Leopold: Part Four (8 page)

He doesn’t understand. He doesn’t know anything about me
.

I let out a long breath. “Leo, I appreciate this. I really do.”

He smiles. “I’m so glad to hear you say that, Elle. Truly. Because after tonight—”

“But I don’t need this.” I frown. “I don’t
want
this.”

His frown matches my own. “I know you don’t
need
it. But
I
want to give it to you.”

I shake my head. “If I wanted to be rich, I would have specialized in something other than pediatrics. I…I don’t even need all the money I make. I only need enough to pay my mortgage and my student loans. I’ve been sending the rest to Rio de Campo. I mean—”

“Elle, you don’t need to worry about those things, though. I can take care of your every wish. Your every need. You never need to work again as far as I’m concerned—”

“Leo.” I have to blink a few times to believe I’m not in the middle of a dream. “I don’t work only for money. I became a doctor because it’s who I am. Because—”

He takes a step forward and kisses me for a moment. He pulls away. “I know.”

“You
don’t
know. If you did, you wouldn’t be trying to give me things I don’t want.”

He takes my champagne from me, setting both our glasses back on the table. “Elle, I asked you to let me show you how I treat my dates—”

“Yes.” I roll my eyes. “The
royal date experience.
”

He grins. “Exactly. And this is only the beginning.”

“Leo, if this is how it’s going to be—”

“It’s not.” He pulls my hand into his. “It’s going to be so much better than this. Let me prove it to you.” He pulls his phone from his pocket with his free hand to check the time. “Our reservations are in just a bit. We should probably head to the restaurant—it is on the other side of Manhattan.”

I frown. “Leo, you can buy me a plate of spaghetti. I don’t need a fancy dinner. I really…don’t.”

“You promised, Elle, remember? One night of the
royal date experience
? And this night is not over yet.”

I can’t really argue with that, though I wish there was some way for him to understand that I’d be fine without all this extravagance. I force a smile. “Fine, Leo. Let’s finish our
royal date experience
.”

T
he Ambrosia Room
restaurant is every bit as exquisite as I remembered. The decor is elegant but modern, simple but luxurious. I catch Elle looking up at one of the chandeliers—a work of art constructed of tens of thousands of black glass beads—as the owner personally leads us to our table.

In spite of my worries, I find myself growing more confident as I help Elle into her chair. Though I keep misjudging what it takes to impress her, I’m starting to feel more confident again. I’m back on territory I understand. If anything will sweep her off her feet, it’s the exquisite food here.

“I believe you ordered a special bottle of wine?” the owner says as I settle down into my chair. “Would you care for me to send it over now?”

“That would be wonderful,” I say. “And we’ll have a plate of your honey-glazed scallops to start, I think.”

I glance over at Elle as he walks away. Her big eyes are still taking everything in. She looks slightly uncomfortable.

I reach over and rest my hand on hers, making her jump.

“Just try to enjoy yourself, Elle. Certainly, you can allow yourself a little more indulgence tonight?”

“This is more than a little indulgence,” she mutters.

“As I told you before, I simply want to share this with you.” I know I should stay on simpler, safer topics, but I can’t keep myself from asking, “Is luxury really such a terrible thing?”

Her eyes shift down to her lap before rising to meet mine. “It’s not that it’s a terrible thing. It’s just that I have a hard time grasping that some people live like this every day. That
you
live like this every day.”

“Not every day, I assure you,” I say with a grin. “I’d get bored eating at the same place all the time.”

“That’s exactly my point. Your biggest concern is boredom. While some people—
most
people—will never in their entire lives get to eat in a place like this.”

“Are you ashamed of getting the chance to do something others can’t?” I ask. “Elle, you can’t go through life refusing things simply because other people might not have the same opportunity. If everyone lived like that, no one would ever get to do anything.”

“It’s not that. It’s that I’ve seen people—
helped
people—who have nothing. People who couldn’t even pay for medicine for their sick children. And all I can do now that I’m sitting here is wonder how much medicine someone could buy with the amount of money they’d spend on a meal here.”

“And because of you, the people in Rio de Campo will have everything they need for their clinic. As soon as I get back to Montovia, I’ll ask my father about redistributing the funds. And about opening the lines of communication between the Medical Council and the clinic so we can ensure they have everything they need. I dare say my father will be delighted to see me showing such initiative.”

She still looks a little uncertain—and a little uncomfortable with her surroundings—so I decide to steer the conversation back to pleasanter things. I promised her the full
royal date experience
, after all.

“You look beautiful,” I say, reaching out and running my fingers down her arm.

