2. Eliana #2
“If you say so!” His mouth curved, revealing the faintest hint of that irritatingly charming smile. I rolled my eyes and followed him onto the path.
We walked beside the river, our pace unhurried. I took another bite of my melting ice cream and tried not to think too much about the man walking beside me.
It didn't work. I had spent enough years writing romance to know when a man was attractive.
And Adrian… was unfairly a beautiful man.
His dark hair was slightly disheveled from the evening, which somehow made him look better rather than worse.
But it was his eyes that kept stealing my attention.
Dark blue, almost black beneath the night, his gaze was hypnotizing, enticing enough to submerge yourself in without knowing what unimaginable things it kept beneath the surface.
Then there were his lips. They had a soft, dangerous curve that made every quiet smile seem like a secret. And the worst part was—he knew exactly the kind of trouble they could cause to a woman's heart and had no intention of warning anyone.
I looked away.
Absolutely not. I wasn't going to analyze a stranger's mouth now. Am I really losing it?
He murmured, "You've gone quiet again."
I glanced at him. "Have I?"
"Mhmm..."
"I was thinking."
"About?"
I hesitated. But apparently, I’d lost all sense of self-preservation that night, so I decided to tell him.
"Do you want to hear the truth?" I asked, glancing at him.
He nodded. "I'd prefer that."
I looked toward the river and softly said, "I was wondering what a billionaire like you is doing walking around with someone ordinary like me, unless you have some kind of motive..."
He stopped walking. I took another step before realizing he wasn't beside me anymore and turned around. His expression had changed.
"Why, Adrian? Did you suddenly pick up an interest in me?" I asked, half teasing, half genuinely curious.
For a second, he simply looked at me. Then his gaze dropped to his ice cream.
"You're wrong."
I blinked. "About what?"
"I'm just… bored."
The answer was so calm that it took me a moment to understand it.
"Oh."
He took another bite of his ice cream as though we'd been discussing the weather.
The easy warmth he'd carried earlier was gone. His face had become harder to read, and something about the change made me wish I'd kept my mouth shut.
I looked down at my cone and cleared my throat.
Well, that was humiliating.
I shook my head and kept walking. "Anyway, I'll be grateful if you clear my name."
He slowed. "The dating rumor?"
"Yes." I looked at him. "Once that's handled, I can go back to my normal life and stay out of yours."
A flicker of unease crossed his face. This time, I couldn’t miss it
He looked almost sad. "I'll handle it."
"You sound very sure."
"I usually am."
"And if the press doesn't believe you?"
"They will. I'm wealthy. People tend to believe me."
I laughed softly. "There. That's the billionaire arrogance."
"I was wondering when you'd notice."
"I noticed when you suggested ice cream as a solution to a public relations disaster."
"It worked."
I looked at my half-melted cone. "Unfortunately, it did."
His smile lingered as his gaze drifted toward the river. "Sometimes," he said quietly, "the strangest meetings are the ones we remember long after we've forgotten why they happened."
I looked at him. "That sounded like poetry. You read?"
"Used to." His eyes remained on the dark water.
"Used to? So not anymore. Why?" I asked.
“Because someone used to read them to me.” He went quiet for a moment. “Now I paint."
I glanced at him. "You paint?"
"Sometimes."
"You don't seem like the type."
His eyebrow lifted. "What type do I seem like?"
"A man who owns too many suits and has never touched a paintbrush."
He looked down at his white shirt. "That's oddly specific."
"I write for a living, and also work as a part-time literature teacher. Making assumptions is part of the job."
His quiet chuckle returned. "I paint because some things are easier to show than say."
His answer made me curious. "What kind of things?"
His gaze settled on me. "Things I don't know how to say."
For once, I didn't have a clever response. I wanted to ask more, but he looked away before I could.
"It's getting late." He nodded toward the parking area. "I'll take you home."
The ride back was quieter, but not uncomfortable. Richmond passed outside the windows in pools of streetlight and shadow, the city settling into its nighttime rhythm.
