Narcissist in the City - A humorous non-fiction novel about narcissism and toxic relationships, based on true events with practical solutions to free yourself from narcissistic abuse. E-Book

Lilly Fröhlich

• Herausgeber: tredition
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Seitenzahl: 343

Beschreibung

In a city where everything shines and glitters, the poison of narcissism lurks behind the facade. Four couples are the focus, but behind the seemingly perfect love lies a dark secret: one of them is a narcissist. Be it the open narcissist who wraps his victims around his finger with charm and manipulation, or the covert narcissist who wears his mask so perfectly that even the closest confidants don't recognize him - the stories of these couples leave no one untouched. The experienced coach Lucius, himself a friend of the victims, steps in. With his humorous yet profound manner, he accompanies the four friends on their journey to free themselves from the clutches of emotional abuse. In a playful way, he shows them - and the reader - how they can break through the toxic patterns and find themselves again. Narcissist in the City not only tells gripping stories, but also offers valuable solutions. Based on true experiences, this novel provides unique insights into the world of narcissism and shows that there is always a way to liberation - sometimes where you least expect it. Immerse yourself in a book that gets under your skin, makes you laugh and helps you see through the masks.

Leseprobe

»Sometimes the heart needs more time to accept something that the head already knows.«

(Unknown)

Lilly Fröhlich

Michaela Leipnitz

Imprint

1. edition

© 2024 Lilly Fröhlich und Michaela Leipnitz

Author photo: Dominik Pfau, Nicole Schwalbe

Cover design: Nicole Schwalbe

Translation: Nicole Schwalbe

Typesetting and layout: Nicole Schwalbe

Printing and distribution: tredition GmbH, Heinz-Beusen-Stieg 5, 22926 Ahrensburg, Germany

All rights reserved. Electronic or other reproduction, translation, distribution and public accessibility, even in part, only with written permission.

Softcover ISBN 978-3-384-35896-7

Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-384-35897-4

eBook ISBN: 978-3-384-35898-1

We produce perfectly imperfect books. If you discover an error, please don't be upset. Become an error discoverer and send me your suggestions to [email protected].

You can find further information at: https://www.lilly-froehlich.de/ narzisst-in-the-city and https://www.michaelaleipnitz.com/.

This non-fiction novel is based on facts and true experiences. The characters and plot are therefore not fictitious. All names and similarities of living people to the characters in the book have been changed to protect personal rights so that no one's personal rights are violated. Similarities to other living or dead people are purely coincidental.

Caution: Trigger warning: This book contains true stories from toxic relationships. People with post-traumatic stress disorder or other health problems may be triggered by the content, even if it is humorous and lighthearted. We assume no liability for any damage.

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Relationship Discount Promotion

Coffee Lengthrelationship

Horrible End of the Year

Wedding Surprise

Valley of the Clueless

Enemy at Home

Peter-Pan-Gender

Science of Cursing

Time for a Fairytale

Pistachios and Victim-Detector

About the Author Lilly Fröhlich

About the Author Michaela Leipnitz

Narcissist in the City - A humorous non-fiction novel about narcissism and toxic relationships, based on true events with practical solutions to free yourself from narcissistic abuse.

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Relationship Discount Promotion

About the Author Michaela Leipnitz

Narcissist in the City - A humorous non-fiction novel about narcissism and toxic relationships, based on true events with practical solutions to free yourself from narcissistic abuse.

Cover

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· Chapter 1 ·

»You know that I can no longer offer you a stable relationship. I have to learn to demand my needs.« Henry Golden sat on his sofa and looked down at Sarah.

Confused, Sarah Lengenfield blinked at Henry, who had been the only one to demand his needs for the past two years. Hers simply didn't count at all.

She had been his steady partner for almost four years, but since his father's death he had somehow changed, and when she had made her first television appearances as a lawyer, he had withdrawn more and more into himself, until he no longer cared about her at all.

He had begun to exclude her more and more often and exclude her even from his leisure activities. Suddenly, he had a figurative sense of ›shortness of breath‹ and needed more space.

