the drive from the house in Lennox Hill to his 92nd Street apartment an hour and a half later.
“Don’t you agree?”
“Ah, yeah. That’s a good point.” It made sense. That didn’t mean he had to like it. But when exactly did he stop liking the agreement they’d made?
“I thought you were inviting me to dinner. I’m starving.”
Chaz unlocked the door and waited for her to enter ahead of him. “We can order something.”
Because he definitely planned for her to stay the night.
“I’m in the mood for pizza.”
He took the coat she shrugged out of and turned to hang it in the coat closet. “You eat pizza?”
She made a face—not exactly a frown and not a smile. “Who doesn’t eat pizza?”
She was right. It was silly of him to think that the infamous Riley Gold didn’t eat pizza. She was just so different from the type of woman he’d thought she was. In fact, everything he’d learned about Riley in the past weeks had been contrary to what he’d thought about her for years.
“I like everything on mine. How do you take yours?”
They were walking deeper into the living room and Chaz moved his hand over the wall switch to turn on the recessed lights in the ceiling. In stark contrast to Riley’s cool, contemporary decor, Chaz favored warm, dark colors and minimal furniture. She stood on the cobalt blue rug and looked around at the blue Bradford sofa, matching side chairs and marble coffee table.
“Anything as long as there’s lots of cheese.” She didn’t look at him as she spoke but continued assessing the room. “You like blue and open windows.”
Chaz also had a wall of windows in the living room. His actually stretched up to the second floor. On the lower level there were no blinds, so the city was as much a part of this space as the furniture and the sleek fireplace on the wall behind him. Upstairs he did have remote blinds similar to hers but he rarely closed the blinds. Tonight he would make an exception.
“I’ll order two pizzas and fries. I like fries with my pizza.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “And yes, blue is my favorite color. What’s yours?”
Chaz scrolled through his saved numbers. There were only a few things in his cooking repertoire so he knew all the best places to order food.
“Wine. The color, not the drink.”
She sat on the couch and Chaz admired the soft pink of her blouse against the bold blue hue. He also loved the way the material of her skirt moved with her body, easing up her thigh as she sat back on the chair and crossed one leg over the other.
“That’s an interesting color.” For a very interesting woman.
When the food was ordered and Chaz had ditched the suit jacket and tie he’d worn to the party, he fixed them both a drink. They needed it. Especially since he knew he wasn’t going to escape without Riley asking why he’d invited her to that party. He didn’t have long to wait.
She took a tentative sip from her glass and then looked over at him. Chaz had taken a seat on the couch beside her, because there was no way he was sitting across the room from her. Pretenses between them were unnecessary.
“Are sex parties your thing?”
She lifted one elegantly arched brow with the question and he tried to decipher if she was just curious or whether she was judging him. Considering Riley’s past, he went with curiosity.
“They’re entertaining. And no, not because I like to have sex with multiple people or in front of people. Not that I think there’s anything wrong with either lifestyle. For me, it’s about atmosphere and sensory reactions.”
She shook her head and shrugged. “I don’t follow. You either go to sex parties for sex or you don’t.”
“Life’s not black-and-white, Riley. I know you believe in good and bad, right and wrong, but I’ve always lived in the gray area.”
Chaz leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. This wasn’t a conversation he’d ever had to indulge in before, but he wanted her to know. He wanted to see her reaction to the real Chadwick Warren.
“My uncle gets married and divorced every time the wind changes. Or so it seems. My parents had a committed and long-lasting relationship full of love and respect. I’m somewhere in between. I don’t do love, but I love sex. So I go to parties and surround myself with people who love