Honestly, I am surprised. I’ve never been hung up on beauty despite others telling me how beautiful I am. I’m just an ordinary girl who loves to dance and who receives compliments about my dance skills and beauty. Yet it has a different feel when he says it.
“Thank you for the compliments, but I want to know why you want to marry me, Florian. It has to go beyond beauty and talent for me. Marriage is a big step, especially getting married to someone you don’t know. Both my sisters are beautiful, too, and you explicitly told my father no when he offered them to you.”
I’m not gonna comment on their talents since it won’t paint either one of them in a good light.
He groans and licks his lips. “Say it again.”
My eyebrows furrow in puzzlement. “Say what again?”
A smile spreads across his handsome face. “My name.”
“Florian,” I say without hesitation and with a little confusion. “You want me to say your name?”
Leaning back in his chair, he runs his thumb along his bottom lip. “You don’t know how long I’ve waited to hear my name come from your lips since that first time I met you. It’s not quite the way I’ve imagined it, but it will definitely do for right now.”
A wave of heat slowly rises up my neck. My entire body warms from embarrassment.
I’m relieved when the waitress brings in our food. She puts it down in front of us and then leaves the room. We both focus on our food, and all thoughts of me saying his name disappear. Even though I haven’t received an answer to my question, the silence between us remains tension-free.
With each bite of the grilled salmon, the tender flesh melts in my mouth, releasing a burst of savory flavors.
I groan.
“Is it good?” he asks, a mischievous smirk playing on his lips.
“Umm…very.”
When our eyes meet, the intensity in his gaze sends another surge of heat coursing through my entire being. I lick my lips, and I notice his gaze briefly shifts to my mouth before meeting my eyes again.
“I’ve been wanting to come here since the place opened, but it’s hard to get a reservation. And what about yours?” I point my fork at his steak.
“Laila’s never disappoints.” He cuts a piece of steak and points his fork at me. “You want to try it?”
“You want me to try your steak?”
Trying someone else’s food is a little intimate, in my opinion.
He nods, and a small smile tugs at the corners of his lips. Despite not knowing each other, I lean in and take a bite from his fork, savoring the taste of the tender meat as its juices and flavor coat my tongue.
As I swallow the steak and take a sip of wine, he looks at me with satisfaction.
“Good?”
“Yes. Oh my god. It’s so delicious.”
He takes a sip of the rich, velvety wine and carefully places the glass back on the table.
“I purposely stayed away from you after meeting you that first time. On occasion, I’ve been weak and visited you.”
My mouth drops open in surprise. “What do you mean ‘visited’ me?”
Memories flood back to me, specifically of the stranger who Ms. O’Donnell was adamant about seeing coming in and out of my apartment, leaving me with a sense of curiosity and concern.
“If you knew how obsessed I am with you, Arabelle,” he says, ignoring my question, “it would scare the shit out of you.”
The red roses.
“The rose in my bedroom? All the roses in my hotel rooms? They were all from you?”
