“And he took you to dinner?”
“Yes. To The Nataraj, his favorite Indian restaurant. Tomorrow he’s taking me to a double-feature at the Film Festival and afterward to Chinatown.”
“Is he cute?”
Julia squirmed. “If a rugby player could be termed cute. But he’s handsome and kind. He treats me like a princess.”
“Angelfucker.”
Rachel and Julia turned to Gabriel, not quite sure they heard what they thought they heard. Julia’s eyebrows went up, and frowning, she looked away.
Satisfied that she’d provoked a reaction from her brother commen-surate with his most recent infraction, Rachel turned in her seat to check her makeup in the mirror behind them. She was dabbing her rose-colored Chanel-coated lips when she suddenly stopped, staring at someone who was walking in their direction.
“Gabriel, that woman is totally eye-fucking you! What the hell?”
As if in response to Rachel’s exclamation, an artificially blond-haired waitress approached them immediately.
“Mr. Emerson! It’s so good to see you again.” The waitress leaned down, exposing the top of her moderately endowed cle**age and resting a finely manicured hand on his shoulder, her coral-colored nails gleaming in the low light.
Julia scowled in spite of herself and wondered if the waitress planned on doing something to Gabriel with those fingernails, or if she was just flashing them to scare other women away.
The woman nodded at them. “My name is Alicia, and I’ll be your server.”
“Start a tab for me please. Drinks for the three of us are on me and one for Ethan and yourself, of course.” Gabriel placed a folded bill in her hand, effectively freeing his shoulder from her touch.
She smiled faintly and palmed it.
“Ladies?” she asked, keeping her eyes fixed on Gabriel and smiling provocatively, the tip of her tongue just poking out between her coral-colored lips.
“A Cosmo for me,” said Rachel.
Julia froze.
“What would you like?” Rachel nudged her.
“I…don’t know,” Julia stammered, wondering what she could order that wouldn’t embarrass her. In a place like Lobby she couldn’t exactly order a beer or start doing shots of tequila, which were her usual poisons.
“Two Cosmos, then.” Rachel turned back to her friend. “You’ll love them — they’re great.”
“A double shot of Laphroaig twenty-five-year-old, neat, please. And ask the bartender for a small shot glass of spring water, non-sparkling,” Gabriel instructed without making eye contact with the waitress.
The waitress left, and Rachel began to laugh. “Big brother, only you could make ordering a drink sound pretentious.”
Julia giggled, if only because she liked the sight of Gabriel’s irritation at his sister’s characterization.
“What’s Laphroaig?” she asked.
“A single malt Scotch whisky.”
“And the spring water?”
“Just a drop or two to open up the taste. I’l let you try it when it arrives.” He hazarded a small smile in her direction, and she turned away, looking down at her lovely shoes.
He followed her gaze and found himself entranced by her beautiful high heels. Rachel had no idea how fine a purchase they’d been. It was worth every penny just to see Miss Mitchell’s lovely legs, arched and lengthened by those exquisite shoes. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, hoping the movement would successfully dislodge his advancing arousal from its current trap.
It didn’t.
“I guess you can wait for the drinks, Gabriel. Julia and I are going to dance.”
Before Julia could protest, Rachel had pulled her onto the dance floor, motioned to the dj for him to turn the music up, and proceeded to dance with enthusiasm.
Julia, on the other hand, was uncomfortable. She could see that Gabriel had moved so that he could stare at her, leaning back on the banquette and watching, eyes intense and unblinking. She wondered if he’d noticed the fact that she wasn’t wearing traditional panties underneath her dress.
Is that something men notice? Panty lines?
She was unable to look away as his eyes leisurely smoothed over her from head to foot, resting longer than necessary on her shapely bare legs and her red-soled heels.
“I can’t dance in these shoes,” Julia protested in her friend’s ear.
“Bullshit. Just move your body and let your feet take a rest. And you look great, by the way. My brother is an idiot.”
