Page 108 of Love Not Qualified

I thread a hand through my curly hair, circling it behind my ear as my eyes shied away. Finally, he moved from his place and started walking toward the entrance.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

My heart was fighting its way out of my chest as my ears perched to hear the little sounds of his steps approaching. I didn’t realize I was sucking my breath in until his scent tingled my nostrils.

“Hello, Haelyn,” a dark voice boomed from behind me, raising goosebumps all over my skin.

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 hernow. 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.

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