My Professor(90)

I round the room and continue the tiring routine of slipping past acquaintances until I finally lay eyes on her.

She’s an absolute vision in her emerald green dress, the one I helped her pick knowing she would be wearing it along with her new necklace. It’s a choker made of oval-cut emeralds and marquise-cut diamonds. My jeweler purchased it from an antique jewelry dealer in Switzerland. It dates from the 19th century.

She’s standing alone, perusing the auction items. I reach her just as she’s finishing putting her name down beside a $250 opening bid for a dinner for two at Marea, seated at the chef’s table. By the end of the night, I have no doubt the meal will go for well over ten thousand dollars, perhaps even twenty. I’ll be sure to loop back later before I leave to ensure we get it.

“I’ve always wanted to eat there.”

My voice surprises her.

She drops the pen and turns around, her eyes alight with excitement. I lean in for a kiss before telling her she looks beautiful, and my hand stays on her hip as I tug her away from the auction table. I’ll keep my hand on her all night, I know it. These few days apart have been too hard.

“The necklace…Jonathan.”

Her tone sounds reproachful as she reaches up to touch an emerald.

“It’s an heirloom. I couldn’t pass it up.”

She rolls her eyes teasingly. “Big jewelry collector, are you?”

“It’s a new hobby.”

“Well it’s beautiful, obviously. Just what I would have picked for myself if I had several more zeroes at the end of my bank account.”

I laugh and lead her toward the bar so I can grab a drink. I ask her if she’d like anything, but she shakes her head.

“I’ve already had a cocktail and I ate a light lunch. I should pace myself.” Her eyebrows furrow as she glances over my shoulder at something. “Who’s the woman talking to Emmett? She’s beautiful.”

I turn and follow her gaze across the room to find my friend standing before a petite brunette wearing a strapless black gown. Emelia’s right; she is beautiful, feminine but with an edge, similar to Emelia in that way. She barely comes up to Emmett’s shoulders, but she doesn’t look the least bit intimidated by him. Emmett, meanwhile, looks mesmerized.

I study her features for another moment before giving up. “I don’t recognize her.”

“Really? I’d like to meet her, whoever she is…Emmett looks like he wants to swallow her whole.”

I chuckle.

“His date?” she wonders.

“Maybe. If not, she must be Saint John’s alumni.”

“It’s Lainey Davenport,” Alexander supplies, coming up to join us, having heard the tail end of our conversation. “You don’t recognize her?”

I shake my head.

He shrugs. “Yeah, she’s too young for you two to have overlapped at school. She’s closer to Emelia’s age.”

I look over at my date, and she winks. Our age difference suits us. We wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Emmett’s in love with her,” Alexander adds, like it’s information anyone would know.

Emelia’s eyes widen with intrigue. “So they’re dating? I didn’t realize.”

He laughs. “God no.”

Interesting.

“Are they friends?” Emelia wonders, clearly intrigued by the pair.

“You’ll have to ask Emmett. Now, where did they place you two for dinner?”

“Table eleven,” Emelia says. “I found my place card earlier.”

He frowns. “Damn. I’m at seven. Let me go see if I can switch. I’m not enduring this dinner solo. I’ll be back.”

He disappears into the crowd just as the bartender finishes making my drink, then I ask Emelia if she wants to continue looking over the auction items before dinner.

“Yes,” she says, sounding giddy. “I was only halfway through. It’s so interesting to see what rich people spend their money on.”

There are jewelry and spa days and designer bags up for grabs. Nothing catches my eye, but to be fair, I’m not paying much attention. It’s been a long day, and while this event is important and I’m glad to be supporting it, I would also like to be upstairs, alone in the hotel room with Emelia. I want to reacquaint myself with her tonight, sleep in tomorrow morning, and then take our time leaving the city. Emelia got us tickets to a matinee show on Broadway when she heard I hadn’t seen Hamilton yet. Before that, we’ll meet Sonya and Wesley for a late brunch and then, if there’s time, take a walk around the city. There’s so much historical architecture here. Emelia wants to show me a brownstone she used to walk past every day en route to her graduate courses at NYU. She knows I’ll love it.

When we walk past an auction listing for a vacation rental, it reminds me of what I was researching on my flight earlier, something I’ve had in the works for the last few weeks, actually.

“I’ve been planning a trip for us for late spring,” I tell her. “My travel agent has it all squared away.”

I pay careful attention to her reaction, but my revelation didn’t fully peel her away from the task at hand. She’s still perusing the items, and her “Oh?” is half-hearted at best.

“I’m expected in Paris at the end of April for work. From there, it’s easy enough to get to Scotland. I’d like to see Dunlany, to see what work needs to be done.”