“Absolutely nothing. I only needed one date to see that he was just another self-absorbed artist trying to cram his shitty photos down everyone’s throats.”
“Whoa.” I asked with an arched eyebrow. “You went and saw his photography?”
“I didn’t have to.”
“So nothing happened at all?” I asked. “Not even a teeny-tiny kiss?”
“No,” she insisted, but she fidgeted with her purse. “Give me some credit. Like I said, he’s a prick.”
When I looked again, Brian was at my side with a scowl that told me he’d heard Gretchen’s last comment.
“Hello again, lovely Olivia.” He kissed me on both cheeks. His mouth drooped. “Gretchen,” he acknowledged before looking away.
“Isn’t there some fabulous, pretentious art exhibit you should be at?” she asked, batting her eyelashes with exaggeration.
“Yes. This is my work.” He motioned to a series of black-and-white photographs displayed on the walls of The Revelin’s lounge. They were entirely different from the ones I’d seen in his apartment. In the one nearest to me, a nude woman leaned against a doorframe, her body curved like an “S” and her head resting against her raised arm. She stared at us with all-knowing eyes, amusement dancing on her parted lips.
“You took those?” Gretchen asked skeptically.
He nodded. “Sure did, princess.” She responded to his endearment with a frown. “David recommended my work,” he continued, “being the good friend that he is.”
“It’s just business,” David replied stoically.
“Well, you certainly are a lovely crowd this evening,” Brian said with obvious sarcasm, throwing me a wink. “But if you’ll excuse us.”
“So where’s Dani tonight?” Gretchen asked David as Brian walked away. She sipped her drink through a tiny straw, avoiding my glare.
“Lucy’s sister?” Greg asked, turning to David. “Are you two dating?”
“No,” David said.
I raised my drink to hide the smile that was forming.
“Oh. I was under the impression that you were?” Gretchen’s tone pitched at the end, conveying her piqued curiosity.
David shrugged. “We’ve been out, but we’re not really looking for the same thing.”
“Which is?” Gretchen prodded.
Irritation marked his face, though I knew better than to think that would deter Gretchen. “She would prefer something more . . . permanent.”
“Oh, hmm,” Gretchen said, nodding. She smirked at me as she spoke to David. “Well, gosh, that’s really too bad. Dani is a catch. She’s definitely worth becoming exclusive for.”
Gretchen didn’t care about Dani—she just wanted to turn me off of David in a very unsubtle way.
“I agree completely,” David said. “She will make someone very happy.”
“Someone else?” Gretchen ventured.
“Someone else,” he agreed.
I fingered a piece of my hair and bit my lip to keep from sticking out my tongue at Gretchen.
“I have yet to make the breakup official, though,” David continued, “so I’d appreciate your discretion.”
“Scout’s honor,” Gretchen said, holding up three fingers. “So then where’s your date tonight?”
I gave her an exasperated look for her nosiness.
“If you’ll excuse me, this is Maria now,” he said, pulling out his phone as it chimed.
When he stepped away, I pinched Gretchen. “What are you—” I stopped to glance at Greg, who took a hint and made himself scarce. “What are you doing?” I asked her.
“This is for your protection, Liv. I told you already, David is bad news. I don’t know why you’re still consorting with him.”
“We’re friends,” I said defensively.
“He can’t even stick with one girl for more than a few dates.”
“I don’t care who he sticks with,” I retorted. “It’s none of my business.”
“Then stop eye-fucking him, and get it together. Anyone can see that you’re ready to jump each other’s bones.”
I gasped and covered my mouth. “I am doing no such thing.”
“He doesn’t look very happy with Maria at the moment,” she observed over my shoulder. I turned and noticed his drawn features as he held the phone to his ear. He stood rigidly with one arm crossed over his chest as he appeared to be listening.
“Come on,” Gretchen said, nodding toward the restroom. “I have to break the seal.”
“I’m good,” I replied with a smug smile. I picked a quiet spot amongst the velvety cushions to people-watch and wait for Gretchen. I wasn’t alone long, though, for an attractive blond man suddenly loomed over me.
“May I?” he asked, motioning to the space next to me.
“Sure,” I said, scooting aside.
“Are you part of the PR team?”
“No, just a guest. You?”
“We handle the advertising for this place. Steve,” he said, offering his hand.
“Olivia.”
“So, Olivia, what do you do?”
I told him, and he smiled genially, remarking on how much he’d enjoyed an article the magazine had just published. He was good-looking, I noticed as he spoke. I fleetingly thought that I should introduce him to Gretchen before remembering that she was no longer available. He laughed at one of my comments and touched my knee.
“She’s with me,” a voice rumbled above us.
Steve and I glanced up at the same moment, my eyes taking a little longer to travel up David’s towering body.
“I’m sorry,” Steve said, making a show of getting up and added, “Just being friendly.”
David did not move aside. When Steve stood, the men were almost nose to nose, except that David still held a couple inches over his imaginary adversary.
Steve shuffled around him and slinked away as David took his place beside me.
“Is it necessary to remind you,” I started, “that you and I are not together and that implying so could give people the wrong idea?”
“He was bothering you.”
