Page 78 of Heartbreak & Cupcakes
SADIE
I glancedout the window and saw Bay Towers looming at the end of the street. My brain was still trying to process the last four hours. The night was almost over. Soon I would turn into a pumpkin. Er, no, I guess the SUV would be the pumpkin and I would just go back to wearing rags. Except, I wasn’t wearing rags these days thanks to the new wardrobe I’d been provided by Alex.
Our storyline fell much more in line with the Disney movie I’d felt like I was starring in when I’d first arrived at Bay Towers, Pretty Woman. Yes, Pretty Woman is a Disney movie. And although I didn’t get the montage shopping trip, I had been gifted an entirely new wardrobe. I glanced down and realized that the dress I was wearing resembled the one Julia wore the night Richard Gere took her to San Francisco in his helicopter.
We were in San Francisco.
That settled it. This was much more of a Pretty Woman scenario than Cinderella, minus the whole prostitute thing. This was the second time tonight being an escort had come up. I was gladthis timeI’d kept the observation to myself.
Out of the corner of my eye, I covertly glanced at Alex. He was staring straight ahead and I couldn’t help but admire his profile. Some people looked better straight on or had a good side and bad side. Not Alex Vaughn. Every angle, every side was perfection.
He was just so…beautiful.
He was also very quiet. He hadn’t said much at all during the event and he’d been silent the entire ride home. I wasn’t sure what was bothering him or if anything was at all. Maybe he was just tired or bored of my company or maybe he’d overheard some of the things I had said at the event.
The women tonight had been bold and brazen. Savage. Mia had not exaggerated when she’d compared him to chum being thrown in the water of starving sharks. They’d circled him all evening. Some had even tried to take bites out of him, even with me on his arm. Alex remained stoic, unreadable, and appeared to be completely unaware of the attention.
I had no clue what he was thinking or if he was okay. But, to his credit, Alex had made sure thatIwas okay. He’d barely spoken, but he’d checked in with me throughout the evening making sure I was all good. He’d even joked around a little bit. He’d leaned over and whispered in my ear that the men seated at our table reminded him of the grumpy old men that sat in the balcony and heckled people in the Muppets. But even when we weren’t talking, I didn’t feel awkward around him or being at the event where I clearly did not belong.
I kept telling myself I should. I’d prepared myself to feel like a fish out of water. But instead, all night, I felt calm and happy. Maybe it was just because the entire night felt like a dream. Or maybe it was because just beingwithAlex, even when he was barely speaking, put me at ease.
At least emotionally and mentally, that is. Hormonally, I was anything but at ease. I was on edge. Every time the man sitting to my right was within a hundred yards of me my hormones went into overdrive. He oozed sex appeal. It wasn’t just how he looked, it was his scent so fresh, clean and manly. It was his voice, so deep, rough, and baritone. It was the way he moved, he walked, he gestured, even just stood. He had an air about him of authority and command that was something so intoxicating I felt drunk sometimes after being near him.
The car came to a stop, and I glanced up toward Frank. “Goodnight, thank you,” I said as I stepped out of the car and Martin, the doorman, took my hand.
Frank turned and winked at me. “Night, Sadie! Keep those cupcakes comin’!”
Alex was beside me as we entered the apartment building and he greeted Emilio. I lifted my hand and waved at my real-life Barney Thompson as we headed straight into the elevators. As soon as the doors closed my heart was doing cartwheels in my chest. I becameveryaware of the fact that we were alone. We’d been together all night, but we’d been surrounded by hundreds of people. Not only were we alone, we were alone in a small space.
Heat whirled through me as a tingle chased down my spine. I could hear my breaths coming in shorter pants and my knees were so weak it was all I could do to stay standing. Just being near this man sent my body reeling.
Keep it together, Burke, I told myself.You’re almost there.
I’d managed to make it through the entire night without saying or doing anything embarrassing. Other than the littleI’m your escortfaux pas. But I didn’t count that because technically that had been before the night had officially begun. After that, I hadn’t tripped over my own feet or made a comment that warranted an internal face slap. It was a Christmas miracle in June and now all I had to do was make it inside and to my room and I could officially call this night a success.
The elevator doors opened, and I lifted my hand in a wave as we stepped off. “Well, goodnight.”
I only made it one step before Alex spoke.
“I’m sorry that I wasn’t good company tonight.”
I turned back toward him. “No, you were fine.”
His jaw ticked. “I wasn’t. I just…I hate those things.”
“Well, at least you raised money for a good cause,” I offered.
“They’re filled with fake people,” he countered.
“True, but their money is still green.” I smiled up at him, wishing that I could read his mind. I saw pain behind his aqua stare, and I knew that there was a lot of reason for it to be there, but I just wished I knewexactlywhat he was thinking at this moment.
His eyes bore into mine as if he was trying to see into my soul. And it seemed as if he was doing a good job. I felt...exposed.
“Do you always see the positive side of things?” he asked.
Others had asked me that same question, but they’d done it with a judgmental tone. Alex appeared to be genuinely curious.
“I do,” I admitted. “It’s a problem.”
