Love & Learn Page 12

  But as he said, it had only been a week. Everyone was still adjusting. And it was her job to keep this transition process running as smoothly as possible. She made sure that little Danny was happy and content so that Henry and Julia could forge a strong bond. Eventually, Henry would feel safe enough in his role as a parent to be able to extend his care to the little boy as well. She was certain of that. He would be a great father; that much was obvious. If he could just stop parenting with his wallet.

  The restaurant was way too fancy for her taste, with crystal chandeliers and lots of heavy silver cutlery on both sides of the plates that were replaced almost as soon as she’d taken a bite. But she could see why Henry had booked a table there. He’d wanted to impress his daughter, and Julia would surely have been impressed with how everyone seemed to know who he was. The maître d’ had sucked up to Henry from the moment they had set foot in the place and knew what kind of wine Henry wanted without him even having to order. The chef sent out little amuse-bouches he’d made especially for them, and their table was obviously the best in the house, placed in a quiet corner by a large window overlooking a garden with a water feature.

  Everywhere she looked, there was some beautiful piece of art or lush greenery. The other dinner guests were all dressed up to the nines, and the women all sparkled with jewelry everywhere they could think to put it: ears, neck, wrists, fingers. They all—literally—looked like a million bucks, and Lizzie felt drab and dull in comparison. Conspicuously plain. Everyone was looking at Henry, and then at her. Impressed by him, not so much by her. It made her skin crawl.

  She’d bought this dress with the money left over from her wedding dress allowance, just in case Henry wanted to take her out somewhere, and she’d thought she looked pretty good, until she saw what the other women in his world looked like when they went out to dinner.

  No, this fancy restaurant wasn’t a Lizzie kind of place. She didn’t know what cutlery to use for what course, and it was a hassle having to think about what she did every step of the way. Why did they have to make it so complicated? There was so much to think about, she barely even registered what the food tasted like.

  But halfway through their meal, Henry suddenly stopped talking about Julia. Lizzie glanced up and saw that he was looking at her. Truly seeing her for the first time all week. At least, that’s what it felt like.

  “You’re not enjoying yourself,” he said. Not a question. Just a statement.

  “Of course, I am,” she lied. “Why wouldn’t I?”

  He leaned back. “I don’t know. Why wouldn’t you? Is there something wrong with your food? Then just send it back. The chef will make you whatever you like. Just say the word.”

  Her eyes widened. “The food is fine,” she said. “If I could just figure out how to eat it,” she added.

  He regarded her for a moment. “Not your kind of restaurant, huh?”

  She raised an eyebrow and gave him a crooked grin. “Are you kidding? I come here all the time. They do a mean cheeseburger.”

  He laughed. “I’m sure they do.” He looked at her for a while before continuing. “Perhaps you’d enjoy the food more if you just relaxed.”

  She glanced around the room. “Perhaps I’d be able to relax if everyone wasn’t staring at me all the time.”

  He shook his head. “You can’t blame them. You are, by far, the most beautiful woman in the room.”

  She paused with her fork halfway to her mouth and glanced around the room. “Well,” she said dryly. “There’s not much competition tonight.”

  He smiled slowly. “You would crush the competition in any restaurant in this town, any night of the year,” he said. “And you know it.”

  She took a bite and tried to really taste the food. It wasn’t too bad, now that the tension was starting to give way. Being seen by Henry made all the difference. “They’re just looking at the boobs.”

  “Well, can you blame them?” he said slowly. “They are quite spectacular.”

  She shrugged and tried another bite. This potato thingy was actually not too bad. “Do you think the waiter would bring me some ketchup if I asked, or would we just be shown to the door right away?”

  He laughed. “We would probably be asked to leave,” he said and nodded slowly. “But we can pick up a cheeseburger for you on our way home.”

  The word home made her pause. And then it hit her, all at once. It had been such a weird day, such a weird week, that she hadn’t had the chance to digest what had been happening. Henry’s apartment wasn’t her home, not really, but he was her legally wed husband. She was married.

  She put the fork down with a clatter and stared at the ring on her finger. It was huge and flashy, and not something that she would have ever chosen, but it still made her eyes prick with tears to look at it.

  “You didn’t have to get me a ring,” she said, her voice cracking. “Or perhaps you did, but …” she looked up at him. “You didn’t have to get me such an expensive one.” She looked at it again. “Or is it fake?”

  He shook his head. “No, it’s real.” He leaned back. “Consider it payment for services rendered.”

  Her eyebrows rose. “Was I really that good?” she said dryly. “I should ask the agency for a raise.”

  He laughed again. “We’re not talking about that,” he said, “ever again. What happened that night was a mistake. But what you’ve done for me this week, helping me to get to know my daughter. That is priceless.” He gestured toward her hand, resting on the table, the ring reflecting the light from the crystal chandeliers. “I don’t know how much longer we need to keep up the pretense, but I want you to feel secure in the fact that once this is over, you don’t ever have to take your clothes off in front of strangers again.”