She looks startled by the sudden change in topic. “Well, the dress you gave me is very pretty. Your tailors—”

“No. Not the tailors. Not the dress.
You. You
are beautiful, Elle.”

The waiter brings the wine to the table, and she manages to escape from responding to me. Still, I see the first whispers of a blush on her cheeks. She touches her hair, adjusts it a little, and I can tell she’s feeling self-conscious again. This woman has no idea how beautiful she is.

Once the server has poured our glasses, she hastily grabs hers and takes a sip. I can see the pleasure in her eyes as the first taste of it hits her tongue.

“This might be the best wine I’ve ever tasted in my life,” she says. “It’s incredible.”

“Isn’t it?” I grin. “It’s one of my favorites. My family has a magnificent collection of this vintage in our wine cellar. One day you’ll have to try the eighty-six. If you think this vintage is good, you won’t believe how incredible that one is.”

“Sadly, I doubt they have the eighty-six in Oklahoma,” she says.

I frown. I’d hoped that by the end of this date she’d have given up on the idea of attending that interview, but it seems she’s determined.

The server returns with the scallops, and I don’t have the chance to tell her what I think of her plan to go back to her old life. He takes our orders for the main course before slipping away again.

You still have plenty of time to convince her
, I tell myself as I sip my wine.
The evening has only just begun.
But right now, I can’t keep my mouth shut.

“What if you didn’t go to Oklahoma?” I ask her.

“Then I wouldn’t have a job. I have bills to pay.”

“I could give you any money you needed.”

She gives a sharp shake of her head. “I don’t want your charity. I want…”

“What, Elle?” I reach over and close my hand over hers. “I know you feel it, too. There’s something here between us. Something that can’t be denied. It doesn’t have to end tonight.”

“Yes, it does,” she says. “It’s been…fun seeing you again, Leo, but we both know there’s no future here. What did you honestly think was going to happen?”

“I thought…” I straighten slightly. “I
know
what we share is strong enough to overcome our previous difficulties and any we might encounter in the future.” I gaze deep into her eyes. “And that has to mean something. I am a changed man, Elle. Because of you. And if what we have is enough to change me, I
know
you must feel it, too.”

She still looks uncertain. Her lips part slightly, and her fingers twitch beneath mine. At her wrist, I can feel her pulse speed up.

“Even if I do feel something for you, Leo…” she says finally. “Even if I
did
, it was a long time ago.”

I shrug. “Three months is not a long time, Elle. It seemed like an eternity in many ways, but in the context of the rest of our lives, it is little more than an instant. And I think that if you felt nothing for me, you wouldn’t have agreed to come here with me tonight. You wouldn’t be sitting here, allowing me to hold your hand. You wouldn’t be considering canceling your job interview. Not if there isn’t at least the
possibility
that you feel the same way I do.”

“But I don’t—”

“Tell me, Elle…” I raise her fingers to my lips. I kiss her knuckles once before flipping over her hand to kiss her wrist. “Do you feel nothing when I do this?”

Her eyes flutter closed, and I can feel her heartbeat speed up even more through the thin skin at her wrist.

“I…” She swallows. “I…I don’t.” She opens her eyes. “I don’t.”

We both know she’s lying—after all, I was there last night. But if she wants to play this game, I’ll indulge her.

“Hm. And you feel nothing when I do this?” I set her hand down to touch her bare shoulder, tracing the line of the strap that’s barely holding up her dress.

She gasps and closes her eyes again. Her skin is covered in gooseflesh, and she looks as if she’s barely breathing.

“No,” she says, her voice barely above a whisper. “Nothing.”

“I see.” I smile and tilt my head. “Then I suppose you’ll feel nothing when I do this, Elle.” I lift my finger to her jaw, tilting her chin the slightest bit before dipping my face toward hers.

She doesn’t pull away from me. Instead, she makes a soft sound in her throat as my lips slide over hers. I take that as encouragement, leaning into the kiss as need pulses through me. How is it possible for her to continue denying the energy surging between us?

Even Elle seems to realize that there’s no more pretending. As my hand slides to the back of her neck, deepening the kiss, I feel her fingers yank at my tie, pulling me closer.

She completely consumes all of my senses. My mind and body are focused on one thing and one thing only—being closer to her. It doesn’t matter where we are—in fact, I’m fairly certain I’ve forgotten where we are until I hear the faint clank of a dish in front of me, and even then I’m perfectly willing to continue ignoring everything but her.

Elle, however, pulls away. That lovely flush of hers returns when she glances up and sees our waiter placing her dinner in front of her on the table.

“Forgive me,” the man tells us with a bow of his head. “I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

“No offense taken,” I say with a grin. “In fact, it’s probably for the best you arrived when you did.”

