Jill stood there numbly, her jaw dropping open in shock as he turned and continued briskly on his way. ‘He didn’t just say that,’ she told herself in disbelief. ‘And he definitely didn’t look at you like he wanted to - well, to see what was underneath your clothes. Oh, God, but he did, didn’t he? Does that mean he’s going to expect you to go to bed with him tomorrow night? How am I going to tell him that I’m a virgin, that I’ve barely kissed a man before! And what am I going to wear to dinner? I am not wearing the same outfit two nights in a row, I don’t care what he just said. I need something new, don’t I? Something fancier. And I need help. Big time. Right now.’
She hurried back to her desk, grabbing her cell phone from her bag and rather frantically dialing up Shoshana, who fortunately answered on the second ring.
“Sho? You are so not going to believe what just happened! I swear you’re some sort of psychic. And here I thought I was the one with the sixth sense. Listen, I need to find a dress and shoes in a hurry. Is there any way you could meet me at the mall in a little while?”
***
Casey stared across the table with an expression of mingled disbelief and disgust on her face. “How in the world can someone so teeny tiny eat that much at one sitting? If I ate even half as much as Tam has tonight I’d be puking my guts out right now. Not to mention gain another five pounds that would go directly to my hips and ass. It’s not fair is what it is. Either that or Tam is just some freak of nature.”
Tam barely spared Casey a glance as she forked off another bite of her salted caramel cheesecake. She was the only one of the four roommates to have ordered an appetizer along with her generously portioned pasta entree, had eaten an entire basket of dinner rolls herself, and drank an extra large chocolate milkshake. She’d also happily polished off the rest of Jill’s fish before digging into her dessert with relish. Meanwhile, Casey, Shoshana, and Jill had opted to share a single slice of red velvet cheesecake between the three of them.
“It’s genetics,” pointed out Shoshana as she took a small bite of dessert. “Tam happens to have a very high metabolism and burns off calories faster than she can consume them. Plus, she’s been spending an insane amount of hours going to classes and studying, so all that stress is only contributing to the calorie burn.”
Tam nodded in agreement. “Even if it kills me I’m going to graduate in June with the three of you and start medical school in the fall. While my sister still has to go to summer school, and can’t start med school until next winter. It’s been so hard taking thirty units the past two quarters but it will be worth it to wave my diploma in my sister’s face.”
“Thirty units!” exclaimed Jill in alarm. “Tam, that’s twice as many as any of us are carrying! No wonder you’re so stressed out and exhausted all the time. And why you never seem to sleep. Is graduating ahead of your sister worth your health?”
Tam shrugged carelessly, taking a long drink of her milkshake. “I can catch up on my sleep during Spring Break. My sister is going to Florida that week for vacation. That’s just one reason why I’m going to beat her. I’m also smarter, more ambitious, and work a lot harder.”
“She forgot to mention ruthless, obsessive, and slightly insane,” Shoshana whispered to Jill. “She’s also kind of terrifying, even though she doesn’t even weigh a hundred pounds.”
Jill exchanged a grin with Shoshana but then diplomatically changed the subject. “Look, I just wanted to thank all of you again for more or less dropping everything and helping me out tonight. Tomorrow night is technically my first real date, or at least the first date that I care about. So buying the right dress was really important. And since I would have most likely bought the totally wrong thing if I’d been on my own, I can’t thank you guys enough.”
“Hey, we were totally on board with going shopping and then having you buy us dinner,” declared Casey. “Two of my favorite past times, by the way. And of course all of us wanted to help you out, Jilly, and give you the support you need. We love you, girl, and we’re always here for you.”
Shoshana snorted. “What Case isn’t telling you is that she was desperately looking for an excuse not to work on an essay for her literature class. When she overheard me talking to you she jumped on the chance to come along.”
Casey scowled at Shoshana. “Blabbermouth. I notice you didn’t rat Tam out.” To Jill she added snidely, “The only reason Tam came along was the promise of a free dinner at The Cheesecake Factory.”
