Page 45 of King of Greed

If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was disappointed.

“Right. See you.” I sounded like a broken record. Why couldn’t I come up with more words?

She hesitated like she was waiting for me to say something else. When I didn’t, she gave me an awkward wave and turned to walk away.

My heart kicked against my ribcage. She was at the end of the corridor. Soon, she’d be lost in the crowd, and who knew if wewould see each other again? Granted, Thayer was a small campus and I had her number, but instinct told me I was letting something special slip through my fingers if I didn’t stop her right fucking now.

She was almost out of sight.

Panic spurred me into action. I broke into a flat-out run and caught up with her right as she turned the corner. “Wait! Alessandra.”

She stopped, her brow knitting with confusion at my flushed face. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I mean…”Just spit it out.“When are you heading home for the holidays?” Classes didn’t officially end until next week, but a lot of students went home early if they didn’t have mandatory in-person exams.

Her puzzlement visibly mounted. “Tuesday. Why?”

“I was wondering…that is…” Fuck. I sounded like an inexperienced schoolboy asking his crush out for the first time. What was wrong with me? “Do you want to grab dinner on Saturday? Just the two of us.”

Alessandra’s confusion melted, replaced with a familiar teasing smile that kicked my heart rate from a canter into a gallop. “Dominic Davenport, are you asking me on a date?”

Hell, if I was going to do it, I might as well go all in. No ifs, ands, or buts. “Yes.”

Her smile widened. “In that case, I would love to have dinner with you.”

The memory of our first official step toward dating distracted me enough that I almost walked past the diving center. I doubled back, trying to shake off the pang in my gut.

Although I was in Buzios for Alessandra, I really did need a vacation. I couldn’t mope around town the entire time; that was too pathetic even for my current circumstances. I was takingvirtual meetings and working early in the mornings, but I trusted my team to keep things running while I was gone.

I gave them Thanksgiving off but had to prep them for my extended absence the following day. It was the only reason I hadn’t flown to Brazil the same morning as Alessandra.

The problem was, I’d never gone on a solo vacation before. Now that I was here, I didn’t know what to do, so I’d booked every activity that looked interesting. Scuba diving today, a boat tour tomorrow.

And if I just so happened to have booked the same scuba diving class as Alessandra after Marcelo slipped up and told me about it during our grocery store run-in yesterday…well, it was a small town. There were limited options.

I checked in at the front desk and joined the small group of first-time divers out back. My gaze skipped over the silver-haired man, the pair of giggling coeds, and the couple whispering furiously to each other under their breath. It landed on a glossy brown ponytail at the edge of the group…and stayed there.

When was the last time Alessandra had put her hair in a ponytail? I couldn’t remember. It was such a small detail, but it was yet another sign of how far we’d grown apart over the years. We’d used to play tennis together; she was the one who’d introduced me to the sport, and she’d worn the same ponytail and all-white outfit every time.

She was checking something on her phone, but she must’ve felt the heat of my stare because she looked up and froze. She didn’t utter a word, but she didn’t have to; her expression said it all.

“Small world.” I stopped opposite her. “Good morning, Alessandra.”

“Good morning.” She didn’t return my smile. “What a coincidence we’re signed up for thesamedive excursion at theexactsame time.”

“Like I said, it’s a small world,” I drawled, ignoring herpointed tone. My gaze skimmed over the curve of her shoulder and up her neck to her face. “You look beautiful.”

Her hair had lightened into a sun-kissed brown, and she’d developed a healthy tan from the beach. A tiny constellation of freckles scattered over her nose and cheeks, so faint they would’ve been unnoticeable had I not been so familiar with her features that even the slightest change stood out. Most of all, the stiffness that had cloaked her in New York had melted away, revealing a relaxed easiness that did more than any makeup or fancy dress could.

Alessandra was always stunning, but here she glowed in a way that made my chest ache—partly because she was so beautiful, I couldn’t believe she was real, and partly because it took her leaving the city, leavingme,to find happiness again. Out of everything, that hurt the most.

Regret formed a jagged rock in my stomach, and emotion flickered across her face before she looked away.

It was only then that I realized the rest of the group had fallen silent. The silver-haired man was on his phone, but the coeds and couple were watching us with avid interest.

“Bom dia!” Our diving instructor interrupted the awkward tension and approached us with a toothy grin. He looked like one of those twenty-somethings who spent their days stoned or surfing, which already irritated me. Then his gaze lingered on Alessandra for an extra beat, and the irritation ignited into sudden, fierce possessiveness. It took all my willpower not to punch him in the fucking face.

“I’m Ignacio, your diving instructor today. It’s our beginner’s course, so it’ll be nice and easy.” He spoke in Portuguese first before translating into English. He stood way too damn close to Alessandra as he droned on about our itinerary and the safety protocols. He made a stupid joke about whales that made her laugh, and my fantasy evolved from punching him to ripping his tongue out.

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