  She didn’t know if she should be grateful or offended. “It’s a living,” she said, and she couldn’t disguise the edge to her voice.

  He waved his hand dismissively. “Sure. It’s the world’s oldest profession and all that. But you—”

  “I am not a hooker,” she said, way too loudly, she realized, when some of the guests at nearby tables glanced in her direction. “I have never slept with anyone for money,” she continued with a muted voice.

  He grabbed his fork and took a bite. “Well, whatever you need to tell yourself. But I know for a fact that you slept with at least one man who paid you for your time.”

  She felt her face redden. “You paid me to dance for you.”

  He nodded, still looking at his plate. “Sure.”

  “What happened after that … the dinner and the …” She glanced at the nearby tables to make sure that no one heard. “… the sex … That was not part of the deal.”

  He took a sip of wine. “Fine. Whatever you say.”

  “No.” She leaned forward, fixing him with a firm stare. “It is very, very important to me that you understand that I did not sleep with you for money. Tell me that you understand that, or I will get up from this table and walk out of your life for good. Do you understand?” she said, with an emphasis on every word of the last sentence.

  He looked skeptical. “Then why did you?” He put his wineglass down and returned her stare.

  “I slept with you because I wanted to. Because you turned me on. And what happened between us that night was real, no matter what you believe. It was the best sex I’ve ever had, and unless you are very, very good at faking it, I actually believe that you had a pretty good time as well.”

  He frowned at her. “Well, regardless of why you did it, it was a mistake,” he said, throwing his napkin on his plate to signal that their dinner was over. “But we’re married now. And I can assure you that whatever happened between us that night at the hotel, we will never have sex again.”

  37

  Henry

  He couldn’t tell if she looked more relieved or disappointed, but her expression was a mix of those two emotions. He’d never been able to understand women, but he guessed that their situation was more complicated than most ot
hers, so he didn’t feel too bad about that.

  She had leaned back in her chair and was staring down at her plate. Most of the food was untouched.

  He raised his hand. The waiter hurried over.

  “Is there something the matter, sir?” he said. “Can I get you anything?”

  “Just the check, Louis,” he said. “I’m afraid we have to cut our meal short.”

  The waiter looked alarmed. “If there’s anything—”

  Henry raised a hand to stop him. “Everything was splendid, as always. The chef had outdone himself. Tell him I said so.”

  The waiter nodded. “I’ll bring your check, sir. Right away.”

  Henry stood up and walked around the table to pull out her chair.

  “We don’t have to leave,” she said. “You haven’t finished your meal.”

  He looked down at her. “Come on,” he said. “I’ll get a cheeseburger for myself, as well.”

  She stood up, turning toward him. He hadn’t been saying it just to make her feel better. She really was the most beautiful woman in the room. And normally, stuff like that didn’t matter to him. He was more interested in a woman’s intellect than her cleavage.

  But he also had a keen eye for art and a great appreciation for beauty.

  And Lizzie was beautiful, beyond words.

  Compared to the other women in the restaurant, she glowed. Her skin was flawless and radiant, her hair moved and gleamed like spun silk and the way she held herself, the way she laughed, the way she cared for his daughter, connected with her. It was all … beautiful.

  He could have just sat here and looked at her all night. But he didn’t want to do that.

  It was much easier to just cut the evening short and go home, where she’d slip into her yoga pants and over-sized T-shirt, and transform into the ideal stepmom that he needed her to pretend to be for a while longer.

  Hopefully, the social worker would be able to expedite the custody hearing now that they were married.

  He couldn’t wait to get it over with.

  He paid their bill and ushered Lizzie out the front door, mumbling something about a family emergency to the maître d’ who hurried over, looking just as concerned as the waiter.

  And then they could finally exit into the cool night air. The limousine had been waiting for them across the street, and with just a wave from him, the driver started the car and came to pick them up.

  “Where to, sir?” he said.

  Henry leaned back on the broad, comfortable seat. “Where can we get a decent burger around here?” he asked.

  The driver got back behind the wheel and glanced at them in the rearview mirror. “Well, the 4 Charles does a mean burger, sir.”

  “Then that’s where we’ll go,” he said.

  The driver nodded and pulled away from the curb.

  38

  Lizzie

  She had assumed that they’d be going home, but apparently, Henry had meant what he said about getting cheeseburgers. Lizzie tugged at her dress to cover her legs and made sure that she sat as far away from him as she could get. She had noticed him keeping his distance on the way to the restaurant, and she didn’t want him to think that she was flirting. Trying to get him into bed again.

  She wasn’t.

  Sure, she had meant what she said about it being the best sex she’d ever had. Not that she’d had all that much to compare it with. But she had no desire to over-complicate this situation. It was already a bit overwhelming, and she needed to keep her head on straight. With work taking up a lot of her energy, and the rest being spent on the kids, she didn’t have anything left over for herself. She hadn’t had a moment of quiet time all week, to reflect on everything that had happened.

