“Thank you,” she whispered before she kissed his mouth. He placed his hands on her shoulder and drew her closer, leaning his head down. Then he was kissing her deeply. Emma gave a muted moan, her body going soft and heated. He was like a Montand car, taking her from zero to a hundred in record-fast time.
“Emma?”
Emma started and broke the kiss, flustered. She turned, self-consciously wiping her lipstick-smeared mouth with the back of her hand.
“We’re just stepping out for a bit,” Amanda said uncertainly from the other end of the dim hallway. “We’ll talk when you get back from dinner?”
Emma opened her mouth to answer but Vanni took her hand led her down the hallway. “Don’t wait up for Emma. She’s staying with me in the city tonight,” he said as they approached Amanda.
“I’ll call you tomorrow,” Emma told Amanda as they passed her.
Instead of taking the route that Emma would have—through the kitchen—Vanni led her through the living room. Colin stood there in his jeans and old college T-shirt, looking sideswiped. She had no doubt he’d heard what Vanni had said.
Which Vanni had intended, of course.
“See you,” Emma called to Colin as she hurried to keep up with Vanni’s long-legged stride.
Did she take any satisfaction from Amanda and Colin’s stunned expressions as they witnessed her in all her finery walking hand in hand with a gorgeous, powerful man who was light years out of her league?
Maybe a little.
She was only human, after all.
* * *
She thought they’d go straight to dinner, but Vanni had something else in store. He parked in a newly built high-rise just across from the Art Institute.
“Where are we going?” she asked, staring around at the surrounding city once they’d taken an elevator down to the ground level and stepped out onto Michigan Avenue. It was a warm summer night. The glass-sided skyscrapers gleamed in the light of the setting sun. It was thrilling for her, not just to be in the midst of the city—which was uncommon enough for her, despite the fact that she was a native Chicagoan—but there with Vanni. There was a thread of unreality to the whole thing.
“I thought we’d catch the last half of My Fair Lady, if you’re up for it. I have season theater tickets, but rarely get to use them myself,” Vanni said as they walked across Monroe at the light, her hand in his.
“I’d love that,” she said, grinning. “I’ve never been to a show before.”
He gave her a sideways glance. “Never?”
“Do you ever look at the price of the tickets, or just have your secretary buy them for you?” she shot back. His eyebrows arched in a wry expression and she laughed. “I thought so. The theater definitely isn’t in a nurse’s budget, or at least so far it hasn’t been. But I’ve always wanted to go.”
“Well you’re here now,” Vanni said, opening a golden and glass door open for her to enter at the Shubert Theatre. “I only wish I’d known. I’d have insisted on making the first half.” She gave him a doubtful look, thinking about what they’d been doing instead of rushing to make the beginning of the show. His mouth quirked. “You’re right,” he said under his breath. “It was well worth it to miss the first half.”
She smiled, feeling so excited, she thought she might be glowing.
They had just enough time for Vanni to get them two glasses of champagne before the crowd started streaming out into the lobby for intermission. Her wonderment grew when he led her to a small, ornate balcony that looked down directly on the stage. They would have an amazing overview of the stage, but were still up front enough that they’d easily see the actors’ faces. There were eight velvet chairs in the space, but Emma saw no seat numbers.
“How do we know which ones to sit in?” she asked him.
“Pick whichever ones you want. It’s a private box.”
“And no one else is coming?”
Vanni just shook his head. She sat, staring down over the balustrade. She could see straight down in the orchestra box before the stage. He came down next to her, and she beamed at him.
“This is amazing,” she told him, not even trying to guard her excitement.
His eyebrows rose. “Is it?” he asked, taking a sip of champagne.
She gave the luxurious, empty box a sweeping glance and then looked pointedly at the ornate, gilded theater.
“Open your eyes,” she said, laughing.