“He was being a perfect—we were just chatting,” I said with a squeak. I inched closer to David, hoping to get a whiff of the David-cologne cocktail.
“Regardless,” David said, “he should’ve checked your hand before embarrassing himself by trying to pick you up.”
“Like you did?” I asked, pursing my lips.
“That’s different.”
“How?”
David leaned back against the cushion so that I had to shift marginally to look at him. I was close enough that I wouldn’t have to move much farther before my lips would land on his. His eyes traveled down my neck to my breasts before shooting back up to my face. “It just is.”
“That’s not an answer.”
He only grunted.
“Why is it all right for you to hit on me and not him?”
“Damn it, Olivia,” he said. “Don’t provoke me. It’s inappropriate for me to answer that.”
I reeled back, and he reacted instantly, drawing me back by my upper arm. A familiar thrumming ignited throughout my body, and I gasped softly.
“Is there a problem here?” I looked up reluctantly to see Steve glowering at David’s hand on my biceps. He loosened his grip slightly and then dropped his hand.
“No, it’s fine,” I answered hastily.
Their eyes locked on each other, and I sensed David’s breathing deepen beside me. Steve looked between us, wariness etched in his features. I dismissed him with a “thank you.” I’d experienced David when he was cross, and I didn’t want to be the cause of any problems.
“I’m sorry,” David said, pulling on his collar and glaring after Steve. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
“You didn’t,” I said softly. “You’re upset. Does it have to do with Maria?”
He looked confused. “What?”
“You seemed angry on the phone.”
“Irritated is more like it.
”
“Did she stand you up?”
He snorted. “No. For some unknown reason, she was upset that I didn’t invite her. But that’s not what’s bothering me.”
“What then?”
“I don’t really feel comfortable talking about it.”
It was his turn to brush me off, but I didn’t intend to let him. Unfortunately, Gretchen picked that moment to drop onto the bench across from us.
“Hey,” she said with a stretched smile.
“Hi,” I said cautiously.
“Who’s the hottie that won’t stop staring at you?”
“Who?”
She indicated across the bar.
“Oh. That’s Steve.”
“Steve,” David muttered to himself, rubbing his eyes with his thumb and index finger.
“He is s-e-x-y. But you probably don’t think so, do you?” she asked me.
I shifted and gave her a look.
“Liv never did go for the blonds,” Gretchen explained to David. “But that’s okay, more for me.”
“You smell like tequila,” I told her.
“I took a couple shots.” She leaned forward and put a finger over her lips. “Shh. Don’t tell Greg.”
“Aren’t you working?”
“No, no . . .” She swayed. “I’m just here to party.”
“Okay,” I said, stifling a laugh.
“I’m going to talk to Steve.”
“Steve?” I asked. “What about Greg?”
“Oh, he won’t care,” she said, waving her hand at me. “Look but don’t touch, right?” she shouted and bolted upright. She steadied herself on David’s shoulder. “Be back in a minute.”
I searched the room for Greg until I noticed that David was staring at me. He shook his head and swiped a hand over his face. “I’ll be a saint if I get through this night,” he muttered.
I returned my focus to him. His shoulders had risen, his jaw tense enough to snap. “You’re upset.”
“You are pissing me off,” he said suddenly. “Not Maria. You.”
My mouth fell open. Last I’d seen David, we’d left things on good terms. “What?” I asked, trying to pinpoint anything in particular I might have done. “Why?”
“You show up here, looking like that . . .”
“Like what?” I asked, glancing down at the jumpsuit.
“I want to rip that fucking thing off you.”
I sucked in a breath and flushed as a sharp thrill ran through me. We were very much alone, and as promised, he was done pretending. And it made me tingle in places it shouldn’t. “David,” I said and exhaled.
“Fuck.” He sat forward abruptly, scrubbed his face with both hands, and looked over at me. “I should go.”
“You’re leaving?” I asked as he stood.
“Hey, Liv, over here!” Gretchen called, waving at me.
I lifted a finger in her direction to say I’d be a minute.
She said something to Steve and hurried over. “We’re all going upstairs to see the view from one of the rooms,” she told us. “You can come, too, David,” she added with a smirk.
I glanced at him. “David was just leaving, actually.”
“Great,” she said, shrugging. “Let’s go.”
“Wait.” David caught my forearm gently. “Is he going?”
“Who?” Gretchen looked in the direction David jutted his chin. She grinned. “You mean Steve? Why, yes, it’s his room.”
David blinked slowly and released my arm. With another glance at Steve, he said, “You want a view? I can take you to the roof.”
“Great! Even better,” Gretchen squealed and ran off.
“Mercurial much?” I muttered to myself as I trailed David out of the lounge.
David and I piled into one elevator with Gretchen’s co-workers while she hung back to wait for Steve. The girls had been rowdy in the elevator bank, but now they went silent.
Perfume filled the tiny space, and one girl flipped her hair over her shoulder. “You’re David Dylan, right?”
He nodded.
“The place looks so good. I was just telling my friend that it’s going to be the hottest hotel in Chicago.”
I was about to smirk when he gave her a prize grin. “Just Chicago?” he asked. “What about the country?”
