Chapter 31

Antonio’s Restaurant 1 PM

LUIGI, the maître d’, effusively greeted Andrew Chase at the entrance to the harbor front Italian restaurant.

“Mr. Chase, it is so nice to see you again. It has been quite some time since we have had the pleasure of your company.”

“Thank you, Luigi. Yes, I’m afraid it has been too long. But I’ve been very busy. Little to time to eat out lately, I’m afraid.”

“Ah, Mr. Chase. Life is too short. Good food is the very essence of our being. One must make time for the finer things in life.”

“Right you are, Luigi. I am meeting someone here for lunch today.”

“Yes, Miss Carpenter is waiting for you. She is at your favorite table with the lake view. So very romantic, yes?”

“Thank you, Luigi. But this is a business appointment.”

“If you say so,” said Luigi, eyes sparkling and giving off vibes that he didn’t believe it for a minute.

He escorted Chase to the table. It was next to a large panoramic window that gave a stunning view of the harbour and the lake beyond. It was a bright, sunny day. Hundreds of private yachts and sailboats dotted the shimmering, bright blue waters of Lake Ontario.

But that wasn’t the only stunning view.

Ashley Carpenter sat at the table nursing a martini. She was breathtakingly beautiful. Long golden tresses rested on her shoulders with bangs covering her forehead. She had a face of sculpted Grecian beauty with alabaster skin and a thin, petite nose.

She wore a black dress that looked like it was a Christian Dior or Versace. Ashley only dressed in high fashion. She would only be seen in the very best. A small diamond necklace and matching earrings completed the portrait.

It had been several months since Chase last saw Ashley. She was still as beautiful as ever. If there were a goddess on earth, Ashley Carpenter would fit the bill. Chase began to wonder how he could he have let her get away.

“Hello, Ashley,” he said. “It’s been a while. You are looking as gorgeous as ever.”

“Why thank you, Andrew. You are not looking too shabby yourself despite that awful newspaper business you inhabit.” Carpenter stared directly into Chase’s blue eyes.

Andrew sat opposite Ashley and ordered a Heineken. Ashley sipped on her martini while simply gazing at Andrew with her limpid emerald green eyes. He found her gaze a bit unnerving after all this time.

“So, to what do I owe this pleasure?” said Chase, deciding to break the ice and make the first move.

“Well, Andrew I’ve been giving a great deal of thought lately to our previous relationship. I believe I may have been too hasty in abandoning ship so abruptly.”

“Why? Didn’t things work out too well with Mr. Art Dealer?” Chase couldn’t help but display a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

“No, we stopped seeing each other a couple of months ago. He was so self-absorbed and nowhere near the man that you are Andrew. Frankly, I found the art scene somewhat boring.”

Chase found her comments somewhat ironic given Ashley’s own penchant for selfishness.

Luigi reappeared to take their lunch orders. Ashley asked for an asparagus soup and salad combo, while Andrew ordered a seafood tortellini dish.

Ashley leaned forward over the table, taking Andrew’s hands into her own. “I was thinking, darling that perhaps we should get together and give it another try. What do you think?”

“Well, Ashley, the problem is that I’m involved with someone else now. What we had was very special at the time, but it’s all in the past. I doubt that we could revive those feelings again even if we wanted to try.”

“Who is it, Andrew? Anyone I would know?”

“No, Ashley. She doesn’t travel in your social circles and isn’t anywhere close to your income bracket.”

“Sounds like she’s some cheap floozy you’re fucking. Andrew, I thought you had more class than that. A man of your social stature needs a woman of substance and social breeding in his life. Behind every successful man, lies a good woman after all.”

“She may not be wealthy or a socialite, Ashley, but she’s no floozy as you so tactlessly put it. She means a lot to me and I hope she feels the same way.”

“Oh, Andrew get serious and grow up. You sound like a love-struck schoolboy. The sex with me was great wasn’t it? You can have that and much more.” She reached under table and began massaging his inner thigh.

“What do you mean?

“I want to re-establish our relationship. In fact, Andrew, I want you to marry me.”