When he pulled into my neighborhood, the expensive SUV looked almost absurd among the modest houses and parked family cars.
He stopped outside mine and looked through the windshield at the little house. "It looks like home."
"It is." I smiled faintly. "I've lived here for almost four years now."
I reached for the door and started taking off his coat.
"Keep it," he said.
I glanced back at him. "I can just give it back now."
His blue eyes met mine. "Keep it… At least that'll give me a reason to meet you again."
The sudden longing in his voice made me pause. "That's quite a daring choice, Mr. Billionaire. Are you planning another news headline? Wasn't one enough for tonight?"
He gave me a devilish smile. "Some stories…" he murmured, "aren't meant to end after the first chapter.” I stared at him for a moment.
He got out and opened the car’s door for me. "Goodnight, Eliana."
I stepped out, still wearing his coat. "Goodnight, Adrian."
The SUV disappeared down the street, leaving me standing beneath the porch light with his coat around my shoulders and the faint taste of matcha still on my tongue.
I looked down at the coat. Then toward the street.
I had known him for less than an hour. And somehow, I already had the uncomfortable feeling that meeting him wasn't going to be a story I could simply walk away from.
When I stepped inside my house, Cookie greeted me with an enthusiastic squawk from his perch.
"Back! BACK!"
"Yes, Yes! I am back, Cookie."
I set my purse down and rubbed the top of his head. He immediately leaned into my fingers, clearly satisfied with my return.
"Missed me?"
"Miss! Miss!"
"At least someone did."
I walked toward my bedroom and caught my reflection in the mirror. My hair was a mess, my makeup had faded, and I was still wearing a billionaire's coat.
"What a day!"
My phone rang before I could take another step. I checked the screen and saw Ethan’s name.
A smile immediately found my face.
I answered. "Someone finally remembered his best friend still exists."
His familiar voice came through the speaker, warm with amusement. "Oh, please. We both know you're the one who disappears whenever you have a deadline."
I laughed, twisting a strand of hair around my finger. "Are you back in the city?"
"Yes. Finally. The investigation in Charlottesville took more time than I estimated, but I finally cracked the case."
"Wow! You really did?"
"You sound surprised."
"I'm impressed. There's a first time for everything."
He made a low, offended sound that made me grin. "That's cruel."
"You'll survive."
"I might not."
"You'll find a way."
"I always do."
I could practically picture his smug smile. "Anyways," I said, dropping onto the edge of my bed, "there's a lot I need to tell you."
His tone changed immediately. "What happened?"
"I met someone today."
"Who?"
I smiled. "Tell ya when I see ya."
"Eli! Come on. Tell me…"
"Good night, Ethan."
"That's not fair."
I ended the call before he could protest. For a moment, my thoughts returned to Adrian.
What a strange man.
He could smile as though nothing in the world could touch him. But when his gaze stilled on the river, it felt as if he had spent years mourning a loss. There was a quiet sadness in him that appeared only when he thought no one was watching.
I absently reached for my pendant. My fingers found nothing.
I froze.
My hand moved across my collarbone again.
Nothing.
My mother's pendant. It's gone. The one piece of jewelry I never took off.
I stood so quickly that Cookie squawked in surprise. "No! I can't lose it..."
I checked my purse first, then the bedroom, and every step leading to the front door. I searched beneath the bed and even shook out the dress I'd worn to the wedding.
Nothing.
My mind raced backward through the evening. I rushed outside.
The street was quiet, the houses dark beneath the streetlights. I retraced my steps, crouching near the sidewalk and searching between the cracks in the pavement. I checked the stairs, the edge of the road, even the spot where Adrian had dropped me earlier.
The wedding. The SUV. Adrian's car.
I remembered touching the pendant while we were talking. It had still been around my neck when I got into his SUV on our way home.
My breath caught. It must have fallen inside his car. I stared at the empty space around my neck.
Now how am I supposed to get it back?