Authors: Opal Carew
“You’re nailpolishlover209?”
He smiled and walked toward her as the hostess exited, closing the door behind her.
“Yes, that’s me.”
“I’m not staying.” She turned and reached for the door handle.
“You owe me dinner.”
She frowned. “Order what you want. I’ll leave my credit card number with the hostess.”
“I don’t care about that. What I want is to spend time with you.” He smiled. “I would think I’d get more than sixty seconds for my five thousand dollars.”
She turned around, fuming. “I don’t want to spend time with
you.
”
“But you will.” He pulled out a chair, waiting for her to take a seat. “Because you always honor your word.”
Anxiety coiled through her. He was right and they both knew it. She walked stiffly to the table and sat down. He guided the chair forward, then picked up the linen napkin that had been folded into a swan and shook it out, then handed it to her. He always had been quite the gentleman. She took the napkin, the brief contact of his fingers brushing hers sending sparks flashing along her nerve endings, throwing her wildly off balance.
He sat down across from her and placed his own napkin on his lap. She imagined the linen brushing over his thick, muscular thighs. Remembered what it felt like to have her legs wrapped around them.
“You know I never would have agreed to dinner if I’d known it was with you,” she said.
“But you really have no choice. When you put out an offer like that, you have to take what you get.”
“And I got you.”
He smiled. “Yes.”
He was far too pleased with himself and she hated it.
“Why would you spend
five thousand dollars
for an hour with me?”
His eyebrow arched. “It’ll be at least three hours. You’re staying for dessert and coffee.” He lifted the bottle of wine and poured rich burgundy liquid into the crystal stemmed glass in front of her.
“I can eat faster than that.”
“I’m sure you can. But they won’t serve a five-course meal faster than that. And before you argue, I’ve already ordered.”
“But that’s too much food. I couldn’t possibly—”
“The vichyssoise will be here in a moment and yes, you could possibly.” He sipped his wine. “Look, you agreed to have dinner with me…”
“Not with you…”
“So why don’t you just relax and enjoy it?”
A knock sounded, then the door opened. A waiter entered with a small tray, which he set on a side table, then placed a small bowl in front of her.
She realized the waiter had knocked because he’d wanted to warn them he was coming in … so he didn’t interrupt anything. Her cheeks flushed at the thought the waiter might think that they’d be … doing something together.
He served Kane next, then set a basket of fresh baked rolls on the table. The aroma of the bread, still warm, made her mouth water.
She’d gone off grains a couple of weeks ago, but knew she would not be able to resist tonight. She took one, still warm to the touch, and cut it open, then smeared butter on it. It melted as she spread it. She took a bite and had to stop herself from sighing. She did
not
want Kane to know she was enjoying any part of this.
* * *
Kane watched River as she took a bite of the roll. The look of bliss on her face made him wish he was the one giving her so much pleasure.
And he would be. Of that he was sure. She was reluctant now, but he intended to make up for the pain he’d caused her in college and convince her that they could have a future together. It wouldn’t be easy, but that had never stopped him from going after what he wanted before. A challenge made the victory all that much sweeter.
She dipped her spoon into the soup and tasted it. He could see her eyes light up. This place had the best vichyssoise he’d ever tasted. One of the reasons he’d chosen it. Though the most important reason was the private dining room.
She glanced at him, then schooled her expression to one of ambivalence.
He had to stop from chuckling. She’d always thought she could hide her emotions, but he’d always been able to read her like an open book.
The restaurant had provided Kane with a small buzzer that he’d put in his pocket. It allowed him to signal the staff with a push of a button when they were ready for the next course. It also meant they would be interrupted only when Kane signaled they were ready, which allowed him privacy to discuss his proposal with her after dinner.
He pushed the button and moments later, the waiter returned with their shrimp cocktail.
River had clearly decided that not talking was the best course of action, and he allowed her that option until after the salad.
