by Marni Mann
“Here’s your Prosecco,” the bartender said, and from the corner of my eye, I saw him set down the glass.
“Add that to my tab, and I’ll take a scotch,” Lance said with his eyes on me.
I knew my cheeks were blushing, and it wasn’t because he was paying for the drink. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I can’t let a beautiful woman like yourself pay for her own drink.” His eyes narrowed. “Unless there’s someone else here who should be buying it?”
“No.” I shook my head. “Only you.”
My hand was still in his, gripped in a shake that I felt all the way up to my shoulder, across my chest, and down to my other hand that was clenching the cold glass of champagne.
My comment seemed to make his smile grow, and he held my hand for a second longer before releasing me.
“I was just coming to find you,” Molly said, startling me, her arm then snaking around my waist. “Looks like Lance found you instead.”
I glanced at my best friend, knowing Lance could hear us. “You know him?”
“I work with Marshall,” Lance said before Molly could reply, and he leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. “Nice to see you, Molly.”
She grinned at him. “You too.”
He hadn’t been part of the group Molly and Marshall introduced me to when we first arrived, nor had I seen him at any of the parties I attended with her. If I’d met Lance before, I wouldn’t have forgotten.
“I’ll see you back at the table,” she said, her arm leaving my waist, and she gave me a look I knew well. It was one that told me she approved, and then she was gone just as the bartender handed Lance his drink.
“Thank you again,” I said as he handed the bartender his credit card.
He held his glass in the air, near mine, smiling. “To the morning and everything that happens in between.”
I laughed, clicking my Prosecco to his scotch, and it felt like a warmth had crept over me, even before I put my lips to the glass and swallowed.
“You’re friends with Molly?” he asked, nodding in the direction in which she had walked, where our large group had a table and several couches.
“We were roommates in college. Still are.”
He took the card back from the bartender, and in one swift movement, he had the billfold open, the pen in his hand, and his signature on the bottom of the receipt. When a copy of the bill was tucked into his pocket, his hand went to the small of my back, and he guided me through the crowd. Before we reached our table, he paused in front of one of the nooks. Inside the small space was a couch, dim lighting, and privacy.
And this one just happened to be vacant.
“Do you want to sit?” He was holding out his arm, giving me the option to go either way.
I chose the quieter one and ducked into the nook.
When he sat next to me, I got a whiff of his cologne again, and I smiled as I took it in. “If you work with Marshall, you must be an attorney.”
Marshall had just passed the bar last year and was still fresh to the business. But I got the feeling Lance had more experience and was a few years older, putting him at around thirty.
“I am.” He spread his arms across the back of the couch and nodded. “Tell me what you do.”
“I work for a marketing agency.”
Those navy eyes continued to stare at me, but something in them changed. In fact, they felt like they were looking right through me.
“There’s more.”
I laughed. He really was an attorney who had read me so easily.
Before I let my brain process that piece of information, I said, “I wish there were more.”
“You don’t like your job?”
I crossed my legs, leaning my shoulder into the back cushion as I aimed more of my body toward him. “I like it enough. I’m only in my first year, and aside from an internship at the same company, I don’t have a lot of experience.”
“Where would you go if you had a choice?”
I took a drink, savoring the bubbly flavor, trying not to lose myself in his stare. “I’d love to work for a start-up and help build their market from scratch or work for an established company to expand its international presence.”
“You just described most of my clients.”
I smiled, rubbing the base of the glass over my thigh. “Maybe I’ll come park myself in your lobby and beg one of your clients for an interview.”
“I don’t think you’d have to beg, Chloe.”
It was the way he’d said it that had me reaching for words. Because the ones I was going to say were gone. Forgotten. And the only thing I could grasp at this moment was his gaze.
“Where are you from?” he asked.
I felt sparks of energy run through me, and I knew they weren’t from the Red Bull.
“Camden,” I said. “It’s a small town on the coast of Maine. How about you? Did you go to school here?”
My eyes dropped to his tie and cuff links, the expensive-looking watch that kept peeking out of his shirt.
“I grew up in Connecticut, did my undergraduate at Tufts, and went to Yale for law school.”
There was such smoothness in the way he spoke, like words came as easy to him as opening a billfold and signing his name.
I wanted to know more.
“Tell me something, Lance …” I felt a tightness in my chest, especially when he swallowed a sip of his drink, his tongue slowly swiping across his lip to lick off the rest of the scotch. “What does fun look like to you?”
He definitely didn’t seem to be the type who would stand on a table in the middle of a bar and sing congratulations or even someone who would tell his friend to do it. Lance was more the type to own the bar.
When he turned his glass, still staring at me, the one large square cube rattled against the sides. “I ski in the winter and go to the Cape in the summer. I like being on the water or on a mountain.”
Or inside a woman.
I saw the words on his face; he just didn’t say them.
While his unspoken thoughts passed through me, a heat moving with it, I said, “Maine has some of the best skiing.”
