Page 22 of King of Hearts

When I snuck a side glance at Andy, he was staring at me with a huge shit-eating grin and it transformed his entire face. He was undeniably noticeable with his usual scowl but with mirth in his eyes, he was deadly.

“You’re an enigma to me, Arna.” He was still smiling, a soft humour in his tone which emphasised the compliment in his words.

“Ummm, thanks. I guess I’ve been called worse.” I said, smiling back at him.

We settled into a comfortable silence, the soft sounds of the radio echoing from the front seat.

“Question, why did you and –” I pointed towards Sergio, not wanting to be rude when he could likely hear me, “Give me a strange look back there when I introduced myself?”

He shook his head briefly. “Like I said – enigma.”

Still not sure what he meant, I was prevented from seeking any further clarification when the car came to a stop. We were here already? Time seemed to fly when I was in his presence and I wasn’t sure what to make of that but the tension was only going to thicken with how desperate I apparently was, so fresh air was necessary.

Thanking Sergio for the ride, we headed into the restaurant. Andy walked close behind me, my breath hitching slightly when I felt his hand rest against the small of my back. Doing my best to contain my shiver, I wondered what Darren would think if I conducted the feature, but also took Andy for a ride. I mean, just for a night.

For research purposes, obviously.

Was that frowned upon in the journalism industry? A question which was slightly concerning given I was only half-joking. The heat from his hand was clearly muddling my very horny brain and I needed to move away from his magnetic pull before I turned around and launched myself at him right here, job be damned.

Thankfully, the waiter arrived, offering a distraction as he directed us to our table in the back of the restaurant, away from most of the other patrons. Andy waited for me to slide into the booth, my body suddenly cold with the absence of his touch, before moving in next to me. He settled, leaving only a small gap between us and while I pictured tonight being far more formal, with us taking opposite sides of a table, I was not complaining.

“Thanks, Dale.” Andy said, and I turned to him with my eyebrows raised questioningly. “I don’t venture out much because of, I guess, well – this is one of the few places which offers privacy if I don’t want to eat alone in my apartment. I just message Dale – he’s my manager’s son – and he does the rest.”

“Kieran, right?”

“Yeah. Pup was sick of me ordering pizza, I think.”

“Pup?”

Andy chuckled at my puzzlement. “Have you seen that movie with the huge St Bernard – Beethoven?”

“Yes.” I replied confused.

“When Kieran first came into the locker rooms, one of the guys told him he resembled the dog with his big eyes and cheeks. So, the name Pup was born and unfortunately for him, it stuck.”

I giggled, shaking my head. “Poor, Kieran. Well, I’m glad we were able to meet here tonight,” I gesticulated to the restaurant. “Although sometimes I forget these chats are work.” I added honestly.

Andy watched me, his face unreadable. “I don’t want to talk about me tonight. I want to know more about you, Arna.” He said, pouring us both a glass of water from the jug situated on the table.

“That is literally the point, Andy. I’m interviewingyou, remember.” I remarked, smiling shyly before taking a sip of my drink.

“Thanks for the reminder,” he said teasingly. “Look, you already know I hate interviews. I find it easier to talk when I forget you are only here with me for your job. So, how about we trade information? Hell, you can make yours up and I wouldn’t even know, although, I uhm - I guess I would prefer it if you didn’t.” He looked so vulnerable that my heart pinched a little and I softened.

Was he used to people only showing an interest in him when there was an ulterior motive? There was so much more to him than the character portrayed to the world and suddenly I was desperate to know it all. Especially why he was so guarded.

“Deal. What do you want to know? We could move from my childhood to my blood type, to my favourite band, with literally no rhyme or reason because if you give me no direction, I will likely speak for an hour and next thing you know I’ve taken all our time. Shit, see. I’m jabbering already.”

Chagrin, I took another sip of water and swallowed in relief when Dale reappeared ready to take our orders.

Get it under control, Arna.

Chapter Fourteen

Andy

We hadn’t even ordered our entrees and I knew I was in serious trouble.

Despite my original resolve on this being a business arrangement, those cognitive nudges were becoming fewer and far between. With Arna, conversation came easy which was a definite first for me in the company of a woman. Not to mention a very fucking beautiful woman, with no idea just how gorgeous she was, a sense of humour and an impressive brain in her head. Most shockingly of all, she hadn’t asked me about my dating history or made jokes about how many females I was photographed with.

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