Masquerade (Swept Away #2.5)(25)

“I can’t wait to see it tonight.” I was slightly envious. No one was sending me gifts from Tiffany’s. Not even David, who might or might not be trying to woo me back. I thought back to my own, more ominous note and wondered if there was a connection.

“I can’t wait to show it off.” Rosie’s squeal interrupted my thoughts.

“Okay, I have the e-mails open. Are you ready to hear the craziness?”

“Yes, let me hear.”

“ ‘Dear CreativeGirlNYC, Have you ever been to Rome? It’s such a romantic city that I would love to fly you there in my private jet. I’d like to take you to the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps. Then we can share pasta and drink wine as we gaze into each other’s eyes. KnightInShiningArmani.’ ”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“It’s weird. He knows my name is Bianca, and I know his name is Matt, so why doesn’t he use our real names? And, well, we’ve never met. It’s too much too soon.”

“He’s trying to sweep you off your feet.” Rosie sounded matter-of-fact.

“Well, listen to the e-mail he sent me last night. ‘Dear CreativeGirlNYC, I was very disappointed that you canceled our date and now won’t accept my calls. I’ve been waiting for us to meet for a long time. In fact, I’ve been counting down the days until I can make you mine. I feel that you are playing games with me, and I don’t appreciate it. If you are willing to meet me tonight, let me know.’ ”

“Wow, he’s persistent.”

“Then today, he just sent me another e-mail. ‘Answer me, Bianca. If you would like to meet for lunch we can still make it work. If not, it’s your loss.’ ”

“Wow. He does sound like a winner, doesn’t he?” Rosie exclaimed, and I nodded, though she couldn’t see me.

“Now you know why I won’t be dating online anymore.” I closed my laptop.

“We’ll find two hotties tonight and flirt the night away.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“You might finally get laid,” she said, and then giggled.

“Rosie!”

“Hey, I’m just being honest. A vibrator can only do so much.”

“I’ll see you tonight,” I groaned.



“Hey,” Rosie whispered into the phone as I picked it up.

“Hey back at ya.”

“Meet me at this new bar on the Upper West Side tonight. I’ve heard good things and want to check it out.”

“What’s it called?”

“Orange.”

“Okay. I’ll see you around six?”

“Yeah.” She paused. “Six sounds good.” Then she giggled; the noise sounded quite nervous, and I frowned into the phone.

“What’s so funny? Is there a reason why you chose this bar, Rosie?” My brain started ticking, and I took a gulp of water.

“I’ll tell you later,” she said hurriedly, and then hung up.



I checked my watch for the tenth time. It was now six forty-five, and I was starting to get impatient. I looked at the menu again, and my stomach rumbled as I read the different entrée descriptions. I was so hungry, and I could already feel the glass of wine I was sipping going to my head.

I texted Rosie a photo of the cute bartender and then rubbed my temple softly. Hopefully the surreptitious photo I’d taken would make her hurry up.

“Hey.” Rosie walked into the bar as if she owned it, oblivious to the stares of the men in the bar as she sauntered toward me. Her blond hair was perfectly coiffed and her Escada suit clung to her body perfectly.

“Hey!” I jumped up and gave her a quick hug and continental kiss—left cheek, right cheek, left cheek. “I just texted you, by the way!” I looked at her expensive suit enviously. “You’re lucky I work from home, or I’d be borrowing your clothes.” I laughed as we sat down. I instinctively grabbed to the right of me to make sure the plastic bag was still at my side. I was going to give Rosie a copy of my father’s papers to hold for safekeeping. I’d taken the originals and put them in my safety deposit box at the bank, but I wanted to make sure that I had multiple copies out there just in case.

“How goes the writing? Seen any good movies lately?” She smiled at me briefly before turning to call the waiter over.

“Depends on what you mean by good.” I shrugged. “I’ve been watching box office movies mainly, those are the reviews that get the hits. Not the art pieces we used to watch in college.”

“Good old action movies, huh?”

“Action and cheesy romance.” I smiled and picked up my glass of wine. “They all start to seem the same, but they pay well. I had an article on Channing Tatum get ten thousand views last week.”

“Well, I’d pay to see him swinging those hips.” Rosie frowned as she waited for someone to come over and take her order. “The service here sucks. I should have remembered from last time.”

“Oh, you’ve been here before?” I asked her curiously. I was pretty sure she had said this was her first time.

“Yeah, once.” She ran her hands through her hair and then leaned toward me and grinned. “I’ve missed you, Bianca. I feel like we haven’t seen each other in ages.”