Yours for the Night (15 page)

“Thank you. I’ve never had anything like it.” The drawing was like her: the longer he looked, the more depth he discovered.

“You’re welcome.” She blushed prettily.

He glanced at Krista. Her intent gaze flitted from Marianna to him and back. Then she smiled, so freely, beautifully, easing something in his chest, a tight band of stress that had made breathing difficult. Marianna had somehow managed to do the perfect thing. He’d asked her to compliment the apartment. 92

The Girlfriend Experience

She’d done him one better. It struck him that Marianna had awakened him with a kiss, drawn him from a deep sleep. His life was starting anew.

CHASE CLEARED HIS THROAT. “WINE?” HE POINTED BACK TO THE kitchen.

“Make it a small one, please,” Marianna said. “I have to drive later.” She hoped she’d hadn’t gone overboard with the present. Chase looked a little shellshocked, so she couldn’t properly gauge his reaction. Krista saved any awkward moment. “Can you put the bread in, too, Dad?”

He smiled. “Sure, sweetie.” God, she loved his smile.

“Thank you for giving him the picture,” Krista said after Chase disappeared into the kitchen.

“It was my pleasure. You don’t have to thank me.”

“It’s just that he—” She stopped, and looked up at Marianna as if she suddenly doubted she should reveal anything at all. Her eyes, a rich milk chocolate, mirrored her anxiety.

“It’s okay,” Marianna said. “I’m not going to hurt your dad.”

“Good, because if you did, I’d have to break your legs.” Krista gave a shaky laugh, trying to make light of the moment.

Marianna would never hurt him. How could she not fall for a man who had such capacity for love? It shone whenever he looked at Krista, talked about her. Knowing what had happened to his wife, Marianna realized that his daughter was probably the only person that had kept him from giving up. Chase returned, they sat, and she sipped the deliciously sweet wine. “So your dad says you go to Cal Poly,” she said to start off the small talk. “What are you majoring in?”

Marianna admired the girl’s poise and lack of self-consciousness. Krista told funny stories from school, laughed at her dad when he made faces about her boyfriend, teased him. It all felt so normal. So wonderful. As if Chase had asked Marianna here not just to ease Krista’s mind about him but so he could get his daughter’s stamp of approval on the woman he was dating. His girlfriend. The timer went off. “My lasagna’s ready.” Krista jumped up, dashing to the kitchen. The scent of tomatoes and herbs wafted into the living room as she opened the oven door.

Marianna touched Chase’s hand. “She’s beautiful.”

A gentle smile softened his face. “Thanks for treating her like a grownup.”

93

The Girlfriend Experience

“She is a grownup.” She put two fingers to his lips when he opened his mouth. “No buts. She’s a beautiful lady, and she’s filling this apartment with the most wonderful aromas.”

“The lasagna will be set in five minutes,” Krista called. Marianna grabbed his hand and pulled him off the sofa. “Quick, show me the balcony.”

“The balcony?”

“Yes. You’re so high up, and I want to see all the lights.” And she wanted a moment to enjoy him, the touch of his hand, the scent of his aftershave, to immerse herself in the fantasy he’d given her tonight. Chase laughed as he followed. “It’s just the airport.”

She clung to the railing. “Oh my God, it’s gorgeous.”

He gazed at her, not the view.

“Look,” she said softly. “The pattern of lights is beautiful, then they just end in the blackness over the water.” She pointed. “Surrounded by the San Mateo Bridge and all the lights shining in the East Bay. It’s like a secret world out in the middle bordered by all those lights.” That was how she felt being with him, as if they were in their own fantasy world. “It makes you need to discover what’s hidden there.” Feeling his body heat along her side, she turned her head to catch his breath at her ear. “Don’t you see how beautiful it is?”

“I see,” he whispered. “I’m starting to see a lot of things I missed before.”

Something in his voice made her shiver, then flush with warmth.

“Dad?”

Marianna startled at Krista’s voice behind them.

“Will you bring in the salad and dressing? And Marianna, the bread’s in a basket on the counter, if you wouldn’t mind getting it.” Krista toted a large casserole dish with a couple of dishtowels.

“No pot holders, I guess,” Marianna said, closing the balcony door behind them.

Krista smiled. “I can’t think of everything.”

“I see another housewarming gift on the horizon.”

“Ladies,” Chase warned.

Krista pecked his cheek as they passed. “You can’t help it if you’re domestically challenged.”

God, this really was her dream. Marianna basked in the camaraderie. It was 94

The Girlfriend Experience

something her family had never had. She wanted what Krista and Chase had with an intensity that made her dizzy. She was like the department store commercial with the woman on the outside whispering, “Open, open, open.” For tonight, Chase had opened the door to let her in. Then they were seated, plates filled, and Krista’s cooking was to die for. “I’ve never tasted lasagna as good.” She swirled the flavors on her tongue. Tomatotart and cheesy, it was sweet, but not any old sweet, something more, something—

“Secret ingredient,” Krista said, her smile little-girl delighted.

“Everything has a secret ingredient.” Chase covered his daughter’s hand.

“She had dreams of being a chef like Emeril.”

Krista snorted. “He’s a TV chef. I wanna be like Patricia Yeo or John Ash.”

