Mr. Handsome A Billionaire Romance(16)

“Why you’d choose me to go on a date with, I’ll never know. You could have your pick of women…” I don’t think she meant to say that out loud, but it was out in the open and it pissed me off a little that she saw so little of herself. What made her so unsure?

“I did have my pick of women and I chose you, Christina. Can’t you see I really like you? I haven’t even told my own mother about this restaurant and she loves Italian food,” I said earnestly. Christina shrugged and bit her lip nervously. “And you have to stop biting your lip, it’s distracting as hell.”

Christina let her bottom lip free and then seemed unsure of what to do next. “I’m sorry, I just…I’ve never had good luck with guys,” she admitted quietly.

“Well then, they’re idiots. I’m sorry to say it, but you’ve only dated idiots.”

Christina laughed, a real one and I smiled triumphantly. That was the second one, I needed to make her laugh more.

“I have only dated idiots, how'd you know?” she said, still chuckling.

I shrugged and then tapped my forehead.

“It’s a sixth sense.” I winked at her and she giggled, the sound was beautiful on my senses and made me want to hear more.

The server came by for our drink orders and I ordered a bottle of white wine.

“So where are you from?” I asked her innocently enough. Her expression sobered slightly and I was intrigued at the melancholy look in her eyes.

“I’m from Pennsylvania, Philly. I moved here to New York under a year ago,” she said almost cautiously. I wanted to know so badly what was in her past that, one, made her so insecure and shy, and two, made her seem so sad, almost.

“Why did you decide to move from Philly?” I asked, trying to get down to the root of things.

“I…um, my parents died in a car crash. I had no other family there and I wanted to start fresh. I figured if I was going to be alone, then I might as well get a change of scenery as well.” Christina was honest and I saw it pained her to talk about her parents being gone and her being truly on her own.

“I’m sorry to hear about your parents…but you’re not alone. Not anymore at least.” I smiled crookedly and she gave a small halfhearted smile in return. Her parents’ death must be fresh on her mind still. I wondered if she allowed herself to think about them often.

“You know, it’s okay to remember them. When my dad died, I found that was the only way I could heal and be the man he wanted me to be.”

Christina looked up at me in slight surprise. As if she hadn’t expected me to give her good advice.

“I try sometimes…but I just—I just can’t.” She sighed heavily and I slid my hand across the table to take hers in mine.

“I get it; with time you’ll be able to. It all takes time.” I squeezed her hand and then let it go as the waiter had returned with our wine as well as the bread basket and water. I waited until the server left us so we could go over the appetizer and dinner menus, to ask her another question.

“Would you mind if I helped you in your job search?” I asked tentatively, I didn’t know if she would find it insulting if I set up an interview for her without letting her know first at least.

“At this point, I’ll take all the help I can get. That would be very nice of you, Jeffrey.”

I gave a small sigh of relief.

“You can call me Jeff, you know, Jeffrey is so formal,” I teased her, and she shrugged while biting her lip.

“I kind of like using your whole name,” she admitted shyly. “It sounds almost regal, Jeffrey Bates, CEO of Stargate International. You sound like you should be knighted by the Queen.”

I laughed out loud at her unexpected joke and she chuckled before taking a sip of wine.

“Well I do have English roots, so it could happen.” I took a sip of my wine and then started chuckling all over again. Knighted by the Queen, where’d she come up with that? The rest of dinner went by smoothly, we talked about everything from where we grew up, to what kind of flowers and scenery we prefer.

We both loved the city, of course, but we also had a love of the beach, which I thought was perfect; I could take her on a weekend trip somewhere tropical and have her all to myself.

After dinner, we stayed at Romello’s for tiramisu and a bit more wine. Christina had a couple of glasses, whereas I only had one. I was kind of high off her and it was a weird feeling, though I didn’t reject it. After one date, I was already falling for Christina, which was crazy because usually I grew feelings for someone slowly. They crept up on me over time, they didn’t just spring up from the ground and lock on.

Once we were back at Christina’s apartment, I battled with myself as to whether I should ask to go in with her. We were standing out in the hall and she was fiddling with her keychain.

“Do you…do you want to come in?” she asked me nervously. I nodded and she unlocked the door so I could follow her inside. I closed the door and locked it behind me. The room was dark and I didn’t really want for her to turn on too many lights. I knew I said I’d take things at her pace, but from my picking out her underwear to tasting her on the car ride to the restaurant and everything I learned about her over dinner, I had a serious need to stake my claim over Christina.

She was standing just inside the living room area, next to her couch, unsure as to what should happen next. She invited me inside, she obviously wanted something more from me. “Why’d you invite me in, Christina?” I asked while walking up behind her. My hands circled around her waist and I pressed my already hardening cock into her soft behind.