40. Tristan
FORTY
TRISTAN
I wasn’t the type of man to care nor worry about someone’s reaction at the sight of me. Yet the moment I stopped behind Haelyn, my soles cemented into the ground.
How was she going to look at me? Was she going to be sad? Mad? Disappointed? Was she going to watch me with regret?
I knew I wronged her in more ways than one and I didn’t know if I was ready to see the evidence of my mistakes on her face.
Sweat gilded down my back as she rotated in her seat, her chin lifting in the air so her eyes could meet mine. I swallowed and pushed my chest forward, hoping to transmit a sense of confidence.
The air was knocked out of my lungs the second she laid eyes on me.
God, she was beautiful.
Her cheeks matched the red color of her lips and her hair was styled in its natural curl I adored. I wasn’t sure if she surveyed me the same way I was doing, letting my eyes cup her round breast and tight waist.
The last time I saw her was two weeks ago and if I thought she was breathtaking then, I wasn’t sure how to describe her now. Haelyn took all the oxygen in the room and I was still breathing because it was her presence that kept me alive.
She was… like a painting. You saw it once at an exposition and spent most of the time staring at it, even if there were others around. You decided to give other paintings a chance, but at the end of the day, you found yourself admiring the very same one that stole your attention the first time. Then you got home, dreamed about it, and found yourself buying it because no one could love it like you.
Haelyn was unique and I was a damn fool to let that slip away from me.
She got up to her feet and my heart pumped rapidly in my chest.
What if I stared for too long and now she wanted to leave?
But then she extended her arm with her palm open, a smile playing on her lips. “Hi, I’m Haelyn.”
I took her hand in mine—and, God, how good it felt to feel her warm skin—then returned her smile. “I’m Tristan.”
We shook hands longer than we should’ve before she bent her knees and I helped her sit down on her chair. I occupied the seat in front of her, rearranging my coat.
I stole another glance at her, not able to contain myself. Her beauty was outside of this world. She fluttered her eyelids and played with the napkin next to the empty plate on the table. I found myself at a loss for words.
So I told her the only thing I was sure of. “You look beautiful.”
She looked down, then back at me. “You’re not doing so bad yourself.”
Half a compliment. I was going to take that happily.
We sat in silence as the waiter came to take our orders, both of us paying more attention to each other rather than the menu. I wasn’t even sure what I ordered, but it didn’t matter.
“Thank you,” I told the woman once we were settled.
“Let us know if you need something else, Mr. Graves,” she said before she left with an incline of her body.
I noticed Haelyn’s brows popping up and I couldn’t help myself. “What?” I asked her.
She shook her head. “Nothing.” But she was hiding a smile.
“I’m listening.”
“I was just wondering if you come here frequently, Mr. Graves ,” she joked.
“Not really,” I admitted. “But you have to admit the view is great.” My eyes moved to my side where the glass wall was. It was dark outside, but that didn’t mean the city was any less beautiful.
Haelyn nodded, biting her lip. “It is.” She followed my gaze, then turned it back to me. “That’s why I don’t understand why it’s so empty here.”
“Usually it’s not.”
“Then why is it empty tonight?” she questioned.
I wasn’t sure if I should tell her and I decided I shouldn’t. The last thing I wanted was for her to feel pressured by the way I planned this date.
“No idea,” I said, then looked to the side.
“You didn’t…” Haelyn murmured, leaning on the table toward me. “Tristan!”
My eyes snapped to her. “What?”
“Did you buy this place?” Her eyebrows launched to the end of her forehead and I could tell she was pissed.
Thank God I didn’t do what I was planning to. “No.”
She huffed. “Don’t lie.”
“I’m not lying. I didn’t buy it.”
“Then what did you do?” She crossed her arms over her chest, playing the role of a mother who just caught her son spending money on the most idiotic things.
A sigh fell past my lips and I scratched the back of my head, still not wanting to give in. “Does it matter?”
She shook her head with a smile. “I can’t believe you rented this whole place for a date when you weren’t even sure I was going to show up.”
I wasn’t shocked she figured it out. Haelyn was a smart girl and there weren’t many things a man could do to have a place as empty as this besides buying it or renting it.
The only thing I hoped for was that she wasn’t going to ask me about Unlock. Because if she found out I bought it just to be able to match again with her tonight…
“I knew you were going to show up,” I pointed out. “Merielle granted it.”
“Speaking of Merielle. How did you convince her to help you? As far as I knew she wasn’t a fan of yours.” She wiggled her brows.
I shrugged as if I didn’t spam her with calls, showed up at the cafe bar she was working at, and told her I was ready to get on my knees if that meant she was helping me. “I’m a charming man and she realized my intentions about you were honest.”
Haelyn laughed and my insides warmed at the sound. “Okay, charming. But just so you know, you ruined the game by mentioning her name.”
I frowned. “What game?”
She gestured with her hands. “The one where we were pretending we don’t know each other.”
“I don’t know…” I started. “I remember you said something about me not knowing if you showed up or not.”
“Did I?” She squinted at me and when I nodded, Haelyn bumped her head on the table, groaning. “I’m not good at playing games.”
“Me neither,” I admitted. “But I don’t think I can pretend I don’t know you, Haelyn. Not when you’ve been everything on my mind lately.”
She gulped and my heart stopped beating in my chest as her eyes zeroed on me. I wasn’t sure if now was the right moment to say that, but it rolled off of my tongue before I could’ve stopped it.
Haelyn opened her mouth to say something, but the server came to the table with our food. While she placed a plate in front of Haelyn and another in front of me, I could feel she wanted to say something and I waited for her to do so.
But even with the woman gone, she swallowed her words and sunk into her food. Occasionally, she glanced up to me, but didn’t initiate conversation, nor reply to what I said.
I didn’t need her to. I was aware winning her back wasn’t going to be an easy task and I still signed up for it.
So, I watched her struggle to eat her dinner with no idea of how the night was going to end, but ready for the long road ahead. Going back in time when she’d only take a bite of her food, I realized she was doing so much better now. Even if she never finished her portion, she started to eat in the real sense of the word.