“Right. In that case,” she replies lightly. “I’ll head back to the office. Good luck with the… tour.”
With a playful but knowing roll of her eyes, she turns and vanishes into the midday crowd, leaving us alone in the sudden, ringing silence.
I walk over and open the car door for Della, holding it as I say, “Miss Toma, please.”
She pauses—just for a breath—then steps past me, head high, every move precise.
“Thank you, Mr. Marshall.”
And I see it—the flicker in her eyes as our shoulders brush. The way her breath catches, even if she tries to hide it.
I close the door after her, walking around to the driver’s side.
As I start the engine and pull away, I sense her watching me from the corner of her eye—tense, guarded, ready for a fight.
But what she doesn’t know is that today isn’t about fighting.
No questions. No demands.
Today is hers. Ours.
And for the first time in a long time, I know exactly what I’m doing.
* * *
Della
The moment the car door closes, it hits me—this is the meeting he asked for and I agreed to. I admit, I didn’t think it would happen this fast. I’m not sure I can handle it. I’m not sure I can handle him.
Soft music hums from the speakers—calm, steady, polite. It fills the silence between us, but it doesn’t touch the storm inside me.
The leather seat is smooth beneath me, the interior pristine. Every detail precise, expensive, familiar.
It smells faintly of leather... and him.
That clean, warm scent I’ve spent years trying to forget.
Of coursehe has to invade all my senses.
Outside, the streets blur. The city slowly disappears behind us, swallowed by long highways and open sky.
I start to wonder where he’s taking me, but I refuse to give him the satisfaction of asking.
I can feel him watching me from the corner of his eye. Calm. Unreadable.
Then his voice cuts through the soft hum of the car. Light. Almost teasing.
“You can relax,” he says. “I’m not dragging you to a boardroom.”
“Never thought you would,” I shoot back, sharper than I meant to.
He smiles—just a little. “Would you like to know where we’re heading?”
“No,” I answer. Too fast.
“Good,” he says easily. “Because it’s a surprise.”
Then, like he can feel my stare, he adds, “Somewhere quiet. A place where no one can interrupt us.”
