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"What are you going to do next?" I asked, unable to imagine what a cool billion could do to a person's life.
"Like I said, it's money that'll let me sail to the Galapagos."
"But after that? The Mars mission?"
He put an arm around my shoulder. "Something like that. Maybe build an orbital platform. Or a mission to the asteroid belt, to mine rare minerals and gold."
"That's visionary thinking."
"I want to do something with my wealth. Something that moves us forward as a civilization."
"Why not feed the poor? Or fight global warming?"
"I can do that, too."
I nodded and watched him while he took a drink of the beer a waitress brought over for him. He turned to me and smiled when he caught me looking at him.
"What?"
I glanced away, realizing that despite the charade we were playing, he was most definitely out of my league. He came from a wealthy family, and money was no object to him, and yet…
And yet he seemed to fit right in with the group, talking to someone about the most recent baseball win.
/> We sat with the group and Candace peppered Luke with questions about his business, and what he planned to do when the sale went through. Finally, Luke glanced at his watch. Then he leaned in to me, his lips beside my ear.
"Have you eaten?"
I shook my head. "Just nachos." I pointed to the basket of tortilla chips in the center of the table.
"Want to get out of here? Go get some real food?"
He met my eyes and how could I refuse him? He was so damn gorgeous...
"Sure," I said. "I'm hungry."
I glanced at Candace, who was watching the two of us, her expression pleased.
"We're going for supper," I said and stood. "Thanks to everyone for coming for a drink and to help me celebrate."
There was a round of congrats and Candace nodded, smiling.
I thanked my advisor, then said goodbye. Luke took my hand, leading me out of the bar to the street. A half a block down sat his SUV, all black and shiny.
"Where to?" he asked, leading it to me.
"Wherever you want to go.”
"What do you feel like? What kind of food?"
"At this point, I'll eat practically anything," I said with a laugh.
"Okay," Luke said and opened the passenger door for me when we got to the vehicle. "How about Italian? There's a fantastic restaurant down a few blocks from my office."
I glanced down at my dress. “Am I dressed appropriately?”
“You look beautiful. You’re dressed more than appropriately,” he said and looked over at me, smiling approvingly. “John and I go there all the time for great pasta and meatballs. It’s a family restaurant. Authentic Italian.”
I smiled, relieved that I’d fit in. “Sounds delicious."
