My eyes dropped to the menu again. Six courses? Yes, I was hungry, but could anyone eat that much? And what were half of the things on this menu anyway? Suddenly I just wanted a hamburger and fries. And to be back in Brandy’s house sitting on the couch in my yoga pants, with her by my side while we watched Netflix.
The server handed Lucas the wine list, and he perused it while I stared at the table, feeling completely out of place and over my head. When I told the server I would only be drinking water, he gave me a look that made me shrink down into my chair. Luckily Lucas ordered a bottle of wine for himself, and the server seemed pleased with his selection and disappeared.
A second later, another man in a uniform brought out some toasted bread with fancy little tomatoes drizzled in sauce—our first course. I grabbed a piece of bread and nibbled it, ultra-aware of where to put my hands. Anywhere but on the dress. Don’t want to ruin this thing before giving it back to Lucas.
I glanced up and noticed him watching me again with those inscrutable eyes, looking impossibly handsome in his tuxedo against the backdrop of the fountains. Like something from a dream or a fairy tale.
“You seem nervous,” he said, in his sexy, lilting voice.
I let out a sharp laugh. “Is it that obvious? Expensive dresses, Picasso paintings, and fancy meals are really not the norm for me. Not to mention…”
“Not to mention, what?” he asked.
I swallowed hard. I’d been about to say that I’d never been the woman on a billionaire’s arm before, but that didn’t seem polite. “I just don’t understand. Why? Why are we doing this?”
“It will all make sense in time, I promise.” He studied me for a moment longer and then picked up the small box in the middle of the table. “I love this restaurant, and not only for the food and the art, but because of this feature reserved for its most…exclusive guests.”
“What is it?”
He opened the box and showed me the list of songs inside, which had buttons next to them. "You pick a song, then push the button beside it and it'll start the fountains to that song. It's spectacular."
Straight away, my gaze focused on Con Te Partiro. It made me cry every time I heard it, but I pointed at it anyway. “This one,” I whispered.
Lucas’s gaze dropped to my finger and his jaw tensed, just the smallest shift in his muscles. “Time to Say Goodbye,” he said, with a degree of emotion I didn’t expect in his voice. “A fitting choice.”
I pressed the button next to the song title and the music started slowly, the illuminated fountains arching and winding together sinuously like lovers about to be parted. A rush of emotion suffused me straight away, like I knew it would, and I lifted my napkin as stealthily as I could to dab at the corner of my eye, careful not to smudge my mascara. I should have chosen a different song, but this one had called to me.
We sat in silence as the fountains danced in time to the music, while the opera singers’ voices surrounded us. We were so close to the fountains it felt like we were inside them, and the mist made goosebumps on my skin in the cool night air. Lucas watched with a stony expression, but his jaw clenched when the song got to the big climax and the fountains shot high into the sky.
When the fountains’ dance ended and the water stilled, Lucas returned his attention to me again. It was at that moment our second course, the lobster salad, was brought out to us. I’d already eaten most of the bread with tomatoes—it had been delicious—and I was ready to dig into this too. I just wasn’t sure how I’d eat four more courses after that.
“Tell me about your life,” Lucas said, as he picked up his fork.
I shifted in my seat, uncomfortable with this line of conversation. “There’s not much to tell. I live in Vista, a small city near San Diego. I run a florist shop there.”
“A florist shop?” He let out an amused chuckle. “How appropriate.”
I wasn’t sure what he meant by that. Was it an insult or a compliment? I decided to ignore it and instead took a bite of salad. Flavor exploded across my tongue. Wow.
He barely touched his food, but instead continued his interrogation of me. “And you said you live with this friend, Brandy?”
“Yes, after she got divorced she needed some help with her son, and I was struggling to pay the rent on my apartment. It worked out for both of us. But now her mom’s sick too…” My chest ached as I thought of my second family and how they were all counting on me to find Brandy—before it was too late. “I’m just really worried about her.”
He tilted his head as he studied me. "I can tell you truly care for these people.”
“They’re all I have. Well, them and my sister, but she lives in San Francisco and I don’t see her very often. She runs a company and she’s pretty busy with that.”
Our plates were swept away by quick-fingered servers, and another course laid in front of us. This one was some fancy scallops dish with potatoes, and it was also delicious.
“So you’re not in a relationship then,” Lucas continued.
I let out a nervous laugh. “What’s with all these questions?”
He pinned me with an intense gaze. “Answer me.”
His directness and abrupt focus on my relationship status startled me, and I considered lying to protect myself, but I couldn’t do it. Honesty was important to me and I prided myself on never lying. Not even to someone who probably had no trouble bending the truth…or worse. “No, I’m not in a relationship right now.”
He leaned forward. “But you’ve been in relationships in the past. How many? Were any of them serious?”
His tone sounded so possessive it made my spine stiffen. I shook my head, setting down my fork. “That is really none of your business.”
He sat back, languid and casual again. “I’m simply trying to understand you. Are you the type of woman who has long-term relationships, or are you more into casual flings?”
I snorted. “More like the type who sits at home and reads books instead of going out on dates.”
That got a laugh from him, low and husky and sexy as sin. “Lucky for me then that I have such an extensive library. Still, I find it hard to believe you’ve been single all this time. You’re a gorgeous woman, Hannah. Surely some men or women have taken an interest in you in the past. Did none of them strike your fancy?”
“I’ve dated a few guys before, but it never got serious,” I admitted, my cheeks flushing at his compliment. “It never felt right with any of them, and besides, all my time is spent managing the shop.”
Satisfaction gleamed in his eyes at my answer. I expected him to continue this line of questioning, but instead he sipped his red wine and asked, "You're the manager? Or the owner?"
“Both.” I paused, debating how much to reveal. What could it hurt? This would only last seven days and then I’d never see him again. “It was my parents’ shop, but they died five years ago. My sister and I inherited it in their will. Jo is too busy with her own business, so I run the place myself.”
“I’m sorry to hear about your parents,” he said.
My throat grew tight with that familiar sadness and the loss I felt every time I thought of the accident five years ago. Not because I missed my parents, but because I didn’t remember them at all. Not only were they taken from me, but I’d lost all my memories of them too, in an especially cruel twist. Was it any wonder I would fight tooth and nail to hold onto my loved ones now?