She shakes her head, chuckling. “I’m afraid I’m not, as ridiculous as it might sound.” She bites on her bottom lip, pushing down another laugh. “God, he was soflustered, you’ve no idea. It sounded like such a pain in the ass.”
Ok, so that explains why he didn’t pick up. Mystery solved. I shift my attention to the envelope. “So, what’s this? And why didn’t he just call?”
“Well, his last attempt to call you didn’t go so well…” I flush, suddenly embarrassed by my actions. Hindsight 20/20 and all. “As for this?” She tips her chin at the small object. “I don’t actually know. But it’s from Alistair. I think you should open it.”
Lily squeezes my arm gently and stands up, leaving me alone at the table with an envelope I’m not sure I want to know the contents of.
Oh, fuck it. Who am I kidding? I’m actually dying to open it even if it ends up being a gilded ‘fuck you, Josh’ on a fancy slip of paper.
Shaking my head at myself, I weave my way through the restaurant and sit on one of the picnic benches in the back garden. I need privacy for this, or I might just lose my shit. I’m also horrible at unwrapping, so I tear through the envelope from three different angles before I can get the letter out. It’s not gilded, but just a regular sheet of printer paper with a handwritten message.
The first line makes me snort.
Josh, I did consider fancy paper and ink, but I decided against it because it’s just a silly thing those conceited rich assholes that you hate would do. Which I’m not, obviously (if you couldn’t tell).
Ahem. I’ll keep this short:
Washington Park, West Entrance, 16:45. Come alone.
Alistair
I laugh out loud. What is this, a horror movie? Who sends such an ominous letter? It’s like he’s a stalker andI am the victim he wants to lure out to a secluded place. I chuckle again. Shit, this is exactly what he was going for, isn’t it? Fuck, he remembers! We binge-watched the entirety of the ‘Stalker in the Night’ series over a weekend, and a letter with a similar message is exactly how the story starts. What a dork.
I fold the letter and take out the second item from the envelope—it’s a car key with a Lamborghini logo.
No fucking way. No, no, no. This is…
I search the crowd for Lily and find her watching me from the bar. A huge grin slides across her face when I hold the key up. Shit, is that why she was late? She had to get the damn car here.
Like my ass is on fire, I dash out of the restaurant. The car is waiting in the parking lot to the side of the building, where a few high school kids have gathered to appreciate it. I observe them for a minute or so, giddy and proud, and then clear my throat to get their attention.
“Sorry to interrupt, but I need to take that baby for a ride.”
I feel like an idiot because I am an adult acting like a teenager who is showing off his new toy to the other kids.
“Yeah, sorry,” a blond boy mumbles as the group makes way for me so I can slide into the sexy interior of the sexy car that’s not even mine. “You have an awesome car.”
The engine purrs when I turn it on and I may or may not drift out of the graveled parking lot as I merge into the traffic. It’s not often one gets to enjoy this kind of experience, so why not make the most of it, right?
By the time I reach Washington Park and find a spot for Alistair’s car, it’s already past five-twenty, so I wonder if he is still waiting for me. I lost track of time and took one too many detours, but can you blame me?
I find my answer the moment I turn left on the path leading toward the western entrance. A seated figure in black jeans and a dress shirt hops off the stone wall parallel to the path and heads my way. I dangle the car keys in my fingers, shivering as familiar and soul-stealing sapphire eyes drink me in.
“I hope you didn’t crash it,” he teases, folding his arms as he tries really hard not to grin in that boyish way that has me weak in the knees. My heart beats a little faster when he fails, but I pretend I don’t notice it.
“Tell me one thing,” I say, coming to a stop in front of him. “Why did you do it?”
His smile falls but doesn’t disappear entirely. He knows what I’m talking about, of course, even without me needing to specify. The unfazed confidence which he greeted me with gives way to a hint of unsureness, reminding me of our first meeting in Devon Holidays’ HQ and how awkward that was.
This side of him is a complete opposite of how he is in the bedroom. Shit, why am I even thinking about that now? But it’s true—he’s a man of contrasts, but what he did for me, and for his employees, proves that he has integrity.
I find that incredibly sexy.
He is not like the other billionaires, because his heart is in the right place, even if it took some trial and error to get there.
Tucking his hands in his pockets, he inclines his head toward the park. “Let’s go for a walk?”
I suppose it doesn’t make a difference whether we are standing here or walking, so I nod. We fall into a lazy pace next to each other and I can feel his warmth and closeness even though no part of our bodies is touching.Still, just his proximity is enough to make me buzz, to want to delete those few inches separating us.