Sarah felt like she had slipped into a spiral - a downward spiral.

She became quieter and less humorous, her energy dropped to minus one thousand percent - which was only possible in her world as a ›dyscalculist‹ or ›percentage dyslexics‹ - and by the end of the year, to her dismay, all her savings had been used up - which was definitely not her fault. It was not due to poor arithmetic skills, but rather to Henry's skillful money-sucking behavior.

Henry had lived entirely at her expense.

What had just happened?

The human brain always tried to sort through disorder and look for solutions. But no matter how hard she racked her brain, she couldn't find any programming that matched Henry's strange behavior.

In men over 40, does not only the beer belly grow in proportion to the hair loss - er, on the head - but also the midlife crisis.

Henry had been extremely sweet to her in the first few years, so different from her ex-husband, who boiled up like the ›Sweet Porridge‹ in which they had forgotten the sugar.

Henry had always approached her gently, but now he pushed her away like a stinking burdock, now everything suddenly became too tight for him.

When she asked him to finally contribute to the four-figure costs, he didn't speak to her for a whole week.

Her request had somehow stuck his vocal chords together.

He punished her with disrespect.

It had been a Christmas that had made her wonder if she wanted to live like this.

After all, she had asked him to move into his beloved replacement apartment and kept her distance.

But this distance didn't last long because she missed him so much that she finally asked him to talk.

And even though he hated talking about relationships, he had lovingly offered her that they could turn the committed relationship into ›Friendship Plus‹.

Friendship Plus!

She had wanted to marry him and not want to serve as an all-round carefree package for people who were incapable of relationships.

The lump in her throat had stifled the urge to vomit.

Sarah remembered how shocked she had been by his teenage offer, but the prospect of losing him forever took her breath away. She felt her life would end if she turned down this ›generous‹ offer.

So she had accepted the ›relationship discount‹.

It was just another label, she told herself.

»But only if neither of us has other sexual partners. Safe sex and all that,« Sarah had insisted.

»Really? OK. No other women hit on me anyway. I can't find anyone anyway.«

»You poor thing! Can't you find anyone?« She was trying to sound sarcastic, but the sentence almost stuck in Sarah's throat. They hadn't even been separated for two weeks and he had already started looking at other women? He already knew he couldn't find anything else - great.

Now Sarah had been lying on his sofa since yesterday with a fever and a serious case of food poisoning.

»We had such good years! What happened? Is this the dreaded midlife crisis? Are you suffering from burnout? Are you depressed?« Sarah tried to catch his eye, but Henry stared past her, leaving holes in the air.

He hated talking about relationships, feelings and problems.

And Sarah was a problem now.

She was clingy like a leech, but he needed his space. Time for all the other women he was making happy on the side. Without her knowing, of course.

He wasn't an idiot.

»You have to go home right away,« he said, looking at the clock. »I want to go to the party!«

Sarah pulled herself up with a groan.

She was dizzy, her fever was high and every 10 minutes the ceramics section in the bathroom was her best friend. How on earth was she supposed to drive home across town in that condition?

And there was no one home.

She had two date nights.

»Why didn't you ask me if I'd come to the party? It wasn't a problem for you all these years.«

Henry rolled his eyes.

A gesture that had become a habit. »Here we go again! You don't know anyone there anyway.«

»Are there any women there?«

»Maybe. I don't know.«

Sarah's heart clenched and an ugly pain ran through her stomach. A pain that had nothing to do with the food poisoning and that was creeping into her daily routine more and more often.

»I don't know if I'll even make it home…« Sarah hoped fervently that he would at least offer to drive her home. But Henry just showed the stony expression he always put on when something didn't suit him.

»I really have to go now. Can you please pull yourself together now?« He actually acted as if she was faking it!

Sarah got up from the sofa and staggered.

She hadn't been this humble for two decades. Back then she had been served half-raw turkey in a restaurant, and yesterday she had been at an Indian restaurant on business. Apparently some of the chefs were in a particularly hurry to finish work.

