Dating Games(70)

It takes a few minutes, but our laughter gradually wanes. When it does, she comments, “So you broke the no kissing rule.”

“What? No.”

“But you let him—”

“Explore ground control,” I interrupt with a smile.

“Find your pleasure center,” she corrects, “yet you still refuse to kiss him?”

“It worked for Julia Roberts’ character in Pretty Woman.”

“Actually, it didn’t. She still ended up falling for Edward.”

“Because she kissed him. I haven’t kissed Julian; ergo, I won’t fall for him.”

She assesses me with her analytical stare, then states, “Are you sure you haven’t already?”

“I’m not sure of anything, Chloe,” I admit after a pause. “All I do know is being with Julian made me realize I haven’t been true to myself. I put on an act for Trevor so he’d love me. You were right. I shouldn’t waste my time on someone who doesn’t appreciate me for me. And Julian does. He makes me happy, makes me feel beautiful. Even if it’s only for a few months, it’ll be worth it.”

Her eyes brimming with enthusiasm, she wraps her arms around me, planting a kiss on my temple. “I’m happy for you. Don’t think about the future. Have fun. Live in the moment. Let Julian explore your command center until he has all its functions worked out properly. Hell, maybe you can even play on his launch pad.”

I laugh, this entire conversation bordering on ridiculous, but in a way that makes me feel incredibly grounded in reality.

Pulling away, she holds me at arm’s length, her eyes trained on mine. “You’ve always been a planner, and I love that about you. Your obsession with planning out every second of every day with stickers and notes is quirky and adorable and what makes Evie…Evie.” She drops her hold on me, then continues. “I’ll admit, I was skeptical of this arrangement at first, since I know how you are, but now… I don’t know. You’re...different. I like this side of Evie. You’re confident and self-assured.”

I give her a sanctimonious look. “I’ve always been confident and self-assured. Need I remind you I got up in front of an entire bar a few weeks ago and told them all about my embarrassing breakup?”

“That doesn’t make you confident and self-assured. All that evidences is the fact you’ve been screaming for someone to notice you because Trevor never did. Now someone finally has. So who cares if nothing comes out of this? Stop making plans for the future. Enjoy the ride.” She pulls me closer again.

“On his rocket ship,” I add, then we both burst out laughing.

“Come on,” Chloe says when she sees it’s after five. “Let’s go surprise Nora at the yoga studio and hijack one of her classes.”

I get up from my chair, grateful for one night of normalcy in a life I have trouble recognizing these days. “That sounds perfect.”

I gather my things, and within a few minutes, we’re in the elevator on our way to the lobby. As it descends, I steal a glance at Chloe and smile. She scrunches her brows, knowing I’m about to do something crazy. When I start singing Elton John’s “Rocket Man”, she stifles a laugh, covering her mouth with her hand. Everyone else in the elevator glances sideways at us. Then Chloe joins in, which causes me to sing louder. Much to my amusement, a few of our fellow passengers join in. By the time the elevator reaches the lobby, we’re all singing the chorus. But we don’t stop once we exit. We continue belting out the lyrics as we all make our way toward the doors.

I’m so wrapped up in the strange, impromptu moment that could only happen in a place like New York City, and in a building that houses a slew of magazine offices, I almost don’t recognize the man leaning against a column in the lobby until Chloe grabs my arm, forcing me to stop.

My breath hitches when my eyes fall on Julian. He looks rather dashing in the charcoal gray suit he makes casual by foregoing the tie and leaving the top few buttons of his shirt undone. Sunglasses obscure those deep blue orbs that are permanently ingrained in my head, but I can still feel their heat. Everything about him is so effortless, so confident, so compelling. It’s no wonder everyone passing him pauses to look. A few women even giggle, probably wishing they were lucky enough to spend time with him. But I’m the lucky one. I think…

He pushes off the column and walks toward me, lowering his sunglasses. “Guinevere…”

The way my name rolls off his tongue is incredibly erotic. Even more so now that I’ve been treated to a taste of his bedroom voice.

“Julian.” I straighten my posture, doing everything to make it appear as if his presence doesn’t have my stomach in knots.

“Do I want to know what caused that impromptu rendition of ‘Rocket Man’?”

“Definitely not.” I can only imagine his reaction if he were to find out Chloe and I reduced what happened on the verandah to aeronautical terminology.

“I didn’t think so.”

I attempt to slow my racing heart as we stare at each other. I hadn’t expected to see him again until Friday morning when I’m to head back to the Hamptons to attend a charity art auction aboard some heavy hitter’s ridiculously large yacht. At least I didn’t think I was supposed to see him. Perhaps I overlooked something.