Violet was pointing in my direction by now, and I could feel my cheeks turn as I started to blush. I didn’t know what to do, so I politely smiled and waved in his direction. His smile widened once our eyes met and he returned the wave.
“Well, I did have plans for tonight, but I think I can cancel them,” he said still staring at me.
My heart, for the first time in a long time, actually skipped a beat.
They exchanged numbers quickly.
“Well, I better get going, but I will see you later tonight Violet.” He smiled at me once more before turning toward the door.
“Great, we’ll see you later,” Violet called back to him.
We both watched him walk out the door. As soon as he was out of sight, Violet turned around with sparkles in her eyes.
“What the hell were you thinking?” I hissed at her. “Are you insane?”
“Oh come on, you know you would have done the same thing if you were as wonderful as me.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder. I gave her a scolding look.
“Lily, you need this! Plus he is hot, and he seems really sweet. We are going to go and have a good time, I promise,” she assured me.
“What do you mean I need this?” I asked.
“Really? Are you going to make me spell it out for you?” I stared at her, dumbfounded. “You need to date! You need to fall in love! And most importantly, you need to get over him!”
“I am over him!” I looked down at the ground and played with my fingers. Talking about him made me nervous and uncomfortable. “I don’t want to go out. You’re the one who asked him, you go.”
“No, I said we would meet him.” She pointed back and forth between the two of us. “We means you and me. You of all people know I didn’t ask him out for myself.”
“I'm not going,” I said as I headed toward the door.
“Yes, you are,” Violet said matter of fact.
The taxi ride back to the hotel was quiet. I knew the conversation about Lucas was not over with, but I didn’t want to talk about it, and I definitely didn’t want to talk about him either.
I did think about Lucas, though. He was handsome and he did seem very sweet. I just didn’t want to meet anyone from this city. I didn’t want to deal with a long distance relationship, and the longer I stayed in the city, the greater chance I had of running into him.
After a long day of traveling and shopping, the only thing I wanted to do was shower and have a nice dinner with my friend, the perfect ending to a perfect day. Tomorrow was going to be busy with looking at each property.
“So where do you want to go for dinner? I’m up for anything.” We weren’t back in our hotel room for more than two minutes and Violet was already asking about dinner.
“Honestly,” I laughed, “anywhere Italian.”
“That sounds good to me too,” she said as she picked up her phone. “I hope Lucas likes Italian.”
“Violet,” I said in a disapproving tone. “I told you no.”
“And I’m overriding your no.”
“Violet!”
“I’m going to win this argument, so just go get in the shower and get ready. We’re going to go hang out with a total stranger and have fun!” She was standing her ground, and I sighed disapprovingly.
“Lily, you’re going to die old and alone, you don’t want that,” she retorted.
“I won’t be alone. I will have plenty of money to buy myself several cats!”
“Liliana, you’re being ridiculous. You’re going, so get your big girl panties on and let’s go.”
“Fine,” I said giving in. “But if he ends up on America’s Most Wanted with me being the murdered victim, I’m coming back to haunt you.”
“You just do that,” she said rolling her eyes.
Chapter 3
“Come on Vi! What’s taking you so long?” I asked aggravated. “This was your idea in the first place.”
“I'm coming,” she said as she walked out of the bathroom looking like a movie star. She had on a short V-neck black dress and matching six inch pumps with a silver necklace that matched her dangling earrings.
“You’re wearing that?” she asked me.
I looked down at my floral sundress. I didn’t see anything wrong with it. I was comfortable, and we were only going out to eat.
“Yes,” I replied.
“I thought you would dress nice to impress him,” she said.
“He saw me sweaty from shopping all day, and I’m pretty sure I look much better now!” I smiled. “Plus I look hot in anything.” I grinned devilishly at her.
“Yes you do! Let’s go, we’re late.” She pushed me toward the elevator.
We made it to the lobby before all the men started staring at us. The bellboy almost ran an elderly couple over, the concierge dropped the phone in his lap, and the clerk stood paralyzed behind the counter.
As we headed out the front doors, every guy was watching Violet. I could tell she was enjoying the attention. She did look stunning. Maybe Lucas would be too focused on her to pay any attention to me.
She was trying to be calm and collected, but in true Violet fashion she had to have a mishap. As she was getting into the car, she tried to snake herself inside, but instead of being smooth, she bumped her head on the door frame and stumbled back almost falling into the door. Then her heel slipped and became lodged in the drain. She tried pulling it out, which just made her more embarrassed.
Four men ran up to help her, making her immediately turn red. We eventually got her unstuck, and she thanked the guys and sent them on their way.
“Are you okay?” I asked once we were in the cab and on our way.
“Yes, I’m fine,” she said, rubbing her head. “I can’t believe I just made a complete fool of myself.”
“I wouldn’t worry about it. As long as you’re okay, that’s all that matters,” I finally laughed. “At least you did it in style.”
“Ha-ha very funny. I’m glad that my humiliation amuses you.”
“You’re accident prone, embrace it.” I put my arm around her. “At least we will have a nice story to tell Lucas once we get there. There is no denying that bump on your forehead.”