She giggled nervously with some whispering from the back of the elevator. “Well, that too.”
I looked away. The whispers stopped when I felt David clear some of my hair from my neck. I whipped my eyes back to him, and he smiled barely. Just the ghost of his reassuring touch, forbidden as it was, sent chills over my skin.
The elevator dinged, and everyone waited as he and I held each other’s gaze.
I blinked and stepped out when one of the women cleared her throat. The girls tore across the hall to the penthouse suite. Despite their excitement, David was calm as he extracted the key from his pocket and opened the door. We all walked in. I glanced up and around the large, dimly-lit space. When I looked back, the girls had scurried into the next room, leaving David and me alone in the foyer.
“Flirt,” I accused.
“You know I don’t give a fuck about them,” he replied without missing a beat, his voice low with bass.
I bit the inside of my lip. “I thought you were leaving.”
“Not while Steve is around.”
With a thunderous knock on the door behind us, David let in the next group, and they flew by me. Gretchen appeared and grabbed my hand. “This is bananas,” she said.
My eyes scanned the expansive suite as I let her drag me out to the rooftop patio. Outside, an elongated swimming pool ran the length of the deck, glowing turquoise on the otherwise dark roof. Glass partitions edged the perimeter, allowing for an unobstructed panoramic view.
“Look,” someone called, “you can swim out over the city!”
Gretchen dropped my hand and rushed off, giving me a chance to admire my surroundings. What I’d seen with David on our previous trip to the roof was nothing compared to now. The pool jutted off the side of the building, hovering over the world below. As if floating. The opposite end of the pool showcased the first floor of the suite.
“Beer?” David asked from next to me.
I glanced over. In one hand, he held two bottles by their necks, already opened. “Where’d you get those?” I asked.
“My secret.” He handed me one before taking a swig from his own bottle. “Cheers.”
“Thanks,” I said hesitantly, trying to read his fluctuating mood.
We slowly followed the edge of the pool toward the group, as if we didn’t actually want to get there. He looked into his beer bottle. “My family, they really liked you. Jessa especially. She says you have an amazing energy or something.”
“I liked her also. A lot. Too much.”
“And that means . . . ?”
One of the girls squealed ahead of us.
“Just that I had a strange urge to tell her all my secrets,” I admitted.
“Secrets, huh?” he asked.
I nodded fractionally.
“That girl has a way of getting people to open up,” he said.
“Must run in the family.” I cursed silently, knowing the comment hedged dangerous territory.
David didn’t respond right away, but eventually asked, “Do you feel like I’ve opened you up?”
“Ah, well . . . maybe a little,” I said, embarrassed.
“I only wish it were more,” he said casually. Even in the dark I could feel him peering down at me, trying to see me clearer, the way he sometimes did.
Without even looking at him, I said, “That is the problem, right there.”
“What is?”
“The way you look at me. The way I look at you. It gives too much away. That’s what your sister told me. For Christ’s sake,” I said, turning to face him. “She thought we were dating.”
“So I can’t look at you anymore?”
“Just don’t look at me like that.”
“She said she’d never seen you look at anyone the way you look at me.”
His expression stilled as he took an audible breath but didn’t respond. We stood back from the crowd, watching them in silence.
“Are you really going to stop seeing Dani?” I asked.
He tilted his eyes upward to the sky and groaned. “I shouldn’t have said anything. But yes.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I do want you to be happy, I just . . .” I bit my lip to keep the words from coming out. “You know.”
“No, I don’t know,” he clipped. “I didn’t do it for you anyway.”
“I know.”
“This is too much, Olivia, you know that?”
“What is?” I asked, taken aback.
He shoved a hand through his hair. “Nothing. Just never mind.” With one last look, he turned and walked away.
I fought with myself, angry that I was doing this to him, to all of us. I wanted to go after him and make things better, but his departure had an air of finality. Instead, I took the last few steps to where everyone else had congregated. Steve smiled shyly at me and commented on how inspiring the skyline could be. I looked across the roof at David’s shadowy figure. He faced Lake Michigan while taking a long pull from his beer bottle.
“Is that your boyfriend?” Steve asked.
I looked back at Steve. “No, just an overprotective friend.”
“Oh,” he exhaled, looking relieved. “I’m glad. I know this is forward, but I was hoping you might like to go out sometime.”
I gave him a sympathetic look and held up my left hand.
“Oh, geez,” he said, noticing the ring. “Sorry. I didn’t realize. I always assume everyone at these things is single.”
“It’s all right. My husband isn’t here tonight,” I said with a friendly smile. “Anyway, where’d you say you work?”
He stepped backward. “Actually, I think I’ll go back down and get a refill.”
“There might be drinks up here,” I said, showing him my beer.
“Er, I . . .” His sentence trailed off as he mumbled something and then fled.
“Oh, okay. Goodnight,” I called after him. I laughed at the unfailing powers of a wedding ring.
Well, almost, I thought, and my laugh vanished.
I peered down at my ring, wondering pointlessly how things might be different if it weren’t there. I slipped it off and studied my hand without it, expecting to feel different somehow.
Cityscape Affair Series: The Complete Box Set Page 42