Just two hours later she had developed chills and diarrhea.

She went to the bathroom and tried to stand on her feet.

Five minutes later she was standing on the street and staggering to her car.

She didn't even have bananas or black tea at home.

So with the last of her strength she drove to the nearest supermarket, got a few little things and then dragged herself into her deserted apartment.

Great child-free weekend!

If she hadn't had the food poisoning, he wouldn't have taken her to the party either, even though they had agreed that they were no longer in a steady relationship, but that they were friends with benefits without other sexual partners and without going to parties alone.

But Henry didn't seem to care.

After four years of ›relationship prison‹, he celebrated like a teenager repeating his 18th birthday for the 22nd time.

Henry was just as uninterested in Sarah, because the entire following afternoon, evening and night he didn't even ask how she was.

He was partying.

At some point in the early hours of the morning she pulled out her cell phone.

Sarah- 6.10.2023, 2:15 AM

»It's nice that you don't even care if I'm lying here dying.«

Henry- 6.10.2023, 2:16 AM

»Sorry I didn't have my phone at hand.«

The message came quickly for that time of day.

He was clearly still enjoying himself.

Without her.

And without asking how she was.

He had been wearing a smartwatch for years and she knew that he always checked the incoming messages - at least when they had been together.

He never missed a message and usually read them on his watch.

So if he ›didn’t have his phone at hand‹, at least his watch would have helped.

Sarah was emotionally starving next to him and yet she couldn't manage to break away from him.

He became more and more impudent, had less and less time and when she asked him about it, he reacted passively-aggressively.

He would then either ignore her for days or complain that she was a ›time-hungry monster‹ who dared to ask him for time on weekends.

In short, he defended his needs to the death. »If it were up to you, I would have to spend every weekend with you,« he then reproached her.

She, a time-hungry monster?

Sarah rolled her eyes.

Was it really too much to ask that you see each other more than two days a month?

Ever since he moved back into his apartment, which he had never given up even though they had rented an expensive apartment together, he had only been conspicuous by his absence.

Sarah's 16-year-old daughter Emilia was pretty annoyed by the situation. »Mom, what do you want from that bum? He throws you a piece of sausage like a dog and then disappears again. When he notices that you want to look for food somewhere else, he throws you the next piece of sausage. He doesn't want anything from you. When will you finally get that?«

The comparison with the dog was pretty harsh, but at the same time absolutely accurate, except that she hadn't seen herself as a begging, dependent animal. But now that her daughter had put the situation into words like that, she had to admit that Henry was taking quite a lot of liberties.

»The first few years with him were sooo beautiful! I want her back, we were a dream team,« Sarah complained over and over again. »Even our friends said they had never seen such a harmonious love relationship.«

»The years aren't coming back, Mom. Stop hoping! He's an emotional loser.«

Her daughter was tough, but deep down Sarah knew she was right. Her mind knew Henry was treating her badly, but her emotions spoke a different language.

Henry now treated her like a servant, or worse: like a slave, and even withheld sex from her when she rebelled.

All these years she had paid thousands of dollars for him, for the apartment, for the holidays, for the streaming services, restaurant visits, electricity, internet and other incidental costs.

When she had spoken to him a few weeks ago about the fact that he should also contribute with his huge salary, he had gotten really angry.

He had stared angrily at his cell phone for hours and no longer responded to her. He had hated that she suddenly no longer wanted to pay for everything on her own and he had punished her coldly by withdrawing his love.

She voluntarily paid for almost everything on her own and in return he rejected her more and more every day, stopped having sex when he felt like it and didn't even kiss her properly anymore.

She hadn't seen that from him at all - well, she had never rebelled before either.

The first three years with Henry had been a dream!

The best relationship she had ever had.

And Henry had never been angry before.

No lie, never!

Yes, admittedly, the sex was weird.

Different.

Somehow monotonous.

At first he couldn't even man up, he blamed it on his nasty ex-wife, who was said to have beaten him.

Or if he could man up, it would break off in the middle.

Foreplay was a foreign concept to him.

