He tilted his head and gave a modest shrug. “Well, I’ll depend on that luck while I ask you the most cliché question ever to be asked in bars. Why is a beautiful woman like you alone?”
I grinned. It was a cliché, and I liked him for being self-aware. “I wanted to treat myself to something special before I started a new job,” I said, feeling his hand go up and down my arm.
“Tell me if I should stop,” he said, noticing my gaze going to his hand.
I looked into his eyes. “Don’t stop,” I said.
He moved in closer, and his other hand grazed my thigh, fingering the edge of my skirt.
“I can’t help wonder, what do you do?”
He gave me a noncommittal shrug. “We’ll never know,” he said, raising his glass and taking a sip. “A beautiful woman told me that tonight was all about secrecy.”
I laughed, flattered, but I liked his promise. If everything about tonight stayed a secret … would I have the courage to leave this bar with him?
“Do you do this often?” I asked, my voice teasing even though I knew the answer.
“Talk to beautiful women?” he asked. “Not often enough since I haven’t met anyone as dazzling and interesting as you.”
“Pick up women from bars,” I clarified, wondering why it mattered how often he did it.
He was here with me, and this was one night I would remember years later.
He had a solidity to him, making me feel calm and centered. I couldn’t place why, but it made me feel safe, and I had a sneaky thought about how many other women had felt the way I did, chatting with him here.
“Not too often, but not so rarely either that I wouldn’t know my way around a woman’s body,” he said with a flash of his eyes.
Oh, he would promise me a good night all right. That much was sure. There was something about his sense of power and confidence that I found alluring.
And by the looks of it, he wasn’t a man who engaged in long-term relationships, which was just fine for what I wanted for tonight.
Tonight, I wanted to feel free.
Like an alluring woman who could do something sexy and risky. The kind of woman I never got a chance to be.
Before he could respond, Jonah got a call, and he gestured for me to join him. A woman had swept in, a sleek garment bag draped over her arm, and I instantly understood. Going by the way she spoke to him and didn’t seem at all flustered about this errand, she was a personal assistant.
Hold up. He had a personal assistant? Who was this guy?
I’d almost forgotten about the spill on my clothes, and I was about to protest. Jonah acknowledged his PA, thanking her before he took the bags from her.
He turned and held out the bag to me, his expression unreadable.
“Go change,” he said, voice smooth but firm. “You shouldn’t have to sit in that all night.”
I gave up the thought of arguing, and within minutes, I went to the restroom, where I found that she’d not just bought me a dress, but underwear in different sizes and colors as well.
I stared at the label on the bra, not recognizing the name Carine Gilson as I undressed and tried it on. The first one wasn’t the right size, but when I found the one that worked, the fit was perfect. Then I unzipped the garment bag, my breath catching as I pulled out the dress.
It was white, made of soft material that shimmered under the dim restroom lights. I tried it on. The dress had a fitted bodice that hugged my waist before stopping just above my knees. It had thin straps, and the back dipped low, exposing just enough skin to be seductive without trying too hard. The dress also had a single row of tiny crystals on the neckline, making it look exclusive without being over the top.
I walked out of the restroom, and stopped as I found Jonah waiting outside for me. I handed him his jacket, while he let his gaze travel slowly from the delicate straps on my shoulders to the way my dress hugged my curves. His lips tugged up in another smile as he shrugged his jacket back on.
I shifted under his stare, tugging lightly at the dress. “Is it too much?”
Jonah leaned back in his seat, fingers tapping against his glass. “No,” he said smoothly, his voice just a touch lower than before. “It’s perfect.”
He gave me a slow, satisfied nod, as if I’d just confirmed something he’d thought to himself, before he walked up to me.
