A server came up and smiled at them both. “Hey, Ace,” the young man smiled. “Eating in or dining out?”
“Eating in,” Nathaniel said.
“Oh,” the young man said as though he had not expected that response. “Sure, no problem.”
Lilian blushed and muttered to Nathaniel, “I normally take my food back to the park or somewhere less public.”
Nathaniel put an arm over her shoulder. “Well, you’re eating in today. I want to hang out with my old friend, all right? Ignore everyone else.”
The server walked them over to a booth and placed some menus down. “What’ll you have to drink, Ace?” he asked.
They both ordered some sodas and the server trotted off. “So where did that nickname come from, exactly?” Nathaniel asked.
“I have a tattoo of an Ace of Spades,” she said.
“Can I see?” Nathaniel asked, and she laughed.
“No, no you can’t,” she said.
Nathaniel felt his cheeks grow warm. “Oh, so it’s somewhere I can’t see?”
“Right,” she said.
“And everyone seems to know that?” Nathaniel questioned, and she kicked him from under the table.
“I swear, you let one person see a hidden tattoo, and suddenly everyone around town knows about it,” she said with a slight laugh.
Apart from some of the awkward glances they received, Nathaniel felt that the dinner was fairly pleasant. It was hard to not notice Lillian’s discomfort, though. She tried hard not to scarf down her food, and Nathaniel wondered if she had had anything decent to eat since the shelter’s grand opening. “Why haven’t you been back to the shelter?” he asked after she had ate half of her dinner in the time it took him to take only a few bites.
She pressed pause on the meal, obviously not wanting to appear too eager. “I had a job interview this week,” she said and frowned. “I had been trying to get ready for it; it’s all the way across town, so I’ve been on the other side of the city all week. I didn’t get the job, though. Kind of hard for people to take you seriously dressed like this.”
Nathaniel shook his head. “You know they had clothes at the shelter.”
“Nothing that I could squeeze into was left by the time I got there,” she said. “It was mostly kids clothes or sweatpants… nothing I’d hope to wear at an interview.”
“Damn,” Nathaniel said. “I’m sorry. Do you have any more interviews coming up?”
“Not at the moment,” she said.
“You know, the shelter has working positions too –not just volunteer roles,” Nathaniel said. “Maybe I can help you get a job?”
She laughed. “Maybe. Having a job and keeping one are two different things though.”
“Oh?” he asked, but she did not provide him with much more of an explanation.
An older couple was seated at a booth not far from them; they kept glaring over and rolling their eyes. “I think we should probably go,” Lillian finally said.
“No, finish your food, I insist,” Nathaniel said and shot a dirty look towards the couple who quickly looked away. “Some people are so damn rude,” he said.
“Tell me about it,” she said while scarfing down the rest of her food.
Nathaniel ordered a slice of chocolate cake to go for Lillian to have later, and the two of them headed out to his car. She smiled at him when he politely opened up the passenger’s side door and handed her the chocolate cake. “I had fun tonight,” he told her –although he knew she did not have much fun at all with the looks people were giving her.
“It was nice catching up,” she said and smiled honestly at him. “I miss you and Adam. Those were some of the best years of my life.”
“Mine too,” he said. He passed by the park, and she raised an eyebrow.
“You missed your turn,” she said.
“No, I didn’t,” he said, and he kept on driving. “I want to do something for you. It’s not much, but I hope you’ll let me.”
“All right?” she said wearily.
Nathaniel pulled up outside of the hotel where he was staying. She blushed. “That’s a nice hotel,” she said. “They’re not going to let me in there, Nate.”
“Yes, they will,” he asserted and helped her out of the car. She followed close behind. “So I’m in town helping the company I work with get that shelter up and running,” he said, leaving out the part where he is the owner of said company. “I’m staying here while I’m in town.” Nathaniel pulled out his credit card as they entered the hotel lobby. He pointed over at the hotel gift shop. “I want you to buy you some new clothes –whatever you want. The catch is you have to buy one dress because I’m taking you somewhere nice for dinner tomorrow night. I’m going to rent a hotel room for you so you can sleep in a bed tonight and get you a shower or whatever else you need. And order you some room service tomorrow –breakfast and lunch.” He handed her the card.
“Nate, you can’t be serious,” she said.
“Please, let me help,” he said. “It’s not much, but I really would like for you to have a warm place to sleep tonight. Go on to the gift shop, I’m going to go get you checked in.” He did not leave her time to argue; he headed straight towards the front desk. He glanced over his shoulder to see her awkwardly making her way towards the gift shop.
He got her checked into a room, and he met her by the elevator. She was holding two small bags. “Did you get a dress?” he asked. “Because I want to take you somewhere nice tomorrow, and I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable like tonight.”
Her face was red. “Yes, I did,” she said.
“Good. I’m just a few floors up from you,” he said and handed her the room key. “And here, I wrote my phone number down for you. You can call me if you need anything tonight or tomorrow morning.”
“Nate, I don’t know what to say. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he said and then nodded. “This is your floor. Goodnight. I’ll see you tomorrow. I’ll pick you up outside of the hotel tomorrow night at eight, okay?”
