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Hope asked Charlie, “What’s going on with our butler?”
Charlie said, “He’s been avoiding his family for years now, and it’s not our business to interfere.” He put his phone away.
Britney said, “How did we get start talking about Michael? It’s time for us all to drink to Avril and Kir.”
My heart lifted. My friends believed me. “Thanks, Britney.”
Britney laughed. “Hey, it’s only champagne. It’s up to you two to make the rest of it work.”
* * *
An hour later, we left the bar as it was getting late. Kir promised to drive me home. I’d settled in the back seat with him, and my head was all bubbly. It would be amazing if I shared this life with him.
As we drove closer to my street, Kir said, “This isn’t a good neighborhood, and you said you were about to stay with Kelly. I have a better idea. I’m taking you to my home.”
I sat straighter, and the world stopped being fuzzy. “That doesn’t make any sense. My neighborhood is perfectly safe.”
He took my hand. “If we want people to think it’s real, you can room at my place.”
“I’ll be fine. We can see each other tomorrow.”
“Until a week from now, and then you’ll prefer a couch to my penthouse?”
I lowered my head, unsure what to do. “It’s the plan I have for my life right now.”
“That was before we were dating.”
I glanced up. “Two dates don’t equal a moving-in situation.”
“For us it does.” He shook his head as the limo stopped. “There is no way my girlfriend would live here. Look, I’ll keep my word to you that your honor is safe. I promise you’ll have your own room, and you can lock the door if you want. I won’t be able to sleep if I think you’re sleeping in a room above a restaurant.”
I took a deep breath. This was more than I’d been expecting to have that morning. I met his gaze and nodded. “I’m mostly packed to move, and Kelly probably thinks my request is canceled now because she thinks we’re dating.”
His eyes widened. “That’s a yes?”
That weekend, I would get a truck and move my boxes as planned. I smiled at him. “Yes, and I’ll need the month to get myself a new place anyhow.”
“We’ll figure it out together,” he said and then directed his driver to take us home.
Home wasn’t the right word for the place, but I would consider staying with Kir a vacation from real life. There was no way being near him all the time would ever be anything else.
Chapter Seven
Avril
* * *
My eyes fluttered open, and I stared up at the twelve-foot-high ceiling that had a light fixture that looked like a small chandelier. And my sheets were butter soft. I half refused to ever leave the bed. I hugged the pillows and heard my phone alarm.
Damn. I wished this was a real vacation with no schedule, but I turned it off. I had a month to get my life together, and lounging would make me go nowhere fast. I cleaned myself up in the bathroom, and my stomach growled, so I put on the sleep pants and T-shirt Kir had lent me and scrounged around for the coffee maker.
The walls were textured white, and the art had a lot of stars. I found the kind of master chef kitchen I’d only ever seen in movies. I smiled as my eyes landed on a machine that looked like it produced frothy cappuccinos. I gazed at the metal and realized fast I had no idea how it worked. This wasn’t a pour-water-in-and-let-the-coffee-dribble-out kind of coffee maker. Then a man in a chef’s hat stepped into the room and directed me to leave.
I ran out and found Kir sitting at the dining table with a coffee. I took the seat beside him. “Good morning.”
“Morning.” He grabbed an iPad that was charging in the wall next to the buffet.
He opened it and retook the seat as I asked, “What’s going on?”
