“The pleasure was mine, Ms. Kent. See you soon, Luca.”
Mim walked past me in the direction I had left her father. Would he tell her who I was? What I was? A smart man would, but something about Marcus Knight made me think he’d let Mim learn on her own, and the thought of her knowing sent a shiver clawing up my spine.
“Are you cold, Luca?”
“What? Cold? No.” I rubbed her hand and led her to the group of women who welcomed Judith with open arms. After short introductions, I stepped back and leaned against the wall. I’d be close if Judith needed me, but in the meantime, I would scour the room for Mim.
After two full sweeps of the ballroom, I found her holding up the wall opposite me. She smiled and nodded as people walked past. Her eyes scanned the room until they settled on me, and my breath caught when her smile widened enough to reach her eyes.
She kicked off the wall and walked toward me, but I was working, and it wouldn’t serve me well to get distracted, so I left my leaning post on the wall and sidled up to Judith.
“Can I get you ladies a drink?” I asked when a lull in the conversation presented itself.
Judith beamed at me as if my manners had made her proud. I took the women’s drink orders and went off to fill their requests.
Five drinks was a tough balancing act, but I delivered each woman’s cocktail—three dry martinis, a glass of chardonnay, and a scotch on the rocks for Judith. They were content once again.
Mim and I never crossed paths the rest of the night, and for that, I was both grateful and disappointed. By nine o’clock, my date was beginning to fade, so I placed her gently in her limousine to send her home.
The first thing she did was toe off her shoes, then she reached for the bottle of water tucked inside the drink holder.
After several sips, she said. “Luca, you were by far the most attentive and pleasant date I’ve had in a long time. I hear you’re retiring soon. So much the pity, I could have enjoyed having you around again.”
I leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “You are by far the best date I’ve had in a while as well.”
Judith laughed. “Tell me that after your time with Marcus Knight’s daughter. Don’t let him bully you. He’s more like a rose petal than a thorn.”
Judith slid across the black leather seat, and I closed the door. If all on-call dates were like this, I’d have signed up long ago.
Chapter 5
The morning began with a look at my new goal board. Once filled with pictures of material things, it now contained a graph. Lines in increments of a thousand dollars making their way up the page. With three regulars and Judith for two hours last night, I’d earned seventeen hundred and fifty dollars this week. I pulled the thick red sharpie from my backpack and filled the picture in up to that amount. Hitting sixty thousand was going to be tough, but this visual would remind me how far I needed to go so I wouldn’t lose focus.
I checked my calendar to see if Sandra had filled in my weekend. I had a regular client on Friday night, but the rest of my time was free. My Saturday was marked off for two hours with Diane Westgate. I began to groan out loud, but I heard River’s voice tell me if I made her feel beautiful, maybe she would become beautiful. At this point, I’d be happy if she resembled a woman.
Dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved Henley, I pushed myself through the crowded train to exit. With my project due early, I’d be spending a lot of time at the library if I wanted to finish on time.
Nut-brown carpet silenced the journey to my favorite corner table. Nestled behind the old classics, I inhaled the musty scent of aged paper and dust. The screen flickered as my computer sputtered to life. I’d need at least five years of stock exchange history for my study. What made one company successful and another fail?
My thoughts went straight to Sandra. She had a successful business model. The thing that made it work was she was always offering something new. Every year, shiny new pennies in the form of financially needy students were offered to her clients. Did they enjoy the unveiling as much as the service? Commodities came in every shape and form.
A laugh escaped me when I considered how easy it would be to write my project on the buying and selling of bodies. The trading of sex for dollars. Too bad it wasn’t an option.
My afternoon filled with entry points and exit points, trade margins, indexes, and spreads. By one o’clock, my mind was foggy and my eyes blurred. I packed up my belongings and went in search of a double shot latte. I’d need it to keep my eyes open tonight.
