Page 8 of Her Forbidden Prince
Carys hitched her tote bag higher onto her shoulder.“Nothing important,” she replied, then hesitated, not sure she wanted to get into the big, black SUV waiting by the curb.“What’s that?”
“A vehicle?”he offered slowly, obviously not sure what she was asking.
Carys huffed and stopped.“I know that it’s a vehicle, but…is that a driver?”She tilted her head as if a different angle might change what she was looking at.“Do you have a chauffeur?”
“I have bodyguards,” he corrected, putting a hand to the small of her back, gently nudging her closer to the car.
She glanced quizzically up at him.“Oh, so that many people hate you?”she asked mischievously.
“Hate me?”
Carys shrugged, feeling saucy all of a sudden.“Yeah, people who need bodyguards generally have a lot of enemies.”
He rolled his eyes.On anyone else, the gesture might be annoying.But on Rafi, it looked sexy as hell.Maybe it was sexy because it was combined with a rakish grin.Before she realized what was happening, Carys was sitting inside a very luxurious SUV and he was next to her.Close!
Carys looked everywhere but at the man sitting beside her.He was just too overwhelming, she told herself.
“The uh…I worked on the script for the uh…” she started to say, then forced herself to look at the man next to her.His dark eyes seemed to ignite something inside of her.She was hungry, but not for food.This man…the warmth and scent of him appealed to her in a way she didn’t quite understand.
Before she could decide how to react, the door to the SUV opened and a doorman offered her a hand.“Welcome to The Saint Brasti.”
The Saint Brasti restaurant?No way!It was impossible to get reservations here!Carys and her best friend, Andi, had read about this place.Just last month, they’d bought the ingredients for one of the items on the menu and had laughed at how badly the resulting charred mess had turned out!
But before Carys could argue, to explain how they couldn’t dine here, Rafi stepped out of the car.He came around to her open door, one hand extended toward her, as the doorman stepped back.“Let’s have something to eat before we discuss the marketing campaign.”
“Oh!”she whispered.She was hungry, but was it for food?
With a mental snort, she took the offered hand.Of course, she was hungry for food.What else was there to be hungry for?
But the moment his long fingers closed around hers, Carys knew she was in trouble.The unexpected heat that traveled up her arm was almost shocking.She looked up at him, very aware of how far she had to tilt her head back.
“We should…um…go somewhere else,” she whispered.
“Why’s that?”he asked, his voice lower now.His fingers tightened around hers.Had he moved closer?“I’ve heard excellent reviews about this place.”
“Yes, I’ve heard…great things too.”Had his chest just brushed her breasts?
He nodded toward the entrance.“Then let’s go inside and have some dinner.”
Unfortunately, he took a step toward the doors, leaving Carys feeling strangely abandoned and…wanting.
He tucked her hand onto his elbow, leading her through the shiny, red doors.Carys walked beside him, thinking that she should pull her hand away.But before she could, he pulled her closer, putting his hand to the small of her back.It felt both reassuring and intimate.
“Good evening,” the pompous man behind the wooden podium said, not even blinking an eye at the fact that she and Rafi weren’t in formal attire.Thankfully, it was a weeknight, so the other patrons weren’t in cocktail attire either.Friday and Saturday nights, most of the patrons would be heading for the opera or the ballet.Carys smiled her thanks as the host led them toward a table next to a floor to ceiling window that looked out over the city.Immediately, a waiter appeared, handing her a leather-covered menu.
Although, as she looked around, she noticed the other female diners wore obviously expensive designer clothes.They definitely hadn’t bought their clothes at the discount retailers.Her dress might have a famous label on the tag, but the name wasn’t a top of the line designer.
“Would you like a cocktail?Or wine?”
Carys lowered her menu to look at the man sitting across the table.Rafi was truly an impressive sight.His broad shoulders were drool-worthy and the rest of him, plus the air of confidence, caught second glances from women they’d passed by.
“I don’t need wine,” she replied, thinking that a bottle of wine in a place like this probably cost more than she earned in a week.“Water is fine.”
“You don’t like wine?”
Carys looked around, noting the modern chandelier and the silk draperies that graced the floor to ceiling windows.Since the windows were three stories high, the sparkly curtains were spectacular.However, they were also pulled back to highlight the extraordinary view of the river with the city in the distance.Everything here sparkled.The waiters walked expeditiously through the tables, the other diners created a low hum of conversation and there was music; a grand piano in a corner being played beautifully.
This was one of the most expensive and sought-after places in the city, and she was here with a gorgeous man.