Julia turned her back on her professor and began to dance, closing her eyes and letting the music take her. It was a remarkable feeling. As soon as she forgot about him and his penetrating blue eyes, she was actually able to enjoy herself. Marginally.
I wonder if he can see vestiges of my thong through the fabric of my dress.
Scratch that. I hope he can see it. I hope it tortures him. Enjoy the view, Professor, because that’s all you’re ever going to get.
When the song ended, Rachel approached the dj with a smile, asking what his plans were for the next few musical choices. Whatever he said must have pleased her, because she pumped a fist in the air in a very unladylike manner and almost let out a yell.
“Awesome!” she cried, crossing the floor to return to Julia, grabbing her hands and swinging her around.
Now that Julia and Rachel were dancing (and obviously enjoying themselves), a number of people from various adjoining lounges decided to join them, including a very handsome blond-haired man.
“Hi,” he offered, edging in closer to Julia and moving in time to the music.
“Hi,” she managed, feeling somewhat conspicuous.
She thought about that old line, about how women associate dancing with sex. This man, whoever he was, would no doubt be excellent at the latter, because he certainly very heterosexually excelled at the former. It was breathtaking, actually.
“I haven’t seen you here before.” He smiled.
Julia noticed he had very white teeth and that his eyes were bright blue, as blue as a cornflower. She momentarily forgot to answer him as she focused on the startling color of his eyes.
“I’m Brad. What’s your name?” He leaned forward, his ear almost brushing against her lips in order to hear her response over the pulsing music.
She blinked a little at his nearness. “Julia.”
“Pleased to meet you, Julia. That’s a beautiful name.”
She indicated that she’d heard him, and sent a desperate look to Rachel, hoping she would come to her rescue. But Rachel was too busy dancing with her eyes closed, because apparently she loved the current song.
“Can I buy you a drink? My friends and I have a table up front.” He gestured vaguely, but Julia did not follow his gesture.
“Thanks, but I’m with my friend.”
He smiled, undeterred, and moved closer. “Bring your friend with you. You have the most beautiful eyes. I couldn’t live with myself if I let you get away and didn’t ask for your number.”
“Um…I don’t know…”
“Let me at least give you mine.”
Julia’s eyes darted in Rachel’s direction, which was a bad decision because it prevented her from seeing Brad move toward her. She ended up stepping right on his toes, which made him wince in pain and pushed her off balance.
He caught her before she hit the floor and held her close to his chest while she found her feet. She had to admit, he had a muscular chest, and surprisingly strong arms for someone who wore a suit.
“Easy there, beautiful. I’m sorry I cut you off like that. Are you all right?” He kept his left hand on her arm and moved his right so that he could brush the curls out of her eyes. He looked down at her and smiled.
“I’m fine. Thank you for not letting me fall.”
“I’d be a fool to let you go, Julia.”
She noticed obliquely that his smile was not creepy. He seemed nice, even. His suit told her that he’d come to the club after work and that he probably worked downtown for a large company — someplace where they still demanded that young men wear suits and ties. And really shiny black shoes.
He was confident, she thought, but not arrogant. And his words, though careful y chosen, did not seem calculated. He was, perhaps, the kind of person who she could imagine dating for a little while, but she doubted that they would have much in common. Certainly, dancing was not something she wanted to do again in the near future. Although dancing with him…
She was far too shy to extend the conversation any further. She opened her mouth to speak her regrets, but just then someone grabbed her other arm and effectively body-checked Brad out of the way. Something sent a shock wave rippling across the surface of her skin, and she knew immediately whose long, cool fingers wrapped around her bare upper arm.
“Are you all right?” Gabriel asked, speaking and looking only at Julia.
His calm and concerned tone totally belied the inexplicable anger in his eyes.
His anger confused her, so she didn’t answer. She looked dumbfounded, which Brad noticed immediately.
“Is this ass**le hurting you?” he asked, straightening his shoulders as he scowled at Gabriel. He made a move forward, looking rather menacing.
Julia shook her head in response, still somewhat shocked.
“She’s with me,” snarled Gabriel, not even bothering to turn his head in Brad’s direction.