Page 28 of Death

“Uh,” I murmur.

Ari leans closer. “He wants your jacket,” he whispers.

“Oh!” I slip it off my shoulders and hold it out to him.

He takes it with a smile and disappears just as quickly as he arrived.

Ari pulls out a chair and hints for me to take a seat. I lower into it, feeling more awkward than I ever have in all my life as he slides it into place beneath me and rounds the table to sit across from me.

A server appears beside us with two wineglasses and a bottle. He quickly sets them down and fills them with dark red liquid before I can mention I’m not of legal drinking age. Then again, this is Europe. I think.

Ari rattles off another few lines of French and the server smiles, giving a quick nod before he rushes off again.

“I hope you don’t mind me ordering on your behalf,” Ari says as he reaches for his glass.

I shake my head. “I don’t,” I say. “I didn’t take French, so…”

“I know.”

I sigh. “Of course, you do.”

I raise my glass and bring it to my nose to take a whiff. I’ve never tasted wine before but I guess an impromptu trip to Paris is as good a time as any.

I take a sip, jolting slightly from the strength of it. As I set my glass down again, I notice Ari staring at me with that now-annoying amusement plastered over his pretty face.

“What?” I ask.

“You really do look beautiful tonight,” he says.

I look down, trying to hide the blood invading my cheeks on its own. “I’m sure you say that to all the mortals,” I say.

He chuckles. “She cracks a joke.”

I sneer as I close my mouth.

Ari scans the restaurant with a blissful expression. “Nice place, right?” he asks.

I scoff. “Is this supposed to impress me?” I ask.

Ari bounces his shoulders once. “Doesn’t it?”

“Not exactly. Honestly, it seems like you’re just gloating.”

He fingers the stem on his glass. “No,” he says. “I didn’t bring you here to impress you, Tannis. I brought you here to show you.”

“Show me what?”

“The life I can offer you.” He looks around the room. “Tonight, it’s Paris. Tomorrow, Vienna? Rome? Tokyo? Wherever you’d like. Every single night. Forever.”

“Okay, so you’re not gloating. You’re bribing.”

He exhales. “Tannis...”

“You pretend to know me so well but you obviously don’t. If you did, you’d know that I’m not this shallow,” I say.

“I wouldn’t dream of saying you are. In fact, I think quite highly of you.”

“Then why pull the fancy billionaire routine if you think so highly of me?” I ask.