Page 18 of The Billionaire's Romance

By the time my doorbell rang, I was ready to go. I grabbed my coat and my purse and pulled open the door. The look on Aaron’s face when he saw me was priceless. I’m pretty sure though that I was sending him back the same look. Tonight he wore a black suit with a red and black pinstriped tie. He looked like he’d just gotten his hair trimmed and his beautiful face was as smooth as a baby’s bottom. I had to use all of my impulse control to keep from flinging myself into his arms. He would have to do a bit more groveling before that happened.

“Wow!” he finally managed.

I smiled and said, “Thank you, you bought it so obviously you have good taste.”

He smiled back and said, “Yes I do, but I wasn’t talking about the suit…although it’s lovely as well.”

We rode to the restaurant in silver Lamborghini. I was surprised yet again at just how much money he really has when I said,

“Wow, you have three cars?” I’d seen the Camaro, and of course I’d ridden in the limousine, but this one was new to me. He smiled and said,

“More, actually. I’m kind of a car buff.”

“Really? Something else I never knew about you. How much is more?”

“I own a dozen…at last count.”

I tried not to choke, “A dozen cars? Wow! Where do you keep them all?”

“I have a house in the Hamptons that I rarely use, but the cars are stored there nicely. Jeffrey brings them up to me when I want to drive them.”

Again I said, “Wow, there is a lot I don’t know about you, isn’t there?”

He didn’t say anything until we’d driven up in front of the restaurant and he’d given his keys to the valet. Before we went inside he said, “I’d like very much to change that. I’d like for you to know who I really am.” He held up his hands at out opulent surroundings and said, “This is such a small fraction of it.”

I took his hand in mine. It was warm and strong. I squeezed it and said, “There’s nothing I’d like more.”

The restaurant was almost too stunning for me to describe. It was located in an art deco building with soaring thirty-five foot ceilings and stunning views of Madison Square Park. Aaron and I were warmly greeted and he called the hostess by her first name and introduced me…as his girlfriend. We were shown to a table near a window and we were surrounded by other guests but in an open, spacious dining room.

The bright lights of the city shown through the window as the sun began to dip down behind the thirty and forty story buildings of central Manhattan. It was a new experience for me as well. Instead of a menu, we were given four cards from which we chose our favorite flavors. Aaron told me after the server left that the food was served in courses…up to fifteen if you had the five hours that took. We didn’t if we wanted to see the show, so he ordered us the three courses and a bottle of wine. He poured us each a glass and then offered a toast,

“To forgiveness for past offenses and to new beginnings,” he said.

“Here, here!” I clinked my glass to his and he looked at me seriously and said, “It was never my intentions to hurt you. But, with that being said, I have to say that even though I didn’t intend it, I was obviously not cautious enough with your feelings to make sure that I didn’t. I’m so sorry, Robyn. I was never ashamed or embarrassed of you. You’d just be surprised at how horrendous the social skills of a business mogul really are. If you’d like to discuss business, I can go on all night. Otherwise, I’m not sure sometimes what to talk about.”

I felt warm inside. I knew that sharing what he saw as his short-comings couldn’t be easy for him. “Just talk to me about anything…about you, about work, about life. I don’t care, as long as you’re talking to me.”

“I promise I’m going to try. Occasionally, I might need a reminder. A swift kick in the pants or even a sharp pop upside the head works.”

I laughed and said, “Well, I’ll hope it doesn’t come to that, but if it does…”

Our meal was spectacular and just as we were finishing dessert a very smartly dressed man in his early forties and a woman in her mid to late thirties approached the table. Aaron didn’t look pleased, but he stood up and shook the man’s hand and said hello to the woman. Again, he introduced me as his “girlfriend.”

“Robyn, this is Annette and Chase Hamilton.”

“Pleased to meet you,” I said. Aaron sat back down and the man, Chase said,

“We don’t want to interrupt your meal, I was just wondering if you mind me asking how it went with father the other night.”

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