False Pretenses Read Free Page B

counter stretched along one wall, and tables covered with pristine white tablecloths had been arranged around the floor.
    A host in crisp uniform stepped up to greet them. “Mr. Corde, it’s good to see you again, sir. I hope you’re doing well this evening?”
    “Jeff, good, thanks.” Nathan shook the man’s hand, and as they were led farther into the restaurant, she overheard someone else informing another host that they had reservations. When she and Nathan were seated in a private room, she studied him in curiosity.
    “Did you make reservations?”
    His brows went up. “I have a standing reservation here.”
    “Standing?” She unfolded the cloth napkin and laid it across her lap. So much silverware framed her plate, she wondered which was proper, and then didn’t care. “Oh, you mean they will oust anyone because it’s you?”
    Rather than answer, Nathan turned to the waiter who approached their table. Again the two men seemed to know each other by name. Alyssa allowed Nathan to choose what she drank for the evening, and then she perused the menu. No prices were listed. A sign it costs an arm and a leg, I bet.
    “So why are you doing this?” she questioned him when they were alone.
    “You get right to the point, don’t you?”
    She shrugged. “I don’t bite my tongue. Well, usually. I like to know where I stand, and I can’t help wondering if you just want a black woman in your bed. Maybe you have a thing for Trinity, but she ruined your plans by backing out at the last minute. You couldn’t very well admit the whole pretend boyfriend-girlfriend thing was a lie.”
    He reached across the table and took her hand. Her fingers spasmed in his hold, and she jerked away. Nathan turned his hand over, palm up, and waited. With great effort, she placed hers back in his, and his thumb stroked her skin in gentle, slow circles.
    “No, I am not interested in Trinity. I know she has a boyfriend. I do not horn in on another man’s territory. There are too many single women in the world.”
    She clenched her teeth and lowered her gaze to the table.
    “I have had sex with a black woman before. It was brief and enjoyable, a one-night stand. We remain acquaintances, and I imagine if I gave any indication I wanted to continue, she would be willing.”
    No confidence in himself at all. She just kept herself from rolling her eyes.
    “While I’m free to come and go whenever and wherever I choose, I would not create a trip such as this just to get into a woman’s panties.”
    “Okay, so my logic’s off,” she said. “And you can get whatever woman you want.”
    He narrowed his eyes and at last released her. Alyssa buried her hands in her lap while struggling to calm the sensations he had evoked.
    “You seem angry at me. I understood that you volunteered to take Trinity’s place.”
    She gasped. “You don’t think…I mean, I never meant to imply…”
    “No, Trinity made that clear. Don’t worry. I know you’re not available for anything other than pretense, but I’m curious. Do you have a boyfriend?”
    She bit her lip. “No. He… I …broke it off a few weeks ago. We weren’t right for each other.” She didn’t care to tell him Tony had suggested an open relationship and informed her he never wanted kids. Two blows in one. He hadn’t cheated, he said, but the fact that he wanted to see other people while still having her said he eventually would. “So what about you? Surely, there was, or is, someone special in your life that you can take to meet your parents, and if not, why pretend? Isn’t that giving them false hope?”
    “There isn’t.” He seemed to hesitate, but she wouldn’t let him get out of giving her a straight answer. When he tapped the table in a decisive movement, she realized he wasn’t the type to back off of a challenge. “My father has terminal cancer.”
    Alyssa gaped. That was the last thing she had expected to hear. “I’m so sorry.”
    He nodded his thanks. “They