Page 58

He looked at me and gave me that megawatt smile that made my knees feel weak. The box office attendant slid the tickets through the small opening in the window and told him to enjoy the show. I wondered if she made the conscious decision to leave me out of that sentiment. I laughed softly as Daniel led me to the entrance of the theater.
“Shit,” I heard him whisper suddenly.
I looked up and gave him a questioning look, but then I saw them. A few men with cameras slung around their necks peering over at us from the side alley of the theater. Paparazzi. I suddenly felt on edge, and I could tell Daniel did, too. He led me into the line of people waiting to enter the theater, concealing us behind the other theatergoers.
“How did they find you?” I asked, looking over my shoulder and back at him.
He shrugged. “They always do. Maybe someone tipped them off after our dinner at Le CouCou. It wouldn’t be the first time.”
“That’s insane,” I said.
“I’m sorry,” he said softly.
“It’s not your fault.”
To me, being followed around by cameramen all day felt like such an intrusion of privacy. I didn’t understand how it could be okay to take photos of people without their permission and sell them on the internet. I felt sorry for Daniel, even though I had been sucked in by the tabloids and gossip pages with his photos.
There were hundreds, and most of them were with women. All different ones, except for that awful woman, Kiera. I tried to shake her image from my head. Her honey blonde hair and wispy limbs that fit into any outfit seamlessly. Hell, she would look good in a potato sack. I suddenly felt very insignificant as I played a mental slideshow of Daniel and his various conquests.
“If we are among the crowd, it’s harder for them to sell photos,” said Daniel, ducking down. His six-foot frame was hard to miss. It made me laugh to see him try to make himself small when he was one of the tallest and sought-after men in this crowd. I laughed softly.
“What?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“You couldn’t fit in if you tried,” I said.
“Neither could you,” he quipped.
“Yeah, right.”
“I mean it. You don’t see it. But even if you didn’t have that red dress on that’s made every man in Manhattan get whiplash tonight, you’d still have everyone’s attention.”
I swallowed hard as I felt heat creep up toward my cheeks. No one had ever given me a compliment like that. His words had swallowed me whole and I didn’t want to come up for air. I could just happily replay what he said in my head for the rest of time.
The line started moving forward and soon we were in the safety of the theater. I had seen a couple of flashes go off, but I doubted they got anything good. Daniel seemed relieved as we made our way through the lobby and to our seats.
We walked down the aisle until we stopped just before the pit of the orchestra.
“Here we are,” said Daniel, pulling me gently behind him as he found our seats at the center of the stage.
“Theseare our seats?” I asked, looking wide-eyed.
“Do you like them?”
I leaned over the railing and looked at the orchestra below as they were busy turning their composition pages and preparing their instruments. I turned to Daniel and shook my head in awe.
“Daniel, this is incredible.”
A look of pride overtook his perfect face. I could tell he was enjoying this. Wining and dining me. It made it all the more special.
“I’m glad you think so,” he said.
We both sat down in the plush chairs, and I took everything in. The velvet curtains that hung over the stage matched the deep red of our seats, and gold, braided tassels hung on either side. The ceiling of the theater was covered in stained-glass octagonal panels and the largest chandeliers I had ever seen. I didn’t think I had ever been anywhere so beautiful.
After I was done admiring the theater, I turned toward Daniel and noticed his eyes were already on me.
“Thank you for bringing me,” I said.
“You already thanked me,” he replied with a smile.