Page 15 of Now and Forever
Turning, Golden blinked at the sight of Grayson standing directly behind her. He was still wearing his clothes from earlier, except for the tie. Her eyes were drawn to the missing piece of clothing. Instead, his collar beneath the sweater was open showing a peek of his collarbone beneath. Golden swallowed and looked up to meet his gaze.
Dark blue eyes crackled with unspoken power as he looked to Bryson and then to his arm around her shoulders. Bryson immediately complied with the unspoken command and dropped his arm away, freeing her.
Grayson held out his hand to her. "Come."
She couldn't stop herself even if she tried. Without a second thought, Golden silently took his hand and let him lead her out of the lounge.
Grayson guided her through the hotel lobby, their footsteps echoing softly on the polished marble floors as they made their way to Le Palais, the hotel's esteemed French restaurant. Golden couldn't help but feel a surge of nervousness at the prospect of being alone with Grayson on what not only looked like a date,judging by their attire, but felt like one too from the possessive way he held her close to him.
As they walked through the restaurant doors and the soft notes of music from the live piano player hit her, the moment suddenly felt very real. She was really holding hands with Grayson Rosebank and being led to where she assumed the private balcony was. Unconsciously, her hand flinched in his and grew a little clammy.
Grayson did not let go. Instead, he pulled her a little closer until her shoulder nearly brushed his arm. "You look beautiful," he commented.
Nervously, Golden licked her lips. "Thank you; it’s the dress though."
Grayson held open the door and gave her a knowing look that told her he disagreed with that statement. She would have said something else but her words faltered on her tongue as she stepped into the small private room. This entire time she always assumed the balcony was a part of the main dining area of the restaurant. But it wasn't. It was by itself up some stairs in a small room. The space exuded an intimate charm, with plush velvet chairs surrounding a round table, and soft lighting. The open French doors that led to the balcony were actually a secondary space in the room with its own little bistro table overlooking the lounge below.
"This is nice," she whispered, sitting in the seat Grayson pulled out for her.
Grayson turned to the waiter as he sat down, speaking to him in French.
Oh Lord, she forgot he could speak French as well as a few other languages. Seeing the words roll off his tongue so easily, Golden had to force herself to look away. Inside her chest, the flames of her everlasting infatuation with the man blazed back to life despite all her efforts to bank them.Get a grip, she commanded herself. If she kept this up, she was going to end up starting a secret fan forum on the man and start writing fanfiction.
Determined to set the tone of this very intimate not-date torture-fest, Golden leveled him with a look after the waiter left. "I meant what I said earlier, you can’t just make me quit my-"
"And I meant what I said," his voice cut through the air, silencing her. Returning a level look of his own, Grayson steepled his fingers underneath his chin and pinned her to the spot. "This will not work. You will be starting classes soon and you will be working for me. Singing here on the weekends will give you no time to rest."
"I can manage it," she insisted, feeling the grounds of her argument beginning to crumble in front of his logic. Yet, she still resisted. "Besides, I like singing."
"And everyone who hears your voice likes it too, but that does not negate the fact that you need sleep." His expression was passive as he responded, but she could feel the determination rolling off him.
Golden bit her lip and looked away. He was right. She was already pretty tired and technically she was on shift for two more hours. Thankfully, the waiter came back, interrupting the tense moment.
The waiter carefully set down the amazing looking food. Golden's eyes went wide at the delicious looking seafood pastadelicately curled into a spiraling nest cradling the assortment of shrimp and fish. This was probably the first time in her life her food was plated so nicely. She was tempted to take a photo, but her hunger overruled that idea.
As the music from the lounge below drifted up through the open balcony, time seemed to evaporate, leaving only the soft murmur of their conversation mingling with the soft clinking of their silverware. The waiter came in, took their plates, and replaced them with a small glass bowl of strawberry sorbet.
Golden groaned even as she reached for her spoon. "I'm going to need to be cut from this dress if I keep going."
Grayson leaned back in his seat. His electric blue eyes dropped slowly, passing over her exposed shoulders and down to her bodice. Golden's skin prickled with goosebumps at the inspection and waited for his gaze to come back up and meet hers.
Curious, she asked. "Why did you buy the lounge all these beautiful," not to mention expensive, she mentally added, "dresses, if you want me to quit?"
Grayson lifted one brow in a nonchalant expression. "Consider it a parting gift on your behalf."
"You really do want me to quit, don't you?"
"I want you to have a balanced life, Golden. Not stressed because you bit off more than you can chew."
His words felt like arrows to her heart as she thought about abandoning her Juilliard scholarship.
The pain must have shown on her face because Grayson cursed under his breath. "I meant timewise. Nothing else. Ididn't want for you to be overwhelmed with too much in regards to your schedule." Extending his arm across the table he turned his palm face up, silently asking for her hand.
Golden didn't look at him, she just stared at his hand noting the detail of his long fingers as her stung pride slowly eased. Exhaling, she placed her hand in his, allowing it to close over hers.
She flicked him a cool look. "So, you didn’t mean me running away from Juilliard?"
Grayson tilted his head, his gaze sharpening. "You know me well enough to know that I would never say that."
