Seen it.”
He shook his head, by all appearances genuinely frustrated. “There is no way you could have seen that movie. Nobody has seen that movie.”
“Hey, it was late at night, and my only options were the subterranean supermodel or an infomercial. I went with the supermodel. In retrospect, the infomercial would have been a better choice. As I recall, it was for the Total Gym and featured a different supermodel.”
He took a long pull on his coffee, then set the cup down with a confident air. “I have you now.”
“Don’t count on it.”
“ Steel Magnolias .”
She was about to say she’d seen it, then realized she hadn’t. “You’re right,” she admitted. “I took a pass on that one. But how could you possibly know?”
“It’s not your kind of thing. Too sentimental. Too ... I don’t know ... girly.”
“I am a girl, you know.”
“You’re not a girl who would sit through Steel Magnolias . Probably not Terms of Endearment , either. Or Sweet Home Alabama , or Hope Floats , or Pay It Forward ...”
“Okay, okay, I give. You’ve found my Achilles’ heel. I don’t go for soapy, sappy cinema. I’m still amazed you guessed, though.”
“Everybody has a weakness. It was just a matter of time until I found yours.”
“Congratulations,” she said sourly.
“Thanks.” He finished his coffee. “You put up a good fight. But I knew you would be mine eventually.”
There were several ways in which this remark could be interpreted. She wondered how many levels of subtext she was meant to find.
“I guess I haven’t seen literally every movie,” she said lightly, “but I’ve seen a bunch. It’s an addiction, like cocaine, only without the improved work efficiency and nasal bleeding.”
“Why do you think they appeal to us so much?”
“Movies? Escapism, I suppose.”
“Brings us back to the art gallery, doesn’t it? Illusions projected into space. They seem real. We can even get lost in them. But at the end of the day they’re just images.”
“You’re more philosophical than you let on.”
“Maybe I’ve just had too much to drink.”
But he had hardly touched his cocktail. She’d avoided hers, as well. Each of them was staying sober and alert, pretending to be jokey and casual, but actually sizing up the other. She thought of some other movies he might have brought up in his impromptu quiz. Mask , maybe. F Is for Fake . Shadow of a Doubt . Masquerade ...
“That’s the best feature of the place where I’m staying now,” he added.
She didn’t follow. “What? Holograms?”
“A wide-screen TV. High-def. Forty inches.”
“You must’ve shelled out big bucks for that one.”
“It’s not mine. Came with the place. I rented it furnished.”
“What kind of rental comes with a forty-inch TV?”
“Why don’t I show you?”
No, he was definitely not playing hard to get.
She assessed the risk of being alone with this man in his rented guesthouse. If he was onto her, he might get nasty when not in public. But she doubted it. They had been seen together at the gallery and the restaurant. If she were to disappear tonight, he would be implicated.
Besides, she could take care of herself. In a world of uncertainties, this was the one conviction on which she never wavered.
“Well, gee,” she said with a teasing smile, “I don’t know. Is there anything good on TV?”
“We can make our own entertainment.”
“How bold of you.”
“So I’m coming on too strong?”
“Nope. You’re coming on just about right.”
The thing was, she wasn’t kidding. He hadn’t made a single misstep all evening. He was even a movie fan.
Yes, he was dangerous, but that little detail only contributed to his allure. She had no objection to getting it on with a bad boy. Hell, she was a bad girl herself, most of the time.
Not that she would actually do anything. This was a job, not a date. Nothing would happen.
Of course it wouldn’t.
12
Leaving the restaurant, Abby
He shook his head, by all appearances genuinely frustrated. “There is no way you could have seen that movie. Nobody has seen that movie.”
“Hey, it was late at night, and my only options were the subterranean supermodel or an infomercial. I went with the supermodel. In retrospect, the infomercial would have been a better choice. As I recall, it was for the Total Gym and featured a different supermodel.”
He took a long pull on his coffee, then set the cup down with a confident air. “I have you now.”
“Don’t count on it.”
“ Steel Magnolias .”
She was about to say she’d seen it, then realized she hadn’t. “You’re right,” she admitted. “I took a pass on that one. But how could you possibly know?”
“It’s not your kind of thing. Too sentimental. Too ... I don’t know ... girly.”
“I am a girl, you know.”
“You’re not a girl who would sit through Steel Magnolias . Probably not Terms of Endearment , either. Or Sweet Home Alabama , or Hope Floats , or Pay It Forward ...”
“Okay, okay, I give. You’ve found my Achilles’ heel. I don’t go for soapy, sappy cinema. I’m still amazed you guessed, though.”
“Everybody has a weakness. It was just a matter of time until I found yours.”
“Congratulations,” she said sourly.
“Thanks.” He finished his coffee. “You put up a good fight. But I knew you would be mine eventually.”
There were several ways in which this remark could be interpreted. She wondered how many levels of subtext she was meant to find.
“I guess I haven’t seen literally every movie,” she said lightly, “but I’ve seen a bunch. It’s an addiction, like cocaine, only without the improved work efficiency and nasal bleeding.”
“Why do you think they appeal to us so much?”
“Movies? Escapism, I suppose.”
“Brings us back to the art gallery, doesn’t it? Illusions projected into space. They seem real. We can even get lost in them. But at the end of the day they’re just images.”
“You’re more philosophical than you let on.”
“Maybe I’ve just had too much to drink.”
But he had hardly touched his cocktail. She’d avoided hers, as well. Each of them was staying sober and alert, pretending to be jokey and casual, but actually sizing up the other. She thought of some other movies he might have brought up in his impromptu quiz. Mask , maybe. F Is for Fake . Shadow of a Doubt . Masquerade ...
“That’s the best feature of the place where I’m staying now,” he added.
She didn’t follow. “What? Holograms?”
“A wide-screen TV. High-def. Forty inches.”
“You must’ve shelled out big bucks for that one.”
“It’s not mine. Came with the place. I rented it furnished.”
“What kind of rental comes with a forty-inch TV?”
“Why don’t I show you?”
No, he was definitely not playing hard to get.
She assessed the risk of being alone with this man in his rented guesthouse. If he was onto her, he might get nasty when not in public. But she doubted it. They had been seen together at the gallery and the restaurant. If she were to disappear tonight, he would be implicated.
Besides, she could take care of herself. In a world of uncertainties, this was the one conviction on which she never wavered.
“Well, gee,” she said with a teasing smile, “I don’t know. Is there anything good on TV?”
“We can make our own entertainment.”
“How bold of you.”
“So I’m coming on too strong?”
“Nope. You’re coming on just about right.”
The thing was, she wasn’t kidding. He hadn’t made a single misstep all evening. He was even a movie fan.
Yes, he was dangerous, but that little detail only contributed to his allure. She had no objection to getting it on with a bad boy. Hell, she was a bad girl herself, most of the time.
Not that she would actually do anything. This was a job, not a date. Nothing would happen.
Of course it wouldn’t.
12
Leaving the restaurant, Abby
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