Cuddles?

Not his thing.

Sarah had been so desperate that she did some research and then sent him to all the doctors to rule out the possibility that he was suffering from diabetes or a cardiovascular disease.

But the results were all negative.

He never seduced her either.

No lie, never!

Sex was always her initiator.

He blamed that on his ›terrible‹ ex-wife, too.

He didn't bother to try out new playful things from time to time.

He had left the guidebook on ›The hottest lover‹ that she had left lying on the dressing table gathering dust.

It was beneath him to read something like that.

Sarah smiled as she thought about the time when they first met.

His calm and humorous nature was one of the reasons why she loved him so much.

He was completely different from her ex-husband, who was constantly losing his temper like a ticking time bomb.

With him, you never knew when he was standing behind you and screaming like a madman.

How often had her heart almost stopped?

How often had he grabbed the children in his uncontrolled rage until she, Sarah, jumped in because she couldn't stand to watch it anymore.

Well, and admittedly, because she didn't want to commit a crime by violating bodily harm.

She knew that as a lawyer: if one parent watched the other hit the child, he was also guilty.

And Henry had been so soft, so helpful, so completely different from her ex-husband.

He had been so protective.

From the very beginning.

God, she was so happy when she thought about how humorous he had been at the beginning of their relationship - er, friends with benefits.

Sarah swallowed.

Yes, their relationship had started with ›friends with benefits‹ and now it ended that way, too.

Somehow she hadn't imagined her life like that.

At the beginning she had received magical, funny messages from Henry via messenger.

Every day.

Oh, what was she saying, every hour, every minute, sometimes even every second.

They had exchanged tens of thousands of messages in the first few years, even when they had moved into a shared apartment. As soon as he left the house to work, the first loving message arrived.

And now?

Now he didn't even care if she died of food poisoning, as long as he had fun at the party.

He was probably making out with someone else, it crossed her mind and caused the next stomach rumble.

Speaking of kissing, she had caught him kissing with his eyes open like a frozen rabbit. His lips were now so thin that no blood could flow through them.

Why had she never stumbled upon the fact that he kept his eyes open while kissing, completely uninvolved?

That wasn't normal, was it?

He had recently taken the kiss to the next level: he clenched his teeth as if it was disgusting to respond to her games with his tongue.

After two weeks of wearing a dentist's smile, she had stopped in the middle of trying to kiss him and looked at him. »Henry, what's wrong? Do I stink?«

»No, nonsense!«

»Then why don't you kiss me properly anymore? I'm not a prostitute who wants to have sex without kissing. You grit your teeth every time I try to exchange a French kiss.«

Henry had rolled his eyes.

Sarah hugged him again and tried to slide her tongue into his mouth again, but from now on his teeth were no longer just stuck together, but also showed a comic-book-worthy villain grin.

Sarah backed away in shock.

For the first time he looked like a demon.

And he obviously found it amusing to tease her like that.

»Are you making fun of me?«

»Nonsense!«

»Then why don't you kiss me properly? What's wrong?«

»Nothing. My head is just full.«

Sarah stood on her tiptoes again and felt her way forward with her tongue, but Henry played the same game: he gritted his teeth and finally laughed out loud. He pushed her away with a slap on the bottom. »That’s enough now!«

That was the end of the matter for him - and the kiss too, by the way.

Sarah wiped away the tear that had wandered away from the starting block of the race track after a sleepless night.

It was Sunday morning and her fridge was empty.

Her body was too; she had been running to the toilet all night.

Her money was used up, her energy, too.

For months she had been trying to win Henry back - to get him to agree to a steady relationship - and had even cut back on her job so much that she had used up all her savings.

But she had a tough time of it with him, literally.

He seemed to be so deep in his midlife crisis that he kept putting her off. »Maybe we'll be in a relationship again soon. Be patient! I'm not ready yet. My head is full.«

Yes, with other women, as she soon found out.

»Patience? How long?«

Until she was old and gray? She wasted her best years on this man who didn't give a damn about how she was doing with the food poisoning.

