He took the tie out of my hands and brought my fingers to his lips for a kiss. Settling his gaze on me, he said quietly, "Neither of us are ordinary, no matter how much you want to be."
His stubborn belief that I was anything but the regular person I'd always been made me smile. "Well, we don't have to flaunt our extraordinariness all the time. Sometimes it's just nice to appear like ordinary people, so off with the tie and jacket."
Tristan narrowed his eyes slightly for a moment, surprised by my order, but the jacket followed the tie and he was ready to go. "Better?"
"The top button can be undone too, if you really want to look relaxed," I teased.
He opened his collar and motioned toward the door. "I hope the car is going to be okay," he said in a mocking tone. "Or do we have to walk or buy some used car?"
As I headed for the front door, I said, "Now you're not taking this seriously at all, are you?"
"On the contrary. I'm up for buying another car. Or maybe a horse and buggy would help with toning down the...what did you call it?"
I turned around at the car and laughed. "Extraordinariness. It's a word."
"It's a mouthful," he joked and lifted my chin to kiss me. "Now get in the car. Pizza's waiting."
He hadn't exaggerated in his description of Tony's Pizza Heaven. Red and white checkered tablecloths covered the old square Formica tables and at each place setting were paper placemats with red, white, and green maps of Italy and cartoon drawings of major tourist attractions, like the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Coliseum, on them. The wooden chairs were old and hard, but the place was warm and comfortable.
I skimmed over the laminated menu while Tristan seemed to study it, but when the waitress came over to take our order he was quick to tell her we wanted a large pizza and a pitcher of soda. I sat staring at him thinking how surreal this scene was.
He noticed my confused expression. "Something wrong?"
I wasn't sure if something was wrong. Maybe it was how comfortable he seemed at a place I'd been so sure he wouldn't fit in. Shaking my head, I answered, "No. You seem quite at home here."
"Surprised? You think you know me, but you don't know everything about me, Nina."
"I guess I don't. That's okay. You don't know everything about me either."
Smiling, he remained quiet, making me feel like he knew more than I suspected. The silence between us made me feel uneasy, and I shifted in my chair and looked past him at the pictures on the far wall. Black and white photographs of Italian architecture were scattered along the walls of the restaurant and set me at ease. Very much like art, they were beautiful to look at, even in their cheap faux wood frames.
As the silence between us continued, I wanted to ask if he'd been to this place with his family. The images of their faces stayed in my mind, making me wish I could learn more about them. The idea of an exact duplicate of Tristan out there somewhere in the world intrigued me, and the fact that he never mentioned anything about him or his parents made me want to know about them even more.
But if I'd learned anything in the time I'd known Tristan Stone, it was that he spoke only when he wanted to and only about things he wanted to let the world know.
True to his claim, the pizza was terrific and after he'd gotten a slice into him, he became even more relaxed and began talking. This was the man I loved being around, and there he was sitting in that tiny pizza place in the middle of nowhere, of all the unlikely places.
"I think you'll be tackling Dallas next," he said with a wink.
"Talking about work after five? Doesn't that break your rule?"
"Isn't that what rules are for?"
Who was this man? "Are you saying you like to break the rules? Mr. Suit-And-Tie wants to flout convention?"
"Let's take it easy on the flouting," he said with a chuckle. "As for Dallas, let's plan on Wednesday."
"Well, since you want to talk about work, what can you tell me about Dallas?"
There was that devilish grin again. "Let's just say it's going to be a golden opportunity for you to stretch your imagination."
"Sounds pretty cryptic. Care to offer any more details?" I asked as I leaned over toward his side of the table.
He leaned in toward me and smiled. "Just remember I have faith in you."
I waited for him to continue, but he just sat there staring and smiling at me. Finally, I said, "I think you're making me nervous. Are you just trying to psyche me out?"
"Me? Never."
"Well, that's good because I'm a woman on a mission. You'll see. Expect to be impressed."
His mouth grazed mine, and he licked his lips. "I already am."
When we got back to the house, I expected us to get into bed as we had most nights since I began living there, but he disappeared almost as soon as we walked in the door. I waited for him to come to my room, but an hour later he still hadn't and I made up my mind to find him.
I was surprised to see him coming out of his room dressed in a tux. He was leaving again to attend some affair and not taking me. Instantly, it felt like someone had stabbed me in the chest. I was good enough to sleep with or hang out with at some out of the way restaurant, but I wasn't good enough to show off to his fancy friends.
"Nina, I'll be back later if you want to talk."
Choking back tears, I angrily blurted out, "Talk about what? How unworthy I am to be taken anywhere anyone might see you with me?"
"You're being silly," he said as he tried to push past me.
I pushed against him, refusing to let him leave. "Don't treat me like I'm merely your goddamn employee."
"You are my employee, Nina, even if we are more than just that to each other."
His voice was flat and so much colder than it had been just a short time earlier as we ate pizza together. Why did he have to be like this? Was I really that embarrassing to be seen with at his parties?
"If we're more, then why don't you ever ask me to go wherever you go when you're all dressed up like this?" I asked, hating the needy sound of the words coming from my mouth.
"You wouldn't like these kinds of events."
"Don't dismiss me like this. I don't deserve it."
He pushed past me and walked toward the front door. I caught up with him just as he opened the door to leave, and he turned to face me. "I never said you did. I can't take you to many of the places I have to go, but that doesn't mean I don't want you by my side. It just can't be. That's the way it is."
"Why? I'm good enough for you to basically beg me to work for you and good enough to fuck, but I'm not good enough to be seen with you in public? Is that it?"