Beauty from Pain(9)

“I don’t know. We didn’t get that far.”


“What’s his name?”


I opt to not tell her he said it would be more exciting if I didn’t know. “Umm, we didn’t get that far, either.”


“Well, that’s f*cked up. You’re going out with a guy and don’t know who he is? Who am I going to report to the police if you go missing because he’s another good-looking serial killer? You know, Ted Bundy was terribly charming too.”


Oh, hell. I hadn’t thought of that. What if he is some kind of weirdo? “I guess tell them it was the good-looking suit who did it.”


4


Jack McLachlan


Daniel messages me when he is pulling up to the front of The Ashford Hotel, so I leave our table in the hotel restaurant to meet her. When I walk out of the hotel to greet my American girl, Daniel is circling around to open her door, but I stop him. “I have it, Daniel. Thank you.”


After opening her door, she steps out onto the sidewalk. She’s wearing a satiny floral one-shouldered dress belted at the waist and mile-high heels that stretch her legs even longer than they already are. She’s beautiful and I ache to reach out my hand to touch the exposed skin on her shoulder.


She looks up at the hotel and then back to me. “Seriously? You brought me to a hotel?”


Her face tells me she’s pissed off, but it’s easy to see why she might jump to conclusions. “The meeting with my sales team was in the hotel’s conference room. I thought we might have dinner at Ash. It’s the hotel restaurant. I’m told it’s the best in town.”


Her cheeks pink. “I’m sorry.”


“Don’t give it another thought.”


She takes my offered arm. “You’re not from Wagga Wagga?”


“No.” That’s all I give her and she doesn’t push further.


I allow her to walk ahead of me through the revolving door into the lobby. “Are you staying in this hotel?”


“No. I’m staying at an estate in the country.”


“Oh.”


I escort her toward the back of the restaurant to our table. I pull out her chair and slide it under her when she sits. “Are you hungry?”


She smiles and I find myself wanting to know all the secrets she hides behind it. “Very. I’m not one of those girls who’s scared to eat in front of a date. I hope you don’t mind that.”


“Not at all.”


She’s quiet as she reads the wine list and our server arrives to take our drink order. “I’ll have a Sauvignon Blanc.”


She lifts her eyes from the list. “I have no idea how to order wine. I’ll have what you’re having.”


“Two Sauvignon Blancs.”


She holds the menu in front of her and I can’t see her face. She’s studying it like there could be an exam later. “I don’t know what I want. Everything looks good.”


“My business associate recommended anything seafood.”


A moment later she places the menu on the table. “Seafood sounds good. I’ll have the stuffed prawns.”


After the server brings the wine and takes our order, we continue our safe, generic conversation. “How did your friend’s vintages fare last night?”


“Ben did well, but I never expected anything less. Wine is his family’s business.”


I remember the waitress mentioning that. I believe she said he was from California. “I understand that. You’re much more passionate about it when it’s your livelihood.”


“You say that like you know from experience.” She’s a sharp one.


“I do. I’m employed in the wine-making business as well.” It’s a half-truth since I neglect to tell her I own a large number of the wineries across South Australia and New Zealand.


She smiles and I see her make the connection. “So that’s why you were at the vintage dinner last night?”


“Yes. My employer donates money to the wine program, so he is given an automatic invitation to the event. I was sent in his place as a representative.”


We talk about nothing in particular and I feel the mood of our conversation shift when we finish eating. “I’ve spent the last hour having dinner with you and you still haven’t told me your name. Maybe it’s an Australian thing, but where I come from, that is one of the first things you tell someone. Is there a reason you haven’t told me?”