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I chuckled and took a sip of my champagne. “Well, if I resign my job at Saint John’s, marry you, and take on the family business, neither of us will ever work again.”
She rolled her eyes, “Sadly, I’m not resigning Saint John’s, and a sexy helicopter ride up the coast won’t tempt me to marry you, Daddy Warbucks.”
I grinned. “You say that now, but I assure you that you will feel differently later tonight. You won’t be able to put a price tag on me, ravishing your body in every good way imaginable.”
“You seem quite confident that you’re getting something more than just an exciting partner at the opera tonight,” she said, laughing.
“The cute, bashful look you’re giving me tells me that I’m getting some tonight, and baby, trust me, you won’t be disappointed.”
“We’ll just have to see about that. Sometimes the opera and stage have a way of setting a different mood for me, and if I go the opposite way of wanting sex, you’ll be pissed you didn’t opt for the two-bedroom suite.”
“She challenges me?” I said, studying her perfect lips that I desperately wanted to devour.
“She does.”
“You have no idea what you’re in for, gorgeous. You’ll be begging me to marry you by the time I’m done—that’s if I even allow myself to be done.”
The driver met us at the helicopter pad in a beautiful black Bentley, and even that exquisite and lavish car couldn’t match the beauty of the woman who sat regally at my side. It was taking everything to keep my mind in the game and off of wanting to devour this woman in the suite I reserved at one of San Francisco’s finest hotels.
She smelled like a mixture of strawberries, jasmine, and vanilla, and who would have ever guessed that all those fragrance notes would shut my brain off and turn my dick on.
I glanced over as the driver drove us away from the airport, heading toward downtown, where the ancient opera theater awaited us. The golden hue of the city sky lit her golden skin with a beautiful shimmer and polished effect. I had to play everything right because my suddenly dry lips craved to kiss along her skin and taste each part of her body.
The entire city scene spoke words that only the autumn season could inspire. The early sunsets, the crisp air filled with salty ocean breezes wafting in from the San Francisco Bay, and the trees already trading their green leaves for vibrant yellow, orange, and red hues were awe-inspiring.
And all of that paled in comparison to Mickie.
Aside from this goddess’s beauty, I was drawn to so much more. Her ability to be so down-to-earth was delightfully intriguing. I’d never met any woman who stood firm in keeping things real for herself, staying firmly planted instead of flitting around, worrying about what everyone thought of her. My mother was also a strong woman whom I admired greatly, but her goal was to defend the family name and fortune, which had everything to do with her outside image.
It didn’t matter. No matter how much I admired both women’s strength, Mickie was nothing like my mother. It was apples and oranges when it came to comparing the two.
I loved being pulled farther away from the life I grew up in. I loved being with Mickie. She felt real, normal, and genuine. She led the life I wanted and craved when I was dead-set on leaving for college and going after a life that, in my mind, real people lived.
“Oh my gosh,” Mickie said as the driver pulled up to the front steps of the War Museum Opera house. “This speaks to my soul.” She covered her hand over her heart.
I smiled, “I feel the same. Its architecture speaks for its history.”
She smiled at me, “Looks like we might have a few things in common?”
“It only took a trip to the opera to find out.”
Once we were seated in our lavish box seats with a fantastic view of the stage, the lights began to dim, and the room’s atmosphere vastly changed in that instant.
I watched, mesmerized, as Mickie grew silent, her eyes taking in the imposing room. I loved how beautiful she looked underneath the incandescent lighting. Her eyes were wide with wonder, and her posture was perfectly erect, like the Olympic-caliber athlete she was.
She looked like she belonged in this beautiful place, and it was just as fulfilling to my soul to look at her as it was to absorb this ambiance. I had to find a way to pull my eyes away from her and allow the opera to perform their show, The Elixir of Love, and try to remain focused.
Only my family knew I had loved the opera since I was a kid. My family frequented operas and ballets, and when we showed up, we did so with gusto—the number of tuxedoes, gowns, gloves, and golden binoculars in my family home was probably unrivaled.
This time, though, it was different. I’d brought a woman to a performance, hoping we could move in a relationship direction. I liked how natural this was. I loved that I could envision enjoying more than one visit to the opera with Mickie, seeing how much she seemed to appreciate it.
As the opera began, I didn’t stop my mind from drifting or embracing how enchanting this was for me. After numerous glances at Mickie, seeing she was utterly lost in this performance, I realized that perhaps I had found a woman who could enjoy the lifestyle I’d grown up in, and maybe she could even embrace time with my family. It’s almost as if she was tailor-made for me.
These thoughts should’ve frightened me, but they didn’t. They excited me. This was more than right. This was my destiny. I knew that now. Mickie didn’t just come to Saint John’s on a fluke. She came to Saint John’s to meet me and for me to meet her.
I was not going to mess this up, and the idea of not wanting a relationship with someone was a thing of the past.
Chapter Twenty-Four
