by K. C. Crowne
“Me too,” I smiled. “Can I have your phone? I promise I won’t snoop in your text messages or anything. I just want to give you my number.”
He chuckled and handed over his phone. I typed in my contact info for him and sent myself a text just so I had his info before handing his phone back to him.
“There. Call or text me tomorrow, and we’ll see about getting together.”
“You mean I don’t have to go through Lily?”
“No, this time you have my direct line,” I said with a smile, staring up at him and biting my lip to resist the urge to kiss those sweet lips again.
“Perfect,” Declan said, sliding his phone back into his pants pocket. “Ready to get back to the party?”
I looped my arm through his and let him lead me back to my gallery. I wasn’t nearly as overwhelmed with him by my side, nor did I have to worry about Kai messing with me now. All eyes were on us, and I couldn’t really blame them for staring - Declan Wilde was fine as hell, and everyone was wondering who this mystery man was.
At one time, I worried about the drama and the rumors. I hated having my picture taken for a long time after what happened in the barn, but I’d gotten over it. Even though I knew I would have to explain myself and answer questions about Declan in interviews, at that moment, I didn’t care.
Chapter 5
Declan
“I’m here for Eva Stone. She invited me.”
The doorman stared at me with raised eyebrows, his arms crossed in front of his chest. His eyes moved over me, scrutinizing my attire. Sure, it wasn’t a suit and tie like the night before, but I was dressed well enough - for Utah, I supposed.
When it was clear the doorman wasn’t going to let me up, I whipped out my phone and called Eva directly.
“Hey, sorry to bother you, but the guy at the door doesn’t believe I’m here as your guest. He’s not letting me inside.”
Eva sighed. “I’ll handle it.”
She hung up and a second later, the doorman picked up a phone. “Yes, Ms. Stone. I’m sorry, I do apologize for the inconvenience, I just wanted to be sure that Mr. Wilde was telling us the truth.”
He got off the phone and opened the door without another word. Not even an apology for the mix-up, not that I could blame him once I stepped inside the building. I was in a pair of nice jeans and a button-up shirt stepping into a building decorated in exquisite marble. The entry actually had a three-story waterfall that fell into a natural pool of water. This was no ordinary apartment complex.
I walked to the elevator, and without saying a word, a man pressed the button. I hadn’t asked Eva what floor she was on, but the concierge knew where I was going.
“Sorry for the trouble outside, Mr. Wilde,” the man said with a tip of his hat. “Ms. Stone is waiting for your arrival.”
She must have called down to him as well, making sure the rest of the trip up to see her went easily.
I was speechless as the golden doors of the elevator closed and I began ascending.
We rode all the way to the top of the building before the doors opened, and I didn’t just walk into a hallway. I didn’t have to worry about finding her door because the elevator opened on a large foyer. A spiral staircase led to another level.
“Declan?” Eva called from upstairs. “Sorry you had so much trouble.”
I heard footsteps descending from above, and I waited at the bottom for her, staring at awe at basically everything. Several paintings lined the stairwell. Some of them looked like her work, others I couldn’t place. All of them looked very expensive.
But my eyes quickly turned to Eva as she came into view.
Her black hair was pulled back into a sleek twist. Her lips were painted red, and her eyes were lined with black liner, her lashes thick and long. She stared down at me with a smile and bedroom eyes that caused all the blood in my body to move south. I had to adjust myself in my jeans and try not to make it too noticeable at the same time, not an easy feat. The fact that she was wearing only a fairly sheer, red robe didn’t help matters any.
“I’m sorry about Pedro at the door. He’s new,” she explained. “I should have told him I was expecting someone. He’s overly cautious since he just finished training.”
“Better to be overly cautious when there’s a celebrity living in your building, I suppose.” I smiled at her.
“I suppose you’re right, or maybe I just wanted him to hold you up so I had more time to get ready,” she said with a playful look in her eyes. She stopped midway down the steps. “I’m not dressed yet; I’m running a little late. Do you mind giving me about five more minutes?”
“Of course. Take all the time you need,” I said.
“Make yourself at home,” she told me. “The living room is directly behind you. The kitchen is to the left if you need anything to drink.”
“I’ll be fine but thank you.”
She stayed there, in her robe, staring at me, and I felt frozen to the spot as well. Part of me wanted to be bold and meet her on the stairs, closing the distance between us and finding out what she wore underneath her robe.
But I remembered the talk from yesterday, and she was right. We were two different people now, living in two different worlds. If her amazing penthouse apartment wasn’t enough to prove that, I don’t know what else would do it.
She slowly turned and walked back upstairs, but not without a quick glance over her shoulder. I had to wonder - was she beckoning me to follow?
Nah, she made herself incredibly clear last night. Respect her wishes.
Once she was gone from sight, I turned and walked into the living room. Floor to ceiling windows greeted me, along with a killer view of Central Park below.
I knew Eva had been successful in her art, but it hadn’t hit me how successful she was until I looked around her place. The apartment, if it could be called something so bland, was easily worth millions of dollars.
