for staring at her breasts when he should have been meeting her eyes. His initial impulse had been to give her his blazer, but the primitively male part of him didn’t want to deny himself the sight of her, an ice queen in her glacier-blue dress, with her vulnerable nipples pressing against the cloth.
“So why no water?” he finally asked after they waited in silence for a moment.
“I’ll tell you when we know each other better,” she said with a faint smile.
“Fair enough,” he said. “I look forward to that deepening relationship.”
She looked up at him, meeting his eyes with her cool brown gaze. Something moved in his chest, but he forced himself not to look away.
“Here you are, sir.” The valet appeared beside them, eager and smiling.
“Thank you.” Marcus slipped him a twenty-dollar bill.
He guided Diana toward the passenger side of the silver Mercedes SLR, which already had both doors open. She climbed in with barely a glance at the car, and he shut her door before getting behind the wheel.
“Thank you for coming out with me tonight,” he said. “You won’t regret it.”
She looked at him, the corners of her eyes crinkling faintly. “Is that a promise?”
“Absolutely.” The car started with a delicate purr and slid away from the curb.
It was late. After the light dinner she’d barely touched at the award ceremony, and after not eating anything prior to the ceremony because she’d been too busy preparing for it, Diana was starving. She snuck a peek at her watch and saw it was already past eleven. Much later than when she would normally eat, but that didn’t make her hunger any less urgent.
In the seat next to her, Marcus looked like the kind of man who lived most of his life after dark. He seemed all energy and sophistication. One of those men she’d heard about who populated Miami like sand on the beach. But despite living in Miami all her life, this was her first chance to meet one of his breed.
“Are we going out for food?” she asked with a touch of eagerness.
“Yes,” he said, briefly moving his eyes from the road to flash her a smile. “A simple place.”
She raised an eyebrow, remembering the words she had said to him while at the hotel. Yes, she liked simple things. But she sensed a man like Marcus did not. His money afforded him the world—what could he know about the plain ways to make a woman like her happy?
She was counting on that to kill her attraction to him even though, as she sat in his car rich with the smell of new leather, her skin felt nearly electric at his presence. She watched him without him being aware of it, noting again his luscious deep-brown complexion, sculpted mouth, golden eyes that were narrow and short-lashed beneath his prominent brow. His hair was neatly cut, an attractive and undoubtedly expensive style, and his clothes screamed money.
And he was going to take her somewhere simple? Diana’s mouth twitched as she wondered if he even knew what simple was.
Marcus skillfully navigated the car through the streets of downtown Miami, across the bridge that afforded an incredible view of the water lit with lights. Diana sighed. Although she hated the water, the view of Miami at night never ceased to awe her. It was one of the most beautiful cities she’d ever seen, packed with gorgeous people, good food and wine and incredible experiences just waiting to be sampled.
The car pulled up in front of a restaurant that had a line of people waiting to get in that extended halfway down the block. A valet approached the car, opening Marcus’s door and then Diana’s. They got out and he gave the slim woman in a fitted tuxedo outfit the keys to the Mercedes.
Marcus slid the valet ticket into his pants pocket. Then, almost as an afterthought, he shrugged off his blazer and threw it in the backseat of the car. He thanked the valet, then walked with Diana to the back of the long line.
* * *
As Marcus joined her in line, Diana looked at him in surprise and admiration. She’d expected him to approach the front of the line and demand to be seated immediately. Her estimation of him rose.
“What is this place?” she asked
“This is Gillespie’s,” he said. “A nice and simple lounge where we can have a bite to eat, get to know each other and spend the evening together without being on the water.”
She didn’t rise to the teasing bait in his voice. “Sounds nice,” she murmured, amused despite herself.
“I hope you’ll think so when we get in.”
As they waited in line, Diana noticed that a few newcomers left their expensive cars and headed directly to the door, expecting star treatment. But they didn’t get it. People already waiting gave each other knowing looks as the newcomers were directed to the back of the line.
A couple of D-list movie stars were up ahead of her and Marcus. A musician whose song was on rotation on Top 40 stations. And many women who looked like models, tall and haughty with beautifully applied makeup and rich-looking men on their arms.
The line moved quickly, and it wasn’t long before they were inside. Gillespie’s turned out to be more than a restaurant; it was also a lounge and jazz bar. A moody piano played over the speakers, audible through the voices riding the air, setting a sophisticated and mellow mood. Diana liked it right away. The hostess, a gorgeous brown-skinned woman with her long hair twisted in a bun, showed them to a table upstairs that overlooked the stage.
The delicious smell of food wove through the restaurant. As Diana opened her menu, a waiter walked past with a cast-iron skillet sizzling with a mixture of green peppers, onions and shrimp. Diana’s stomach growled. She blushed and looked up at Marcus. He was watching her.
“You’re not looking at the menu,” she said.
“I already know what I want.” His steady look made it clear exactly what he was talking about.
The heat in her face burned even hotter, but she kept her voice level. “The only thing you’ll have in your mouth tonight is listed right there.” She dipped her head toward the closed menu in front of him.
“That sounds very discouraging,” he said with a low laugh.
“I’m just letting you know not to expect anything more than dinner tonight.”
He shrugged. “The pleasure of your company is all I need.”
She rolled her eyes and lifted the menu to look at the offerings. It wasn’t long before their waitress appeared. Marcus placed his order still without looking at the menu. After a hesitating moment, Diana ordered something that looked decent but wasn’t too expensive.
She didn’t want him thinking that just because he paid for a fifty-dollar steak, he was entitled to lay her on her back at the end of the night. Although she worked in the nonprofit world and often relied on rich men and women to keep the good work of the foundation going, she knew all too well that most of them would commodify any woman if given the chance. If they wanted her, those