“I go to either Sugarloaf or Sunday River almost every weekend in the winter.”
He could have chosen to go to New Hampshire or Vermont, even the Berkshires—they all had amazing trails. But the two mountains he’d listed were both in Maine, and for some reason, I found that extremely attractive.
“What does Chloe do for fun?”
I looked away, needing a break from his piercing gaze to think about his question. But it didn’t give me the pause I needed because his presence alone was consuming me.
“Does sleep count?”
He smiled, and it was painfully beautiful.
“I’ve been working so much; I haven’t been out walking or even hanging with Molly as much as I want. I would say traveling is my real passion.”
The lines in his forehead deepened when he asked, “Where’s the best place you’ve been?”
“London.” As I took a breath, memories began to flash in my head. “I studied there for a semester during my junior year. It was a magical time.”
Lance’s stare was so far inside me; it felt like he was watching the same memories of London play out in my head.
“Where’s the next trip?”
I brought the Prosecco up to my lips. “Vail. I go next week. It’s for work, but I hear the drive from Denver is magnificent.”
He wiped his mouth with his fingers, drawing my attention to both. And both were seductive for entirely different reasons.
“It is,” he said, “and so is their skiing.”
“They won’t have enough snow while I’m there, but I’m going to get some hiking in.”
“Mmm,” he responded like he was tasting something delicious, and then he reached into his suit jacket and pulled out his phone, staring at the screen. “Chloe, you will have to excuse me for a second. This is a client.” He held the phone up to
his ear and stepped out of the nook, moving several paces away.
I quickly opened my clutch and checked my phone, seeing a text from Molly on the screen.
Molly: OMG. Just OMG. Yes to Lance. So. Many. Yeses.
As I glanced up, he was turning around. Our eyes caught, and his followed me all the way back to his seat. The heat was certainly there, but I could tell something had changed and that he didn’t like it.
“Unfortunately, Chloe, I have to go.”
I felt my lips smile. “Lance … this was fun.”
He moved to the edge of the couch, and his knee briefly brushed mine. The feeling of the fabric against me sent a scorching wave of heat across my skin.
“Should I get your number from Marshall, or do you want to give it to me right now?”
My heart began to beat so fast; I was positive he could hear it. At the very least, my face was giving it away that my pulse was skyrocketing.
I put my hand on my chest to calm it. And as I said my number, he typed it into his phone, and slid it back into his pocket before he reached forward.
I sucked in a mouthful of Lance-scented air as our hands clasped. It wasn’t a shake. This was a way for him to touch me without worrying a hug was too much.
“You’ll hear from me.”
“I hope so.”
It was nothing more than a whisper, but I had a feeling he’d heard it.
Especially when a smile came across his face.
God, he is so sexy.
His fingers released mine, and he said, “Good-bye, Chloe,” before he was gone.
My face tingled like I’d been out in the cold for too long, the sensation moving to my chest and arms. I breathed through it, trying to ground myself again, the last few minutes almost dreamlike.
Once I had my bearings, I got up from the couch, and as I got closer to the table, Molly saw me and rushed over.
“Holy shit,” she said, looping her arm through mine. “That was chemistry like I’ve never seen.” She was walking me back in the direction I’d come from. “You guys were literally so transfixed; I don’t think either of you even realized I was standing there.”
“It almost didn’t feel real; it was so good.”
She stopped at the first empty nook, and we sat inside.
And once we got settled, I said, “If the guys are colleagues, you must have all the details on him?”
“Colleagues?” She studied my face. “He didn’t tell you?”
I turned my body toward her but kept my legs crossed. “Tell me what?”
“Lance’s grandfather opened the practice a million years ago; his father now runs it, and he’s grooming Lance to take over.” She laughed. “Hamilton Law Group—the name ring a bell now?”
“Jesus.” I felt my eyes widen. “He didn’t mention a single word of that.”
He was humble; it was such an attractive trait. But I could tell he had money; the signs had been everywhere.
“He doesn’t usually go out with the guys. I mean, he’s about to be their boss, so it’s a careful line to balance. I was surprised to see him here, but clearly, I picked the right evening to drag you out.”
My heart still hadn’t calmed.
And to think, I had almost missed this for sleep.
I swallowed. “Tell me everything you know.”
She used her fingers like a checklist. “He’s twenty-eight, and I heard he has a place in the Back Bay. His parents have a penthouse in Beacon Hill. Marshall was there for a Christmas party and said it’s insane. They also have a mansion in Connecticut and a corporate jet and probably vacation homes.” She chewed the corner of her lip. “They’re the real fucking deal, Chloe.”
I waved my hand in the air. “You know I couldn’t care less about any of that.” When my arm dropped, I wrapped it around my stomach. “I gave him my number. Who knows if anything will even come of it?”
“Excuse me,” I suddenly heard, and Molly and I turned our heads at the same time.
