Picking out her outfit for her meeting (not a date, she reminded herself) with Andrew the week before had been much easier, and much more fun with Maya there to bat around suggestions with. Sadly Maya had work this particular Friday night, so Dana was left alone to sort through the same few nice dresses and decide which would make the best impression on the Marcels.
Or maybe it had just been more fun to try and pick something that Andrew would like.
Her choices were narrowed down to three, with no clear lead. She had a soft yellow sheath, a wildly printed green and blue and white number with a fluttering skirt, and a white and hot pink body-con that would have definitely been too low cut if she were bigger up top.
This last one Dana looked at for a long time, then pulled it on, just to see. Even before she looked in the mirror, she knew she liked it for its comfortable fit. When had she wore it last? Probably Lacey’s Super Bowl party last spring—Lacey had convinced Dana to come and keep her company in a house full of her husband’s friends.
She only had a little time left to make a selection and get out the door. Andrew was picking her up in less than half an hour, and she still had her hair to mess with. Dana turned to look at herself in the mirror.
Her choice was made instantly. Aside from being a perfect fit and comfortable enough to wear effortlessly, Dana had forgotten how much she liked this outfit. The bright bands of hot pink and the searing white stood out against her dark skin perfectly, and even her wide hips were a part of the striking and proud figure she cut. Excited, Dana picked a pair of low white heels to go along with the dress and headed to the bathroom counter to style her wild hair.
She’d conditioned last weekend. This was good, because her tight black curls were still a good deal less frizzy than usual, and she was able to twist them together into a careful pattern, which she battened down with a white head band. A pouf of black kinks circled the back of her head, giving her face a frame—perfect.
Dana didn’t usually wear a lot of make-up, and had to resist the urge to put on a little more than usual. Something about these occasions with Andrew made her feel like a princess at a ball, dressing up and looking beautiful for the handsome captain…
Just as she was putting away her cosmetics, the doorbell rang.
“I’ll be right down!”
“You don’t want me to come up?”
Andrew, in her apartment? Dana looked around. Maya’s plethora of pamphlets and paperwork was amassed in a heap across the small kitchen table. Their furniture was old and scratched and—in some cases—quite in need of replacement. The floor hadn’t been vacuumed this week, and a collection of romance novels were in embarrassingly plain sight on the bookshelf behind the couch.
That, and there was something thrilling and terrifying about the thought of being alone here with Andrew. Something intimate and tempting. Dana shook her head at the strange thought.
“No, no, I’m about ready. Two minutes.”
She pulled on her shoes and her red coat—they were getting into October and the weather was turning chilly once the sun went down. After checking the windows and shutting off the lights (except a small battery-powered lamp that she and Maya left on when they were both away from the apartment) Dana put on the beautiful emerald ring Andrew had bought and let herself out. She locked the door behind her.
Andrew smiled when he caught sight of her, and another warm sensation reached into Dana’s chest and squeezed. He was standing out on the curb waiting for her, looking very cold, but also handsome as ever. She stepped out into the freezing cold street and almost stepped forward to hug him. That’s what she did with all her friends, especially ones that inspired such feelings of contentedness, of happiness. But that seemed like an odd thing to do, in their situation, so Dana set a hand on his arm instead.
“Is this our ride?” she asked, amazed.
“Company car,” Andrew explained. “I’ve never bothered to buy my own… it just isn’t all that important in New York, you know? I only ever go to work, and the train’s faster for that…”
His ‘company car’ was a glittering red Lamborghini. Dana wasn’t familiar with the specifics of the make, but she had an idea what they cost, and was aghast. She stopped herself from asking if Andrew was sure they should be driving it. He opened the passenger door and Dana climbed in, holding her breath.
Andrew shut her door and crossed around to the driver side. Unconsciously, Dana tried not to touch anything, as if she might damage the pristine interior with a stray fingernail. Andrew settled in the driver’s seat. When he finally took a good look at her and realized her concern, he laughed.
“Don’t worry, you’re not going to damage anything. It’s just a car. Nothing here that can’t be fixed.”
