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“Trust me, princess,” he murmured before breaking into a wide grin as an apron-wearing, dark-haired man who was only slightly smaller than Goliath, the man who’d escorted her from that dark alley and into that beautiful restaurant to meet Julian, came into view.
“Jay, my man!”
Julian grinned at the man who’d greeted him. “Antonio!”
Antonio walked toward them, wiped his hands on his apron, and stepped up to the counter, resting his elbow against the ancient cash register. “It’s been a long time, my friend. Where the hell have you been?”
Julian gave Antonio a devilish grin. “Life’s taken me places I wasn’t expecting. This is my friend, Skylar.”
Antonio smiled wide. “Pleased to meet you, Skylar. You want Julian’s usual or are you ordering separately?”
Julian looked questioningly at Skylar.
“Could you make mine ham and pineapple?” Skylar’s voice rang through the empty pizza place. When both Julian's and Antonio’s expressions closed off, she laughed. “I’m kidding. Julian’s usual, whatever it is, is fine. I’m not picky when it comes to pizza, especially the best pizza in the city. Plus, it will give some insight into who the Sex God of Manhattan truly is.”
To her surprise, Julian’s cheeks flushed slightly. Because of his nickname?
Interesting.
Antonio laughed. “I like you already, Skylar, friend of Jay’s. I’ll have the usual right up. What about drinks?”
“I wanted the pizza To Go. Is that okay with you, Skylar?”
He’d surprised her yet again. She wanted to ask him what was going on, why they weren’t having sex like she’d thought they would be, but she couldn’t really do that in front of Antonio; despite what one might think after she’d already humiliated herself in front of both her boss and that Regina woman yesterday, Skylar was not into public displays ofthere’s a woman that needs to see a good therapist and stat.
“Um, sure, that’s fine.”
“But we can have a drink while we wait. Antonio doesn’t have your favorite wine, but the house red is good,” Julian said.
“Thanks to Julian, who actually can appreciate a great budget wine just as much as the fancy stuff and suggested I order it,” Antonio added.
Skylar loved that. “Then I’ll have the house red.”
“Make it two, my man.”
Antonio nodded. “You got it.” He turned and disappeared into the kitchen, where Italian music blasted.
“Take a seat,” Julian said, grabbing one of the bar stools at the counter.
Skylar hesitated. She wasn’t exactly pissed about their little detour but still . . . “You tricked me,” she said.
Julian looked at her cautiously. “Did I? Because I said I was starving, remember?”
“But you said that about . . . ” Was he making a game out of something that might be life-changing for her? Out of something she’d thought was a bonding moment between them, even if it only ultimately led to sex.
He seemed to read her mind because even though Antonio briefly interrupted them at that moment to serve them their wine and banter with Julian, as soon as he left, Julian turned and gave her his full attention, his expression serious. “Princess, that is what I meant at the time. And yes, I’malwaysstarving for you. I’m not belittling what we talked about by bringing you here. That’s the exact opposite of what I’m doing. I want you to have some time to be sure, that’s all. Completely sure.”
“I alreadyamsure.”
He nodded. “Then a few hours won’t do anything but solidify that certainty, right? Maybe even help us relax, so it’s not quite at the forefront of our minds, creating pressure for us both. Things are always so intense between us, which I love most of the time. But we’ve never relaxed. I wanted to give us that. It would not only be a great change of pace, but maybe it will help us achieve our ultimate goal. Did I mess up?”
* * *
At Julian’s question,Skylar’s eyes flickered with uncertainty before her expression shifted into one of pleasure. “No. You didn’t mess up. You’re right. I just didn’t know I wanted relaxed, too, until you said it.” She started to sit on the stool when he stopped her and pulled her into his arms, wrapping her up tight against his chest.
After what they’d shared back at his penthouse earlier, the sheer perfection of holding her in his arms had started to feel familiar, but he soaked it in along with the accompanying feeling of contentment as if they would be snatched away at any moment.
He kissed her neck, then he let her go. “Nowyou can sit down.”
