“God, yes. Just another instance of not quite knowing someone as well as you thought. Or maybe just not wanting to believe it, ya know?”
“Oh, do I ever. I can say with certainty, though, that whoever let you walk away tonight was a fool,” he ventured. “You never told me your name. Here.” He handed me some napkins.
“You’re too kind, Nathan. My name is Audra.”
“Audra. A pretty name for a pretty woman.”
“Thanks for the confidence boost. Nathan, are you wealthy?”
He almost spat his drink out, “I’m sorry, what?”
“Your suit is designer, your shoes are Louis Vuitton, and you’re wearing a Rolex. Are you obscenely rich?”
He looked around like he couldn’t believe what I was asking. And if I’m being honest, neither could I.
“I’m comfortable. I can’t say I’ve ever been asked that in the first three minutes of meeting someone. If you’re looking for a sugar daddy, it’s not me.”
“Oh, don’t worry, I promise I’m not. Another question: would you marry a nurse?”
“I’m sorry? Would I marry a nurse? I would marry whoever I fell in love with. My last girlfriend was a nurse, and the only reason we broke up is because she wanted to leave New York.”
“Would your parents approve of that?”
His brow furrowed in confusion. “They had no issues. If I’m happy, they’re happy.”
“Are they rich?”
“I … this feels weird, seeing as I don’t even know your last name.”
“My last name is King. Did you grow up rich?” I was fully aware of how absolutely unhinged I was being. Poor Nathan had no idea what he was walking into. The questions were so, so inappropriate, but there was no stopping me.
“I have lived a privileged life.”
“And they’d be okay with whoever you married?” I pushed. “Even if they weren’t rich?”
I couldn’t believe this man was still standing here.
“I’m gathering your night went to pot when you met your boyfriend’s parents tonight?” He guessed.
“Yeah. They were horrible to me. It was the worst I’ve ever been treated in my life,” I admitted as the tears welled in my eyes again.
“Audra, I’m not sure what your deal is and why you ended up at this lobby bar. But I have three younger sisters, and if they were in the state you were in, I’d want someone to give them a hug. When I came over, I was hoping to hit on you and see where the night took us, and while it’s clear that you don’t need that right now, it does look like you need some love.” And he held his arms out to me. I let myself fall into them. “This is the oddest night I’ve had in a long time,” Nathan laughed.
“Can I just say that I’ve never done anything like this before?” I laughed back. “I bet you didn’t know the shit showyou were walking into when you asked to sit down. You’re a good guy, Nathan. Thank you.”
“My intentions were not hugging a woman for comfort, but alas,” he laughed. “Now that we’re best friends, can I buy you a shot?”
Jules interrupted the moment when she put her hand on my shoulder and pulled me out of the hug.
“I’m Juliette, here to rescue my friend. What’s going on?”
“This is Nathan. Poor Nathan just got subjected to a lot of questions about his wealth and if he would marry a nurse, and then I started to cry. He hugged me because he has three younger sisters and said that if someone saw his sister out looking like I looked, he would hope someone would comfort them. Did I cover it?”
As I regurgitated those words, I couldn’t believe it was an actual replay of those last few minutes. Nathan just smiled at her and shrugged. Because honestly, what else was he going to do? At that point, this man was in for a penny, in for a pound.
It took a lot for Juliette to be shocked into silence. She looked between us with furrowed brows and shook her head from side to side to try to process what I had told her.
“Are you … are you serious?”
