Several moments passed and Ari sat there toying with her food. She was seriously considering sneaking away from the restaurant.
“I apologize, but I have an emergency at the hospital. I need to cut our date short,” he said as he returned.
“What possible emergency is there with feet?” Ari clamped her mouth shut too late. In her defense, he’d been rude first.
“Feet are very important, Ari,” he scolded her as he stood there looking indignant.
“Yes, of course,” she responded, trying really hard not to laugh. She wasn’t in the least apologetic, but she was afraid that if she didn’t seem at least a little repentant, he might feel the need to lecture her. She would lose it completely then, and end up screaming at the man, making a spectacle of herself and getting hauled from the restaurant.
“You enjoy the rest of your meal. I will call you tomorrow. The evening went exceedingly well, and I look forward to doing it again,” he said. To her surprise and horror, he leaned down and kissed her before she was able to stop him.
As he turned and walked away, Ari lifted her arm and attacked her mouth with her napkin, wanting to get any trace of his flavor off her lips. Picking up her wine, she took a big gulp, then licked her lips, seeking out and destroying any remnants of the taste of that pathetic man.
It took her a few moments before she realized that he’d left her with the bill — after ordering a two-hundred-dollar bottle of wine.
Crap! That was a bummer, to use language that she’d left behind in her teens. It would seriously hurt her budget. She couldn’t bring herself to care too much, though. It was worth it to be rid of his company. She might as well drink up, finish her meal and then order a decadent dessert to drown out her woes.
“Good evening, Ari.”
Her heart sped up at the sound of Rafe’s deep voice behind her. This couldn’t have been a coincidence.
“Rafe.”
She hoped he hadn’t heard the excitement in her voice. She didn’t want to be happy to see him, but she was anticipating her first glance. She didn’t turn — she’d wait for him to come around her. It didn’t take long, and her breath became erratic as she gazed at him in his dark Armani suit and the bright blue-and-purple tie, which matched his eyes to perfection.
“It looks as if you could use some company,” he said as he sat down, lifting his hand to summon a waiter, who rushed over and cleared away the poor doctor’s setting before placing new dishes in front of Rafe.
Ari wondered what the other patrons of the restaurant were thinking. Maybe they thought she was on a speed date, going through as many men as possible in a two-hour block. At least this one was a vast improvement over the last, even if she would never admit that to Rafe.
“I’m on a date, Rafe,” she said. Technically she was, even if she’d been ditched.
“Not anymore, Ari. He was paged to the hospital.”
Her eyes narrowed as she watched the satisfied smirk on Rafe’s face. She had no doubt that the page had come from Rafe. She hadn’t realized Rafe’s determination — which made her the fool. She should have known this man better by now.
If she weren’t so darned happy to be rid of her date, she’d be seriously pissed off.
“Though my dinner companion is no longer here, I don’t necessarily wish to dine with you, Rafe,” she said as she took another bite of her pasta. Suddenly her appetite had returned. She could at least say that she was never bored in Rafe’s presence.
“Ah, but I couldn’t let such a beautiful woman dine alone, could I? What kind of gentleman would I be?”
The waiter approached and Rafe ordered for himself, including another very nice bottle of wine.
“I am perfectly happy to eat on my own. I’ve been doing it a long time,” she countered as she sipped the last of her wine, then reluctantly accepted as the waiter offered a glass from Rafe’s bottle.
When she took a taste, she was disappointed to like it so much. Rafe knew what she liked a little too well. For that matter, no other person knew her as much as this man sitting before her. No one else, that is, but her mother.
Of course, during her mother’s drawn-out illness, her mother had missed a lot, but it wasn’t Sandra’s fault. She’d been trying to get better, and Ari had doubted the bond they shared, or at least that’s what it felt like she’d been doing, since she hadn’t trusted her mother with the truth. Had Ari not doubted her mother, she never would have felt a need to lower herself to become what Rafe had demanded of her.
Though she’d somehow managed to fall in love with Rafe during that time, she still hadn’t forgiven him for what he’d asked of her. She’d given him a piece of her soul when she complied with his commands, and she didn’t know if she’d ever get that back.
That was a big reason that she couldn’t understand her attraction to him now. How could she still desire this man? Probably because she had made a choice to follow him. Though his methods had been abhorrent, he hadn’t abused her — hadn’t followed through on what he’d commanded in the beginning.
He’d never been cold with her, just demanding. The sad thing about it was that she liked Rafe strong and taking charge. She just needed to be able to say no, and she needed to be able to take charge, too. He’d been weaker on the second point, but she’d always been able to say no. He’d told her he wanted a puppet on strings, but he’d never actually made her his toy.
“Yes, you are strong and independent, beautiful, and smart. I am very impressed with you, Ari. It is my honor to dine with you,” he said as a bowl of soup was set before him.
“You have become smarter, Rafe. I am almost curious to learn what has happened to you,” she said, her guard dropping as she gazed at him.
“Oh, I’m the same man, Ari,” he told her with a wink and a confident grin. “I’ve just realized that I can’t live without you. It changed me in some ways — I know where I went wrong, and I know I can never let you go.”
“That’s not really your choice, is it, Rafe? I choose the people I want to be with. I am not a frightened child who must do your bidding. It may only be three years after the first day I was in your office, but I’ve grown in that time. I won’t bow to you or to anyone. I will never be blackmailed again or forced into a situation I don’t want to be in. I will never be your mistress.”