When the main course arrived—chateaubriand and lobster tails, which he knew she loved—her eyes widened. He realized it was because she probably knew how much it cost. Knowing River—and he did—she would have looked up the menu online before she came and would know that the chateaubriand alone was into the three digits. Add the lobster and the other courses and the meal was probably close to a week’s pay for her. That wasn’t even counting the bottle of wine, which doubled that amount.
The waiter served the food from the beautiful platter onto their plates, then refilled their wineglasses. A moment later, he disappeared out the door.
Kane leaned forward. “River, don’t worry about the cost of the meal. I’m paying for it.”
Her wide blue gaze darted to his, looking thankful at first, then shifting to determined.
“No, it’s my responsibility to pay for dinner.”
“Actually, it doesn’t say that anywhere in the agreement. So I believe it’s my prerogative to pay if I choose.”
“But—”
“If you insist on paying for dinner for me, then we can go to a roadhouse for a second dinner and we’ll count this as a rehearsal dinner.”
“A rehearsal dinner? It’s not like we’re getting married.” Instantly her cheeks flushed a deep rose color.
He laughed. “Really? Talk of marriage so soon? We’ve barely gotten started renewing our connection. Give us a little time.”
She practically growled. “We aren’t renewing anything. Once this dinner is done, I’m gone and we never see each other again.”
“Well, no, not really.”
* * *
River’s eyes narrowed as she stared at him suspiciously. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, I didn’t just buy this dinner opportunity with you. Did you notice how quickly your campaign hit the target?”
“Yes,” she said slowly, her stomach tightening.
Please, don’t let him say that—
“I bought all the options.”
Oh, God, he’d said it.
“All of them?”
“That’s right.”
The superb taste of the chateaubriand soured in her mouth. She put down her fork and stared at him.
“What are you going to do with five hundred bottles of nail polish?”
The option rewards had basically been choices of nail polish. The lower-cost options included a single bottle of polish, the middle level included packages of the basic shades of the collection, and the high-level rewards were sets of the whole collection, which included the special top coats. Altogether, that would be about five hundred bottles.
Her heart sank. She’d been so happy that so many people would be trying her nail polish and hopefully love it and want to come back for more. She’d seen this as a way to grow her clientele. But because of what Kane had done, she’d reached only one client, and he didn’t even care about the polish. He had just used this as an opportunity to trap her into seeing him again. Altogether the campaign had raised twelve thousand dollars, including this dinner, and after expenses—including the huge outreach to bloggers as she’d intended—she would be left with enough to buy more supplies and get a kick-ass Web site set up, and do some promotion, but without that base of clients …
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll build a special room for them. I can have you come and organize them for me.”
She quirked her eyebrow. “I don’t think so.”
“So how many nail polishes do you have?” he asked.
She shifted in her seat. “In stock, you mean?”
“No, I mean personally.”
Oh, God, she didn’t want to reveal her quirky obsessiveness. “Um … I have a few.”
His grin broadened. “Come on. Tell me.”
She pursed her lips. “Well … about … uh … fourteen hundred.”
He chuckled.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Well, for someone who is tight for cash, that’s a lot of money tied up. Each bottle is what … twenty-five dollars?”
Her eyes widened. “Are you kidding? Sure, a bottle of Louboutin goes for fifty dollars.” She’d seen the stylish bottle online and drooled over the facet-shaped bottle that looked like a jewel and the tall slender cap, like one of the iconic stiletto heels from the designer’s line of shoes. “Or Dior for thirty to forty dollars. Azature, which is infused with a crushed diamond, is twenty-five, but I only have one of those.” Her one indulgence. “Most of what I have are two-dollar brands from the drugstore. Like Sinful Colors. They’re really nice,” she defended. She didn’t mention that she did have several from the boutique where she worked, but with her store discount they weren’t too pricey.
“Even at two dollars a bottle, that’s close to three grand.”
She leaned back in her chair, her back stiff. “Sure, but I don’t have many shoes.”
