Unwanted Heat

The moment we pull up to the restaurant, reporters are snapping our picture. We barely make it out of the car before they start screaming questions at us.

“Mr. Parker! Mr. Parker! Are you and Ms. Rose still an item?”

“Why haven’t you been seen together in three weeks?”

“What are you hiding?”

“What do you say to reports that PFS is suffering because of your personal life?”

“I say that my financial reports indicate otherwise,” Nicholas snaps at the young reporter who dared ask about PFS.

Carter and Hunter lead us through the crowd of reporters who continue to snap pictures of us and question our relationship status.

Nicholas’s arm is wrapped firmly around my waist, anchoring me to him as we try to make our way to the front of door.

“Ladies, Gentleman,” Nicholas addresses the crowd before we go into dinner. “Ms. Rose and I are here to celebrate a successful business deal. I am aware that there are reports that we haven’t been together in the last few weeks. However, as you can now see, we are very much still together. Now, if you will excuse us we have a dinner reservation to keep.”

Seconds later we are inside the warmth of the restaurant and my ears finally stop buzzing from all the questions being yelled at us. We are escorted to our table where we are the last ones to arrive which I know disappoints Nicholas. Had it not been for the press outside, I’m confident we would have been the first.

“So Kenzie, how are you enjoying being famous?” Alex asks as I sit next to him.

“UGH, I don’t get why they care so much about what Nicholas does.”

“Seattle’s youngest billionaire who just happens to be good looking and single? Can you blame them, Kenzie?” Ella asks.

“I get that part, but still they act like his personal life has some bearing on his business decisions.”

“That part pisses me off,” Alex agrees.

Dinner goes well, I chat with Alex and Ella while Nicholas talks with the owners of the company he just signed. I try to make small talk with the owners but they aren’t very talkative so I stick to chatting with Ella and Alex who make me feel very comfortable. Less than two hours after we arrive, dinner is over and everyone says goodbye. Unlike when we arrived, Nicholas and I are escorted by Hunter to a rear entrance where Carter is waiting with the SUV. The press doesn’t see us leave and get back home without being followed.

“Thank you for coming to dinner with me tonight, Kenzie. I’m sorry the press has been bothering you so much,” Nicholas says as we stand outside the apartment door.

“Well at least the food was good,” I joke.

“That it was.”

“Oh, I’m not sure if you remembered but I’m going shopping with Cara tomorrow-”

“She has made sure I haven’t forgotten,” he chuckles.

“Oh?”

“She’s texted me several times this week reminding me that you two planned to go out tomorrow. She’s very excited about it.”

“I hope you don’t mind; when she asked me-”

“No, it’s fine. I mean, if I’m completely honest, I wasn’t expecting so much overlap between this arrangement and my family.” I nod in agreement because I knew he wasn’t expecting it. “But my family really likes you, so if this makes them happy then I’m fine with it. Unless you mind-”

“No! Not at all,” I quickly interrupt. “It’s been a long time since

I’ve gone shopping with someone, so I’m looking forward to it.”

“Here’s my card,” he pulls a black American express card from his wallet and hands it to me.

“What’s this for?”

“For tomorrow.”

“I’m not following… ”

“Kenzie, you’re going shopping for the charity dinner this weekend right?” I nod. “Normally I would be paying for your outfit for the evening anyway so Bridget sends me a bill for your purchases and I pay for them. However, since you can’t very well tell the store to charge it to Bridget, here is my credit card for the purchase.”

“Nicholas… I don’t know that I feel right having this.”

“I trust you with it. Buy your outfit for the weekend and treat my sister to lunch. She’s expecting you to whip out my credit card for the dress anyway.”

“Why would she expect that?”

“She just would. You’re going with me to the dinner, so it’s only natural that I would pay for your outfit.”Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

“I could pay for it myself.”

“You could, but you won’t, and she won’t suspect anything. If you paid for it yourself, she would probably flat out ask you why I’m not paying for it. Don’t worry about it. It’s no different than when you go to Stacy’s and have it charged to Bridget.”

“I guess.”

“Stay with Hunter and Ben tomorrow. I have no doubt that the press will follow you when you shop. If it gets out of hand, just come back here. I can always have someone send over dresses for you to shop from home and not have to deal with the press. In fact maybe we should do that instead.”

“Nicholas, we’ll be fine.”

“Just stay with them, please, I don’t trust the press.”

“I will.”

“I’ll pick you up on Saturday?”

“I’ll be ready.”

“Good night, Kenzie.”

“Night, Nicholas.”

He leans down to kiss me when the air seems to shift between us; his eyes lock onto mine and his face stops only inches from mine. He moves a piece of my hair to just behind my ear, a sweet move that surprises me, just before his lips find mine. The kiss is soft at first, but his lips become firm against mine as he wraps his arm around my lower back, pulling me against him. My arms go around his neck, my fingers weaving through the back of his hair as I completely lose myself in the kiss. I can’t help but gasp when I feel Nicholas’s tongue against my lips. He cautiously enters my mouth, almost as if he is afraid of my reaction but I don’t push him away or stop him. I am completely caught up in this. I can’t remember the last time I was ever kissed so… passionately.

Ring ring

“Fuck,” Nicholas pulls away at the sound of his phone ringing from his pocket.

The ringing stops a few seconds later. Our heavy breathing is the only sound that can be heard in the hallway, when I suddenly remember that we are standing in the middle of the hallway outside my apartment. What’s worse is that Carter is only a few feet away at the elevator, thankfully though, his back is towards us but I have no doubt that he knows exactly what just happened between us.

“Kenzie… ” His eyes find mine and I’m pretty sure I see regret in them.

“Good night, Nicholas,” I kiss him on the lips softly one last time before I turn and enter my apartment.

I lock the door, reset the alarm and collapse on the loveseat, trying to make sense out of what just happened. Things seemed to have been going well between us; dinner went well and I thought the kiss was good too. But then why did Nicholas suddenly look like he regretted kissing me? Did he regret blurring the lines? Did he think he made a mistake? Did he think I didn’t want to kiss him?