Her furniture consisted of - no surprise - black leather couches decorated with red throw pillows and were set between white walls. A red accent wall could be seen from the dining area. She certainly put her mark on the place, which had a modern flair. A little too modern for my tastes; I was afraid to even sit down on the furniture - the room looked more like something you’d see in a magazine. A room that was for show, not for use.
So, I stood, enjoying the view of the city below.
The sound of heels clacking against the floor alerted me to Eva’s arrival. I turned to find her standing in the entry to the room wearing a fitted red dress that fell just above her knees and black heels.
The way the dress hugged every curve and angle of her body left me breathless and speechless. I just stared at her, and she posed in a way that made me think she was trying to attract my gaze.
When I finally found my words, I said, “I thought you said we were dressing casually.”
“To me, this is casual,” she said, swishing her hips as she entered the room.
“I feel really underdressed right now. I can go back to my hotel and change if you’d prefer?”
Her lips curled up into a smile. “Even though you looked really hot in that suit and tie, I prefer you just the way you are. Didn’t I ever tell you that I love the mountain man aesthetic?”
“Mountain man aesthetic?” I had no idea what she meant by that.
“Mmmhmm,” she hummed, a sexy sound. “You know, tight jeans, scruffy hair, a more rugged look. Men in New York know how to dress fashionably, but I don’t know, I have a weakness for men who dress like, well, like you.”
Second reminder that Eva was not the Evelyn I remembered - her confidence was striking. And hot as hell too.
She stepped closer to me, and for a second, I thought she might be trying to kiss me - which I wouldn’t have been opposed to. I would have forgotten everything we’d talked about the night before and threw caution to the wind for another kiss from her.
She didn’t kiss me on the lips, however, but rather the cheek. She hugged me
and whispered, “It really is great to see you again, Declan.”
“It’s great to see you too.” In more ways than one, I might add, but I left that part off. She backed away from me and grabbed a bag that had been sitting on the couch, blending into the red throw pillows because it was - surprise - red.
“Ready to go?” she asked.
“Sure,” I reached for my phone. “I can call an Uber if you tell me where we’re going.”
She laughed, then covered her mouth. “Sorry, didn’t mean to laugh at you. But no need for an Uber. I have a driver waiting for us downstairs.”
I followed her to the elevator, enjoying the view of her ass in that skirt, and stepped in beside her.
“You have a nice place. Like really, really nice,” I said, feeling a bit sheepish. I couldn’t explain it, but I was at a loss for words around her. I’d worked with rich people in my career, many times, but this wasn’t just any rich woman - this was Evelyn.
“Thank you,” she said as the elevator doors opened to the main level again. “I just moved in about a month ago. It’s still hard to believe it’s mine, you know? Like, how did I ever get this—well, this big.”
Pedro held the door open for us before we even approached. As we stepped out onto the street, there was a black limo waiting.
“Your ride has arrived, Ms. Stone,” Pedro announced.
“Thank you, Pedro,” she said, slipping him several large bills as a tip.
Eva took my arm in hers as we walked to the limo. Pedro rushed to open the car door for us, and we slipped inside the back seat.
“You know, I’ve never been in a limo before,” I confessed.
“Really? That surprises me,” she said. “Considering the success of your business and all.”
“You know about the construction company?”
“A little,” she said, an adorable grin on her face. “After last night, I did some digging, just to see what you’ve been up to. Very impressive, Declan. I always knew you would be successful, no matter what you did. And honestly, I’m not surprised at all that you pursued architecture.”
“Wanna talk about impressive,” I said, intentionally changing the subject. I didn’t like to talk about my own success. “Look at you. I didn’t even know it was possible to live this large as an artist these days, but you’ve really done well for yourself.”
“It’s not just my art, sadly,” she revealed. “But endorsement deals, some modeling. Don’t get me wrong, I make a decent living off my art, but that really took off after everything else, you know. Which was never as interesting to me, but part of what it takes to be famous in the art world these days. They do love their celebrities.”
“So how did you do it?” I asked. “How did it all start?”
She pursed her lips and clasped her hands in her lap, and for the first time that evening, she wasn’t smiling. “Well, I really hate talking about all of this - it feels like an interview, you know? And I’m still the same girl you knew in high school, Declan.”
“In some ways, yes. But in others, definitely not. I mean, your confidence alone is surprising, in a good way.”
She smiled, and her cheeks flushed. “A lot of the confidence is fake it ‘til you make it, you know. But I’ll admit, I am more comfortable in my skin than I was back then. Part of it comes with age, I suspect, but again, I’d really prefer not to talk about all that. I want to catch up with you - hear about what you’ve been up to.”
“And I hate talking about myself. I’d much rather talk about you,” I retorted. “But if you’d prefer not to talk about your career, that’s fine with me too. You could tell me about the last book you read or your favorite pizza in New York. You’ve always had impeccable taste.”
She smiled wider. “Funny, considering I’m taking you to my favorite pizza place in the city right now, actually.”
“Oh good, I was worried I might be underdressed for some of the places you normally hang out in,” I teased.
