“If I remember correctly, that wasn’t her fault,” he says quietly.
“How often…do you think of her, I mean?” I ask. My heart is tight in my chest. His words, all of them, are words I have imagined before but never thought I’d actually hear.
Damien looks right at me. “She haunts me. No one has ever…affected me…the way she did. Until you. I often questioned if I made the whole thing up. If it was some kind of lucid dream meant to save me from my less than exciting life.”
“Your life is exciting to me,” I say and then immediately wish I could take the words back.
“My life is empty,” he says, and something flashes in his eyes that tells me he wants to take back his words too. It’s quiet for another beat before he goes on. “Have dinner with me. Tonight.”
I blink and my lips twitch, unsure whether to worry or smile. “For work?” I ask.
“No,” Damien shakes his head. “Not for work. Not at the Opal Room. Just dinner. With me. Can you?”
“My sister has Luca tonight,” I answered softly.
“Luca,” he repeats.
“Yes. I might be able to do that.”
“You can think about it. Just let me know.”
We go back to the hotel, and my mind is swirling. Asking me to lunch so we could clear the air was one thing; not firing me was another, but now, asking me to dinner, unrelated to work…it’s almost as if it’s a date. I haven’t really decided what to think of it.
Damien and I walk into the lobby, and I stop.
“There she is!” Luca’s voice echoes through the Redwood lobby as he bolts away from Rachel and straight into my arms.
“Oh my goodness,” I laugh, wrapping my arms around him. “What are you doing here?”
I lift him up and glance back at Rachel as she approaches me with a smile. “We were out for ice cream, and he wanted to see you, so we thought we’d surprise you.”
“Well, it is definitely a surprise!” I laugh, giving her a hug that sandwiches Luca between us. Then Rachel’s eyes turn to Damien.
“Who is he?” Luca asks.
“He’s my boss,” I say with a smile. “Mr. Graves.”
“Damien,” he corrects me, extending a hand to Rachel before looking at Luca with smile-less curiosity. He turns to me. “My offer still stands.”
“What offer is that?” Rachel asks.
“Dinner tonight,” I say.
“Unrelated to work,” Damien adds, and I feel my cheeks flush. Rachel gives me a look before saying, “that sounds exciting.”
I open my mouth to say something, but before I can, Damien speaks for me. “Why don’t you and Luca come along, Rachel?”
“To dinner?” She asks, and her eyes sparkle. Rachel loves being doted over. She also never says no.
“Like at a restaurant?” Luca exclaims. “We never go to restaurants. Where would we go?”
“Anywhere you like,” Damien answers. I guess that means I can’t say no either.
I glance at Damien, and I swear there’s a smile hidden in there somewhere. A satisfactory one.
Chapter 30
Ellie
