Page 159 of The Protégé

Vivian:We love you! Gonna go light candles now.

Kiera:LOL. Me too!

Audri, Michelle, and Natalie all said the same thing.

Candles? The mystery deepened.

Orion:I see you, Sunshine.

I looked up from my phone, and my heart twirled at the most compelling thief who had stolen my heart. Orion walked toward me from the other end of the restaurant. He wore a tailored black suit that rendered him stunning, powerful, and mysterious—all the things that had captivated me from the beginning. But now I knew there was more to the man beneath that irresistible façade. I knew his vulnerabilities, and he knew mine.

At that moment a quiet answer slipped into my heart. He was the key to my lock, and I was the key to his—we were intricate parts of each other.

“Hello.” His eyes sparked as he raked a gaze down my body. “You’re beautiful. I’m glad to see you wearing this dress.” He touched the strap on my shoulder, and I shivered when his fingers grazed my skin.

“Thank you,” I said. “You look like you’re ready to take over the world.”

“I’m only interested in making my love happy tonight.” He brushed a finger down my cheek. “Ready for dinner?”

“Yup. Wanna tell me how you coerced my friends into tricking me to be here? Why didn’t you just ask me and save all the trouble?”

He took my hand in his. “Would you have agreed to meet me? It took me a long time for you to agree to have dinner with me tomorrow. I didn’t think you’d agree to meet me on Friday and Saturday.”

“You never know until you try,” I said, knowing he was right. “What’s so special about Friday?”

He kissed my hand. “I needed you to be here for tonight.”

“Why?”

“Because the sky’s clear tonight. But first, let’s enjoy dinner.”

Impatience and curiosity overcame everything else.

“What if I want to see that special thing now?”

“You need to wait another two hours. Let’s eat first, and you can tell me why you’ve been hesitant with me. I need you to be honest with me.”

CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX

ORION

SeeingElena wearing the dress I’d bought her made the evening even more special. I’d paid the chef handsomely to fly out here to make us dinner tonight. His salmon specialty earned him the Best World Chef title for a reason.

Elena finished her meal and looked at me. “Thank you for this dinner.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I was jealous of Kate,” she said.

I wanted to say something, but she held up her hand.

“I was in a vulnerable state on that day. Jasper had just assaulted me, and then I saw your extreme reaction when he insulted Kate. It did something to me.” Elena looked embarrassed, and regretful.

I swallowed, watching the emotion displayed on her face. I wanted to gather her up, but I knew she needed to let it all out, and I needed to hear it.

“In my mind,Ishould have been the one to receive that extreme reaction from you. No one should have mattered more than me. But during that weak moment, I felt like I stood secondplace.” She drew in her bottom lip between her teeth. “I felt like my assault was pushed aside for something more important.”

Her eyes gleamed with tears, and a sharp pain stabbed at my chest. I wanted to say something, but I didn’t want to interrupt her thoughts.

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