His eyes glittered and he laughed again, a deep, delightful sound. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Well, I’m just saying. A lot of women buy lots of shoes. But I don’t. And shoes are thirty or forty dollars a pair.”
“Sweetheart, I have no idea where you shop, but the last pair of shoes I bought for a woman was over a thousand dollars.”
She crossed her arms. “I think you just made my point.”
She pushed aside her plate, her meal only half eaten. Under the covered silver platter on the side table, more food was being kept warm.
“Look, I don’t want to argue about nail polish or shoes, or why we’re here,” she said. “I have to work tomorrow so I’d like to go home.”
“There’s still dessert.”
“I’m full.”
“Then stay for coffee.”
“I—”
But he glanced at his gold Rolex watch and she sighed.
“Fine.”
He picked up his napkin and wiped his mouth, leaving his meal unfinished, then pulled back her chair. “Let’s sit by the fireplace.”
But when she stood up, he rested his hand on her upper arm—the action intimate and totally familiar—and her heart raced. She couldn’t think with him this close. With him touching her like that.
Before she knew what was happening, he drew her close and his lips brushed hers. She sucked in a breath, immobile at the shock of his solid body against hers, her hormones swirling through her. Then his lips pressed more firmly, coaxing, and his tongue slipped inside her mouth. She melted against him, the deep, intense yearning she’d suffered so long … that she’d buried inside so deep she thought it would never resurface … stole away her reasons for keeping him at a distance. Denied her the barriers she needed to keep her sanity while in his arms, plucking each excuse from her brain before it could surface.
The feel of River’s soft body against him, her lips pliant under his, sent heat flooding to his groin. Kane wanted her more than he’d wanted any other woman. She had become an obsession he couldn’t rid himself of. He’d tried. After what had happened between them at college, he knew that she would never forgive him, and he’d convinced himself it was for the best. For both of them. But she’d haunted his dreams. She’d become the woman he compared every other woman to … and they all came out lacking.
He wanted her more than he wanted anything.
And he’d decided he would have her.
The Kickstarter campaign had been a golden opportunity, practically custom made to help him.
And now here she was, melting against him.
He stroked his hands down her back until his fingers brushed the swell of her lovely ass, then he pulled her tight against him … and his hard, aching cock. Her lips tugged from his on a gasp, then she drew her hands from around his neck and pushed against his shoulders.
She turned away, clearly flustered.
“I really need to go.”
“No, we have some business to discuss.”
“There’s no business. You bought some of my product, and the opportunity to have dinner with me tonight. That’s all. Dinner is over. And I will send the nail polishes in four weeks.”
“Four weeks? That’s a long time for me to wait.”
She turned back to him and quirked an eyebrow. “You’re in a rush for them, are you?”
He smiled. “Personally, I could wait, but if you’d like them to be sold in Rapture, then I’ll need them sooner than that.”
* * *
River’s eyes widened in shock.
Rapture was a boutique that specialized in designer products. Their very high-end clientele included actors, rock stars, multibillionaires.
“What are you talking about?”
Her heart pumped loudly. He couldn’t really mean he’d made a deal with Rapture to carry
her
nail polish.
“Come and sit down so we can talk. The waiter will bring coffee and dessert.”
“I told you I don’t want dessert.”
“So you’ll just drink the coffee.” He guided her to one of the chairs by the fireplace.
As she sat down, the waiter arrived with his now familiar knock. Kane told him to leave the dessert—banana cream pie, which was her favorite—on the table. Then the waiter poured them each a cup of coffee, asking how she liked it. He added her cream and sugar and handed her the cup. After he served Kane, he set a bottle of liqueur on the low table between the chairs along with two small liqueur glasses, then poured the creamy liquid into them.
She couldn’t resist Baileys and Kane knew it. She picked up her glass and sipped.
“The owner of Rapture is an old friend of mine, and when I explained to her that I’d found a talented new designer with a nail polish line, she was quite interested. I sent her a picture and a description of your collection and she asked for exclusive rights to distribute it.”