When I entered the campus coffee shop, I found Mim in the corner. She was oblivious to my arrival. Her knees pulled to her chest, and a worn copy of The Scarlet Letter was in her hands.
I slid into the booth across from her with a honeyed chai tea offering. She turned to me, and her eyes rose from the book. “Our date isn’t until seven.”
“You’re right. I’m just getting a jolt of caffeine so I can be alert when we’re out.” Compared to her chai, my coffee looked like mud.
“Are you insinuating that I’ll be a bore and put you to sleep?” She closed her book and rotated her body.
Steam rose from the cup I’d pushed in front of her. “No, I’m just saying I’m tired, and I needed a little pick me up.” I looked down at the book on the table. “The Scarlet Letter?”
“Have you ever read it? It’s fascinating.” She opened the book and read, ‘Ah, but let her cover the mark as she will, the pang of it will be always in her heart.’ “Nathaniel Hawthorne understood guilt and sin.”
The silt that was my coffee went down like poison. “It was required reading in high school.”
“Could you imagine having to wear a red A on your chest because you had a child out of wedlock? What if you were forced to wear one for every premarital experience you’d had? Would your chest be full, Luca?” She tilted her head and waited for my response.
Liquid spurted from my mouth and nose. We grabbed napkins and cleaned up my mess while I tried to cough up the fluid that settled in my lungs. “I refuse to answer on the grounds it may incriminate me.”
If I told the truth, there would be too many As to fit. I could embroider my entire wardrobe front and back, and it wouldn’t come close to marking the times I’d sinned according to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s ideals.
“Imagine Hester Prynne alive today. She’d be strutting around this campus with Pearl in tow, and no one would give her a second glance. Society judges too harshly.”
Would Mim feel the same if she knew what I did for a living? Would she cross the street and walk away when I appeared, or would she embrace me? Hopefully, I’d never have to find out.
“You left early last night.”
Mim blew on her tea. “Everyone interesting was already taken.” A sexy smile curved her lips. She was flirting. “How was your evening with Judith? It appears The Kent Center for Reproductive Health is a reality, and my father says to thank you. Care to elaborate?” She slid her tongue across the lip of the cup, catching the dribble of honey left behind.
My whole body shuddered at the sight. Now I’d have to stay in the booth until the rise in my pants subsided. I felt like a teenage boy who had just seen his first naked boob.
“I have no idea. I got the impression your father didn’t like me.”
“He doesn’t like anyone who’s interested in me. Imagine living with a father who sees vaginas every day of the week. You could say my family is progressive when it comes to sex education, and now I’m pretty sure he regrets being so open.”
“How many As would Ms. Knight have to plaster to her chest if she were Hester?” It was a fair question. She’d asked the same of me, and I gave her an honest answer. The number of women would incriminate me.
“Not as many as you might think, but the day is still young.” She gathered her things and shoved them into her leather backpack. “I have to rush home. I have a hot date tonight with an Italian guy.” She slid out of the booth and stood in front of me.
�
��Don’t get your hopes up; I’m an innocent Catholic boy.” Those damn yoga pants left nothing to the imagination. I’d have to sit here another ten minutes before I could leave without embarrassing myself. How was I supposed to get through dinner?
“Something tells me you’re not the person you show the world, Luca Gregorio, but I’m up for the challenge of peeling back your layers and seeing who you hide beneath that cocky skin of yours.” She spun to her left and walked out the door.
There was no way she was peeling back anything. I’d have dinner with her, and that would be all. As much as I wanted more, I couldn’t let Mim into my world. Her father was right, she deserved better. I wouldn’t defile her with my filthy lifestyle.
Mim still had that light in her eyes that some called hope. Mine had dimmed temporarily, but I felt the spark ignite each time I was with her. I loved that she knew what she wanted and appeared to go after it. She was honest and forthright, whereas I was deceptive and evasive. She was everything virtuous and pure, and I was Hester Prynne with a penis.