The waiter, clearly a professional, doesn’t look the least bit fazed. He gives another bow of his head as he steps back. “Is there anything else I can get for you at the moment?”

I glance over at Elle, who looks like she wants to melt into her chair.

“That should be all for now, thank you,” I say.

When our waiter has disappeared again, I turn back to Elle with a smile.

“I think you might feel something after all,” I say.

“You should learn to control yourself in public,” she says, glancing at the tables around us. “I can’t believe you just did that here.”

“Me?” I say with a laugh. “Elle, you were as much a part of that as I was. In fact, you nearly choked me with my tie.” I straighten the tie and lean closer to her. “But don’t worry, no one here noticed—or would have cared, if they did. And either way, why should it matter? We aren’t harming anyone. You shouldn’t be so concerned with what other people think.”

“We’re in public,” she says. “At a really,
really
nice restaurant. We probably shouldn’t be making out at the table.”

“You didn’t seem to mind making love in the public park near your home, if I recall.”

Her entire face goes red. “That was different.”

“Elle, thanks to the paparazzi, most of the world has already seen us making out. And if I recall correctly, I was naked in those photos. So I don’t imagine anyone is going to have any objections to us kissing while fully clothed on a date.”

“And what about your family? What will they think?”

Her question catches me off guard. I hadn’t intended to speak much of my family—not until it was necessary, anyway. The truth is that my father and older brother still blame Elle for my wild behavior and acts of defiance three months ago. And though I have attempted many times to make it clear that it is I and I alone who should bear responsibility, both of them are stubborn when it comes to their preconceived notions about Elle.

As soon as they meet her, they’ll love her. They’ll have to.
At least that’s what I keep telling myself.

But I can’t exactly say that to her. Not yet.

“I don’t make decisions based on what my family might think,” I say carefully. “Do you make decisions based on Owen’s opinions?”

She gives me a pointed look. “That’s not what I asked. What do they think of all this? Do they even know you’re here?”

“They know I’ve returned to the United States, yes,” I say. “But I don’t give them full details of my motives or whereabouts every time I leave the country. They know I always bring Matthias with me, and that he will ensure they are contacted should anything happen.”

“So…they don’t know you came here to see me.”

“They never asked.”

“If you had told them, would they have tried to stop you?”

I pick up my fork. “I really couldn’t say. You should try your lobster before it gets cold.”

“You’re a master at dodging questions, Leo,” she says. “Don’t think you’re off the hook—just consider yourself lucky that I’m starving right now.”

She shoots me a look that tells me she’s completely serious before breaking off a piece of her lobster and popping it into her mouth. As her lips close around it, her eyes widen, and she glances over at me.

“Good, isn’t it?” I say.

She swallows. “
Very
good.”

“Have more,” I urge her. “Order an entire second lobster if you wish. Tonight, you can have whatever you like.”

“One should be more than enough.” She looks down at her plate with renewed enthusiasm in her eyes.

I take another bite of my lobster, wondering what she truly thinks about the things I’ve just told her about my family.

It’s a good sign if she cares
, I tell myself.
If she never wanted to see me again after tonight, why would it matter what my family thinks?

I continue to eat my lobster, every so often glancing at her again. She seems absorbed in her meal, but a couple of times I catch her looking back at me, too.

The third time our eyes meet, I smile.

“You’re staring again,” she says.

“I can’t help it.”

“I’m surprised you can tear your attention away from this lobster.”

“I might say the same of you.”

There’s that blush on her cheeks again. “I don’t know what to think of you sometimes, Leo.”

“Funny. I know exactly what to think of you.”

One side of her mouth tilts up. “And what do you think of me right now?”

“I think it’s a shame you haven’t been kissed in a full five minutes.” I lean toward her. “I think I should kiss you right now.”

My lips brush over hers, and once again, her body seems to respond immediately to me. She leans into me, her mouth pressing back against mine. All the air seems to rush out of me as I feel her tongue slide against my lips.

I grab her and yank her against my chest. “I think I need you. Right now.”

“We’re in a restaurant—”

“And a restaurant has washrooms, doesn’t it?” I pull back and rise to my feet. “What do you say?”

“You can’t be serious.”

“I am entirely serious.” I grab her hand and pull her up to her feet. “Completely, utterly serious.”

I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her close to me again. My face drops, and I kiss her again, sucking her bottom lip into my mouth. A soft little moan emanates from her throat.

My hands slide slowly downward, across the curves of her ass. She jumps, pulling back slightly, but she doesn’t withdraw completely from my arms.

“Fine,” she whispers. “Fine, let’s go to the bathroom.”

I grin. “My lady’s wish is my command.”