“From what my sister has told me, you’ve done exactly that. She watches your show regularly. I’d almost say it borderlines on obsession. I’m not sure why, since she hasn’t cooked a day in her life, but she goes on and on about it all the time. Personally, I think it’s more about watching your handsome face than anything else.”
“You think I’m handsome?” he teased with a wink.
“You’re not bad-looking,” she jested back, giving him a flirtatious smile. “I could get used to looking at your face.”
They spent the next half hour eating and talking about her studies at Yale, his plans for his next cookbook, and what the next part of the journey might hold for all of them.
“Aren’t you going to introduce us to your friend?” a pretty blonde woman said coming up beside them with Wade McAllister, another celebrity chef-turned-artist, by her side. The woman looked familiar, but Vanessa couldn’t place where she knew her from.
Samuel looked up with a surprised look on his face. He stood from his chair, then gestured towards Vanessa. “This is Vanessa Lewis, my date for the celebration.”
Wade glanced from Samuel to Vanessa and back again. “Does this mean you took my advice from the other day to heart?”
“What conversation?” the pretty blonde asked with a confused look on her face. “You know I hate when the two of you keep me out of the loop.”
“I’ll tell you about it later, Tara,” Wade explained in a hushed voice. Turning his attention back to his friend, he added, “And you still haven’t answered my question, Samuel.”
“Vanessa and I met a couple of years ago at a party, and we re-connected on the island. We’re spending time together to see where it can go.”
“I like what I’m hearing,” Wade said with a smile. “I told you that the club could be more than just a materialistic experience. I know it changed my life for the better in more ways than one; the best is being engaged to this gorgeous creature right beside me. If she hadn’t been my concierge at the club last year, I wouldn’t have gone after my dreams, or end up getting ready to marry the woman I love.”
That’s where Vanessa knew the other woman from. She’d been at another birthday celebration on the island for a different friend a year ago. Tara had been the concierge for that event. She had no idea that she ended up engaged to one of her clients.
“You know, I was upset at first when things didn’t work out with my sister, Claire, and you. I know it hadn’t gotten serious yet, and you were both just having fun. Now, I’m glad to see you might be turning over a new leaf and looking to settle down,” Tara said with an approving smile. She turned her attention to her fiancé, pressing his arm to signal it was time to go. “I think we should let them get back to their meal. We’ll be arriving at our next destination soon.”
Vanessa waited until the couple moved along before she broached the subject of Claire. “What happened with Tara’s sister?”
Samuel shrugged, averting his eyes. “It was casual, like most of my relationships were before and after. She wanted more and I couldn’t give it to her, so she moved on and found someone who could.”
“Most?” Vanessa probed. “That means at some point, one wasn’t casual. Did that woman ruin you for all others? Was that why you couldn’t commit to Claire?”
Samuel shifted in his seat, looking uncomfortable, but Vanessa didn’t give him an out by saying anything. She could tell whatever was bothering him needed to come out if they were ever going to progress in their relationship.
“Her name was Fiona. We met right after I became famous. I thought she loved me, but it turned out, she only loved my money and fame.”
Vanessa sucked in a deep breath, realizing it explained so much about Samuel and why he was the way he was. He was afraid of getting hurt again, so he never let a woman get close enough to let it happen.
“That’s awful that she treated you that way, but it doesn’t mean all women are like that.”
“That’s for sure; some of them are even worse,” she heard Harry cackle from beside them. “Case in point,” he said gesturing towards her. “Looks like you got the birthday boy eating out of the palm of your hand. I think we need to do something about that.”
“What are you thinking, Samuel? Isn’t ‘no strings’ your life motto?” Scott questioned with a look of disapproval.
“What’s going to happen to all the Rockettes without Samuel running through their ranks?” Harry mocked.
“Or the Knicks’ cheerleaders?” Scott added.
“Or the runway models?”
Vanessa hoped that Samuel was capable of real change. He seemed to be confiding in her, and she wanted to believe that if he was serious about her, he could leave his old lifestyle in the past. If she let him get close, however, and he couldn’t change, it would mean heartbreak for her. She didn’t want to end up another casualty to his inability to open his heart to someone again.
“That’s enough,” Samuel snapped out in anger. “I’ve had just about enough teasing from the both of you. If your only reason for being here is to give me and Vanessa a hard time, then you should take a flight back from our next destination.”
Both men scurried off without saying another word. Even though Samuel had stood up for her, it didn’t change the fact that he could end up letting her down. It was better to be careful and not get her hopes up where Samuel was concerned. She didn’t want to give him the power to hurt her a second time.
Chapter Seven
When the group arrived in Cork, everyone was excited to see what the club had in store for them next. They disembarked from the train and found four black limousines waiting for them on the street behind the depot.
Simone and Luke had everyone divide up between the vehicles. Samuel made sure that Vanessa went in his limo, along with a handful of other guests that Samuel was certain would be less obnoxious than some of his other friends Vanessa had already encountered.
Tara looked out the window with a curious expression. “Where do you think they’ve arranged for us to go?”
“Are you saying you don’t know? I’m surprised Simone didn’t give you any hints,” Samuel stated with disbelief.
“I might be a former concierge for the club, but that doesn’t mean they would give me clues, even if asked, which I didn’t. I’m just a guest now, like all of you.”
“I hope it’s somewhere romantic.” Celeste sighed as she rested her head on Roger’s shoulder. “This is the first time we’ve gotten away in months. When Tiffany offered to watch Marcus, we jumped at a chance to spend a little time alone.”
Marcus was Roger’s son from a previous relationship, and Celeste was his former nanny, now turned stepmother. Tiffany was Roger’s sister and the other CEO of the family-run Boswell Energy.
“Thanks for inviting us along,” Roger said with a grin. “I’m going to owe you one for making my wife so happy.”
“I’m sure the club won’t disappoint,” Samuel said with a chuckle. “I’ve had my fair share of remarkable experiences because of them.”