Tam shrugged, clearly unconcerned. “I didn’t have time to go grocery shopping today and I was starving. But don’t forget I’m the one who picked out the dress for Jill. And the shoes. And she looks much better in what I picked out than those cocktail dresses the two of you wanted her to buy. Didn’t you pay attention to what this guy Max told her about simplicity? She would have looked silly in those fancy things you wanted her to buy, at least for a dinner date.”
Casey glared at Tam. “And how do you know so much about fashion, anyway? The only things I’ve ever seen you wear are yoga pants and hoodies.”
Tam licked the last bit of cheesecake from her fork. “My mother is obsessed with clothes,” she replied in disgust. “Every time I go home for a visit she drags me to the outlet mall with her. It rubs off after awhile.”
“Well, thank you - all of you - for helping me tonight,” said Jill earnestly. “I’m still going to be a nervous wreck tomorrow night, but at least I’ll know I’m dressed appropriately for dinner out with a man like Max.”
“And the sexy undies Sho and I picked out will make sure you’re appropriately dressed - or should I say undressed - for what happens after dinner,” added Casey slyly.
Jill gave a little eye roll, even as her cheeks grew warm. “That is really jumping to conclusions, don’t you think? I mean, he only asked me to have dinner with him, not jump into bed afterwards.”
“Well, duh,” commented Shoshana. “Of course he’s not going to just come out and ask you, Jill. Especially an older, experienced man like Max. From what you’ve told us about him, and from what I was able to learn from his website, he definitely isn’t some horny college boy who’d rather fuck first and then maybe grab some tacos later. Max is going to be a hell of a lot more subtle about it, won’t even think of pressuring you, and if you say no he’ll be a gentleman about it.”
“But you’d be an idiot to say no, ” observed Casey matter-of-factly. “Honey, let’s face facts. You’ll be twenty-two soon, a college graduate in a few more months, and you’ve barely been to second base with a guy. Now you’ve caught the eye of a rich, successful, and smoking hot older man who wants to take you to dinner. So listen to me, Jilly, and listen well.” Casey lowered her voice so that she wouldn’t be overheard by the occupants of the next table. “You’ll never in a million years find a more ideal guy to pop your cherry. So if the gorgeous Mr. Wainwright invites you back to his hotel room after dinner, you’d better say yes. Because a man like him is only going to come around once in your life, Jill. Don’t let the opportunity to have your first time be with someone special pass you by.”
“Or,” added Shoshana, “to paraphrase one of your favorite sayings, Jill - someone extraordinary. And from the little I know of the man, he sure seems pretty extraordinary. So follow Casey’s advice, will you? You and I talked about rebelling against our upbringings earlier today, so if you’re really serious about leaving all that behind, then take the plunge. You’ll regret it for the rest of your life if you don’t.”
Jill sighed. “Okay. I promise you guys that if Max does invite me back to his hotel after dinner that I’ll say yes. Even if I end up making a total fool of myself when he realizes how naive I actually am. And,” she cautioned, “that’s assuming he even asks me.”
All three of her roommates laughed heartily at this last statement, leaving Casey to reply with a knowing smirk on her face.
“Trust me, Jilly. Once he gets an eyeful of you in that little black dress and those sexy shoes
, your guy might decide to postpone dinner or forget about it altogether. So there is zero chance he’s not going to ask you back to his room. Unless, of course,” she added cheerfully, “he ends up being gay or impotent.”
Chapter Ten
“Just let me know when your guest arrives, Mr. Wainwright, and I’ll show you right to your table.”
Max nodded at the maître ď. “Thank you. It should just be a few minutes.”
He had received a text from the private car service he’d hired to pick Jill up that they were en route, and had breathed a sigh of relief that she hadn’t backed out at the last minute. Though given her eager response to his invitation last evening, he wasn’t sure why she would have changed her mind. Or, more importantly, why such a fear would have even crossed his mind.