An hour later, I was pacing my apartment. Would she come back here? Did I want her to? I’d never been so twisted by a woman in all my days. Everything in my head said cut and run, but my heart said something different.
Damn it.
I pulled my graph from the wall and tucked it into my closet. In the off chance she would visit, I didn’t want to explain what the hell I was tracking.
A glance around my place revealed the ugly truth. I was in no position for company. When was the last time I’d made my bed? I’d washed my sheets weekly, but the last time I’d pulled the duvet up and over the pillows, I couldn’t remember. Each room was studied with scrutiny. The pile of clothes in the corner was not attractive. The ties wrapped around my bedposts made it look like I had a bondage fetish. My bathroom was a disaster. The living room wasn’t much better, and the kitchen should be condemned. I was stuck in a rut and living in a pigsty.
I’d spent too much time buried in guilt and debt. As I looked around my apartment—filth. This wasn’t who I was. It was time to clean up my act.
I blew through my apartment with the force of a category five storm. In short order, I had the place looking neat and tidy. I’d never get the GQ award for bachelor pads or the Good Housekeeping seal of approval, but even Mom would have been proud of how clean it looked, and she was a tough sell on everything.
Like a teenage girl on her first date, I second-guessed every outfit I’d tried on. The suit was too formal. The tattered jeans too casual. When I walked out the door, I was dressed in khakis, a button-down shirt, and a tweed sports coat. For whatever reason, I always felt better covered up.
The cab pulled in front of her place with ten minutes to spare. My mother’s mantra rang in my ear, never be late for dinner or love. I still didn’t know what in the hell that meant, but it seemed like good advice.
When I rang the bell of the brownstone, I didn’t expect Mr. Knight to answer the door. Apparently, Mim lived with her parents.
“Luca.” His deadpan tone said it all.
“Mr. Knight, it’s a pleasure to see you again.”
I offered my hand, but he turned around and mumbled something as he walked away. I couldn’t hear all the words, but stubborn little asshole was hard to miss.
At the bottom of the stairs, he yelled, “Miriam, that boy is here to see you.” He gave me one last glance, then walked down the hallway.
Mim appeared like an angel at the top of the stairs. She floated down the steps in a soft pink dress and matching ballet flats. I loved that she was practical. Heels looked incredible on a woman, but wearing them for extended periods of time had to be painful.
“Sorry about my dad. He doesn’t like you. He won’t give me a reason; just says I could do better.” When she reached the bottom step, she was only inches shorter than me. “I like you, so I’ll have to hope that you grow on him.” She lifted up onto her toes and pressed a soft kiss to my cheek.
The heat from her lips coursed through my body and wrapped around my heart. I knew right then I’d never cut and run. Mim didn’t know me, she didn’t have expectations, but she saw something in me I couldn’t see in myself.
I placed her hand in mine and led her to the front door. “He’s right. You could do better.”
“Yeah, probably, but let’s see where this goes.” The setting sun left an orange glow as the day welcomed the night. She nudged me in the side. “Geno’s is just a few blocks away. Have you ever been?”
I felt like a teenage boy on his first date. My fingers locked with hers, and my palm began to sweat. Our arms swung between us. If we were younger, I could see us skipping down the block together.
One right turn, one left turn, and a block ahead was Geno’s. “Reservations for Knight at seven,” Mim announced when we arrived at the hostess stand.
The hostess glanced at both of us, grabbed two menus, and guided us to a booth in the corner. She rattled off the daily specials, but I heard nothing. Mim enchanted me. She had pulled her hair to one side and twisted it, laying it on her shoulder. All I could think about was my lips on her neck.
She tapped my foot under the table. “Are you paying attention?”
“You distract me.”
Her face lit up in spite of her feigned exasperation. “I was saying, they have the best bruschetta, but then the calamari is amazing, too.” Her eyes sparkled like precious jewels in the light of the flickering candle between us. “What are you smiling at?” She glanced around, looking for the object of my delight.
