I shake my head. “Not mine.”
He twists his lips and nods. “Well,Lizzy,” he says sarcastically, “before I ask you my next question, I need to be honest and tell you that I think you’re gorgeous, but I’m leaving the country tomorrow. Indefinitely.”
My head rears back. “My, my, aren’t we presumptuous?”
Ace takes a step closer to me. “I just wanted to let you know that I don’t expect anything, and neither should you. I saw the way you were looking at me, and I’m too old to be playing these kinds of games, Lizzy.”
Following his movement, I take a step forward, never having been in this situation before. My heart beats erratically. “First off, I’m not sleeping with you tonight.”
Ace grins. “I must’ve misread the signs.”
“Secondly,” I say quickly, “how old are you, exactly?”
His smile falls. “Thirty-one.”
Just like I guessed. He’s in his thirties. He’s not old by any means, but I tend to stick to guys in their twenties. And no, he did not misread the signs, but I can’t let the guy know he has a chance to get into my pants.
“What was it that you wanted to ask me?”
Ace puts his hands in his pockets. “Do you want to get out of here?”
Putting down the bottle of champagne, I mull it over. I need to grab my purse and shawl from the coat check. Other than that, I can safely make an Irish exit to avoid my grandparents and anyone else who might recognize me.
Am I really going to go somewhere with this stranger? I’ve never done it before. Then again, I’ve never been drawn to a man like this in such a short amount of time.
It is only ten p.m. on a Saturday. The city is wide awake. If it’s in a public place, what’s the harm? I’m not ready for the night to end, and I never do anything this spontaneous with strangers. I’ve been to Europe dozens of times in my life and have yet to experience something like I’ve read in so many of my favorite romance novels. This is my one chance to do something new. To do something I’ll never forget with a person I’ll never see again.
“As long as it’s not where you live or to a torture chamber, then yes.”
He fastens his suit buttons. “Still not a serial killer.”
As I put on my heels, he opens the door for me. “You wouldn’t tell me even if you were.”
Twenty minutesafter we leave the banquet hall, we’re rounding a busy corner to a quieter street, and I ask for the fifth time, “Where are you taking me?” Quickly, I add, “I just realized we haven’t taken off our masks. Are we keeping them on all night?”
Ace keeps pace with me and replies with the same answer he’s been giving since we left the ball. “Patience, Lizzy. And only if you want to.”
I’m anything but patient. I may be trying to be spontaneous, but I’m not the kind of person who doesn’t like not being in theknow, which is why I’m unsure about this whole taking off the mask thing. I’m desperate and curious to see what his full face looks like, but then I’d have to follow suit.
After passing a couple of closed storefronts, I’m suddenly aware of how deserted this block is at night. I know my way around the city well enough, but I’m with someone I met merely an hour ago. Maybe being spontaneous wasn’t such a good idea. When I thought about doing something I could only experience once, it wasn’t getting murdered.
“Okay, Ace. I should let you know that I’ve taken self-defense classes and have weapons at the ready.”
Out of sheer panic, I reach for the pepper spray in my purse when he looks over his shoulder at me. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re a tad dramatic?”
Okay, now I feel like pepper-spraying him for calling me that. Of course, people have said that to me before, but the only ones I take it from are my friends.
“Ace,” I grit out, officially running out of patience.
His large frame stops a couple of steps ahead of me when he turns to a closed restaurant. It’s small and cozy, from what the lights of the street are allowing me to see. There’s a small sign above it that readsFenice.
“Phoenix,” I whisper to myself. He named his restaurant after the Italian word for phoenix.
“I’ve always liked the bird, and it’s easy to remember. Do you speak Italian?” Ace asks from beside me.
I hesitate, unsure how to reply. “A bit, but only enough to hold a simple conversation. I understand it well.”
“Color me impressed.” Ace unbuttons his suit and digs into a pocket inside his jacket. “I’m rusty too. It’s been a couple of years since I visited.” A second later, a simple phoenix key chain with three keys attached appears in his right hand.
