Page 45 of Coffee Break with the Billionaire

The fact that she asks does strange things to my insides. “Sounds good to me.”

“Where should we go then?”

“Seems like you’re in the driver’s seat.”

“Buckle up, baby.” Fenella shifts into gear and pulls away with a satisfying roar of the engine. “You have a lot of faith in me, considering I was the one who was lost last night,” she points out as she does a loop around the town square.

“Were you really lost, or just curious? Turn down this street.”

From the flash of her eyes, I see I was right, and I chuckle softly. “Where did the soup come from?”

“Lobster chowder from Laura Schmidt. In case you’re hungry.”

“Nice. A full-service kidnapping. Turn right.”

“How can it be a kidnapping if you came willingly? And are giving me directions?”

“You lured me with soup and a shiny car.”

“Is that all it takes? You’ve got to work on your standards, Silas.” Fenella grins at me. I’ve spent the day watching her smiles and this is another new one. Mischievous. Impulsive?

And—intimate? That’s what it feels like, being caught in a bubble of new-car smell and Taylor singing about being forgotten.

“How come the car still smells new?” I wonder as I direct Fenella to the road south of town that hugs the coast. The moon hangs low in the sky behind us and I can already see the twinkle of Venus along the horizon.

Fenella pats the dashboard with a possessive smile. “I’ve no idea, because it’s not new. But it’s clean. Maybe Coy uses some special cleaningstuff.”

“That doesn’t sound like Coy.”

She glances over at me. “Maybe it’s magic.”

“Do you believe in magic, Fenella?”

She shakes her head. “I’d like to, but no. I have a good life, but I know none of it is because of magic.”

“Oh, I don’t know, I’ve seen some of your makeup videos. That’s a kind of magic, isn’t it?”

Fenella gives a peal of embarrassed laughter. “Oh, my god, you’ve watched them?”

“Wyatt. He’s obsessed. I’d be worried, but I know he’s harmless. Do you know you have a Wikipedia page?”

“I do? Weird.”

Fenella drives as fast as I expected but has full control of the car, shifting gears like a pro and taking the curves in the road like she grew up driving them. I revise my earliercuteimpression because the way she drives this car is kind of hot.

I make a mental note to tell Wyatt so he can add to his Fenella collection of facts, but think better of it. He doesn’t need the encouragement.

Waves crash against the shore on one side, towering trees with colourful leaves muted in the dim light line the other. The car’s headlights illuminate ahead of us. I’ve always loved the loneliness of this road.

It’s just Fenella and me in her new, old car.

I never would have expected this when she walked into the shop a few days ago. Or when I first saw her with Gunnar years ago.

Or when Wyatt showed me that handbag ad with its millions of views.

I’m alone with Fenella Carrington, and I better make the most of it.

I point to her phone as the song changes. “Favourite song?”

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