“You. You make me happy. You’re frustrating as hell, but your eyes captivate me, and your smile melts my heart.”
She flicked her napkin open and placed it across her lap. “Is this where you pick up my hand and kiss my knuckles again? Smooth, Romeo, real smooth.”
I knew she was joking. She’d been teasing me since the first day I’d kissed her hand, and yet here she was, having dinner with me. “Is this where you carve out my heart and ask the cook to sauté it in olive oil and garlic? Why are you so opposed to romantic gestures?”
“I’m not. I just don’t know you well enough to recognize when you're sincere. You look like a playboy, but there is a glimpse of an altar boy that shows up when I least expect it.” She drew lazy circles on the white tablecloth. “I watched you with Judith. You were the perfect gentleman. You doted on her and her friends. You laughed and joked with them. Every woman in that group felt like you were their date last night. Every one of those women would have paid to have you last night.”
The sliding of my heart to my stomach caused acid to seep into my throat. Did Mim know? “I was just doing my job.”
“Your job was to help out a friend, but you did more; you made an old woman feel young again. It showed in her smile when you kissed her cheek and closed the door to her car. Honestly, I was a bit jealous.”
“You were jealous of Judith?” I couldn’t imagine Mim being jealous of anyone.
“Yes, she got the kiss I wanted.”
I slid closer, our thighs touched, and my heart began to race. “I hope you want a better kiss than that. I have a special one saved up for you.”
“Really?” She blushed pink from her neck to her bangs.
Deep and throaty, I answered, “Absolutely—”
“Welcome to Geno’s, can I get you something to drink?” The waiter stood before us with pen in hand. Maybe his intrusion was a blessing in disguise. I had a feeling if I had leaned over and kissed her, I wouldn’t have stopped.
We ordered the bruschetta and the calamari, along with a bottle of cabernet and two orders of spaghetti and meatballs.
The conversation was light and airy the rest of the evening. Mim was an only child. Her mother was English, and her father was a yank, or so she said. Her parents met at Oxford, and the rest was history.
Mim spoke with an English accent, but there was a bit of an east coast twang that slipped in on occasion. When she said words like ‘park’, they sounded li
ke ‘pahk’, and ‘car’ sounded like ‘cah’. I thought it was charming until she punched me in the arm and told me not to pick on her.
Mim wasn’t ready to go home after dinner, so she asked to go to her neighborhood park, the private park that belonged to residents only. She slid her key into the iron gate, and we entered paradise. Ivy grew up the fence, giving complete privacy to those on the inside. The trees were halfway in bloom. Some flowered, some were green with the young leaves of spring. We walked to a bench in the center. A fountain gurgled in the distance. The wind picked up and whipped around us.
Mim shuddered. Without asking, I removed my jacket and placed it on her shoulders. The tweed swallowed her up. With our legs touching, I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her into my side. She fit the space perfectly.
“We talked about me at the restaurant, Luca. Now I want to know about you.” She snuggled into my side and rested her head against my chest. “Why finance?”
“I didn’t want to be an electrician.” I told her about the family business and explained my need to be independent.
“I understand, my dad had his heart set on me being a doctor. My mother wanted me to be a model or an actress. Sadly, I was too short, and I’m not a rule follower or good with direction.”
“You? Not a follower? I don’t believe it.” I looked around the park and wondered if a moment could be more perfect.
“You work, right?” She rotated and turned her eyes up to me.
“Yes, I work for a concierge service.” It wasn’t a lie. I did work for a concierge service, but I had no intention of going into details. I didn’t want to lie to Mim; every lie I told would come back to haunt me later.
“So you sell tickets and take people on tours?” She’d curled into my body to borrow my warmth, and I was happy to give it. I was hot—hot for her.
“Something like that. I do what people need me to do. It pays well. I’m working on getting my foot in the door of a financial firm. What about you?”
Honor Roll Page 5