Dana relaxed a little and chuckled. “This car probably costs more than my parents’ house. Are you sure you trust yourself with it on these streets? The way people in this city drive…” she trailed off with a disapproving click of the tongue.
Andrew pulled away from the curb and shrugged his shoulders in agreement. “Well, that’s true. But Bellwethers has it insured, so even if I totaled it, it’s covered. Not that I’m going to total it,” Andrew added, glancing at her raised eyebrows out of the corners of his blue eyes.
Well, she hadn’t been worried about crashing. Dana couldn’t think of a thing to say in response, and they lapsed into silence. Andrew seemed tense. His eyes kept wandering in her direction, then back to the road, then out the window, then back to her again. His long gloved fingers kept tapping the steering wheel anxiously, beating out a mindless rhythm to the soft radio.
Dana turned the music up a little. It was country, which suited her just fine. Andrew seemed to be watching her nervously as she sat back and gazed out the window.
But then, she could understand why he was tense and nervous. Andrew had told her all about the meeting with Louis. Marcel seemed to be a nice man, and he was rumored to be a reliable business contact—at least, that was what Andrew had told her. Westcorp and Bellwethers were set to get started on the community center project together, and everything was going well. It looked to be a great opportunity for all, and such a worthy use of time and resources.
With all that in mind, Dana was a little nervous herself, realizing how much was resting on her shoulders. She was still a little skeptical about why a business would discriminate so egregiously against single men and women, but knowing it was within her abilities to totally ruin all was not far from her mind.
She took a deep breath and reminded herself that it was only for a couple weeks. Andrew’s emerald ring sparkled in the light of a passing streetlamp. It was just like acting in a play, or a movie. She could keep up the act for a little while.
If she was this anxious, and her only role was to pretend to be his fiancée until the projects was begun, Dana could easily see why Andrew seemed jittery.
The Lambo rolled through the high-rises, out into the suburbs. Dana had never been this way. She didn’t know anyone who lived in this part of New York. The cluttered streets and haphazard buildings straightened and neatened and became neat strip malls, then wide green lawns. And then the houses started to appear. ‘Houses’ was a loose term. Some of the buildings dotting the dusky landscape were closer to castles than houses.
Dana tried to imagine what it cost to live out here—New York’s cost of living was outrageous for average accommodations. Even her own tiny apartment was an arm and a leg to keep. And the houses grew bigger and grander the further away from the city they drove. They must be passing seven- and eight-digit properties now.
Stunned, Dana turned to Andrew. “Are we going to see a businessman or a Count?”
Andrew looked at her with the weirdest expression, as if completely unsure how to take her joke. Seeing her grin, he relaxed a little and chuckled.
“As far as I know, just a businessman. And his wife. But if they pull out the high-collared cloaks and Transylvanian accents, we can start worrying.”
> Dana laughed, relieved to have Andrew loosen up a little. “Have you ever been out here? I didn’t even know this neighborhood existed.”
Andrew nodded in the reflected light of the dashboard. “I’ve been out a time or two. Once for another business dinner, and then when I was looking for a new place to live a couple years ago, I glanced through one of the houses out here.”
Her eyebrows shot through the roof. “You were thinking about living out here? Just how much do you make? Wait, don’t answer that. We can save negotiating the pre-nup for another time.”
They were both laughing by the time Andrew pulled up to an enormous iron gate and buzzed for entry.
“I’ve seen prisons with less security,” Dana commented once the gate was behind them. “Though, I guess if I could afford to live in a house like that, I might want an extra fence, too.”
She indicated the palatial manor house rising through the gathering dark, perched on a low hill. The placement was perfect, as the giant front windows offered sweeping views of the lawns and the forest beyond. The façade was lined in stone. It almost looked like a real castle. A two-story wing arced out to either side, and Dana thought to herself that it can’t possibly be as large as it looks.
All the biggest windows were illuminated, throwing gold light on the circling drive as Andrew parked and the two of them climbed out.
As she stood there in her comfortable, $24.99 dress, Dana suddenly felt hesitant.
