But three hours and four hundred dollars later, she was no better off. The previous night still weighed on her mind. It was late afternoon and the thought of spending the evening alone was giving her chills.
She considered calling Elaine and Allison. Maybe they’d be up for a last-minute get-together. As Nora reached for her cell phone, though, she changed her mind.
She had another idea. Maybe a better way to distract herself. Instead of dwelling on what was, she’d focus on what might be. Her on-deck circle. Batter up, Brian Stewart.
Nora called the wealthy software magnate she’d met on the plane and asked if he had plans for the evening.
“Nothing I can’t cancel,” he quickly replied. “Give me two shakes of a lamb’s tail.” When he called back after clearing his schedule, he was ready to fill it again. All with Nora.
“I hope you don’t have to be up too early tomorrow morning,” he warned with a laugh. Excitedly, he outlined what was in store.
Cocktails at the King Cole Bar.
Then dinner at Vong.
Topped off by dancing in the West Village at Lotus.
Nora couldn’t have been more pleased. After spending time in a graveyard, a night on the town seemed just right.
Chapter 58
OVER A BOTTLE of Perrier-Jouët at the King Cole Bar, Brian Stewart regaled her with funny stories from his childhood. Nora listened and laughed. At the same time, she couldn’t help notice how a lot of them involved his family. The way Brian talked, she could tell how close they were. It made her jealous. In all her years shuttling from one foster care home to another, she was lucky if anyone even remembered her birthday.
Not that she was about to tell Brian any of that.
By this point in her life, Nora had perfected a made-up story of her upbringing. The architect father. The schoolteacher mother. The three of them living blissfully in the rolling hills of Litchfield, Connecticut. The more people she told, the more she was able to forget the truth. One day, she hoped, it would be as if her mother never really killed her father while Nora watched.
Over dinner at Vong, Brian switched to wine and Nora to Pellegrino. As they ate and drank, the two of them became increasingly cozy with each other. She was actually able to look at him without thinking of Brad Pitt. Brian was handsome enough in his own right.
Not to mention fun to be with, which wasn’t always the case with rich men. More times than not, the wealthy ones she met turned out to be exceedingly boring and incredibly full of themselves. Rich and exciting ones were hard to find. Which made Nora all the happier that she’d met Brian.
The feeling seemed mutual.
The way things were going, it looked as if they wouldn’t make it to Lotus for dancing. She tried to picture his apartment. Surely it would be huge, probably a penthouse. Maybe some kind of interesting loft space. She’d find out soon enough.
“Are you having a good time?” he asked.
“The best.”
He smiled. Except it wasn’t exactly a happy smile. Something was bothering him and he looked nervous.
Nora inched forward in her seat. “What’s wrong?”
He fidgeted with his dessert spoon, almost as if he were working up his nerve. Apparently, he was. “There’s something I have to tell you,” he said. “I have a confession to make.”
“Damn, you’re married.”
“No, I’m not married, Nora.”
“Then, what is it?” she asked.
His dessert spoon was getting a real workout now. “It’s something else I’m not,” he said. He finally put down the spoon and took a deep breath. “What I’m trying to say is that I’m not really a rich software developer.”
The words hung in the air, as did the silence that followed them. Nora was speechless. Brian’s face was red, and it wasn’t from the alcohol. His admission had sobered them both up.
“I’m telling you this because I couldn’t lie to you anymore,” he said.
“Why did you lie in the first place?”
“I was afraid you wouldn’t have been interested in me.”
Nora blinked. “What do you really do?” she asked.
“I’m an advertising copywriter.”
“Ah, you lie for a living. So, there were no venture capitalists waiting for you in Boston?”
“No, just a client. Gillette.”
She shook her head. “Let me get this straight—you thought the only way I’d like you was if you were rich?”
“I guess I did.”
“Or was it because you thought that was the only way I’d sleep with you for one night—as in tonight?”
“That’s not true.”
She shot him a dubious look. “Really?”
“Okay, it’s a little bit true,” he admitted. “At least at first. Like I said, though, I couldn’t lie to you anymore.”
“Is anything that you’ve told me true?”
“Yes. Everything, as a matter of fact. Everything except the part about being fabulously wealthy. I’m sorry I lied,” he said. “Can you forgive me?”
Nora paused, if only for effect, before reaching over and taking his hand. “Yes,” she said. “I can forgive you. I do forgive you, Brian.”
A few minutes later, when all seemed well again, she excused herself from the table to use the ladies’ room. It was in the front of the restaurant. As she walked by it and headed out the door to hail a cab home, Nora wondered briefly how long it would take Brian to realize she wasn’t coming back.
Chapter 59
THE TALL BLOND woman quickly turned her face away as Nora walked by. They were so close, she could feel the heat of the other woman’s body. This was a dangerous moment. No, this was a mistake on her part.
The blonde had been sitting at the bar at Vong, sipping a martini and watching Nora the entire time. She was sure she’d been witnessing a date—probably a first one, given the body language. She couldn’t hear the conversation, but it was clear they were getting along.
Which made Nora’s sudden exit all the more puzzling.
Minutes passed. The blonde stabbed at the olive in her martini with a toothpick, her mind allowing for the various possibilities. Nora leaving momentarily to make a call, for instance. More plausible was her going out for a quick smoke. Then again, she’d yet to see Nora with a cigarette in her hand.
The woman looked back over at the table where Nora’s date sat, waiting. He certainly is a good-looking guy, she thought. He kind of looks like—
“Excuse me,” came a voice over her shoulder.
She turned to see a middle-aged man with salt-and-pepper hair. He was wearing a turtleneck, sport coat, and way too much aftershave.
She glanced up at him, not saying anything, waiting.
He put his hand on the empty stool next to her. “Is this seat taken?”
“I don’t believe so.”
He flashed a cheesy grin and sat down. “Hard to believe there could be a vacancy next to such a very pretty woman,” he said while positioning his forearm on the bar. He leaned into her. “Can I buy you another drink?”
“I haven’t finished this one yet.”
“That’s okay, I’ll wait,” he said, nodding confidently. “All night, if I have to.”
The blonde threw him a flirtatious smile and then lifted her martini. She poured it over his head.
“There, all done,” she said.
She got up and walked away. But not toward the door. Convinced that Nora wasn’t returning, she headed for the table where her date remained sitting alone.
“Excuse me, are you waiting for Nora Sinclair?”
He looked at her, a little puzzled. “Uh… yes, actually, I am.”