After my last boyfriend realized that I was a natural blonde, he convinced me to grow out all of my black hair and be a ‘California blonde girl.’ I refused to change who I was for yet another man, although something told me Richard would never treat me that way.
I applied some lavender vanilla body oil to my skin, which I had created specifically for my lifestyle brand. It was potent enough that I wouldn’t need any perfume, and I’d hoped Richard would get to feel my soft legs later on that night.
A tight violet dress with black heels was calling my name from the closet, so I slid that on and opted out of wearing panties. It had a slight cleavage, too, which I planned on using to seduce Richard as we ate dinner. Not just because I wanted desperately to have sex again, but because he’d sounded so distant in his text message. If there’s one thing that I knew about men, it’s that you can get them to open up just by having sex.
I got into my pink convertible, put the roof down, and headed over to Richard’s mansion. His place was in the upper-class countryside but it was only a couple minute drive from my downtown loft. I didn’t mind it, though. Especially since I had every intention of spending the night.
My stomach grumbled as I waited for him to answer the door. Whatever he was cooking inside smelled good, too.
I had to ring the doorbell a second time, having waited a full five minutes with no answer. Thoughts started racing through my mind. What if Richard had another woman in the house? What if he invited me over just to break-up? Is that why he was so distant earlier?
I let out a huge exhale to try and calm myself down, but it didn’t work, and I started tapping my foot impatiently. Richard finally answered, immediately kissing my lips as he wrapped his arms around my waist.
“I’m so sorry,” he said. “I was getting some flowers from the garden.”
Convinced that my insecurities were all in my head, I went inside and decided to put my best face forward. Richard wouldn’t have invited me over if he wasn’t into me.
“How was your day?”
Richard shrugged his shoulders.
“Work is work,” he said, putting his arm around my waist. “More importantly, how was your day?”
“It was good. Crystal is teaching classes now, which gives me more time to work on my lifestyle line.”
We went into his dining room, which was almost as big as my loft apartment. The overall style of his mansion was modern. Yet, his dining room table reminded me of something out of Victorian England. It was long and elegant, with high-backed chairs along both sides.
Richard had an intimate dinner waiting for us at one end of the table.
“It smells delicious,” I said as he pulled my chair out.
He kissed the top of my head, and I couldn’t help but let out a little moan.
“As much as I would have loved to have cooked,” he said, “I had it delivered from Spiamonte’s. I’ve been working such long days that I’m surprised I even have time to shower.”
He lifted a stainless steel lid, revealing a roasted chicken with vegetables and potatoes underneath. It smelled like lemon and rosemary, with a hint of garlic.
“That is not a protein bar,” I said.
He laughed a little bit, revealing his dazzling white smile underneath his sexy beard.
“And that’s not a yoga outfit.” I leaned forward a little bit, giving him a glimpse down my dress. “Tease.”
He poured each of us a glass of wine, and then we ate in silence for several minutes. My insecurities started to creep back into my mind. Richard was behaving differently. We usually discussed more than just our days, followed by some light flirtation. That was one of the reasons we fell for each other in the first place. Our chemistry just clicked.
“So,” I said, trying to break the silence. “What else is new with you?”
Richard kept his gaze on his food for a minute or two, before finally looking up at me. “A lot of stuff going on at work. But what about you? What’s the update on your lifestyle brand?”
“I heard from an investor today,” I said, eager to discuss something that would break the silence. “He’s in New York, though. We’ll be doing a conference call tomorrow morning.”
“That’s amazing, Annie. Tell me about all of the products in this lifestyle line.”
Richard seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say, which suppressed some of my insecurities. But he still seemed a little off.
“I played around with some ingredients and developed several protein bars. They don’t taste chalky, though, which is a big problem with protein bars. Crystal enjoys the chocolate covered strawberry one, and I’m partial to the pizza flavor.”
Richard put his fork and knife down, then looked straight at me.