Andrew saw it instantly. He’d had an eye on her constantly since he picked her up from her apartment, as if waiting for this very moment. He took her hand politely. Dana’s heart skipped.
“You’ll be fine.” And he smiled, and maybe it was combined effects of fear and gratitude, but Dana felt for a moment that perhaps their situation wasn’t so very strange after all. She squeezed his hand back. Dana took a deep, courageous breath.
“Okay. Let’s do this.”
Even as she was saying the words, a side door opened and a young man in a neat uniform approached them.
“I’ll be happy to park your car for you, sir,” he told Andrew, who looked ready to say it was already parked. Instead, Andrew handed over the key with a tight smile, and the valet bounded off towards the Lambo.
“You sure we aren’t visiting the Koch brothers?” Dana muttered as the great double front doors opened.
A butler ushered them inside and took their coats as Dana tried not to stare too obviously at the gorgeous circular staircase curving upwards toward the second floor and the shimmering chandelier. He seemed a little shocked when Dana thanked him, as if he’d been asleep and unaware of his surroundings.
“Andrew!” A man strode into the foyer. This must be Louis Marcel, Dana thought to herself, smiling graciously. Marcel was a good-looking man, perhaps a little older than Andrew. Of course, Andrew had a strange air of youth about him, some illusion that made his age difficult to pin down. Marcel was definitely thirty or so, with perfectly tousled hair and a ring of facial hair about his chin.
Dana swallowed. She felt suddenly like an ice cube had slipped down her spine. She had been amazed, but not overwhelmed, by the house and grounds. But when Louis Marcel met her eyes, she felt a sudden urge to turn around and walk out the door.
He took Andrew’s hand and shook it. When he took Dana’s hand, she was so distracted that she went for a handshake without a second thought, and only realized belatedly that he’d been trying to brush a kiss across the back of her knuckles. Andrew smothered a snicker.
“Right, well if you’ll just follow me into the sitting room—Lauren was just getting some drinks put together for us.” Louis led them through the big archway to their left. This fed into a hallway whose windows overlooked the back of the house, and through the dark Dana could see several stone-lined patios leading to an enormous pool. “She can’t wait to meet you two. I’ve told her all about our project. Lauren, honey?”
They’d walked through an open pair of doors into a spacious sitting room, complete with elegantly antique furniture and a low, round, sheen-polished wood table. A tray of glasses and ice sat there already. Sure enough, one wall was almost completely windows, big ones that reached from waist height all the way to the vaulted ceiling.
Lauren Marcel was waiting by the table. She was probably Louis’ age, perhaps a closer to Andrew’s, and thin as a reed. Her skin was health-club bronze (at least it isn’t orange, Dana thought to herself) and her perfectly straight, shiny tresses were highlighted from sandy to ghostly blonde. Louis walked up to her and kissed her on the cheek. She smiled thinly and looped her arm through his.
“Welcome, you two! Louis has told me so much about you. Come—sit.”
Her voice was convincing, but there was something steely and cold about her tone. But Dana followed Andrew to the sofas, where they each shook Lauren’s hand and greeted her, then they all took seats around the table and picked up a glass.
“Delicious.” Andrew took another sip as if to prove he wasn’t lying. “Is that… cranberry?”
“Blackberry vodka,” Lauren replied. Her tone had loosened up a little. Maybe she was just shy. “It’s one of my favorites. It’s a Blackberry Fence Hopper—getting a little too late in the year for it, but I thought you’d like it.”
Dana took a sip. It was wonderfully sweet. She tasted honey.
“Ooh, is that honey in there, too?” she asked Lauren.
Although she’d seemed eager to speak to Andrew, Lauren glanced over at Dana flippantly, coolly. “Yes, honey is one of the ingredients.”
Louis took a long sip of his drink and cleared his throat. “I hope the drive was all right? I know it’s sort of a long way.”
“No, no, it was fine,” Andrew assured him. “It was an excellent excuse to take the Lamborghini for a spin.”
