“Yes and no,” Matt says. “I paid full price because I chose to. I own the place.”
“Oh…” I pause, taken aback once more.
That certainly explains why he was confident we wouldn’t be turned away, and it explains why all of the staff were so familiar with him. It does give him a few brownie points though. None of the staff seemed nervous around him, and he treated them all with respect.
“Who was the man who interrupted us at the table to buy you a drink?” I ask.
“I still don’t know,” he says. “He never did call. I think he just recognized me and wanted to say hello.”
“At least, he knew who you actually were, so he had one up on me I guess,” I say bitterly.
Matt glances at me again, and then he pulls next to the curb.
I look around, but there’s no sign of anywhere we could be eating here.
Matt turns to face me, the engine still running. “Listen to me Callie. If you only believe one thing I tell you today, then make sure it’s this. I didn’t tell you everything, and I should have. I see that now. But I have never lied about who I am. Everything you’ve seen of me has been the real me. The money, the power? They’re just material things. They’re not important. What’s important is who I am as a person, and that hasn’t changed.”
“You’re telling me that a billionaire businessman genuinely enjoyed drinking cheap wine from the bottle in the park?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes. And I enjoyed watching you squirm in that cooking lesson doorway. And I enjoyed running through the rain with you and sharing popcorn with you. I even enjoyed the terrible college party. You know why? Because of you Callie. I would happily go and sit in a field in the middle of nowhere as long as you were with me.” He doesn’t wait for an answer, he just pulls back and starts driving again.
My head is swirling. He isn’t acting any different from the Matt I knew. Ok, maybe he’s a little awkward, but then so am I. He’s not acting like he suddenly thinks he’s better than me, or like I am nothing but a nuisance that needs to be shut up and made to go away.
I suddenly realize we’re heading away from the city center and I frown slightly as I look out of the window. I don’t recognize any of the buildings here. “Where are we going?” I ask.
“The one place I could think of that you might actually want to go,” he replies. “My apartment. I’m going to cook you dinner and then we’re going to talk for as long as it takes me to convince you to give me another chance.”
I’m still not sure there’s enough time in the world for that to happen, but I can’t help but smile a little when he says he’s taking me to his apartment. It’ll be nice to finally see the place he’s been keeping me away from since the moment we met. “It’s a proper bachelor pad isn’t it? Like a real dive. That’s why you’ve always kept me away from it,” I say, my tone light.
“Yeah, that’s it. I’m a total slob. Pizza boxes all over, half empty cans of beer on every surface. But don’t worry, I had my housekeeper take care of it all,” he replies.
My head turns quickly to look at him. A housekeeper? I relax when I see the twinkle in his eyes.
“I’m just kidding Callie. As if I’d leave half of the beer.”
Against my will, I feel myself laughing and the tension between us starts to fade a little.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Callie
When we pull up outside of a swanky looking apartment building, I’m pleased to note it is indeed in Felton. At least, he was honest about that much. He didn’t mention the fact it’s in the really expensive end, but then again, I never asked.
I don’t wait for Matt to come and get my door. I get out of the car myself, looking at the building with its steel and glass entryway complete with an actual doorman.
A man appears, seemingly out of nowhere and Matt hands him his car keys. A doorman and a valet. I wonder if he was really joking about the housekeeper. He probably has a butler too.
Matt comes to my side and offers me his arm.
I debate not taking it, but I find myself slipping my arm through his. Fireworks sizzle in my stomach when we touch and my pussy clenches. Clearly, my body isn’t on the same page as my mind on this one.
Matt leads me into the building, greeting the doorman on the way in. He leads me to the elevator. He presses the call button and the door pings open. The elevator is huge, mirrors on every wall. We step in and I look anywhere but at my own reflection.
Matt pulls a credit card sized card out of his pocket and pushes it into a slot. The button for the penthouse apartment lights up when the card goes in the slot and Matt presses it.
I swallow hard. I am so far out of my depth here.
The elevator moves upwards and I remember the last time I was in an elevator with Matt. We were in a hotel, going up to a room to celebrate my promotion. I wanted to jump on him in the elevator but we weren’t alone. Now we are, and although my body still wants to jump on Matt, my head is in control, and it’s giving me a resounding no.
Finally, the doors ping open and the moment passes. I step out of the elevator
