Maybe that someone couldn’t be me, but it could be him. Colin could walk in there without starting a small war. Nobody needed to know I had anything to do with it.
Me: Thanks, man. You have all the info you need, right?
Colin: Yep. I saved all the links you sent and I’ve got the location pins. If I get lost, tell Search and Rescue that I insist they find me. I refuse to die alone in a giant sandpit.
Me: Jeez, drama much?
As I hit send, I looked up to see a beautiful woman moving toward me. I didn’t know who I was supposed to be looking for, but Alex had said she was blonde, so it might well be the girl the hostess was leading toward my table.
Strangely, the expression on her face matched the one I was pretty sure I was wearing right now myself. She was gorgeous. Truly. With big eyes, pale hair that shone gold in the candlelight, and delicate features.
Features that were absolutely, without a doubt saying,Please let this be over quick.
I almost smiled when I realized my first impression of her had been right. That look definitely matched the one I’d had on my face when I’d glanced in the mirror on my way out of my room. I stood when the hostess motioned her toward me.
“Theo?” she asked as she came closer, extending a hand toward me when I nodded. “Hi, I’m Belle.”
I offered her a polite smile. “It’s nice to meet you.”
She looked at me as if she wasn’t convinced. She sat down and immediately reached for the water that had been waiting for her on the table. Somehow, things between us were awkward from the second I sat down too, neither of us saying a word for a few very long moments.
A waiter appeared and we each ordered a drink, but as soon as he left us alone again, we lapsed back into our awkward silence. After another moment of both of us staring at our menus as if they held the keys to a happy life, I finally couldn’t take it anymore.
“Okay,” I said, leaning back in my chair and waiting until she looked up at me. “I feel like we should probably just address the elephant at the table. What exactly am I saving you from? Is your family’s reputation on the line? Do you need to get married to get your inheritance or something like that? What is it?”
She laughed, the sound not altogether unpleasant, but it wasn’t Raquel’s rich, easy laughter either. At least the ice seemed to be broken now. The girl—I’d already forgotten her name all over again—reached for her wine and took a slow sip, some of the tension easing out of her brow.
“It’s none of the above, actually,” she said.
“A different kind of family crisis, then? Okay, I can work with that. Is it a long-lost cousin attempting a coup? Your board of directors refusing to sign off on you taking over unless you get married?”
“Oooh, you’re good, but nope.” She smiled, her head shaking softly from one side to the other. “It’s neither of those either.”
I groaned. “Fine, I give up. Hit me. Why did you agree to meet me tonight?”
She glanced around the restaurant before leaning forward and saying the last thing I’d expected to hear tonight. “I’m in love with someone my family doesn’t approve of. I agreed to this in the hopes that it’ll get my dad off my back for long enough that I can finish planning my escape.”
For the briefest moment, I thought she was joking. I even wondered if Alex had somehow arranged this so that I would admit that I was in love with someone else too, but nope.
All it took to know that she was deadly serious was one proper look into her eyes. She was staring back at me intently, not trying to hide or avert her gaze, and all I saw was blatant honesty. I was a little impressed, actually.
Terrified for her but impressed.
“You’re not kidding, are you?”
“Not even a little bit.” A confident smile appeared on her lips. “If you tell anyone before I’m ready for them to know, just remember that I have some of the best hackers in the world on speed dial. They could make life real interesting for you.”
I let out a low whistle between my teeth. “An escape plan and a threat in the first five minutes of our date? I like you. It’s a pity we won’t be getting married, but alas, my heart isn’t up for grabs right now either.”
She chuckled. “That’s good to know. I kind of thought as much. It’s not every guy who looks bored when I sit down across from him.”
“Wow, and she’s modest too.”
“You know what I mean,” she said, still smiling as she shook her head. “It’s just that I’ve never arrived for a date with someone who looked like he’d rather spend his time getting open heart surgery or having a root canal.”
I picked up my whiskey and tipped the glass toward her. “Likewise. Cheers.”
She took a sip of her wine, set the glass down slowly, and folded her hands on the table. “Do you want to tell me about her? If you’re here instead of with her, I’m going to assume I’m not the only one who fell for someone I’m not even supposed to have met.”
