Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 78155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
I may have taken some pictures of you…
I smirked. Sneaky.
I said some. Not a lot.
I pocketed my phone and had my driver take me over there. I hopped out and stepped inside, finding the two of them sitting together on two stools with red leather cushions. They both had cocktails.
Dominic was a good-looking guy. Tall, muscular like he worked out, nice eyes. I definitely wouldn’t like him if he weren’t gay, and I knew he was definitely gay because of the way he looked at me. His eyes roamed up and down and then shifted back to Aliénor. Then he smirked at her and mouthed, “Girl.”
Aliénor turned to look at me, and her eyes lit up at the sight of me. She got out of her chair, rose onto her tiptoes, and kissed me as she wrapped her arms around my neck. It was more than a peck, a little intense for a public space, but I was game for PDA.
She pulled away and returned to her seat. “Dominic, this is Luca.”
“Ah, he really is a god.” He continued to talk about me like I wasn’t an actual person. He didn’t shake my hand but gave a slight bow. “We are not worthy.”
Aliénor burst out laughing.
I grabbed an extra chair and pulled it next to Aliénor. I wasn’t used to a gay man repeatedly praising me, but I didn’t mind it. “Nice to meet you,” I said politely, a phrase I hadn’t used since I was in secondary school.
“No.” His hand moved to his chest. “The pleasure is mine.” His eyes flicked over me again. “Aliénor and I have talked about you a lot. A lot, a lot, a lot.”
My arm moved over the back of her chair, and I felt even more idiotic for throwing a tantrum over this guy. The least threatening man I’d ever come across.
“You make my girl very happy,” he said. “I’ll leave it at that.”
Aliénor chuckled again, her cheeks a little red like Dominic’s open-book attitude embarrassed her a bit.
I wasn’t good at making conversation, even with people I knew well, so I ordered a drink and let them talk.
“Aliénor says you’re a senator?” he asked. “So, you’re smart and beautiful? Some people really just have it all, don’t they?”
I was certain she hadn’t shared the rest of my job title. Probably wouldn’t want to be associated with me otherwise. “Yes.”
“Yes, you’re a senator, or yes, you have it all?” he asked.
“Both.”
He chuckled quietly. “At least he’s honest.”
“What do you do at Septime?” I couldn’t remember the last time I’d tried to make conversation with someone like this. Even at work functions, I already knew most of the guests, so we didn’t have to do too much small talk. We discussed football or talked shit about President Martin’s suit behind his back.
“I’m a waiter,” he said. “Aliénor used to be a sommelier…until she became a big-time fashion merchandiser.”
I turned to her. “I didn’t know you knew so much about wine.”
She shrugged as she picked up her glass. “I grew up around it.”
Because her father owned so much land in Loire Valley. I remembered that now. I wondered what had come of it after he died. She was unable to claim it as next of kin, so the estate may have already been dissolved by the government. She had no inheritance.
“So, is this serious?” Dominic asked bluntly.
She flashed him an angry stare.
“Just curious,” he said innocently.
At first glance, I wouldn’t have thought he was gay. His voice was deep like mine, and he carried himself with a straight spine. But the content of his words and his interests made it more apparent. “Define serious.”
“Ignore him,” she said, putting her hand on my thigh under the table.
A single touch, light and innocent, but it was enough to make me feel shit. The public affection and ownership.
“You know…” Dominic shrugged. “This is going somewhere.”
“Dominic,” she said, slightly raising her voice. “I don’t know what you’re doing, but stop doing it.”
“I don’t know where it’s going,” I said honestly. “But I’ll follow whatever direction it takes.” I wouldn’t swim upstream. I wouldn’t sail against the wind. When I’d pursued Aliénor, I didn’t have an endgame in mind. Didn’t think about marriage or kids or any of that bullshit. All I thought about was now. And right now, I enjoyed her and this relationship.
Dominic seemed to like that answer because he exchanged a quick look with Aliénor.
I walked her inside her apartment.
She set her purse on the counter then removed her long coat, revealing the little black dress she wore and heels, the outfit she must have worn to work. She had gold earrings in her lobes, something I’d never seen her wear before.
I gave her a quick once-over because I hadn’t been able to get a good look at the bar.