meal, I was relaxed and thoroughly enjoying our time
together. However, it did not escape my attention that Roman wasn’t
as forthcoming regarding his own life. A closed book was more an
accurate description and when I tried to steer the conversation
back to him, he’d volley yet another question at me. It was a
textbook distraction technique, which I’d let slide during our
dinner conversation but now I was intrigued.
“ So…” I hedged
tentatively, stalling until the waiter finished placing our coffees
down on the table.
“ So…” he mimicked with a
grin, picking his coffee up and taking a mouthful.
As his throat worked to swallow the liquid,
I watched, fascinated for a moment until I regained my train of
thought. “I’ve spoken enough about me all evening. Now I want to
hear about you.”
“ I’m really not that
interesting.”
My brows rose. “Oh, I beg to differ.”
“ Alright…” With his cup
down on the table, his gaze returned to mine. “What would you like
to know?”
“ Married?”
“ No.”
“ Have you always lived in
New York?”
“ Yes.”
“ Age?”
“ Older than
you.”
I shook my head. “You’re not very
forthcoming, are you?”
“ No, not particularly,” he
deadpanned.
With a frustrated sigh, I
took a sip of my own coffee. “And apparently you have a preference
for monosyllabic answers.”
His lips twitched in amusement at my
sarcasm.
“ I don’t find your
ambiguity amusing, Mr. Knight,” I huffed. “I’ve been more than
candid about myself with you all evening, which I can assure you
doesn’t come naturally to me. You can’t expect me to accompany you
back to your hotel, alone, without even knowing the basics about
yourself. You’re virtually a stranger and I have trust
issues.”
All previous humor fled his features as he
studied me for a long time and I was proud of myself for not
recoiling from the intensity of his scrutiny.
“ I can assure you,
Charlotte, you’re perfectly safe with me.” He leaned back in the
chair, arms crossed over his chest, but I caught the flicker of
apprehension flash over his features before the mask of stoicism
dropped firmly into place. The man definitely had hidden
layers.
“ I’m thirty-two, born and
raised in New York. I have two sisters—one older and one
younger—and my parents are divorced. I’m an extremely private
person and I don’t particularly enjoy discussing my
family.”
He paused briefly, as if thinking about his
next words. “I don’t have a wife nor do I have a girlfriend—I
relish my freedom too much. Between my company and its vast
investments, I barely have the time for a personal life, let alone
a relationship.”
With my elbow propped on the table, I rested
my chin on the palm of my hand and smirked at him. “Hmm, so what
you’re telling me is you’re a middle-aged workaholic with
commitment issues.”
His answering bark of laughter lifted the
heavy mood between us. “Middle-aged, eh? I don’t know whether I
should take offense to that or not. Perhaps you should have majored
in psychotherapy and not teaching, Miss Gilmore.”
“ Oh, heavens no—children
are so delightfully uncomplicated and much more virtuous than
adults.” I picked up my cup to take another sip of coffee. “Take
you, for example.” I motioned to him with my cup. “Totally
unscrupulous. Within an hour of meeting me, you crudely
propositioned me.”
His grin was almost predatory and completely
unapologetic. “What can I say—I’m a man who knows what he wants,
and make no mistake about it, Charlotte—I always get what I want.”
With a shrug, he finished the last of his coffee and motioned the
nearby waiter for the check.
“ Not this time,” I mumbled
under my breath.
Roman handed over his credit card to the
waiter and then turned his attention back to me. “I’ll let you in
on a little secret, Princess. I wouldn’t be where I am today if I
was a scrupulous man. From that first moment I first saw
together. However, it did not escape my attention that Roman wasn’t
as forthcoming regarding his own life. A closed book was more an
accurate description and when I tried to steer the conversation
back to him, he’d volley yet another question at me. It was a
textbook distraction technique, which I’d let slide during our
dinner conversation but now I was intrigued.
“ So…” I hedged
tentatively, stalling until the waiter finished placing our coffees
down on the table.
“ So…” he mimicked with a
grin, picking his coffee up and taking a mouthful.
As his throat worked to swallow the liquid,
I watched, fascinated for a moment until I regained my train of
thought. “I’ve spoken enough about me all evening. Now I want to
hear about you.”
“ I’m really not that
interesting.”
My brows rose. “Oh, I beg to differ.”
“ Alright…” With his cup
down on the table, his gaze returned to mine. “What would you like
to know?”
“ Married?”
“ No.”
“ Have you always lived in
New York?”
“ Yes.”
“ Age?”
“ Older than
you.”
I shook my head. “You’re not very
forthcoming, are you?”
“ No, not particularly,” he
deadpanned.
With a frustrated sigh, I
took a sip of my own coffee. “And apparently you have a preference
for monosyllabic answers.”
His lips twitched in amusement at my
sarcasm.
“ I don’t find your
ambiguity amusing, Mr. Knight,” I huffed. “I’ve been more than
candid about myself with you all evening, which I can assure you
doesn’t come naturally to me. You can’t expect me to accompany you
back to your hotel, alone, without even knowing the basics about
yourself. You’re virtually a stranger and I have trust
issues.”
All previous humor fled his features as he
studied me for a long time and I was proud of myself for not
recoiling from the intensity of his scrutiny.
“ I can assure you,
Charlotte, you’re perfectly safe with me.” He leaned back in the
chair, arms crossed over his chest, but I caught the flicker of
apprehension flash over his features before the mask of stoicism
dropped firmly into place. The man definitely had hidden
layers.
“ I’m thirty-two, born and
raised in New York. I have two sisters—one older and one
younger—and my parents are divorced. I’m an extremely private
person and I don’t particularly enjoy discussing my
family.”
He paused briefly, as if thinking about his
next words. “I don’t have a wife nor do I have a girlfriend—I
relish my freedom too much. Between my company and its vast
investments, I barely have the time for a personal life, let alone
a relationship.”
With my elbow propped on the table, I rested
my chin on the palm of my hand and smirked at him. “Hmm, so what
you’re telling me is you’re a middle-aged workaholic with
commitment issues.”
His answering bark of laughter lifted the
heavy mood between us. “Middle-aged, eh? I don’t know whether I
should take offense to that or not. Perhaps you should have majored
in psychotherapy and not teaching, Miss Gilmore.”
“ Oh, heavens no—children
are so delightfully uncomplicated and much more virtuous than
adults.” I picked up my cup to take another sip of coffee. “Take
you, for example.” I motioned to him with my cup. “Totally
unscrupulous. Within an hour of meeting me, you crudely
propositioned me.”
His grin was almost predatory and completely
unapologetic. “What can I say—I’m a man who knows what he wants,
and make no mistake about it, Charlotte—I always get what I want.”
With a shrug, he finished the last of his coffee and motioned the
nearby waiter for the check.
“ Not this time,” I mumbled
under my breath.
Roman handed over his credit card to the
waiter and then turned his attention back to me. “I’ll let you in
on a little secret, Princess. I wouldn’t be where I am today if I
was a scrupulous man. From that first moment I first saw
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