Marianna hadn’t heard of them, but she assumed Krista knew her own icons.

“I thought you were a graphic design major.”

“I am.” Krista shrugged, her glossy hair falling over her shoulder as she dipped her head. “The other thing’s not practical.”

That sounded like something Marianna’s father would say. Chase wouldn’t. Right? She glanced at him. He was devouring his daughter’s divine meal. Even the salad was a profusion of color, with dried cranberries, mandarins, almond slivers, and blue cheese crumbles.

“Just because something seems impractical at first glance doesn’t mean you can’t make it work if you have a plan.” Marianna avoided Chase’s eyes in case her comment pissed him off. Maybe he didn’t want his daughter to be a chef. The girl flipped her hair over her shoulder. “That’s what Dad says.”

The ball of tension in her belly eased. Chase wasn’t shades of her dad. She was letting her relationship with her own father paint her view of everyone else’s.

“See? Now there are two of us saying you should think about it, sweetheart.”

Chase forked a mouthful of lasagna, the gooey cheese and tomato staining his lips before he licked it away. He closed his eyes to fully appreciate the blend of flavors, and when he looked at Krista again, he murmured, “To die for,” the very same thought Marianna had.

Krista blushed with pleasure.

“Think about doing what makes you happy, sweetheart, even if it seems like it might be hard. You’re smart, and you can do whatever you put your mind to.”

95

The Girlfriend Experience

He meant it. He wasn’t lying.

Marianna marveled. Then again, maybe Chase thought chefs made a ton of money and they were all famous.

Krista clasped her hands. “I know, Dad, but . . . well . . . I have to think about it. I mean, having the career you want is fine, but if you’re struggling to pay the bills . . .” She trailed off, picking up her fork to toy with the food on her plate.

“If it takes you a few years to get yourself going, I’m here to help you out, honey.”

Her throat tight, Marianna watched them—Krista’s sweet smile, Chase’s adoration, a curve to his lips, crinkles at his eyes, and his gaze a deep, rich green focused on Krista.

If her own father had encouraged her this way, would Marianna still be a librarian, a happy librarian? Which made her want to laugh hysterically, because instead she was the happy hooker, with delusions of being part of a family like this.

Then again, if she was very, very lucky, maybe it could be hers.

CHASE WALKED HER TO HER CAR. “THANK YOU.”

Marianna didn’t beep the remote. She couldn’t bring herself to leave him yet.

“I didn’t do anything.”

His subtle aftershave did funny things to her insides as he cupped her cheek.

“Krista smiled a lot. And she loved that you complimented her dinner.”

She wanted to wrap herself in his words, his praise. “She’s a sweet girl.”

Sliding his hand beneath her hair, he leaned his forehead against hers. A tremble passed through him, one she wouldn’t have felt if he hadn’t pressed so close. “I can’t explain,” he whispered, “how important tonight was.”

Marianna made the move, touching her lips to his mouth, caressing him with her kiss. A fire built in her belly. Chase shuddered, engulfed her in his embrace, took over the kiss, his taste still sweet with dessert. It was a romantic kiss, more than sexual, a bonding, soul-deep, full-body, so perfect that moisture rose to her eyes.

He pulled back slightly, held her face in his hands. “I’ll call you tomorrow when Krista leaves. After dinner sometime.”

There was so much promise in his eyes, his touch, his words. Marianna 96

The Girlfriend Experience

wanted to give him everything she had.

CHASE LAY WIDE AWAKE, HANDS STACKED BEHIND HIS HEAD. Krista’s soft bed-prep noises—water running, door opening and closing as she padded to the kitchen for something—all had ceased long ago, yet he couldn’t sleep. The evening had been perfect. Krista thought Marianna was awesome, and they’d spent another hour talking after Marianna left. Real talk. For the last year, Rosie had been a specter hanging over them, something they couldn’t talk about yet was always between them. Tonight, he hadn’t felt Rosie. For the first time, he believed they could heal, move on. Krista agreed to consider cooking school. Whatever the expense, he’d swing it. He wanted her to be happy. That’s why Marianna’s offhand comment about Krista’s career options had meant so much. It gave him another foot in the door to get Krista thinking about going for what she really wanted.

There were so many special things about Marianna. Christ, she could even find beauty in runway lights. She had a joie de vivre he needed her to help him relearn. She made him young again. She offered him a way to start his life over. He wanted her to give up being a courtesan. He wanted her to be his. He’d gone into free fall with that good-night kiss, wishing he could go home with her, make love to her, sleep in her arms.

Tomorrow night, after Krista left for school, he’d have a long talk with Marianna and ask for everything he wanted.

97

The Girlfriend Experience

14

LAST NIGHT WAS SO PERFECT. ISABEL WOULDN’T APPROVE, OF course. Marianna had done the unthinkable and fallen for one of her clients. That only happened in fairy tales and movies like Pretty Woman. She couldn’t wait for Chase’s call tonight.

Her cell rang in the afternoon as she was managing the first of two open houses. She prayed it was Chase calling her earlier than planned. Until she realized it was the wrong phone. She dug out her real phone, and her dad’s number popped up. God, talk about killing a great buzz. What had she done wrong? Thank God the house was empty. She didn’t want potential clients overhearing an argument.