and heat. “You have no idea just how good you did. How did you know this would be my jam?”
He shrugs. “Maybe I asked a few questions or maybe…I got lucky.”
I stalk back toward him alight with possibility as I soak him in, in the best imaginable surroundings. “This is incredible, Mr. Walker.”
“Glad you’re happy,” he says, again taking my hand. We spend endless minutes walking the grounds before we head back to Tim and our picnic basket. After a few more stops, we end up in the Japanese Garden on a patch of grass overlooking a curved wooden bridge covering a small pond.
“Even by California standards this is stunning,” I say. “I’m a sucker for scenery.”
“Me too,” he whispers, and I can feel the heat of his stare.
“Did you grow up here?” he asks, setting down the basket.
“Yeah. California born and raised.”
“Private school?”
I draw my brows at his question. “I think you might have the wrong idea about me.”
“How so?”
“I went to regular high school,” I say, spreading out the thin blanket I packed in the basket. “I wasn’t chauffeured around, and I damned sure didn’t use my daddy’s credit card for my weekly allowance. My parents worked really hard for what they have and acquired their wealth along the way, but I wasn’t given a Barbie pink Porsche with a bow on it for my sixteenth birthday. If I wanted something, I had to ask for it, and they would figure out a way for me to earn it. If I seem privileged to you, it’s only because I really can appreciate the finer things. I have a taste for them, but by no means am I entitled to them or expect them. I work for them. Living in that house is my perk of being Maïwenn and Alan Badri’s kid. And it’s a big one. But if I weren’t working the way I do, they would take notice, and I’d be out on my ass, trust me.”
He watches me from where he stands next to the blanket. And his silence wears on me.
“What?” I ask, gesturing for him to take a seat.
“You seem to know a lot about a lot.”
“An education and good manners don’t always equal rich and entitled. I don’t know why I’m justifying it to you when you drive a car that could pay for a semester at Harvard.”
We’d been sharing smiles and stealing glances at each other through easy conversation, but things seem to have turned serious. It’s been months since I’ve been on a date, and I’m being defensive. I brave a look in his direction and can’t tell if I’ve offended him with my blunt tongue. “I just…I don’t want you to think that way of me. I’m no princess.”
He takes a seat next to me as I carefully unpack the basket.
“Okay, then I won’t.”
I look to see his eyes scouring my face.
We share a slow building smile before he eyes the contents which consist of mixed cheeses, spiced pears, chocolate, and three bottles of wine.
His velvety voice surrounds me in a caress. “So, sommelier, you’re on.”
“And what do I get if you like one of the wines?” I’m blushing, I know I am, and it’s rare.
He gives me a million-dollar flash of teeth. “I may know a few people who could use a sommelier.”
“Oh, it’s like that, is it?”
“Reputation is everything around these parts,” he mutters dryly. “Or didn’t you know?”
“I forgot to care,” I say, uncorking a bottle and pulling out two plastic wine glasses.
His voice rumbles low. “Then we have that in common.”
“Good,” I say smartly. “I was beginning to think we wouldn’t find much.”
He pushes some hair off my shoulder, and I visibly shudder from the contact. It doesn’t go unnoticed. “It’s not necessarily a bad thing, Mila. I’m not the type of guy you want to have much in common with.”
He’s not apologetic about it, nor is he asking for sympathy. I frown anyway.
“What do you mean?”
“I didn’t grow up in a beautiful place that inspired me.”
“But something inspired you,” I reply.
“Someone.”
“Ah,” I say, pouring the wine and handing it to him. “Tell me about her.”
“Why does it have to be a her?”
“Isn’t it?” I ask, sitting back with a glass in hand.
“Yes, but she was much older.”
“Like Mrs. Robinson older?”
“Who?”
I lower my glass. “The movie. The Graduate? Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft?”
He shakes his head. “Haven’t seen that one.”
“Wow. I assumed it was a prerequisite to memorize that movie before you become an actor.”