He shakes his head. “I’m not. That’s about how I expected you to feel.”
Frowning faintly, I ask, “Why did you do all of this, then?”
His gaze meets mine across the table, and without a flicker of hesitation or disingenuousness, he says, “Because I thought you deserved it.”
His words hollow out a space in my stomach that I don’t entirely understand.
I’ve never in my life been out with a man like him before. I mean in the bad ways, sure, but the good ones, too. I’ve been out with my share of selfish assholes who take what they want without concern for other people, but I’ve never gone out with a man who would go to all this trouble knowing I’d just reject him in the end, anyway.
Granted, perhaps that stings less for Calvin because he knows he’ll take what he wants regardless of my decision, but he doesn’t have to put in all that effort first. I knew showing up was non-negotiable. He could have had Hollis pick me up and bring me right to his place. Hell, he could’ve mauled me without even giving me dinner and then sent me on my way.
Instead, he rented out The Met because he thought I deserved it.
It’s hard to reconcile both sides of him sometimes. How he could be so heartless and hurt me the way he has, but then do something as thoughtful and considerate as this when he certainly didn’t have to.
If I didn’t know better, it might be easy to get confused.
But I know better.
Right?
Yes. Yes, of course I do…
Chapter Eighteen
Hallie
The waiter brings over our first course. It’s a plate of cured meats with grapes, olives, and cheeses. He also gives us a basket of bread for the table with some seasoned oil.
The next course is a single meatball slider with some kind of shaved cucumber slaw on the side.
An incredible cut of steak is brought out next. It’s so good, each bite makes my mouth water and my eyes roll back in my head. All I want to talk about is how good it is, but I don’t want Calvin to feel too proud of himself, so I hold my tongue.
A small plate of delicious pasta is brought out, and then—finally—dessert.
“An actual dessert tonight,” I remark as the waiter puts down a small dish that looks like ice cream, but I guess is probably gelato. There’s a dollop of cream on top dusted with spice. I don’t know what it is, exactly, but I grab my spoon and have a taste.
My taste buds are overwhelmed at first bite. Between the spice and the creaminess—and there’s a slice of something cake-like that I didn’t notice looking at it, it blended in with the spice dusting.
Oh my god.
As soon as I’ve swallowed my bite, I ask, “What is this?”
Calvin’s lips quirk. “Heaven.”
He’s not kidding. I take another small bite and look across the table at him as I prepare to swallow. “You’ve shown me heaven and hell. What a well-rounded tour guide you are.”
His smile widens. “Stick with me, baby. You’ll get the full experience.”
Heat hits my cheeks when he calls me baby, even though he was just joking.
This night is… unbelievable. The food, the atmosphere…
The company.
I try to ignore that little whisper in the back of my mind. I know I shouldn’t enjoy spending time with him. It’s insane after what he’s done, no matter how many museums he rents out.
I grab my wine glass and take a sip, watching him over the rim. The waiter hasn’t let my glass go empty since we sat down, so I’m starting to feel it.
Maybe it’s not just the alcohol.
No.
Shaking off the errant thought, I swallow the wine and put the goblet down so I can get back to my incredible dessert.
Even though it’s insane to be able to ignore such a decadent dessert, Calvin doesn’t seem as interested in it as I am. He leaves it untouched on the table, his attention focused on me instead.
“I’d like to take you out again next weekend,” he states. “We can have dinner, see a show. You like Broadway?”
My lips curve up slightly. I don’t look at him. “Yes, I do, but I’m not going on another date with you. We’ve already discussed this.”
“We have, but remember what I said the first time we spoke about me not accepting answers I don’t like?”
“I do,” I answer. “I also remember me agreeing to just one more date. They were even your terms.”
“Just because that contract is up doesn’t mean we can’t negotiate a new one,” he states, like this is a business deal instead of… whatever it is.
“Unfortunately for you, I’m not interested in the position,” I say lightly.
“Unfortunately for you, I’m not interested in anyone else,” he states immovably.
I scoop up another bite of delicious dessert and bring it to my mouth. As I chew, I meet his gaze across the table. I can see it in his eyes, an unwillingness to relent. It’s not even a possibility in his mind that this will be our last night together.