Sarah- 6.11.2023, 4:15 AM

»Your silence screams at me!«

The hours passed and it was not until midday that a message arrived.

Henry, 6.11.2023, 12:00 AM

»I'm riding my motorcycle today, so I'm unreachable.«

That was all?

No emoji, no kind words, no questions about how she was?

Sarah lay back on the sofa sadly.

In the afternoon Sarah received a visit from her mother.

Crying like a baby, Sarah lay on the sofa and lamented her suffering.

Anger flashed in her mother's eyes, like those villains in the comic book adaptations.

Sarah's tears caught in her throat in shock.

»I really can't hear it anymore, Sarah! Henry is an idiot! When will you finally realize that yourself? It's your own fault that he treats you like that. Your behavior only fuels his provocations. What does Henry want with a whiner like you?«

Sarah looked at her mother in disbelief.

She had expected comfort, but not the stinging poison of a black cobra.

»Don’t you think Henry is behaving strangely?«

»Yes, but you have a free choice! You're not chained up. You can leave him at any time.«

Could she do that?

For Sarah, the thought felt like dying.

It was as if she had to decide to end her life if she left him.

No, she couldn't leave Henry!

He was the most beautiful, intelligent and humorous man she had ever had by her side.

He was her dream man.

There was no one better than him.

Couldn't her mother see that?

»Work on yourself at last, then you won't need guys like Henry anymore,« her mother growled and said goodbye.

»Are you leaving again?«

»Of course. It's Sunday. The sun is shining. Do you think I want to let your whining ruin my day?«

Sarah lay speechless on the sofa.

Had her mother always been so strange or had she put blinders on at some point as a child?

Life only came back into the house when her 9-year-old son came back from his daddy's weekend.

But she didn't have the strength for him.

Henry didn't get in touch for the next few days either.

And when she wrote to him on Wednesday, she got an astonished »What, you're still sick? Oh, you've really had it.«

No »Do you need something? Can I help you?«

Days later, a message came in, as if nothing had happened.

Ella Cleveman's heart was pounding.

Since she met Scarlett Pelliz on TikTok, nothing was the same.

Before that, she had only ever fallen for scammers.

Elon Musk even wrote to her on Instagram and explained how she could invest money with him.

Hellooo?!

If the billionaire took the time to personally convince her to turn her money into a fortune, it was only natural that she would spend a few dollars.

Of course she had invested, but strangely enough, the promised profit had not materialized. On the contrary, she somehow had the feeling that she had fallen for another scammer and, astonishingly, small amounts were now being debited from her account.

She had also clicked on an ad on Facebook that said ›Find your dream partner‹. She had a horoscope drawn up for her and since then, the company, which was based somewhere in Timbuktu, had debited $60 from her PayPal account every month and she had no access to it.

But now she had finally found her true love.

Now she was dating a real person.

No fake account, because Scarlett had even spoken to her on the phone.

Ella had ignored the warnings of her friend Emily Waterston.

Emily was probably just jealous because she had finally found happiness in love - even if only online for now.

»The scammers call you. They even make video calls with you, but they are never in front of the camera in real life, they play videos. You're falling for this scam for the hundredth time, Ella,« Emily had warned.

But Ella knew better.

Her gut feeling told her that she was right this time.

One hundred percent, she had hit the jackpot!

Scarlett had a magical attraction to Ella even online. They had exchanged numbers a year and a half ago, and every video call was like the first: always exciting.

When the call started, her heart did somersaults.

»Hi, babe!« Scarlett immediately took over and showered Ella with compliments. »God, how I missed your beauty! I love your charisma. I've never seen a woman as beautiful as you!«

Ella blushed and couldn't find the words to respond. She wasn't used to people saying such nice things to her.

»I’m so glad we met on TikTok,« Scarlett continued gushing.