“Okay,” she said with a smile as the elevator doors closed. Nathaniel smiled; it was the best date he had had in a long time.
Chapter 4
“Mom, for crying out loud,” Nathaniel huffed as he entered into his hotel room after his date with Lillian; his mother had started calling him, and he did not even give her a chance to explain her reasoning for the call before he began griping. “I swear, if this is another guilt trip, I’m going to lose my mind. I already told you I would talk to Eliza when I got back from Troy, and I promised to have dinner with her. Would you just cut me a little bit of slack, please?”
“Nathaniel,” his mother cooed, “I was just calling you because Eliza asked me to.”
Nathaniel paused slightly as he inserted his hotel room key into the door. “Oh?” The woman had an incredibly different tone form what he had gotten used to in the past week.
“Yes. She asked me to give you her cellphone number and for you to call her this evening if you are available,” she said, and Nathaniel noted that the woman sounded incredibly peppy. She had been giving him a terribly hard time all week about him ruining his date with Eliza, so he was guessing that she had had a good conversation with the woman recently that was changing her tone.
Nathaniel sighed. “Why does she want me to call?” He entered into the presidential suite, letting the door whoosh closed behind him. He immediately kicked off his shoes; his feet were killing him after having walked through the park all night and having a busy day at the shelter as well.
“Well, I’m not sure, to be honest, but she sounded rather chipper about it,” she said. “I suppose you didn’t scare her off after that horrible first date after all.”
Nathaniel laughed slightly, pulling the phone away from his mouth when he did so. He took a breath. “All right, all right. I will call her if that will make you happy. What number did she give you for me to call?” Nathaniel scribbled down the phone number his mother recited so
quickly that he was fairly certain she had memorized it. “All right, I’ll let you know how the conversation goes, all right?” he said before hanging up.
He shook his head, deciding it was best to actually call the woman after how upset his mother had gotten over his date desertion scheme. He certainly didn’t want to talk to Eliza, but his mother’s constant guilt tripping had left him with no choice. A familiar voice answered the call after the third ring. “Hello?” she sang, “this is Eliza.”
“Hey, Eliza. This is Nathaniel Lynch. I believe I owe you an apology after-”
“After you had your assistant make up a bogus story just so you could leave our date?” she interrupted.
Damn, she’s smarter than I thought she was, Nathaniel thought. “Um… yeah. Didn’t realize you knew that was bull.”
“I’m quite intuitive,” she said, sounding only slightly annoyed. “Listen, I think I’m actually the one who owes you an apology.”
“How’s that?” Nathaniel questioned as he sat himself down on the large sofa in the enormous living space.
“I know I was being a real drag on that first date,” she said. “I mean, I must sound like a complete joke to you. I was really nervous about meeting you, and when I get nervous I tend to ramble a lot. I was probably boring you out of your mind.”
Nathaniel blushed slightly; she had certainly hit the nail on the head with that one. “Well,” Nathaniel began to explain himself, but she cut him off again.
“Well nothing,” she said. “All I did was rammer on and on about myself. I probably came off as one of those snobby daddy’s girls, right? Well, I kind of am a little bit of a daddy’s girl, I guess, but I promise I’m not a snob. I like you. And I’d really like a chance at a restart, you know? I know you’re going to be in Troy for another week, but maybe when you get back we can try that first date again.”
Nathaniel smiled. This change in attitude was unexpected. “You know what, Eliza? I would really like that.”
“And not just because your mother is insisting?” she questioned with a slight laugh.
Nathaniel laughed also. “No, not just because of that. I think I prejudged you, and I’m sorry. I’d love that second first date.”
“Hey, tomorrow around six I’m going to be free. How about a video chat?” she asked.
Nathaniel smiled. “Sure. I won’t be able to talk long,” he said, remembering his date with Lillian at eight. “I have a dinner appointment with a client out this way. But I would love to talk again.”
“Sounds good. Have a goodnight, Nathaniel,” she said.
“Same to you,” Nathaniel responded, and they both hung up their phones. He rose up from the couch, a small smile on his face. He was surprised; it had actually been a fairly pleasant conversation with Eliza. She was certainly his typical type, and a part of him wondered if he should take the potential relationship more seriously. He had another week in Troy, though, and he intended to enjoy his time with Lillian for now.
Chapter 5
After yet another long day at the shelter, Nathaniel had Tony bring back a suit so that he could get himself dressed and ready before arriving at the hotel. He changed, combed his hair, and threw on some cologne. He did a quick video chat with Eliza that was fairly pleasant, and they even planned to have a second one in a couple of days. He looked himself in the mirror, checking himself over to ensure that he was ready for his date. “You sure are dressed up nice for a date with a homeless woman,” Tony said. “I think she is just impressed you can afford a rental car.”
“Don’t be a dick,” Nathaniel said as he straightened his navy blue tie. “She deserves a good night out, and I’m going to give it to her.”
“At this ridiculously fancy restaurant. Whatever happened to you keeping your wealth a secret?” Tony questioned.
