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“You’re one of those guys who likes to answer a question with a question. And normally? That would piss me off.” I boldly place my hand over his. “But for some reason with you it’s simply charming.”
He squeezes my hand. “I find you absolutely breathtaking, and that is definitely part of your charm.”
This is so strange.
I’m never the most beautiful woman in the room, but Phantom makes me feel as though I am.
He makes me feel like I’m the only woman in the room.
I haven’t noticed anyone else. I’m sure there are other good-looking men here. Other charming men.
But they’re all a blur.
They don’t exist at all.
Alfred delivers our drinks, and Phantom raises his.
“To my angel,” he says.
I raise my glass and clink it to his. “And to you as well.”
“To a promising beginning.” He takes a sip.
A promising beginning.
Normally I’d try to dissect those words. What do they mean, exactly?
Instead, I let them slide over me, into me, with a warmth I’m not used to.
To a promising beginning…
I take a sip, and it’s as woodsy and delicious as it was last night. As strong as it was last night, too. I will only be having one…just like last night.
I need to keep my wits about me because already I know I could easily lose control with Phantom.
One more perfect word from him, and I’ll be hitting the sheets.
Maybe I should. After all, he’d have to take his mask off eventually.
But he won’t take me to bed tonight.
Already I know this as well as I know my own name. As well as I wish I knew his name.
Tonight is not about sex.
Tonight is about the lure of the masquerade.
Tonight is about that part of myself I keep hidden.
That part of myself that only I see.
And somehow? I feel like Phantom sees it, too.
Which is strange because I’m not even sure what my true desires are. But I do know, now, that they were never to be Mrs. Pendleton Berry.
My whole life, I thought I knew what I wanted. Marriage, money, a big house in the best part of town.
Sitting here with Phantom, my greatest desire is none of those things.
It’s simply to know this man’s name.
He’s going to make me jump through some hoops to get it, but already I know those hoops will open me up to a greater experience.
They will open me up to something new and exciting.
I may discover secrets about myself that even I don’t know.
“You won’t tell me your name,” I say, “and I accept that. But tell me something. Tell me something about yourself that no one knows.”
“Will you do the same for me?”
I nod and take another sip of my drink.
“Very well then, my angel of music. It may surprise you to know that The Phantom of the Opera is not my favorite musical.”
“It isn’t?”
“No. My favorite musical is Camelot.”
“Camelot? About King Arthur?”
“Yes.”
“No one else knows this about you?”
“No. Most people just assume my favorite musical is The Phantom of the Opera. Or Gatsby.”
“Gatsby? I’ve never heard of that.”
“It’s a new musical based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, which is my favorite novel. But because it’s my favorite novel, I don’t like any of the movies or the musical.”
“I understand,” I say. “The adaptation is never as good as the book. Except in the case of Wicked, in which case it’s better than the book.”
“I’ve never read it,” he says.
“It’s good,” I say. “But the musical is better.”
“Interesting. Already I found out something new about you. But you still owe me. What is something that no one knows about you?”
I don’t even have to think before I reply. It’s almost as if the words form in my head without any help from me at all.
“I want to find out who I truly am,” I say. “Because the person everyone knows? The person I know? I don’t think that’s really me.”
He doesn’t reply at first, simply takes another drink of his martini and then sets his glass down.
Then he trails one finger over my jawline again, this time going down my neck to the tops of my breasts. “That’s truly something no one else knows about you?”
“It’s something I didn’t know about myself until tonight.”
“Then, my angel of music, let me help you find out who you truly are.”
I gulp as fear lances through me.
Not fear of Phantom.
But fear that if he grabbed me and kissed me in this moment, I wouldn’t stop him.
He seems to have some kind of hypnotic effect on me. If he took me to bed right now? I’d let him do whatever he wanted.
And already I know I’d enjoy every minute of it.
“What do you have in mind?” I ask.
“For tonight, simply being here. Enjoying the masquerade. Enjoying each other’s company.”
“And after tonight?”
“The sky is the limit,” he says. “I’m willing to go as high as you want to go.”
