“Studio?”
“Yes. I’m trying to build a franchise. I have two locations already and they are both doing extremely well. Branching out will deepen my pockets while I help people get back in tune with themselves.”
“Where is it?”
“I’m not telling.”
“Why not?”
I smiled as she cuffed her hand through my arm and latched onto my bicep. We walked over to the belt and she picked up her other suitcase then we proceeded to my other driver, Manuel, awaiting us.
“Because I’m a big girl who can handle this on my own. You seem like the type who would secretly buy the building and surprise me with it.” And she would be correct.
“Alright, you got me there, but you deserve it, so why not?”
“Because we’re just getting to know each other, Armond. Anything can happen between us and I don’t want it being held over my head at any point in time. I’m not saying that to say you would, but I like to be careful when it comes to my business ventures,” she explained.
“I respect that.”
“That’s all you have to say?”
“Yes.”
She stopped walking and I found myself pulling her along a couple of steps before ultimately stopping myself. I turned to face her and she looked perplexed.
“What, honeybee?” I said, amused.
“Where’d you come from? Because you are not an American.” She giggled.
I laughed before saying, “You’d be surprised to know that I was born in The States, but I’ve resided all over the world for as long as I could remember, mainly Germany and Italy.”
“Yeah, I can tell.”
“No, you couldn’t.”
She giggled. “Yes, I could tell you weren’t from here. You literally just spoke Italian on the plane. Your mannerisms are different. You might talk like you’re from here at times, but even then, you sound different. I like it. Different is good.”
“Yeah, I’m all kinds of different.” I gave her a wicked smile then assisted her into the truck. I made my way to the other side and hopped in as Manuel put her luggage in the trunk.
“Where to, sir?” Manuel asked as he got in.
“Where to, milady?”
“Uhhhh… ooh! Darby’s Steakhouse.”
“As you wish,” Manuel stated. He entered the address into his GPS then took off before anyone could say anything to us for taking too long.
I looked at the beam of her smile and got lost in it. I wished I could capture pictures with my eyes because this was a view worth remembering forever.
“Why are you looking at me like that, Armond?” she asked softly.
“You’re beautiful, you know that?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Quite ravishing. I can’t get enough of you.”
“I’m sure in due time you will.”
