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Softening the attitude and feeling like my heart is going to burst, I kiss him back smiling against his lips. “You’re forgiven… for now.” I add taking his hand in mine and join our fingers again. His thumb smooths across my knuckles as the doorman inside the restaurant opens the door for us. I thank him and Troy heads for the maître d’ and tells him his name.
The well-dressed guy shows us to our table, pulls the chair out and waits for me to sit before tucking the chair in. He then goes around and shows Troy to his seat and pulls his chair out also. “Can I get you both drinks?”
I look to Troy because well, I can't have a Pornstar Martini here. “What would you like?” Troy asks politely, leaving me to choose anyway.
“I’m not fussed, whatever you think? Wine maybe?” I shrug and take the drinks menu from the table, making out like I come to these places all the time.
Rolling his eyes, he turns back to the maître d’. “Your best champagne, please.”
He nods at Troy and leaves us.
“Best champagne? Are we celebrating?” I ask, feeling a little out of my depth. I mean I might have been brought up around stature and money, but I didn’t see this side. In fact, if I remember rightly, I can’t remember Dad taking Mum anywhere, unless it was for a potential client or business.
Reaching across the table, Troy holds his hand out for me to take. Slipping my hand in his he grasps my fingers and gently envelopes them in his hand. “What’s going through your mind?”
I look around me, glancing at the expensive decor, the large crystal chandeliers that hang from the ceiling and the low lighting creating a sexy ambience. “I just never saw this side of the grand life.”
“Grand life? You mean mixing with people that would rather look down on you than speak to you with respect, unless you had something. Unless you had a million in the bank. Believe me Em, you wouldn’t have wanted to be part of this.” Troy admits and for the first time I see a hint of aggravation behind his well demonstrated facade.
“I suppose I was lucky going off to uni. Do you think if I’d have said yes to wanting to take over the business I’d have been dragged into the wining and dining?” I ask him, squeezing his fingers gently.
“If you wanted clientele, then yes. But, if this is going to work between us, then this is going to be your life. Restaurants, wining, and dining while meeting prospective clients, meeting clients that want to sell parts of their business, but hoping you’ll have mercy on them and not take away everything they’ve worked for.” He pauses for a moment and squeezes my hand, “I don’t do mercy, Emily. I guess this is the high life, your father and I worked hard to gain it and be a part of that world.”
“That’s a bit harsh.”
The waiter interrupts our conversation. I smile up at him while placing the bucket of ice in a stand and pops the cork of the champagne before pouring a drop in Troy’s glass. He tries it impatiently and nods to the waiter. After he pours some in both of our glasses, he places the champagne in the stand at the side of Troy. He stands off to the side of the table. I realise we haven’t even looked at the menu and quickly I pick it up, quickly scan the dishes that are available before settling on the Lobster. Troy orders the same and the waiter leaves us alone, taking the menus with him as we jump right back into our conversation.
“It’s not harsh, it’s business.” Troy adds, frowning.
“I guess I thought this side of you had diminished slightly.” My brows pinch, and I pick up my champagne. The bubbles pop as I lift my flute to my lips and sip the expensive liquid. “Hm, nice, I guess.”
He bites back a smirk at my passive comment, but I catch it anyway. “Maybe in my personal life it has, I came after you, didn’t I? But business, no. All I’ve had in my life is business, Em.” He takes a breath in, “Business led me to you. Mitch opened his world up to me, I was fighting to stay afloat,” he pauses his rant and swallows, “I had to be brutal to succeed. I didn’t have anything else.”
“What do you mean?” He’s never told me about his family. Not even when we used to have conversations after Dad fell asleep and he’d creep into my room. We’d talk about what I wanted; we’d never talk about him. He was so focused on me; I think that’s why I fell for him so hard. It took him twelve months to finally sleep with me and then the unspeakable happened.
“I mean back before I met Mitch, I had nothing Em, other than a bit of money saved up by my grandparents. My grandfather gave it to me before he passed. My grandmother died six months before him, he was devastated. He just couldn’t live without her.” His eyes are sad as he thought about them, and it tugs at my heartstrings. “They took me in as a baby. So, you see, everything I’ve got I’ve had to work hard for, I’ve never taken anything for granted; I couldn’t afford to. But they taught me morals and a good work ethic.”
Tears prick my eyes as he tells me about his upbringing, although it wasn’t bad, he was poor. I clutch his hand in mine, squeezing it harder. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. I made it. I had grandparents that loved me, it could’ve been so much worse. But I thought it was time to tell you a few things about me.” He releases a heavy breath, “I love you, Em. I know I haven’t done the right things in the past and there’ll probably be things in the future that will have you wanting to kill me in my sleep, but always know that everything I do, or have done, I do for you.”
My lips tighten as I try to hide the smirk that’s threatening to break through and I almost can’t resist breaking into the Bryan Adams song, but I do. I don’t answer, instead I nod. I will tuck it away into the deep recesses of my mind though so I can save it for another time.
Instead, I take my glass in my hand and sip on my champagne. “This stuff isn’t too bad you know.” Trying to lighten the load with a bit of my natural humour.
“It’s a hundred-pound bottle of champagne, it shouldn’t be.” Troy sighs again. Just then the waiter comes back with our meals and smiles at us.
“Madame?” I smile up at the waiter, leaning back so he can place the plate down in front of me. He then goes around the table. “And for sir,” Troy smiles tightly at the waiter, “Is there anything else I get for you both?”
“Just some water please?” Troy adds and the waiter’s gone again.
Lobster tails served in a cheese sauce with corn on the cob and green beans. God, I’m going to enjoy this. “This looks delicious.” I say out loud and tuck in just as our water is brought over, Troy thanks him politely, pouring us both a glass. Our conversion halts for the time being while I enjoy this amazing food. I groan as I bite into one of the lobster tails, my eyes rolling into the back of my head from the exquisite taste.
“Keep groaning like that and it won’t be food you’re craving.” Troy grins, spearing a green bean onto his fork and dragging it off with his teeth.
“I’ll have you know I’ve had an exhausting day today and it’s given me an appetite, so,” I glance up judging his reaction, “if you can keep your sexual remarks to yourself, I’ll moan and groan as much as I want.” My eyes flash with that little bit of need I always have around him. “Just for now, anyway.” I lift the corn on the cob up and take a bite, smirking around it.
The surprised look on his face has me grinning wider but I take no notice of him to carry on eating. Food takes priority.