“She’ll just think I’m really spoiling her,” Nathaniel said with a wink, turning around to face Tony after taking a moment to examine himself in the bathroom mirror at the shelter. “You cool taking a cab?” Nathaniel asked.
“Yeah, that’s fine. Don’t want to cramp your style. Plus a personal assistant might be harder to explain than a fancy dinner, right?” Tony shook his head. “She’s not going to think this is cute, Nathaniel. You’re going to piss her off.”
Nathaniel waved Tony off. “She’ll be fine. We’re old friends.” Nathaniel headed out, not at all heeding Tony’s warning. He climbed into his car and headed towards the hotel, and he spotted Lillian almost instantly wearing a slimming black dress. He raised a brow –completely taken away by her transformation.
He exited the car, walking up to her and waving off the valet to let him know he was just picking someone up. “Whoa,” Nathaniel said, having to make a conscious effort not to stand there with his mouth wide open. “Lillian, you look incredible.”
She blushed. “Um… thanks. Nice suit.”
“Thanks,” he said, grinning. She had showered and shaved, and she smelled like kiwi.
“So you booked me a spa appointment this morning?” she questioned. “You didn’t have to do that. I’m sure it was really expensive.”
“It wasn’t too bad,” Nathaniel reached out and hooked his arm in hers. “I hope you’re looking forward to this as much as I am.”
Her face turned red. “Of course. I just am a little nervous, to be honest. It’s been a long time since I’ve been on a date.”
“Oh, so last night wasn’t a date?” Nathaniel teased as they climbed into the car. Before he pulled away from the hotel, he took a moment to glance over at her. He could not believe how fit she looked; her legs were well toned, and she seemed so much more comfortable in her skin than she had been on their previous night out.
“Of course it was,” she said. “I just mean it’s been a while since I’ve gone out, you know?”
“Well, I’m going to be sure to make this a night that you will remember,” he said.
Nathaniel took Lillian to a five star restaurant where he had had Tony call a reservation in advance. Lillian seemed completely oblivious about Lynch Industries, and it was clear to Nathaniel that she had certainly been out of the loop of the outside world for a while to have not pieced it together by then. Lynch Industries was a thriving company, and his face was always plastered in the news about it. He wondered how long she must have been living like this to have not figured it out yet.
Lillian seemed uncomfortable once dinner got underway. People were staring, but not for the reason that they normally stared. She looked stunning. Nathaniel felt proud to be seated with her at the little intimate clothed table. “I’ve never been anywhere like this before,” she said, blushing. “You must be doing pretty well for yourself at that company. How did you even manage to get a reservation here?”
Nathaniel was not about to tell her that all his assistant had to do was tell the owner that Mr. Lynch wanted to have dinner there, so he told a slight fib. “Honestly, I have had this reservation for months. I was supposed to take a client to dinner tonight, but they cancelled on me a few days ago. I figured I’d never get an opportunity to eat in a place like this again, so I didn’t cancel the reservation. I’m just glad I managed to find a lovely date for the evening.”
She smiled at him. “I got to tell you, I don’t know how to pronounce half the stuff on this menu.” She laughed. “Never realized how uncultured I was.”
Nathaniel smirked slightly. He wanted to ask her about her situation, but he was afraid of making her uncomfortable. Instead, their conversation shifted towards old times, and they both enjoyed reliving some of their childhood memories. They laughed and joked around the entire dinner, making fun of their former third wheel, Adam, when they could about how uptight he had been as a kid. He could hardly believe how much fun he was having. They did manage to talk about things other than their childhood; they laughed at one another’s expense when they told tales of failed relationships, and Nathaniel talked somewhat about his company –leaving out details that would pin him as someone in a pos
ition of power. Lillian seemed to tread lightly whenever Nathaniel asked a question about what she had been up to since their days at Troy Elementary; he figured she had had a rough time since then.
Dinner drew to a close, and the two of them headed out –slightly tipsy from the wine that had been served, and their bellies full of some of the most incredible food either of them had ever had. “I had fun tonight,” Nathaniel said as he helped her into the passenger’s seat of the car.
“Me too,” she said, smiling. They took a turn down the main street. “You can just take me back to the park,” she said embarrassingly.
“Of course not,” he retorted. “You still have a room at the hotel.”
“Nathaniel, you can’t keep paying for me to stay in a hotel room,” she said.
“For right now I can,” he replied and continued driving down the road that would lead past the park.
“Would you mind stopping by the park for a quick second?” she asked and held up the box of leftovers they had taken with them.
“Um… sure?” he said and pulled into the park.
“I’ll be right back,” she said and hopped out of the car. She entered into the park and returned shortly without the box of food.
“What did you do?” Nathaniel asked as they sat by one another in the car.
“There’s a kid who stays here at night by himself. I am full, and I’m sure I’ll take advantage of the hotels complimentary breakfast tomorrow morning, so I thought I would give him our leftovers,” she said.
Nathaniel stared at her for a moment. Had she really given up her food? “You’re a good person, Lillian.”
“I try to be,” she said.
Utterly Yours (Book Two) (An Alpha Billionaire Romance) Page 2
