Robert stood in the living room of their suite, wearing a black Armani tux and holding a glass of single malt whisky, admiring the view of Central Park and the East River. He watched the ant-like figures go about their way and brought the glass to his lips when he heard Farrah’s bedroom door open. Robert lowered the glass and turned to greet Farrah, only to be caught off-guard at the sight of her. He’d always thought Farrah was beautiful, but the woman standing in front of him, wearing a dark green body-clutching strapless gown with a side split and diamond earrings dangling from lobes exposed by curly, jet-black hair pulled off her face and hanging down her back, was breathtakingly so.
“Well I’m ready,” Farrah confirmed, sauntering into the room as she placed her lipstick into her purse. “Are you?” she asked, giving him a lengthy once-over.
Robert slammed back his drink, hoping it would cool down the fire raging in his blood. He went over to the bar and placed the glass on the marble counter. “Yep, let’s go. The car’s downstairs.”
Farrah grabbed her wrap and headed for the door. They made their way to the bank of elevators and traveled down to the lobby in silence. Soon they were in the limo heading towards the Ambassador Theatre.
“So about earlier...accusing you of messing with the reservation.”
His gaze locked on hers.
“I apologize.”
“No problem,” he replied, sheepishly. “I guess it was kind of my fault.”
“What?” Farrah asked, those ruby-red lips pulling into a slight frown.
“One of the owners here is an old friend. He saw my name come across a VIP list, upgraded me, hence us, as a courtesy.”
“Oh, I understand that,” she said, smiling up at him.
“So you think this mysterious person will show up?” Robert asked, trying to keep his eyes on Farrah’s face and away from the tops of her beautiful breasts, which were peeking out of her dress.
“Benny assured me that they’ll make contact at some point tonight. The only problem is, no one knows exactly what this person looks like,” she explained, biting down on her bottom lip, something that only happened when she was a little bit nervous.
“Well, how do you know they’ll show up, and how are you supposed to recognize them?”
“Benny’s one of my best New York informants and he spread the word that Alexia had a silent partner that’s not so silent anymore. He made sure that the right people knew this partner was upset about Alexia’s missing client book—”
“What missing client book?”
She gave him an ear-to-ear grin. “Exactly...”
Robert turned in his seat to face Farrah full-on. “What have you done?” he asked in a harsh tone.
“Just took out a little insurance,” she said, tossing her hair off her shoulders and crossing one well-toned leg over the other.
“What kind of insurance?” he demanded, his protective instinct kicking into high gear.
“I made Benny think there was an appointment book that went missing and that Alexia’s partner is really pissed about it. I told Benny to spread the word that her partner has an idea of who took the book and if it’s not returned by midnight or some explanation is provided as to what happened to it, all hell would break loose.”
Robert’s frown deepened. “You made yourself a target?”
“No, I made Alexia’s non-existent partner a target.”
Robert pushed out a breath. “What is it with you Blake women? Always putting yourselves in danger! You have no idea what this guy might do if he thinks you’re coming after him.”
“That’s the point. We need him to be off-guard...to make a mistake. We both know I can take care of myself and you’ll be there to back me up. Right?” she asked, giving him a sexy smile.
Robert tried not to be distracted, but his body had other ideas. “I’ll always have your back,” he said, leaning forward, stopping inches from her face. “No matter what.”
Robert saw the gratitude and a glimpse of something else in Farrah’s eyes before she looked away, biting her bottom lip again.
He sat back in the seat, gripping his hands at his sides.
* * *
Farrah released a slow breath and sent up a silent thank-you that Robert hadn’t seemed to notice just how much his closeness affected her. “Look, all we need is for whoever this person is to show up. I’m sure, between the two of us, we can convince him to share whatever information he may have,” she declared.
“You think so?”
“Absolutely.”
The limo came to a stop in front of the Ambassador Theatre. The line of theatergoers wrapped around the building. The limo door opened and they were ushered past the waiting, nattily dressed crowd into the lobby. The ornate surroundings stopped Farrah in her tracks. The white-and-gold walls showcased expensive midcentury paintings, while the barrel-vaulted and dome ceiling held large crystal and gold chandeliers, and the layers of crown molding spoke to the age of the building. From a time when elegance, glamour and grace were the norm; it was as though they’d been transported into the richness of the past.
