He rolls his eyes. “Dinner. That meal people eat in the evenings.”

“Can’t we just do it here?”

He stands and fastens his suit jacket. “We could, but I’d rather not. And we need to have a handful of public appearances before we announce our engagement. I’ll ensure there are photographers waiting outside the restaurant to capture our date.”

I swallow the knot of anxiety that instantly balls in my throat. “Oh. I didn’t … I don’t want this to be some kind of media circus, Nathan.”

He licks his bottom lip. “Neither do I. But people will speculate about our engagement, and for appearance’s sake, this needs to look like a real relationship. A few public dates are all that should be necessary. Then we can marry in private and announce our wedded bliss after the event.”

“I guess you have it all worked out.”

He leans forward and splays his huge hands on the boardroom table. “I don’t believe in leaving anything to chance, Melanie.” He stands straight again and nods. “I’ll pick you up at eight. We’re going to Leonardi’s, so wear something appropriate.”

I bite back the retort on the tip of my tongue. Appropriate. I’m well aware that it’s the most exclusive restaurant in Manhattan. Does he think I’m going to rock up in jeans and a T-shirt or a minidress that will show off my ass cheeks? I’ll show him appropriate. “Of course,” I say softly, offering him a demure smile.

Chapter

Eight

NATHAN

“Would you like me to go up for her, sir?” my driver, Teddy, asks as he rolls the car to a stop outside Melanie’s apartment building.

“No. I’ll go get her myself if she’s not here on time.” I look at the bustling sidewalk, at the people hurrying to the places they’re going, separated from me by the thick pane of glass, then glance at my watch. I left strict instructions that she be ready by eight, and she promised she would be. I contemplated sending her a dress to wear but figured I’d learn a little more about her by seeing how she chooses to dress for dinner at an exclusive restaurant.

A few seconds later, she walks out of the apartment building, and fuck me, she does not disappoint. Her long dark hair is pulled to one side, falling in gentle waves over her shoulder. Her elegant jade-green dress ends mid-calf, with a split exposing the length of her left thigh, showing off a small expanse of her tanned skin. The fabric clings to every inch of her curves like it was sprayed on her body, showing nothing and everything at the same time.

“This her, sir?” Teddy asks.

I clear my throat. “Yeah.”

He jumps out of the car, and I watch her walk toward us, her hips swaying in a seductive rhythm with each sure-footed step she takes in her heels. I bite my lip and grunt, sounding like a fucking animal.

Their muffled voices reach me before the car door opens. She peers inside, flashing me a sweet smile like she knows I watched her approach and enjoyed every second of it. Then she turns back to my driver. “Thank you, Tedward,” she says with a musical laugh.

He almost suppresses his smirk before he closes the door on us, and she takes a seat beside me, revealing that her dress leaves her back completely bare. An image of me sliding my hand inside the fabric to see if she’s wearing panties flashes through my mind and makes my dick twitch in my pants.

“Tedward is lovely,” she says, cutting through my inappropriate thoughts.

I lift one eyebrow. “His name is Teddy, short for Theodore.”

“Yes, he introduced himself as Teddy, but he seemed to like Tedward just fine.” She flashes me a wicked grin. “Anyway, is this appropriate enough for dinner?” She gestures at her dress, and I narrow my eyes at her. We haven’t even pulled away from the curb and she’s fucking with me already. This woman is a spitfire. Nothing at all like the meek woman who walked into my office with her brother today.

I make a show of glancing over her outfit, like I haven’t already committed every detail to memory. “It will do fine.”

She blows out a breath. “Wow, Mr. James, so smooth.” Chuckling, she leans back against the seat.

“Have you been drinking, Melanie?”

She wrinkles her nose. “Not yet. Why?”

“Taken anything else to help get you through the evening?”

Her eyes go wide and her neck flushes a pretty shade of pink, and now I feel like an asshole. Nothing in the information I found about her from the past nine years would suggest she has an ongoing drug problem. That was a low blow.

She rolls back her shoulders and fixes me with a hard stare. “I guess if we’re going to be married, you have a right to know about my past, Mr. James.”

“Don’t care about your past, just the now.”

“Yes, well, let’s just say my stint in rehab was greatly exaggerated. Yes, I have a glass of wine or three occasionally, and when my cousin, Tyler, manages to persuade me to go clubbing, I’ve been known to down a tequila shot or four. But I don’t do drugs.”

“Good to know. But you are acting differently.”

She tilts her head. “Different good or different bad?”

I press my lips together, mulling over the question. “Good.”

A smile lights up her face. “I crack jokes when I’m nervous.” She shrugs. “And also, today in your office was kind of …” She blows out a breath. “Weird. I get quiet when I’m nervous too.”

“So you get quiet or you crack jokes? Which is it?”

She arches an eyebrow at me. “Depends on the type of nerves, I guess.”

I run my fingertips over the base of her neck and down the exposed skin of her back, suppressing a smile when she shivers at my touch. “And what form of nervous are you feeling right now, Melanie?”

Her eyelashes flutter against her pink cheeks. “The first-date kind.”

I shift closer. “Have you had many first dates?”

She grins. “Not as many as you, Mr. James.”

I swallow a laugh at her snappy comeback.

“Yeah, I do my research too, Iceman.”

Wincing, I suck in air through my teeth. I got that nickname in college, and it’s followed me through my career. While I don’t mind being known as a man with ice in his veins, it’s still uncomfortable to be called that to my face.

She laughs softly. “It’s okay, I get it. Top Gun fan, huh?”

I shrug. “Who isn’t?”

She leans closer, and her breath dusts over my cheek, making my already twitchy cock stiffen. “I’ll let you in on a little secret about me, Nathan. Top Gun is one of my favorite movies, and I always preferred Iceman to Maverick.”

Closing my eyes, I draw in a breath, and my nose is flooded by her sweet scent. She’s flirting with me, which I didn’t expect at all. When I open my eyes a second later, she’s smiling at me like she knows exactly what’s happening in my pants right now.

I stretch my neck. If she wants to play, we’ll play. “Would you like some champagne to calm those nerves of yours, Melanie?”

Her lips curve at the edges, and her bright green eyes sparkle. I’m ashamed when I examine her pupils for signs of drug use, but as I already suspected, I see none. So what the fuck happened between leaving my office and now to bring about this change in her? She’s like a completely different woman. And while I liked the woman I met in my office, I must admit I like this one even better.