Year’s Eve debacle, she’d avoided him at all costs.
“I can’t believe you’re from New York, and I’ve never seen you before,” Samuel stated with obvious doubt in his voice.
“Why are you questioning her so much, Samuel? Leave the poor woman alone,” Monica gently chastised. “Besides, it’s time for you to focus on me.”
“What’s that?” Samuel asked, clearly distracted as he turned his attention from Vanessa to the other woman.
“I wanted to see if you liked my new perfume.” Monica bent down and tilted her head to the side as she pressed her neck towards his face. “What do you think?”
It was uncomfortable to watch Monica fawn all over Samuel. Vanessa wasn’t sure how to extract herself from the situation, when the bartender arrived with her drink. He placed it in front of her, then scurried off again. She took a long swig, hoping it might give her the extra push to get up and walk away.
“It’s a nice scent, but I think you might have accidentally applied a little too much.”
Monica jerked back. “Why would you say that?”
“It’s rather overpowering,” he admitted. “Now all I smell is rosewater.”
A look of embarrassment flashed across Monica’s face as she raised her hands to her throat. “I had no idea that was the case.”
“I want to go back to this party thing; I can’t imagine that we’ve never been at the same party before,” Samuel probed. “If we had though, I’m sure you would have stood out.”
“One would think,” Vanessa stated with a sigh. “It doesn’t matter anyway. I’m only going to be in New York for the rest of the summer. I’m heading back to Yale to start my Ph.D. in marketing.”
A look of what almost seemed like disappointment crossed his face, before Monica reached out and touched his arm to gain his attention. “Why are we talking about something as boring as college and degrees, when we can be talking about your New York Times bestselling book? I can’t believe you have another one. What does this make, six?”
“It’s my tenth, but who’s counting,” he teased with a sexy smile.
“You are, obviously,” Vanessa chimed in from the side. Deciding she’d had enough of both Monica’s and Samuel’s obnoxious behavior, she stood up from the bar, and grabbed her purse before turning around to leave.
“Where are you going?” she heard Samuel ask from behind her.
Over her shoulder, she tossed back, “I’m tired and need to get some rest before we leave for the airport tomorrow.”
“I thought you told me you needed to unwind,” Samuel countered. “I can help you with that, if you’d like.”
“Samuel, let her go if she wants,” Monica protested with a pout on her lips. “We have plenty to catch up on.”
Vanessa didn’t wait to hear anymore. She was done. At a clipped pace, she marched out of the lounge. Even though she was tired, she knew going back to her room wouldn’t do her any good. As irritated as she was at the moment, she would just lay in bed and toss and turn. Deciding a walk would be better, she headed towards the gardens.
It seemed not only had Samuel’s looks not changed in the past two years, but neither had his personality. He was still the same self-centered, flirtatious jerk that had hurt her feelings two years ago. She’d honestly believed they’d had a real connection and he would remember enough to call her after the party, but he never did.
Even though the online papers, blogs, and social media liked to paint Samuel Butler as a lazy, playboy billionaire, part of her always wondered if they just liked making him look bad. It seemed the reports were correct however. He was just the same as he had been two years ago. The difference was, she wasn’t stupid enough to fall for his charms a second time.
Vanessa made two laps around the garden’s paths, feeling better after each pass. She was about ready to head back to her room, when from across the courtyard, she saw Samuel making a bee-line straight for her. She glanced around her, looking for an exit, but there wasn’t one nearby.
“There you are. I called up to your room from the lobby phone but there was no answer. I asked a couple of the workers where you might be. They mentioned you sometimes come out here to walk.”
“Why were you trying to find me?” Vanessa asked candidly. “I didn’t think there was anything left to discuss.”
“Something didn’t set right with our conversation. I