Page 24 of When Hearts Surrender

“Well, nice to see you, M—”

“Nellie, it’s good to see you too.” I cut her off before she calls me by my real name. “This is my friend, Anna.”

Anna beams at Nellie, her smile sending a current of electricity down my spine. “Hello! Silas said this is the best sandwich shop in the city.” Unlike some other women in my circles, Anna doesn’t scrunch her nose at the location or the waitstaff.

She’s beautiful and kind.

Nellie lifts her brow. “Silasdid, huh? Well, whaddya know.”

I roll my eyes and give her a quelling look. “Can we have a pastrami and rye to share, please? A coffee for me and…” I glance at Anna.

“The same, thank you, Nellie.” Anna smiles warmly at the woman, who beams right back at her before walking back.

I like her, Nellie mouths to me before disappearing into the kitchens. Shaking my head, I hide my smile behind my fist.

Thunder rumbles in the distance, followed by a bolt of lightning swiping its tendrils across the sky. It appears I spoke too soon, and the malevolent weather is back full force. The windows rattle as rain pelts against the glass once more. An insidious weight crawls on top of my chest and settles there.

Ryland loves storms but they’ve always sent ripples of unease through me, a foreboding feeling of something terrible about to happen. Whenever the weather rages outside, I always feel out of breath and about to crawl out of my skin. Perhaps twins aren’t always the same.

Anna appears unaffected. “So, Silas. Why have you brought me here?”

“Too lowbrow for your taste?”

“Of course not!” She rears back, clearly offended. “I’d take this diner over fancy dinners any day of the week. But you,” she fiddles with her fingers, “you surprise me.”

Her words send a jolt to my heart. Maxwell Anderson never surprises anyone. He’s the frigid king, the cold CEO of one of the largest companies in the world. He’s a rule follower, the dutiful first son of an illustrious old-money family. There’s no room for surprises.

But tonight, you’re just Silas, a man having a late-night meal with a beautiful woman he just met. You’re a rule breaker.

A server delivers our coffee and I take a sip and smile into the cup.

“You know, I feel like I’ve met you before or seen you somewhere. But we haven’t, right?” she asks.

I glance at her from above the rim of the cup, my fingers clutching the handle tightly. Any moment now, she’ll recognize me from the press conference, and then things will be different. She’ll think I’m insane or unstable, as the press has described me, or she’ll see me as a man with unlimited funds and power.

“I don’t think I’d forget a face like yours,” I murmur.

A streak of white light flashes through the room and the diner plunges into pitch blackness.

“Ah!” Anna shrieks.

I grab her hand in the dark, and there it is, the curious zap when our hands touch, the same electrifying sizzle I felt in the car, the same feeling I attributed to the adrenaline and anticipation of the race.

Her breath hitches.

“Oh darn. The wind must’ve knocked down our power line again,” Nellie grumbles from far away. “Lucky for you two, your sandwich is ready. I’ll bring y’all candles from the back.”

Moments later, Nellie hustles over and sets down a crystal votive, its lonely flame flickering and casting dancing shadows on the booths.

“God, I’m such a wuss,” Anna mumbles, sounding clearly embarrassed at herself.

“A sudden power outage would freak anyone out.”

I look at my hand, still intertwined with hers, and she does the same before hastily withdrawing.

I stop myself from reaching out and snatching back those slender fingers, keeping her tethered to me.

Frowning at the sentiment, I glance out the windows as another rumble of thunder pierces the silence, followed by a flash of lightning.

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