Marcel laughed. Dana couldn’t help but notice how his face rarely stood still, like he was constantly trying to see everything at once. “Yeah, I have to admit, I do quite a bit of work from home. I’m only in the city two or three days a week—it would be way too much driving to be in the office 9-5, Monday to Friday.”
“Well, it’s a beautiful home to work from,” Dana pointed out. “I don’t think I’ve ever even been in a house this big. You two are very lucky.”
“Well, soon you two will be shopping for a house together, I bet,” Louis pointed out mischievously. “I hear there’s a listing just a couple hills over from us.”
“That house sold in March,” Lauren snapped at him.
She swallowed down another gulp of her fence hopper, as is suddenly aware of how sharp her voice had sounded. Andrew and Dana exchanged the barest of glances. Dana read the same confusion on his face as what she was feeling. Okay…
“So, where were you planning on going for your honeymoon?” Marcel asked brightly, as if he hadn’t heard his wife’s snap.
Andrew leapt on the opportunity to change the subject. “We were thinking Italy, like I told you in the office. There’s a beautiful little vineyard south of Florence that I’m planning on—they run a bed and breakfast sort of operation on the side, and it’s close enough to Florence that we can drive right up there every day. Go see Rome, and all the art.”
Dana hadn’t been told any of this yet, and tried to act like it wasn’t the first time she was hearing it. The whole trip Andrew was detailing sounded so wonderful, she was genuinely sad it was imaginary. Of course, she also had to make it look like this all wasn’t news, and Louis seemed to misread the clashing of expressions across her face.
“Oh, you look excited about this. Don’t try to hide it!”
She grinned. “Oh, all right. I can’t wait! It’s going to be a wonderful trip.”
“We went to Greece for our honeymoon,” Louis continued. Lauren seemed content to sit beside him and say nothing, at this point, so he did all the talking. “It was one of the best trips of my life—ocean views, parties, and the food. I love Greek food. You haven’t tried it until you’ve actually gone there and eaten some.�
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They sat together for another twenty-some minutes, drinking and dabbling in light conversation, all of them trying not to look at Lauren directly. When a servant came in to announce dinner, they set their drinks on the tray and stood.
Dana let Lauren get well ahead of her, then took Andrew’s hand as they walked after their hosts. She glanced up and saw him watching her. She flickered her eyes toward the Marcels and back, and then shrugged. Andrew shrugged back, frowning.
In the dining room, the Marcels’ staff had prepared a meal that put Andrew’s dinner skills to shame. Dana complimented the settings and the meal with not only politeness, but actual sincerity. She was amazed anyone could live like this on a daily basis. Andrew had grown rather silent, which left Dana to speak for both of them, which meant she and Louis were chattering back and forth, ignoring the elephant in the room while the first course was enjoyed.
“So you two met on the train?” Louis asked pleasantly, stirring his bowl of soup.
“Yes, we both work at the Seven Diamonds Tower,” Dana replied. She shot Andrew an adoring look—and hoped that she wasn’t overdoing it in her nervousness. “We’d been speaking for a long time before we went out together.”
“I guess it’s a good thing you cheap out and go for the train, Poole,” Louis teased. “Otherwise you’d have never met her!”
Dana chuckled and Andrew grinned, which was more than he’d been doing since they entered the dining room.
“We met in college. Remember, Laurie? Yale, sophomore year?”
Lauren actually smiled at that. It was as if a bird had flown down and landed on the table—Dana froze, not wanting to scare it away, not sure what she could do to avoid disturbing her. Louis, too, seemed almost triumphant, but he didn’t seem to be looking closely at Lauren. Out of the corner of her eye, Dana could see the most peculiar shade of sadness in Lauren’s smile.
The next course was brought out soon after that, and Dana tried to focus on keeping her cool. At least in all the oddness, she’d forgotten to be self-conscious about her bargain dress and Payless heels. Lauren was surely wearing thousands of dollars, between her designer dinner dress and her jewelry. At least with the tense atmosphere, Dana had no time to compare herself to Mrs. Marcel.
Billionaire’s Missing Baby (A BWWM Romance) Page 23