‘Wouldn’t Finn and Jordan be enjoying all of this immensely right now?’ thought Max dryly. ‘It’s bad enough that you’re having dinner with a college girl who’s more than a dozen years your junior. And now here you are feeling anxious that she might stand you up. Pathetic, that’s what you are. Not to mention something of a hypocrite, given the way you chastise Finn for dating younger women.’
Max consoled himself with the facts that he was far more discriminating than either of his friends when it came to his relationships with women, and that Jill was remarkably mature for someone so young. “An old soul” she’d called herself, as well as old-fashioned, and he supposed that mostly accounted for it. But there was an inbred fineness about her, a gentleness, that was timeless. He’d known there was something special about her, something rare and unique and wonderful from the first time they had met, and he had immediately craved that rare something all for himself - no matter how selfish that might make him. Because he knew he wasn’t the right man for her, could never be the right man for any woman, given his past and the darkness he knew still existed inside his soul. He had no business, therefore, entertaining these thoughts about an innocent like Jill Parrish, and should be shot dead on the spot for even thinking he deserved a woman like her.
And he also knew that she was, in fact, innocent, given the way she blushed and stammered so frequently in his presence. He found her shyness both endearing and maddening, the latter because he was just about positive she was still a virgin, and he was having extremely conflicted feelings on that particular matter.
Max had never been with a virgin before, not even when he had been a virgin himself, and thus had never had to take as much care with a woman as he would surely have to do with Jill. He’d never had to seduce a woman in the past, to woo her into his bed, and then exercise the greatest of care and patience with her. But then he didn’t have all that much sexual expertise in general, certainly nowhere near the amount Finn and Jordan could boast of. In the overall scheme of things, sex had never been all that important to Max, and he had avoided any sort of emotional attachments like the plague over the years. He had gone long months at times without having sex, and it had been the previous summer the last time he’d indulged, he realized now.
But his attraction, his need, for Jill had nothing to do with his months long celibacy. It was her he wanted. Just her, and no other woman would do. He had wanted her, craved her, since the moment he had first taken her hand in his four nights prior and felt that sizzle of awareness flare up between them. He’d fought that attraction tooth and nail, knew damned well that he had no business making advances towards a woman - girl, if he was being completely accurate - as young and innocent as Jill. And he might have been able to continue denying his attraction towards her and, more importantly, keeping his distance from her if she hadn’t shown up at the office yesterday looking so delectably, irresistibly beautiful. Simply beautiful.
He had never been attracted by women who looked or dressed in what he thought of as an “overdone” manner. He preferred a woman who dressed simply but classically, who wasn’t flashy or trendy, and who didn’t try to call attention to herself by wearing clothing that was tight, sheer, low-cut, or too short. Women who caked their faces with makeup or who draped themselves in jewelry also tended to be turn-offs.
Jill Parrish, by contrast, was a breath of fresh air compared to most members of her gender. Max felt the stirrings of arousal in his lower body as he recalled how she had looked yesterday. That gray cashmere sweater had clung softly to her firm, perfectly shaped breasts, while the black wool skirt had flattered the gentle curve of her hips. Typically he didn’t care much for boots, but those black ankle boots she’d worn yesterday were just about the sexiest things he’d ever seen. The long, thick strands of her golden brown hair had curled artlessly around her face, a face that was nearly bare of make-up save for some type of pale pink lip gloss.
Simple. Natural. Beautiful. Innocent. And, most of all, desirable, oh so desirable. All of those were qualities that Jill Parrish possessed in abundance, the same qualities that made Max want to possess her. And when he also considered her kindness, her gentleness, and her rather astonishing intelligence, was it any wonder that he was finding it nearly impossible to resist her any longer?
God knew that even up to an hour ago he had still been trying to resist her, had come very close to cancelling tonight’s dinner, telling himself that it was the right thing to do. But each and every time he had picked up his phone to text her, the image of how lovely she had looked yesterday flashed across his brain and he had pushed the phone away.