“Stop it. Believe it or not, most of what you see is a show. It’s for my career, but I’m hoping to escape a lot of that, at least for a day,” she replied. “Matt told me the reason he pushed for you to come out here is that I need some taste of normalcy, and you know, I think he’s right. Things haven’t felt right for some time. So, if we could, for a day, forget all about Eva Stone and the brand I created and let me be ‘me’ for an afternoon, I’d love that.”
“I can’t think of anything better.”
The limo stopped and a second later, the door opened for us. I slid out of the seat, offering a hand to Eva, which she took with a friendly smile and a thank you.
Eva hopped out in front of me, her hand still in mine, leading us toward a brick building. A small sign hung out front, “Papa Di Fazio’s”; otherwise, you might have missed the restaurant entirely.
“I don’t come here that often,” Eva said with a sly smile. “I try not to eat too much pizza, but the food is to die for, and you just have to try it before leaving town.”
For a moment, I forgot all about her being Eva Stone. She was just a regular woman, not some celebrity. That facade quickly faded as soon as the folks sitting on the patio caught sight of her. The questions started as whispers, “Is that? Yes, yes I think it is!” and people began pulling out their cameras. Eva was nonplussed, ignoring the attention as she approached the hostess and did all the talking.
“Yes, a table for two please. On the patio, if it’s available,” she said.
The hostess grabbed two menus and led us to the far side of the patio. The seats nearest were empty, so the prying eyes and whispers weren’t as obvious, but it still felt strange to have all the attention.
Eva took a seat, and I sat down across from her.
“The four-cheese pizza is to die for,” she told me. “But I know you typically like your meat, and I’ve heard good things about the prosciutto here.”
The corners of my lips tugged upward into a grin. “You always did favor your cheese pizzas.”
“I never understood why anyone would like all that greasy meat,” she said, scrunching up her nose in the exact same way she used to when we’d order pizza back in the day. “Not much has changed, obviously. In many ways, I’m still the same girl I was in high school, even if I try to pretend that I’m not.”
A waiter came over and asked if we were ready to order. Eva ordered her four-cheese pizza, and I ordered the prosciutto as she suggested.
“You might want to order it with extra meat,” she said jokingly, her eyes playful.
And yes, in many ways, she was the same girl as before.
Only more confident.
And much, much more famous.
Chapter 6
Eva
“Would you like another glass of wine, Ms. Stone?” our waiter asked, holding a bottle of the wine we’d been drinking the last hour.
“No, thank you,” I said, waving my hand. “As amazing as it is, I think I’ve had my share. Would you mind bringing the check when you get a chance?”
Declan was about to say something - likely to fight me for the check - but I wasn’t having it. I silenced him with, “Psst. It’s my treat.”
Declan smirked but closed his mouth, shifting his attention to our waiter, who stared at him with a perplexed look.
“Ms. Stone, I do apologize, but Mr. Wilde has already taken care of the check for you this evening.”
I stared at Declan with my mouth open. “What? When did you— Oh, when you snuck away to the bathroom, right? You sneaky devil.”
Declan’s smirk grew larger. “I knew you would give me hell for it, so I had to beat you to the punch.”
“After everything you’ve done already, it was the least I could do, Declan. Here, let me pay you back.”
He waved his hands. “No. If you’d like, give an extra tip instead.”
My gaze returned to our waiter. He’d made sure our drinks were never empty and that the tables nearest us remained unoccupied so we enjoyed our privacy. I
pulled out a $100 bill and handed it to him. He stared at me for a moment, seemingly at a loss for words, before bowing slightly and walking quickly away.
“You’re flying out tomorrow morning, right?” I asked.
Declan nodded.
“What time?”
“My flight is at ten am, so I need to leave… well, considering city traffic and all, pretty damned early, I imagine.”
I batted my lashes as I considered all the possibilities. I would have loved to ask him to reschedule his flight, but that was asking too much. He had a life in Liberty, and we weren’t dating. I shouldn’t get too attached to his company.
But…the idea of him leaving without spending just a little more time with him, maybe getting reacquainted with what was under those tight jeans of his, seemed like a terrible waste.
“You know, I could have my driver take you in the morning. It’s a lot easier than dealing with an Uber or taxi, and he has experience picking the fastest routes possible.”
“Thank you, but I’d hate for him to have to go all the way to my hotel, unless…” The thought had crossed his mind too, clearly. His eyes widened just a bit and he smiled.
“Who said anything about him having to pick you up at the hotel? He could drive you straight from my place.” I spoke with my voice lower than usual, leaning in closer to him, also offering him a view of my cleavage in the process. I quickly added, “I know I said I’m not looking for a relationship, and neither are you. It would never work between us with the distance and how different our lives are, but I have to admit - I’ve always wondered what I had missed when I left Liberty.”
Declan seemed to think over my request, his sexy smile revealing he was unoffended by my remark. I slid my foot out of my heel and stroked his leg underneath the table, moving higher – high enough to see exactly how unoffended he was by my proposal.
His eyes nearly rolled back in his head, and he closed them. A low sound issued from his throat, followed by, “Jesus, how could I say no to an offer like that?”