***
When we arrived at the restaurant there was already a long wait. I wasn’t surprised. It was the most popular place in New York. I had personally never been here before, but I had heard positive reviews from my brothers.
Violet was already searching for Lucas while I was trying to figure out which line was waiting and which line was to sign in.
“Hello,” a voice said from behind me. I already had his voice memorized. I heard Violet giggle and return the hello before I turned around.
“Hi!” I had promised myself that I was going to try really hard to have a good time. “I’m Lily.” I stuck my hand out for him to shake it. Violet was right, his hands were soft.
“Lucas.” He smiled at me. “Nice to meet you.”
Seeing him up close was something I wasn’t prepared for. If he was handsome from fifteen feet away, he was gorgeous up close.
“You too,” I said finally and let go of his hand. “I was just about to go sign us in. It looks like it might be awhile.”
“Yeah this place is great, but there is always a wait. It’s worth it though,” Lucas said as he made his way to the front. Violet and I followed him.
“Welcome,” the hostess greeted us. “How many will be dining with us tonight?”
“Three,” Lucas spoke before me.
“Okay, it will be a two hour wait,” she said.
“That will be fine,” I answered back.
“May I have a name please?”
“Yes, last name Dapprima.” The hostess started writing it down, but stopped.
“Did you say Dapprima?” Her eyes widened. I got nervous for a second. I almost didn’t want to answer back. I looked at Violet, who was as confused as I was.
“Umm, yes,” I said less confident than
the first time.
“Oh please forgive me, I didn’t know. I will be right back,” said the hostess.
Before I could say anything, she was gone. I turned toward Lucas and Violet. He didn’t say anything, and she just shrugged her shoulders.
“If you could please follow me,” the hostess said as she returned. “We have a table right over here for you Mrs. Dapprima.”
“It’s Ms.,” I corrected her.
“Ms., yes, I'm sorry.”
She seated us at a great table, handed us our menus, and wished us well before she left. The waiter came by shortly after. We ordered our drinks and food before we even had a chance to start a conversation. Neither Violet nor Lucas brought up what had just happened, and I didn’t feel the need to bring it up myself.
“So Lucas, what do you do for a living?” I eventually asked.
“I manage several clubs here in New York,” he replied.
“That seems like an interesting job,” Violet chimed in.
“It is.” He adjusted himself in his chair. “It pays the bills. What about you two? What do you do?”
“We’re interior designers,” Violet blurted. “We live in Toronto, though.”
Shit, why doesn’t she just give him our home address while she’s at it?
“We’re here on a business trip. Liliana’s father owns several properties and we renovate them,” Violet added.
“Wow, it sounds like you’re both very successful for being so young.”
Lucas asked us a few questions about our work. Violet and I took turns explaining exactly what we did while Lucas intently listened to every word we said. He genuinely seemed interested. I started to settle down as the conversation and dinner went on.
We talked about what we liked to do for fun and what our interests were. Violet and I, of course, sounded like typical girls. We told him how we liked shopping, fashion, cooking, and party planning.
Lucas was a typical guy. He liked to play pool, hang out with his friends, and he loved sports. He also had a degree in management from NYU. On top of that, he was charming and funny. He continuously made us laugh. I was genuinely excited, after dinner, when he asked us to join him on a sightseeing adventure.
***
Times Square was just as beautiful as it was the first time I had seen it. Of course, neither Violet nor I told Lucas we had been there multiple times.
Lucas and I did most of the talking. We talked more about our lives and what we wanted to do in the future. He said he would love to come and see Toronto some time and I told him maybe one day he could. He smiled in response. It was contagious.
We hadn’t been sight-seeing for long when I noticed what time it was. I couldn’t believe it was already one in the morning.
“Well ladies, I hope to see you again,” Lucas said as the cab pulled up. “Call me anytime, you have my number.”
“Oh I’m sure we will.” Violet smiled at him as she climbed into the cab. “We will be here until Sunday. Maybe we can meet up sometime before then?”
“I would like that very much. Thank you for a lovely evening.” He grinned at Violet and then turned his attention toward me again. “Promise me you will call?”
“I promise.” I meant it too. “I’m glad Violet asked you to come out with us tonight. I had a good time.” I was about to get in the cab when Lucas took my hand and softly kissed it. My heart went to fluttering immediately.
“Goodnight Lily,” he said as he helped me into the cab and shut the door.
I couldn’t help myself. I turned around and looked out the window until he was out of sight.
My spirit was in a daze on the way back to the hotel. The sensation of his kiss still lingered on my hand. I hadn’t had anyone pay that much attention to me in a long time. It was nice.
Lucas was easy to talk to. He never let our conversation die. He kept asking both Violet and I questions and never once acted like he was bored. His personality was anything but typical, the perfect mix of a witty sense of humor, playfulness, and intelligence. Along with his good looks, he was the perfect gentleman.
“I told you,” Violet’s voice broke my thoughts, “that you would have a great time tonight.”
“Okay,” I huffed, “you were right, and I was wrong.”
She smirked at me.
“So are we going to see him again?” Violet asked with curiosity in her voice.
