Shit, was I about to drool?
I straightened up, hoping he didn’t notice me staring. He was a different version of the man I’d spent years daydreaming about. And I was dying to learn about this version.
The real Chris Jones.
The elevator dinged, pushing me back to reality. The doors opened, revealing a restaurant that looked straight out of a movie. The lighting was dim and warm, and the tables were spaced generously under elegant chandeliers.
Without a word, he took my hand and let me out into the room. I glanced around, trying to take it all in. It was beautiful, sure, but its radiance made me want to shrink. I suddenly wanted to turn around and ask if we could grab a pizza and eat in the car instead.
This level of luxury? Not exactly my comfort zone. Plus, I had a feeling the food would come in tiny portions with fancy, unpronounceable names. But hey, I was here now. I might as well give it a shot. Maybe they’d surprise me with pretentious pizza bites or something.
As we walked further into the room, my eyes caught on a door near the back with a small sign: ROOFTOP. Always nice to have an escape plan.
A tall and graceful hostess approached us. Her long, blonde hair and impossible gray eyes made her look like a human Instagram filter.
“Mr. Jones, welcome back. We have your usual table ready.”
“Excellent. Thank you, sweetheart.” He replied in a warm, familiar tone. As we passed her, his hand brushed against thesmall of her back. For him, it seemed like a casual, almost practiced thing. Like something he did without even noticing. But the hostess? Oh, she noticed. Her cheeks went all shades of pink.
It was the first time I saw the power of Chris Jones’ charm in real time.
I turned my gaze away, drifting around the room instead. Everyone looked like they’d stepped straight out of a magazine, and I imagined each of their stories. What were their lives like? What had brought them here? I was in full dissociative mode, and Chris noticed.
“You okay?” He asked, sounding concerned.
“Yeah… I’m okay.” I replied, giving him a small smile and closing the book of made-up stories in my brain.
We were steps from the table when she appeared. A woman who looked like a Milan runway model. She had flawless features, a sculpted figure, bouncy golden hair, and eyes so green I could see them sparkling from here. Eyes that zeroed in on Chris, entirely bypassing me like I was invisible.
“Oh boy…” He muttered under his breath.
Blondie breezed past me and wrapped him in a tight hug.
“Hey, babe!”
“Hey, Jess,” Chris replied, his face screaming discomfort, and she noticed.
Jess pulled back, giving him a smirk.
“Don’t do that!” She snapped before looking me up and down. With zero hesitation, she hit me with: “He’s being weird because he slept with me and never called me back.”
I couldn’t stop the laugh before it exploded out of me. I clapped a hand over my mouth because that was definitely not socially acceptable behavior, and Chris looked mortified. His cheeks flushed so red I kind of felt bad for him.
Kind of, though, because I was pretty sure he deserved that.
“Don’t worry, babe, I get it… And who’s your gorgeous next victim?”
“Jess…” Chris’ jaw tightened.
I wasn’t about to let this end. I stepped forward and extended my hand for a quick handshake, and it finally clicked. The heavy makeup and lack of, well, blood spatter had thrown me off, but there was no mistaking it. It was Jessica Rogers, the scream queen from one of my favorite horror franchises. And in person? Somehow, she was even hotter.Wow.
“I’m Jules. And you’re Jessica Rogers.”
Her eyes sparkled when I recognized her. “That’s me! Horror movie fan?”
“Oh, absolutely!” I was trying really hard to keep my inner nerd hidden, but come on—Jessica Rogers! She was ridiculously stunning.
“You look like fun,” Jess tilted her head with a smirk. “I should probably be a girl’s girl and warn you about him, but something tells me you already know what you’re in for.”
