dinner ended, we were both slightly tipsy, and our story was set. We officially met at Dani’s art show, became friends, slowly fell in love, then got married. It seemed like the perfect story. I didn’t think anyone, except maybe my father, would be able to poke holes in it.
“So,” Dani said. “There’s only one thing left.”
“What’s that?” I asked while I paid the bill.
“Why did we keep it a secret?” she asked. “We got married privately to protect our intimacy, but why didn’t we tell anyone right after?”
“Maybe we were just too blissed out.” I shrugged. “Our love was just so strong that it overshadowed everything else.”
Dani rolled her eyes. “If you think people will buy that.”
“You don’t?”
She laughed and placed a hand on my arm. I wasn’t even sure if she knew she was touching me. “It’s just so cheesy.”
“People love cheese.”
“Fair point,” Dani conceded.
Once the bill was paid, we left the restaurant and headed toward my car. We climbed inside, and I started the engine to let the air conditioner work its magic on the sweltering evening.
“Listen,” I said. “I know this is going to sound bad, but I was thinking. If we’re going to act married, then you should probably stay at my place for a few weeks.”
Dani blinked. “What?”
I gave her an apologetic look. “No one will believe we’re married if we live in separate apartments.”
Dani stared out the window for a second. She was tipsy from the wine, and I could see the wheels turning in her head. She didn’t like the idea, but I knew I was right. This was the only way to be sure.
I nearly melted in relief when she nodded. “Okay. That makes sense.”
“I can take you there now,” I suggested. “Just so you can see it.”
She lifted a shoulder. “Sure.”
I smiled and pulled out of the parking lot.
We drove through town, talking, and laughing together. Our conversation was easy this time. I didn’t know if it was the wine or just our new promise to be nice to each other, but I felt at ease with Dani in a way I hadn’t before. I no longer felt nervous or unsure of myself. I was glad to be with her, glad to be taking her back to my place.
When we arrived at my building, I parked in the garage and led the way to my apartment. I lived on the top floor, so we rode the elevator all the way up. Dani’s eyes were wide when I opened my front door.
“When you said apartment, I thought you meant something a bit more like mine. This isn’t an apartment.”
I shrugged. “Sure, it is. Just a really big one.”
Dani laughed and shook her head. Her eyes roamed around the entryway and living room. I saw my apartment through her eyes, and it did look huge. Once you made it out of the entryway, there was the kitchen to the right and three bedrooms to the left. My room, the master, was probably as big as her entire apartment, and the master tub was large enough to swim in. The guest rooms were much smaller but still nice. There was a guest bathroom down the hall. All of that coupled with the terrace was a lot to take in. I felt slightly embarrassed that I hadn’t warned her, but she didn’t seem to mind. If anything, she seemed impressed.
“I should have known,” she said as we walked into the living room. “You’re rich, after all. I don’t know why I didn’t expect this.”
I shrugged. “It’s nothing.”
“It’s beautiful,” she said, her eyes connecting with mine.
I stuffed my hands in my pockets to keep from reaching for her. “Thank you.”
We stood together awkwardly. I thought about offering her a drink, but I thought the wine in our system was probably enough. The last thing I wanted was to get her drunk again.
“Listen,” I said softly. “There’s one other thing I thought of.”
“Yeah?” she asked, turning to face me.
“When we kiss in front of people.” My eyes fell to her lips. “We’ll have to make it believable.”
“Kiss?” Dani’s eyebrows shot up.
“We’re married,” I reminded her. “Married people kiss. Hug. Touch.”
“That’s true.” She licked her lips and I remembered the taste of them. Wanted to taste them again. “But, we’ve already kissed, remember?”
“Not sober,” I pointed out.
She nodded and kept her eyes on mine as I stepped closer to her. Part of me was telling the truth. I wanted everything to be believable. Still, a bigger part of me just wanted to kiss her. She looked gorgeous, and her lips had been calling to me all night. My attraction to her never faded, even when we were yelling at each other. As I wrapped my hands around her waist, I expected her to pull away, but she didn’t. She stepped forward, pressing her body against mine.
Our lips touched lightly at first. I kissed her gently, not wanting to freak her out. As we kissed, I felt her body come alive beneath my hands. The kiss deepened, and she wrapped her arms around my neck. Her fingers found my hair as I slid my tongue into her mouth. She parted her lips for me, and I tasted the wine on her tongue. Everything about her, about this, was perfect.
I knew we should pull away soon, but I couldn’t. Dani wiggled against me, and I could tell how badly she wanted me. She wouldn’t admit it, but I could feel it. I was hesitant to push things further, but I wanted her so badly. Our kiss became more passionate and my cock swelled in approval.
Testing the water, I slid my hand down to her butt. At first, just my fingers touched, but when she didn’t pull away, I squeezed her gently. She moaned against my lips, and I took that as permission. In an instant, our kiss intensified. Dani’s hands tightened in my hair, and I gripped her ass so tightly that I could almost feel her skin beneath the thin fabric of her dress.
We broke apart for just a second. Dani gasped as I lowered my lips to her neck. I licked her skin in long strokes, feeling her shiver against me. I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to have her. Slowly, I led her to my bedroom.