“They might have flown you to Bakersfield, and just told you it was L.A.”
“There’s smog there too. And when it clears, you’re still in Bakersfield.”
“I’ll have to take your word for it. Or somebody’s.”
He took a step closer and leaned against the wall beside her. “Are you here on business?”
“Me?” she said. “No. I’m here for a cold martini.”
“I can see you got one,” he said. He lifted his drink toward her, a faint gesture to simulate clinking glasses. “Here’s to it.” He took a sip. “What I was trying to say was, you’re a gorgeous person, and are you busy for the next few days doing work-related tasks all the time, or are you interested in meeting someone like me, getting married, and bearing my children?”
She made a show of appraising him, looking from his toes to his face and down again. Then she shrugged. “It depends. Where would I have to live?”
“We could live anywhere you want. Right now, I’m based in Miami. But it’s negotiable.”
“Based? What are you? A navy?”
“No. I just sell sound-imaging machines to doctors and hospitals, and that’s where the office is. I’m Brian Corey.”
“Pleased to meet you. I’m Marsha.”
“No last name?”
“Corey. I’m going to be Marsha Corey, right?”
“True,” said Brian. “Will you join me at a table, or do we have to keep our distance until after the wedding?”
“Now that we’re engaged, you’re welcome to sit with me, if you’d like.”
They stepped to a small empty table nearby. He moved a chair so he could sit beside her and look out over the city. “I hate to descend to this kind of question, but where are you from?”
“I live here now.”
“At this hotel?”
“No, this is just where my martinis live. I recently moved to Los Angeles. I used to live in Chicago.”
“Why did you move here?”
“Because I was cold. There are a lot of songs about Chicago. But is there one that says you’ll freeze your ass off? No.”
“Oh, I thought you might have come here to be an actress.”
“You mean you think I might be stupid.”
“I can only hope. But you are beautiful, and you did move to Los Angeles, so it was a possibility.”
“Are you disappointed that I’m not an actress?”
“No. I don’t think that kind of career would leave enough time for me and the children.”
“Very smart of you to think ahead.”
“Ah, yes. Thinking ahead. Have you got plans for dinner yet?”
“Gee, we’re barely engaged, and already you want me to cook.”
“No, I was going to take you to dinner, if you’re willing.”
“After the kids and moving to Miami, dinner seems pretty easy. I’m willing.”
“We can drive out to La Parapluie, which is in Beverly Hills, where I happen to have a reservation for dinner in about a half hour. Or we can have another drink first, and take our chances that by the time we get there it will be so late that we won’t need a reservation.”
“A quandary. My drink is dead, but since you mentioned dinner, I’m beginning to get hungry.”
“Let’s try to have it all. We’ll go down to La Parapluie, and order drinks at dinner.”
“Whatever you say, dear.”
Brian Corey had rented a car to make his sales calls, and the valet parking attendant brought it. He was an experienced driver who knew enough to get off Sunset right away, and they were in La Parapluie within ten minutes. It was a large, noisy room with lots of white walls and linen and some bright mediocre minimalist paintings, but the waiter brought Nancy a martini with a tiny iced carafe of vodka on the side, so she forgave the restaurant its decor.
While they were sipping their drinks, Brian said, “I’ve been thinking about this since I met you, so I’ve got to say it: you really are beautiful.”
“Thank you. I was rather pleased when I got you into the light, myself. I guess it’s a marriage made in heaven. What do you like on this menu?”
“I’ve only been here one time, but I had the swordfish, and it was good.”
“I’ll try it, then.”
“Anything you’d like. For tonight, you’re the queen of my expense account.”
“I’ll have to tell you up front I’m not going to buy an ultrasound machine.”
“Then I hope you’re willing to pretend to choke on a fish bone, so all the doctors in the place will rush to help, and I can deliver my pitch.”
“Of course. If we want the children to go to Harvard, I’ll have to do that every time we go out.”
They ate dinner, and talked happy nonsense all through it. Nancy Mills was filled with manic energy. She felt that she should never have talked herself into believing that she had to stay out of sight.
After dinner they tried to move into the bar, but it was nearly midnight now, and the crowds of people in the restaurant had swelled. The knot of drinkers ordering at the bar was just the beginning of a line that stretched outward and made it an evening’s labor to get another drink. Brian leaned close to her and said, “I’ve got a minibar in my room, and a better view than this. It’s on the eighth floor of the Beverly Hilton.”
She looked at him closely. “All right. Let’s go check out your bar.”
They drove to the Beverly Hilton and took the elevator up to his room. It was not the huge suite she had been hoping for, but it was a pleasant single room, and it had a balcony that was directly above the patio and a little to the left of the pool. He made her another martini while she leaned over the railing for a different view of the city.
She took her martini and sipped it. “Thanks, Brian. Considering the primitive conditions, that is not a bad drink.”
“Thanks,” he said. “I’ve found that I’m about as good a maker of third martinis as anybody.”
“I guess you’re right,” she said. “It probably tastes like lighter fluid, and I don’t know the difference. I guess I shouldn’t drink so much.” She walked past him into the room and set her drink on the desk.
The whole evening’s adventure had been leading to this, hadn’t it? She had sleepwalked her way here. She was with the right kind of man: she had chosen him. She stepped into him, snaking her arms around his body. He held her and kissed her gently. She remembered how much she liked this feeling.
His arms were thick and strong, and she could detect the definition of the muscles, but she could also feel his hands making soft, slow swirls on her back that made her feel small and sleek, like a cat. The nerves of her spine and shoulder blades shivered, waiting their turn to be touched, and she found herself moving to make him touch her there.
The kisses and caresses grew in intensity, building quickly with her impatience. She was excited by the rightness of whatever she thought to do tonight. Her impulses all seemed to be gratified instantly. Later she lay on the bed with the blankets tumbled in a heap at the foot, feeling the fresh night air blowing in over her body, cooling and soothing her. She stared at the ceiling, feeling her breathing slowing down and becoming even again.
Brian was out on the balcony, leaning on the rail and craning his neck to look down at something. He still had no shirt, but he had put on his pants in order to go out there. She studied him, gauged the attitude of his body. He was leaning on his elbows, a picture of relaxation and ease. Minutes passed. It was time now for him to come back in and lie down beside her and say nice things to her, or at least put his arm around her again, but he didn’t. He didn’t even turn and look at her, to see how beautiful she looked lying on the white sheets, her hair spread around her head in a halo. She began to be a little disappointed in him.
She gave him a reprieve. Was it possible that while she was lying here sending him a signal, she was missing the signals that he had been sending her? Maybe he wanted her to get up and come out on the balcony with him.
Nancy slipped into the bathroom and snatched the thick white hotel bathrobe from its hook behind the door. She tied the belt at her waist and came out behind him. He didn’t seem to hear her coming. She put her arms