Ella didn't even have the chance to answer because Scarlett continued to chatter in a good mood. She said that she had finally bought a new MacBook, the latest model with the most memory, which currently costs $2,500. »But the money doesn't matter, because after all, I'm a recognized and well-known aquarist and breeder.«

»Do you catch fish with a laptop? There are cheaper options. I'm more of a penny pincher and less materialistic.«

»Babe, to each his own!« Scarlett smiled and blew her a kiss.

Ella felt a slight anger rising in her, but Scarlett, who noticed her change in mood, waved her off. »Let's change the subject. You don't need to worry. I earn a lot of money with my fish.«

»Okay, then save your money for useful things.«

»For me, a laptop makes sense. And now let's stop discussing it.«

»Okay, tell me when we can meet! I'm dying to finally see you in person. I want to look into your eyes and enjoy being close to you. I want to touch you, feel your aura and your energy.«

»Babe, that's what I want, too! You know how much I love you! You are my greatest treasure!«

Ella smiled. »I love you, too!«

Scarlett picked up her phone and read a message. »Sorry babe, I just got a message. My grandma is dying. I have to go to her.«

»Now?«

»Yes, of course. Right now. Who knows if I'll be able to say goodbye any other time!«

»And if I go with you?« Ella suggested.

Scarlett blew her a kiss. »Oh, my love, you're so sweet! Unfortunately, that's not possible. My grandma has an aversion to my partners. She's never been able to accept that I'm a lesbian.«

»I could go with you and wait outside. Then I could be there for you?« »No, babe, that really isn't possible. I'm so traumatized by my last toxic relationship that I have anxiety attacks. If she finds out you're waiting outside, she'll fall off the bed dead and I'll have a panic attack. Do you want that? Do you want me to be miserable?«

»No, of course not.« Ella paused.

If her Grandma was dying, the point of dying was to die. What was the point of showing any kind of life-prolonging consideration?

»Babe, it really isn't right. My Grandma saw how I had to endure assaults and deprivation of liberty. I was locked up back then and wasn't allowed out. It was really bad. Be patient.«

»Okay.«

Emily Waterston went through her chat history again.

For two years she had, uh, what?

A relationship? A friends with benefits relationship? An affair?

Ryan Miller was the best-looking guy in the gym and he had not only ended up in her bed, but more importantly in her heart.

But strangely, he was appearing less and less often on her daily planner and instead of an explanation she often found only a bunch of declarations of love accompanied by a bunch of love emojis.

Unfortunately, he was separated from his wife but still lived with her.

But hadn't Ryan said he wanted to move out of his marital home?

Or had she misunderstood him?

He had wanted to get in touch when he was staying with friends.

She had to scroll for a very long time because the pile of declarations of love and emojis had grown like Mount Everest.

Where was the place where he had said he wanted to move out of home?

There!

She had found the messages.

Emily remembers the video call with Ryan.

He kept coughing and complaining about how dusty Cynthia and Sam's attic was.

When she asked him why it had taken so long for him to be able to stay there, he hadn't answered the question at all.

He had simply ignored her.

Emily swallowed.

She still felt that hot burning in her chest as she remembered begging him for time.

But Ryan had had a thousand excuses as to why he couldn't meet her. Emily had suggested that she visit him in the attic so he could settle in a little better.

Temporarily.

But he had politely declined.

Refused!

Emily paused as she read.

All the emojis had disappeared.

Emily stopped.

His answers were now monosyllabic.

And without any emojis.

He knew she loved emojis!

What had she done to make him suddenly be so weird?

What had she done wrong?

Had she hurt him with some comment?

Cornered him?

He had said he loved her more than anything!

Why was he suddenly so cold?

Had he gone back to his wife?

Emily remembered how she had dialed his number.

He had already picked up after the second ring. »Babe, I told you I couldn't talk!«

»Why not? Where are you?"

»With Cynthia and Sam.«

»Then why are you answering the phone?«

»Because you called.«

»When can we talk?«

»I don't know. Now, don't put so much pressure on me, OK!«

»I’m not putting any pressure on you! You told me you love me.

You've been stringing me along for months.«

»I can't now.« With that, Ryan hung up.

Emily closed her eyes.