  And that was fine. It was just going to be like this for a brief time. By the time the kids had settled in, she would hopefully have found an apartment for herself, and once she’d moved out, she could focus all her energy on her work. She had a good feeling about the law firm. She liked her bosses and coworkers. Everyone was treating her well, and she’d fit in, right from the start. After only a couple of months, she was part of the team, and she felt appreciated and respected in a way she’d never experienced before.

  Henry probably hadn’t meant anything by it, but his remarks had hurt her feelings. She wasn’t exactly proud of being a stripper, but she resented being compared to a sex worker. She had made one mistake, just the one, and because of that, he was never going to think of her as anything other than a whore.

  She tugged at her dress again and wished that she’d picked something else. Why, oh, why did she have to pick a dress that accentuated her stupid breasts, if she wanted Henry to see her as something more than just a body? This was not the way to earn respect; she should know that by now, after seeing the different response she got from the men at the law firm, where she wore completely different clothes. It was just that her breasts had been her only assets for so long, she’d all but forgotten that there was more to her than her boobs.

  The car pulled into the side of the street.

  “Shall I go in and get your order, sir?” the driver asked.

  Henry told him what they wanted and gave him some cash. The driver disappeared down the street.

  Lizzie kept her eyes peeled on the cars passing by and the pedestrians on the opposite pavement.

  “I didn’t mean to upset you,” he said.

  She shrugged. “I’m not upset.”

  He didn’t say anything for a while. “Well, you look upset.”

  “I apologize,” she said, tugging at her dress again. “I’ll try not to.”

  Another pause. “You do agree with me, though, that we need to keep this relationship strictly business?”

  She glanced at him. “Of course.”

  He gestured at the space between them. “I mean, things can so easily get out of control. And we don’t want to make this about us. It’s all about Julia.” As if an afterthought, he added, ”And Danny. The children. They are what is most important right now.”

  She nodded but kept looking out the window. “I agree. And I’m going to do what I can to help them.”

  “I know you are. And you are doing a great job. You have a way with children. That was obvious from the start.”

  She glanced at him again. “Well, they’re great kids. And they’ve been through a lot. Of course, I want to help them.”

  They sat there in silence for a while.

  “And I’m sorry for what I said about you … having sex for money. I know that wasn’t what happened between us that night. Not that I know anything about hookers, but I think I can tell when a woman is having a good time. I know you weren’t just pretending.”

  She couldn’t reply. There was a lump at the back of her throat that would have made her voice all funny. Instead, she just gave him a small nod.

  “And I don’t want you to think that I pay for sex. That’s not the kind of man I am.”

  She shrugged again. “It’s none of my business.”

  He was quiet for a while. “Still, I don’t want you to think that I’m like that.”

  She turned and looked at him now. “What? The kind of man who thinks a stripper makes a suitable birthday gift for his best friend?”

  He raised his hands in defense. “That was not my idea, and I certainly didn’t know about it.” He lowered his hands. “If I’d known, I wouldn’t have come.”

  At that moment, the driver returned with their food.

  “Here you go, sir,” he said, handing the food and the change to Henry.

  Henry took the two paper bags but gestured to the driver to keep the change.

  The driver thanked him profusely. “Where to now, sir?” he asked and got back behind the wheel.

  “Just drive through Central Park,” Henry said, “while we eat.”

  The driver nodded and raised the privacy screen before pulling out into traffic.

  Henry pulled out a cheeseburger from one of the bags and handed it to her. �
��Your burger, madame,” he said jokingly, impersonating the French waiter at the fancy restaurant.

  She couldn’t help but giggle. “Why, thank you, monsieur.”

  Their fingers brushed against each other when she reached for the burger, and an electric current traveled up her arm, bringing with it a warmth that spread across her body before pooling around her nipples and between her legs. Oh, it was dangerous to relax even for a second in his presence!

  She had to be more careful from now on.

  39

  Henry

  He’d been a little annoyed at having to leave the restaurant before finishing his meal, but as soon as he bit into the burger, he forgot all about it. This was amazing! He glanced over at Lizzie, who was chomping into her burger with great enthusiasm. For a moment, he lowered his own burger and just looked at her. She took large bites and obviously enjoyed the burger because she was making little moans of pleasure while she was chewing.

  He put his burger down and checked the paper bags. There were fries and small packets of ketchup in one of them and two cups of soda in a cardboard holder in the other. He tore open the first bag a little and set it on the seat between them so that they could both reach the fries. Then he gave her one of the sodas, putting his own in the cup holder next to him.

  There was a fully stocked bar in the back of the limousine. He pulled out a small bottle of bourbon and added a generous splash to his soda.

  “Would you like a little something extra in your coke?” he asked.

  She looked hesitant. “Perhaps a little vodka, if they have some,” she said, taking the lid off her cup.

  He found the vodka and spiked her soda. She put the lid back on and took a sip, shuddering.

  “Perhaps I shouldn’t have,” she said, tugging at her dress again.

  He knew that she was trying to look more decent, but the constant tugging just drew his attention to her long, naked legs. He hurried to look away and took a big bite of his cheeseburger.