“Yes, I think we will.”
***
“Oh my gosh, Lily wake up!” Violet’s voice jarred me from my reoccurring nightmare.
Any good dreams had been overtaken by it. I was hoping that it would stop soon.
“We’re going to be late!” she continued. “Your father is going to kill us if we miss the meetings!”
“What time is it?” I asked as I jumped out of bed.
“Nine-thirty!”
Shit, I was going to be late!
I grabbed my phone and noticed I had ten missed calls from my father.
Great, now I was really going to be in trouble.
Dante came storming through the door about that time.
“You’re in so much trouble!” He didn’t even hold it back. “You have ten minutes to get out of here. Roman is finding you a cab as we speak.” I was so taken aback that I just stood there for a second in a daze.
“Liliana,” Dante yelled at me, “hurry up.”
Violet was already dressed and throwing clothes at me. I dressed as fast as I could and ran to brush my teeth.
“I have makeup and hair stuff in my bag,” Violet said as we rushed out the door. I was glad she was on top of it. I hadn’t even thought about that stuff.
Roman and Dante were holding the cab as we ran out the front doors of the hotel, neither one of us stopping as we slid across the seats. Dante jumped in the back seat with us and Roman rode upfront.
“Where the hell were you two last night?” Roman blurted out angrily at us.
“We went to eat dinner with a friend and then we hung out with him for a while,” Violet spat back at him.
“What do you mean you hung out with him?” Dante asked offended.
“It was for Lily,” she said grabbing his hand. “Don’t get upset.”
Dante seemed okay with that answer and he immediately calmed down.
We were a few minutes late as we pulled up to our first stop of the day. It looked like our first stop was the restaurant. We met the realtor, inspection guy, and contractor who would be accompanying us today. This was going to be an all-day process.
Violet and I were going to be busy taking notes, looking over things, and making sure this was really a building worth my father’s time and money.
Dante and Roman didn’t usually stay with us, but I understood about halfway through our inspection why they were here. The realtor guy was a real creep. He wasn’t the original one we were used to working with. This one made my skin crawl. He hovered too close and said things that caused Violet and me to question his experience.
Mid-morning, Roman and Dante received a phone call and immediately had to leave. I begged them to stay, but they said they had to go and would return shortly.
The afternoon dragged on and on. We took a short break for lunch after building number two and resumed at three and four, both were future night clubs. By the time we ended the day at building four, both Violet and I were tired and sweaty from being in the buildings with no air conditioning. I was on my last nerve with the realtor and pissed off that Dante and Roman hadn’t returned yet. They had been gone well over eight hours.
What could possibly be taking them so long?
I took a few pictures and extra measurements before we left for the day. Violet and I thanked everyone for coming out and apologized for it taking so long. We waved down a cab and headed back to the hotel.
“I’m so tired!” Violet whined as we settled into the back of the cab. “And I’m hungry too.” I felt her pain.
Unfortunately, we had at
least a forty-five minute drive back.
“Dante and Roman are so dead,” I griped.
Violet silently nodded her head in agreement with me.
“They are so going to pay for this tomorrow,” she responded.
***
“Hey Lucas,” I squealed when he answered the phone the next morning. I took half a second and pulled myself together, making sure my voice was an octave lower. “It’s Lily.”
“I know,” he chuckled. “What’s up?”
“Oh not much, just getting ready for the day,” I began. “Anyways, I was calling to see if you were busy tonight. Violet and I are going to Insanity, the dance club, and we were wondering if you would like to come and hang out before we leave tomorrow.” I finally took a breath. I didn’t want to lose my nerve. It had taken Violet all morning to convince me to call him.
“Sure, why not?” He sounded excited.
“Okay great. Do you know where it is?”
“Yes, I have been there a time or two,” Lucas said.
“Alright, we’ll meet you there about ten?” I know he couldn’t see me, but I was already smiling ear to ear.
“Sounds great, I will see you and Violet later on this evening.”
We ended the call with a goodbye and I hung up. Even though we spent most of Thursday night with Lucas I was anxious to see him again.
Violet and I had the entire Saturday planned. We would be visiting the Museum of Natural History. When we told Roman and Dante where we were going, they were not pleased about it, but Violet and I made a pact that whenever we went somewhere different, we would try to visit somewhere educational, and we needed to get back at them for leaving us yesterday.
There were so many things to look at. We were there from open to close and still didn’t get to see all the exhibits. It was fascinating. Each one of us had a certain exhibit that was our favorite.
Dante found the Rose Center for Earth and Science to be his favorite. We all agreed that the Hayden Planetarium was by far the coolest thing we had seen. Roman found the Fossil Halls fascinating. Violet thoroughly enjoyed the Biodiversity and Environmental Halls, and I never wanted to leave the Human Origins and Cultural Halls. Roman and Dante would never admit it, but I knew they enjoyed themselves.
By the time we left the museum it was almost six o’clock. We had a big breakfast and a small snack mid-day, so the boys dropped us off at the hotel to get ready for the evening.
“We will be back at eight to pick you both up,” Dante yelled out the window as Roman sped off.