He hadn't driven to Cynthia and Sam's that day.

Supposedly, Cynthia's cousin had been visiting and had used the attic. Which was why he hadn't been able to sleep there.

According to him, he had been forced to sleep in his marital home again.

Emily wondered what kind of pressure that had been.

If he really loved her as much as his fingers could type declarations of love, why hadn't he packed his bags and moved in with her long ago? Supposedly, the attic was so dusty that he had started having problems with his asthma.

Emily didn't understand the world anymore.

Why was Ryan suddenly acting so strange?

Everything had been fine for months.

And he had promised her all the time that he would leave his wife.

Physically.

Because mentally and verbally the separation was already over, wasn't it?

»I still can't believe that we're already meeting after only two days of meeting on the dating app,« Mia Stone gushed, throwing back her long red hair.

She batted her long eyelashes provocatively and smiled so that Josh McAllister was taken aback.

Dr. McAllister, to be precise, because Josh was one of the best gynecologists in New York City. His practice was constantly overcrowded and he had now had to hire a staff of doctors so that he could meet the demand.

10 doctors and 20 nurses kept his practice running.

And now, he was finally going to find happiness in love.

Up until now, he had only ever had bad luck.

Women who wanted his money, wanted to get a taste of his fame and get a piece of it.

But now, he seemed to have hit the jackpot with Mia.

She was absolutely enchanting.

And not at all interested in his wallet.

»Is the hair color real?« Josh asked admiringly.

Mia winked at him and stroked his hand. »Baby, yes! Everything about me is real. Tell me, what values are important to you in a relationship? Tell me about yourself!«

Josh was instantly on cloud nine.

Finally, there was a beautiful, intelligent woman who wanted to know what made HE tick. Not all those dolls who always talked about themselves.

Mia was really interested in him.

»Honesty and loyalty are important to me. I want to have a relationship on equal terms. Without these two values, that's impossible.«

Mia blew him a kiss. »Babe, you really are the greatest man I've ever met. God, I want to marry you and have children with you! Finally,« she stretched her hands theatrically towards the restaurant ceiling, »Finally, a man to whom honesty and loyalty are just as important as they are to me. God, I'm glad I get to experience this!«

Josh laughed.

His gaze rested admiringly on her sparkling white teeth, which seemed almost brighter than her green eyes.

He was a real lucky guy!

»I’m glad you see it the same way.«

Mia raised her hands again, so that the other guests were already looking over at them curiously.

»I certainly see it that way! What is a relationship worth if it is not built on honesty and loyalty? Those are the cornerstones of real love on equal terms.«

»You speak from my heart,« Josh replied and grinned.

»Tell me more about yourself! What would a relationship like that look like for you? What language of love do you speak?« Mia asked.

Josh's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

A woman who knew the ›languages of love‹?

Wow!

He was more than a lucky guy!

»Where have you been all these years?« His chest swelled.

He was so happy that his lungs couldn't breathe in enough of her aura.

»Far too far away from you, darling! But we'll change that. I want to be with you. For good. In a serious, long and happy relationship with lots of intimacy. But first you have to tell me your love language. I have to see if we really fit together. Or how I can make you happy. If my husband is happy, I am too.«

»Time.«

Mia took his hands. »Really? That can't be a coincidence! Me, too! I speak this love language, too! There is nothing more important than spending time together.«

Josh squeezed her hands. »And what is your second language?« »Affection. And then gifts. I love making others happy. And you?« »I feel the same!«

The waitress came. »Hi, I'm Andrea. What can I get you?«

Josh looked at Mia. »Have you chosen yet?«

Mia hesitated.

Josh leaned forward. »Sweetie, please order what you want. I want to invite you!«

And Mia ordered.

»To celebrate the day, please have a bottle of champagne. The caviar for starters and then the Steak Café de Paris with Pommes Alumettes.« Smiling, she closed the menu.

