Page 32 of Vows in Sin
That earns me a huge lopsided grin. I’ve really won him over. I take the last sip of my drink, offering, “You could draw me sometime. If you want.”
“I’d like that.” His eyes almost sparkle. “You’d be my prettiest muse to date.”
He’s 100% flirting with me. Didn’t know he had it in him. It makes me feel warm all over.
“I’ve never had my portrait done.” He’s shared so much, but I still want to help solve his problem, or at least, chat with him about it. “You know what goes well with art?”
“What?”
“Wine,” I say. “And cheese.”
I get another smile. Another deep breath.
Then, “The cheese is tricky. It’s like, I don’t know. Gouda. No, not the cheese. The cheese is simple. Golden cheese. Cheesemade of money. The rats. They’re the tricky ones. It’s like we’ve meticulously built this empire, brick by brick over time, adding technology as we go.” He shakes his head, baffled. “But no matter how much we catch up with security, they always seem to be a step ahead.”
I think. “They’re young, you say?”
He nods.
“How young?” I ask.
He eyes me. “Like you. Some are younger.”
I contemplate what he’s said, my mind whirring. He waits as I think, carefully watching my face. “Then they grew up with technology. While you’re playing catch-up, they’ve been living it. They don’t learn about this stuff, they're born into it.”
He considers what I've said before he speaks. He gives me an impressed look. “That’s good…”
We chat more about his problem. Then about nothing. And everything.
His phone pings. He looks genuinely pained as he checks it. “Damn. I have to go.”
He doesn’t want to leave.
I’m hit with utter disappointment. It surprises me. “Okay.”
“Unlock your phone and give it to me.” He holds out his hand, stern face returned.
I obey.
He punches his name and number into my contacts. Our gazes lock. “Call me. Seraphina.”
I don’t want to lie, but I can’t tell him that I will. My name sounds like a song the way he says it.
I say nothing.
I want it too much. This was a date. And as one is supposed to on a date, I feel closer to him. Seen. Heard. And I know him better. He’s got a sweet side. He’s loyal. And has a love of art.
Things I didn’t know.
“Call me,” he repeats. “I mean it.”
I say, “Thanks.”
And watch him walk out of my life for good.
12
Reign