He’d chosen this restaurant - El Gaucho - for both its sterling reputation as one of the best dining spots in Seattle, and for its elegantly old-fashioned decor that brought to mind a swanky supper club from the 1950’s. He had thought that Jill might appreciate someplace that wasn’t all sleek, modern lines and served trendy cuisine. There was also a part of him that wanted to impress her, to let her know that he was wealthy and successful and could easily afford to take her to such an expensive restaurant. Max supposed that need harkened back to that time in his life when money had always been scarce, when he’d been one of the very few students on scholarship at his exclusive boarding school, and had been obliged to buy the few clothes he’d owned at a resale shop. The facts that his life had changed dramatically since that time - that he owned a multi-million dollar home in an exclusive area of San Francisco, ran a consulting business that commanded outrageous fees, had an extensive wardrobe of custom made designer suits, could afford to dine at whatever restaurant he desired, order the finest wines, stay in the best suite at the most lavish hotel in town - hadn’t seemed to completely eliminate all of his past insecurities, or allowed him to forget his very humble beginnings.
And the fact that Jill was extremely unlikely to care in the least about where they had dinner didn’t matter to Max. Just the opposite, actually. It was because she seemed so easy to please, and was the least pretentious woman he had ever met, that he wanted to pull out all the stops for her this evening.
Almost as if on cue, the front door opened and Jill walked inside, her lovely face glowing and those unusual light green eyes shining as she looked around the plush surroundings in wonder. She was almost bursting with youthful vitality, and everyone in the vicinity of the entrance couldn’t help but stare at her. Max quickly made his way to her side, taking her hand in his almost as though he was claiming her, letting every other male present know that she was here with him.
“Max.”
She squeezed his hand in return, her smile so sweet and genuine that it tugged at his heart.
“Hello, Jill,” he told her with an answering smile. “I’m very glad you were able to join me this evening. Did everything go smoothly with the car service?”
She nodded. “It was perfect. Thank you so much, Max. But you didn’t have to send over a Mercedes! I was expecting a Prius or something like that.”
“Since I couldn’t pick you up myself under the circumstances, the least I could do was make sure you arrived in style,” he assured her. “And safely as well. I don’t always have much faith in public taxi or rideshare
services, especially when a beautiful young woman like you is traveling alone. Now, our table is ready, just let me tell the maître ď.”
He kept a hand on the small of her back as they followed a waiter to their table. He took discrete notice of Jill’s black wool coat, before glancing down at her feet and gulping in reaction. She was wearing high heels this evening, sleek black leather pumps that were both classy and sexy, and the sight of them made him very curious to see the rest of her outfit.
Max sucked in a breath as the waiter helped Jill remove her coat, feeling a bit as though he’d been struck in the solar plexus when he saw what she was wearing. She had chosen a classic black dress, simply cut and sleeveless, with a bit of lace trim around the hem. But paired with her sheer black hosiery and those alluring high heels, she looked irresistibly enticing, once again the perfect blend of sensuality and innocence. Though dressed like this - like a woman full grown and very much aware of her sexual appeal - it was becoming more and more difficult to remind himself that she was, in fact, an innocent, and most likely an inexperienced virgin.
She’d left that glorious mane of golden brown hair flowing in loose, silky waves about her shoulders, and while she wore more makeup than he was used to seeing on her, it had still been applied with a light hand and didn’t detract in the least from her natural beauty. The only jewelry she wore was a delicate gold chain around her neck and a single gold bangle bracelet. The faintest trace of a flowery perfume rose from her hair as he took his seat opposite her at the intimate corner table.
Jill continued to gaze around their surroundings wide-eyed. “This restaurant is wonderful,” she marveled. “Like something out of an old movie, don’t you think? But,” she added hastily, “with a modern touch. I didn’t mean to imply that this place is old.”
“I know what you meant,” assured Max gently. “And you’re quite right. I believe the restaurant was originally opened in the 1950’s, then went out of business for a few years before it was reopened about twenty years ago. Fully refurbished, of course. But the owners have done a good job in maintaining the feel of a sophisticated supper club from that original era. The menu, too, is what you might call old-school. I hope that’s all right with you. I thought about having dinner somewhere more, er, trendier, but I guessed you might prefer this place.”
The One Real Regret Page 15