A waitress was standing in front of us with two glasses of Prosecco on her tray. “Mr. Hamilton wanted me to bring these over. He apologizes again for having to leave so early.” She gave one of the drinks to me and the other to Molly, and she left.
A grin moved across Molly’s lips. “You’re not sure if anything will even come of it?” She clicked her glass against mine. “You want to retract that statement now?”
I took a long drink and finally breathed, “Fuck.”
“Because you want to get fucked? Or because you’re in over your head, and you haven’t even dipped in your chipped toenail?”
“Well … both.”
We laughed, and a chill ran through my whole body when she said, “You’re going to hear from him soon. Lance Hamilton isn’t the kind of man who waits for anyone.”
Twenty-Three
Since Molly went home with Marshall after the bar, I returned to our apartment alone, immediately climbing into bed, bringing my laptop with me. Once it was open, I typed Lance’s name into Google, and the first thing that appeared was Hamilton Law Group. From their website, I was able to see the history of the business and how it had been passed through the family, the same way Molly had described.
Under Lance’s bio, I learned he had also studied a semester in London, getting experience with international law. He had graduated the top of his class from Tufts and Yale and had been the captain of the lacrosse team.
Since his social media accounts were public, I took my time scrolling through his pictures and posts and all the ones he’d been tagged in. I just wanted to get a feel of him beyond what I had experienced tonight, and this was the biggest window into his life.
I became so lost in Lance, at the photographs of him around the world and the pictures of him with politicians and businessmen and athletes, that the sound of the text coming through my phone made me jump. I giggled as I looked at the screen.
Molly: Googling the fuck out of him, aren’t you?
Me: I thought you’d be getting laid by now.
Molly: You’re peeing with me.
Molly: But say it … I’m right.
Me: Of course you’re right. ;) Brunch in the morning?
Molly: I’ll meet you at Stephanie’s on Newbury at 12. LY.
Me: xo
“Hello, this is Chloe,” I said as I held my phone to my ear. I had no idea what time it was, and the number hadn’t shown up on caller ID, but I had to answer in case it was a client.
“It’s Lance.”
My eyes burst open, air swishing through my chest, and I pushed myself up in bed. “Hi.”
“Did I wake you?”
How is it possible that he sounds even sexier in the morning?
I glanced at the nightstand to check the time; my room was far too bright to even guess. It showed a little past nine, and I’d gone to bed at two. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d slept that many hours straight.
“No, no, I’m up,” I said, not wanting him to feel bad. “It sounds like you’re a morning person.” I climbed out of bed and walked straight to the coffeemaker.
“You’re not?”
“Only when I have to be.”
He laughed, and the sound made me smile as I popped in the coffee pod.
“Are you saying I should rethink inviting you out for breakfast?”
This time, he made it hard for me to breathe. “Nope, I’m not saying that at all.”
“Then, meet me in an hour.”
My finger hovered over the brew button on the coffeemaker. The idea of seeing him again so soon was causing my body to pulse.
An hour?
And just then, I remembered the brunch I’d scheduled with Molly before I went to bed, and I quickly pulled up our texts, surprised to see one had come in from her before I woke up.
Molly: Don’t hate me, but rain check. Love you hard.
“I think I can make that happen,” I replied.
The excitement was far past building in my chest, and now, it was explo
ding.
“What’s your address?”
I hit the button, hearing the coffee start to heat, and I gave him my address.
“A car will be there to pick you up.”
My entire closet flashed in my head as I tried to think of something to wear.
“I’ll see you soon, Chloe.”
I had one hour to get ready, and something told me Lance was extremely punctual.
Twenty-Four
When the driver dropped me off at the restaurant, I gave Lance’s name to the hostess. She informed me he had already arrived and escorted me to the main dining room. I’d heard of this restaurant, but I’d never been, so I didn’t know the layout or where to look for him.
But that didn’t matter because the second I stepped into the open space, I immediately felt Lance’s eyes on me, only taking me a second to spot him. It didn’t matter that I was wearing skinny jeans, knee-high boots, and an off-the-shoulder sweater because while Lance’s stare followed me the entire way to the table, it felt like he saw right through me.
And my body was totally on fire from it.
He stood as I got closer, taking a few steps to greet me.
I could smell him in the air, the scent getting stronger as his hand rested on the outside of my arm, his face moving in until his lips were brushing my cheek.
And once I felt the feel of his mouth on me, my eyes closed, the air completely leaving my lungs.
I was enveloped in Lance Hamilton, and it felt like the most perfect moment.
“Thanks for meeting me,” he said, his lips no longer on my skin as he pulled away.
Even though I was moving to the other side of the table, I could still feel his mouth on me. And I could still smell that rich, powerful scent as I took a seat.
“Thank you for inviting me,” I said, putting my napkin in my lap. “And for sending us the drinks after you left. That was sweet of you.”
“Did you have a fun evening?” He adjusted the sleeves of his crisp button-down before his hands disappeared under the table.