Josh turned to the waitress. »I’ll have a salad first and the steak too, please.«

Mia leaned forward. »It’s so nice that you took the time for me. Really! A real gift.«

Josh smiled. »Ditto! And it's nice that you can eat so well and aren't one of those ladies who eats a lettuce leaf a day.«

Mia threw her head back and played with her neck. »Oh, sometimes there are days when I just can't eat anything. Especially, when I feel lonely. I just can't eat anything then.«

»Then, it's a good sign that you can eat so well in my presence,« Josh said happily.

»You can bet on that.« Mia winked at him.

She propped her face up and looked deep into his eyes. »I wonder how you can kiss…«

Josh laughed. »Maybe you'll find out soon?«

»Well, hopefully very soon! I can hardly wait!«

»Are you in such a hurry? Maybe we still have a lifetime left.«

»Then we shouldn't waste a second…« Mia boldly threw her hair over her shoulder and walked around the table.

Surprised, Josh slid his chair back.

Mia sat down unashamedly on his lap and looked so deeply into his eyes that he felt dizzy.

Then, she leaned forward and placed her full, kissable lips on his. She plunged so deeply into the kiss that he couldn't even get up, she excited him so much. Finally, she let go of him, smoothed her long evening dress and went back to her seat, while Josh moved closer to the table, his face bright red.

»Wow!« He glowered at his companion.

Mia opened her eyes and lowered them. »Yes, wow! You're a damn good kisser. Oh, what am I saying! You're the best kisser in the world!«

»Now you're exaggerating,« Josh said. »I’m not that good.«

»Oh, really? How often do you kiss yourself?« Mia looked at him innocently with wide eyes.

Josh smiled. »Never!«

»See! So I say you're the best kisser in the world. No argument.«

Josh pretended to seal his lips with a key.

Mia nodded, satisfied. »That’s good!«

The waitress brought the champagne.

Mia raised her glass. »Babe, to the beginning of the most beautiful relationship the universe has ever seen.«

Josh also raised his glass. »To the most beautiful and interesting woman ever!«

It was the best evening, Josh had ever spent with a woman, and when they left the restaurant, he was not only $600 poorer, but richer for the love of his life.

Mia snuggled up to him. »How about we have another coffee at your place? Not that you think I'm easy. But I just don't want to leave you yet. It's so incredibly nice to be in your company that I don't even know how I'm going to survive the next few days at the office.« »Luckily, today is Friday. You're working tomorrow and Sunday?« »Actually, yes. But I'm going to take the days off. Then we can spend the whole weekend together.« She stopped. »Well, if that doesn't make you uncomfortable.«

Josh shook his head. »How can I be uncomfortable spending a whole weekend with the most amazing woman in the world? Come on, let's go to my place!«

They took a taxi and drove to Josh's house on the Upper East Side. He had lived for years in an old townhouse on West 57th Street by Central Park.

»You live here?« Mia was amazed.

Josh nodded proudly, but hesitated, because now, it would become clear whether she had only chosen him because of his money.

Mia snuggled up to him. »I’m really speechless. You must be a very successful man.«

»I’m just a modest gynecologist,« Josh said.

Mia laughed. »Sure! And my grandma is the wolf from Little Red Riding Hood. Now let your light shine! You are a stunningly attractive man and I bet you are a great doctor! Be proud of it. I am!« »Really? You're proud of me?«

»Yes. Especially because I think you will have good coffee.« She laughed and ran up the stairs to the entrance.

Josh followed her. »Of course, I have great coffee.«

»Well, then let me in to the living room. I'm so happy that you still want to spend time with me even though I don't earn even half as much money as you. I mean, how am I supposed to hold a candle to you?«

»Do you have to? There’s no need for a candle, I have electric light,«

Josh sneered.

Mia laughed loudly and threw her hair over her shoulder.

In a flash, Josh leaned forward and kissed her tender neck.

Mia immediately pulled him to her and received the longest kiss of his history.

Completely out of breath, Josh finally opened the door.

They stumbled into the house and didn't even make it to the bedroom.

Josh was on cloud nine.

They didn't leave the house all weekend - and certainly did not manage to get out of bed - and Josh couldn't have been happier.