“My goodness, this place is beautiful,” Farrah gushed with delight as she slowly spun around while keeping her focus on the ceiling’s detail. She didn’t even notice the people staring or dodging the twirls, trying to prevent collisions.
“Careful, you don’t want to get too dizzy,” Robert warned, laughing and offering apologetic smiles to those trying to move past her.
Too late, I seem to stay dizzy around you. “No worries, I know my limits.” Farrah stopped, beaming up at him.
“Don’t I know it,” he murmured, and there was a world of meaning in those few words.
Robert walked slowly toward Farrah and stood in front of her before giving her a slow, sexy grin. He’s going to kiss me... I can’t let him kiss me...but I want him to.
Robert leaned forward slightly before he bent down to retrieve the wrap that had fallen to the ground. He straightened, handed it to her and took a step back.
Such an idiot. Thank goodness he’s not a mind reader. “Thank you,” Farrah said, trying to hide her disappointment.
Robert gave her a tight smile and a slow nod. “So how long is this thing anyway?”
“About two and half hours with a twenty-minute intermission.”
“Two hours,” he grumbled.
“You’ll be fine,” she said, eyeing the looks of admiration from a couple of women standing a short distance from where they stood. She couldn’t blame them. Robert was a beautiful sight to see in his tux.
A tall, leggy attendant appeared by her side and said, “Excuse me...if you’d please follow me, I’ll show you to your seats.”
Robert stepped aside. “After you.”
Farrah followed behind the attendant to one of four private box seats. The attendant pushed back the thick gold curtain where two plush red velvet seats sat with a small table between them. On the table were two crystal glasses and a silver bucket with a bottle of champagne resting in a bed of ice.
Farrah thanked the attendant before planting herself in one of the seats with the best vantage point.
“This, I’ll take credit for,” Robert said, retrieving the champagne bottle. He popped the cork and poured even amounts into both glasses. “So, what now?”
Farrah accepted the offered glass. “Now,” she said before taking a sip of the bubbly, “we enjoy the show while we wait. This is Alexia’s box, so I’m sure they’ll find us. The team’s in place?”
“Yeah, everything’s covered,” he replied, scanning the lower level seating area. “If anyone makes a move toward us, we’ll have them in less than thirty seconds.”
Farrah settled into the seat and tried to follow her own advice. While she wanted to focus on what was happening onstage, all she could concentrate on was Robert, his profile in particular. The fact that his curly hair hung past his ears just the way she preferred. Those beautiful lips...the things he could do with those lips. And his square masculine chin with a thin film of hair making its presence known was beyond sexy. Farrah’s nipples became like mini-marbles and her breathing escalated. She squirmed in her seat as she fanned herself with the playbill.
“You all right?” Robert asked.
“Yes, of course,” she said, getting to her feet. “I think I may have taken in that champagne way too fast. I’m just going to the ladies’ room.”
“The show’s about to start. You can’t wait until halftime?”
“You mean intermission?” Farrah corrected.
“Whatever...”
Farrah chuckled. “No, I can’t. Besides, I know these opening numbers like the back of my hand.”
Robert’s forehead creased with displeasure.
Farrah almost let go of another laugh, but said, “I’ll be right back.”
She couldn’t get away from Robert fast enough. Farrah made her way down the stairs to the area where the restrooms were. She walked into the ladies’ lounge, paused and stared in awe at what lay before her. The room screamed the same old-school glamour as the lobby.
“Wow!” After ensuring she was alone, Farrah did an exaggerated catwalk over to the chaise and flung herself across it. “I need a martini...extra dry,” she said, snapping her fingers in the air before bursting into laughter. “I so could have lived large back in the ’20s.”
The creak of the door echoed and she quickly righted herself.
“I thought you’d never come,” said a small, fair-skinned, dark-haired beauty wearing a simple black tea-length dress with silver-sequined tennis shoes.