章節 2: Chapter 2 : The First Meeting
I drank an entire pot of coffee before I felt awake enough to do anything. I’d focused on cleaning my apartment for most of the day. That was a pretty standard anxiety reaction for me. The fact that I was going to be meeting the man that had filled my waking thoughts for the past two weeks was making me incredibly tense. It was weird.
I hadn’t felt this nervous and uncertain of myself since I went on my first real date in high school.
When 5 o’clock rolled around, I started to get ready for the party. Doing my hair and makeup took the longest. I could never really get my blonde curls to behave the way I wanted them to, no matter how meticulous I was with my silk bonnet or expensive hair products. I settled for pulling it into a low bun and securing it with bobby pins. I had a few stray hairs framing my face, but it looked okay, so I didn’t try to pin them up. Despite the makeup covering my face, the bags underneath my eyes were still very noticeable.
I sighed and admitted defeat. By the time I was somewhat satisfied with my appearance, it was 7:30. Luckily, the dress didn’t require much as far as accessories. A simple silver chain was all I needed.
The dress was one of my favorites. It was a gift from Kim and was way nicer than anything I would have bought myself. It was a deep wine color with a tailored collar and ruched detailing. I felt comfortable in it, and the fitted skirt accentuated my hips and long legs. Kim always bragged that she’d picked it out if she heard someone compliment it. I couldn’t really fault her for that. It was a beautiful dress.
A pair of black heels completed the look and I headed to Kim’s house. Mansion was probably the more appropriate word. I was late, but she would be expecting that. There were cars parked all along the front of the property. I didn’t mind walking a little further, so I parked out by the road. When I reached the door, the man greeting guests waved me in.
I barely made my way into the crowded ballroom when Kim grabbed my arm and yanked me aside.
“Thea,” she said excitedly. “Your mystery man is here and he is gorgeous.”
“What?” I asked in confusion. I didn’t expect him to beat me here. I looked around for any sign of him, but the room was too crowded. “When did he get here?”
“This afternoon. Daddy invited him to lunch. I’m just warning you before I introduce you, he’s probably the most attractive man I’ve ever been in the same room as,” she said excitedly. “If I weren’t gay…”
“Kim, do not try to set me up.”
“I’m not going to, I know you hate that. I’m just saying.” She shrugged, but it was impossible for her to hide her grin. I rolled my eyes.
She linked arms with me and led me through the crowd. “Now, I’ve met him but we haven't had a chance to speak much. He’s nice, but seems pretty quiet. He might just be jet lagged though. Just try to be on your best behavior, you know how Daddy is about his social events.”
If there was one thing Mr. Ashworth didn’t like, it was drama, and he would be annoyed if I insulted his guest by asking him a million probing questions.
“I know. I’ll be good,” I said. I crossed my fingers in front of me and she laughed and smacked my hand.
The smile fell from my face as the man that could only be Tahir came into view. He was stunning. He was over six feet tall with warm, chestnut skin and black hair that was tousled in a way that could look messy on someone else, but suited him nicely.
I could only see him in profile as we approached, but the angle accentuated his prominent cheekbones and the straight, square cut of his jaw.
Kim elbowed me. I looked at her and shrugged helplessly. I was staring, but who could blame me? She rolled her eyes, then put on her best friendly smile and approached Tahir.
“Mr. Gujic,” she said sweetly. “I would like to introduce you to someone.”
He turned towards us and I became very aware of my high heels. I averted my eyes and focused on keeping my steps steady.
“Miss Ashworth,” he said. His voice was deep and gravelly. There was a slight accent, but I couldn’t place it. “I’d be honored to meet your friend.”
I lifted my gaze when we stopped walking. It was almost hard to look at him. His eyes were even more intense in person. I felt like I might melt if I looked directly into them. I could feel myself start to wilt under his gaze. It was like he could see right into my mind.
I realized that I was twisting my hands together nervously and forced myself to stop. I wasn’t some frail, fainting maiden. What the hell was wrong with me?
I shook it off and held my hand out to him. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Gujic,” I said. “I’m Theadora Donnelly, of The Bell City Journal.”
“A reporter?” he asked. The friendly smile didn’t leave his face, but it became stiff and forced.
“Off duty,” Kim said quickly. “Thea is my best friend.”
“Although,” I added. “In the interest of transparency, I should let you know I’ve been asked to write a short piece about your arrival in town.”
“That hardly seems newsworthy,” he said with an uneasy chuckle.
It might have been my imagination, but he seemed nervous.
“It’s nothing much,” I said. “Just a little blurb. Although I’ll admit, I’m having some trouble with it. You’re a hard man to pin down.”
He raised an eyebrow at me. “That depends entirely on who is trying to pin me and why.”
“Just a small town reporter,” I replied, trying to ignore the implication in his words. “Writing a piece for the society page.”
“What about me are you trying to get a handle on?” he asked. The double entendre was impossible to miss, but I pretended not to notice. He was too old for me. He had to be, despite the fact that he apparently hadn’t aged in a decade.
“Anything,” I said. “How old are you? Where are you from? What do you do? Where are you staying?”
“You are curious, Miss Donnelly,” he said teasingly. His eyes moved over me in a way that made me shiver. It normally bothered me when I caught someone looking at me like that, but I’d just done the same to him, so I couldn't complain.
“I’m a journalist,” I continued. “I’m always curious.” I saw Kim step away to talk to another guest, and normally that would bother me too. Only now, I was too focused on Tahir to really care.
“Is that all there is to it?” he asked. His dark eyes met mine and I felt pinned to the spot.
I felt compelled to tell him the truth. “I’ve been curious about you since the first time I heard your name.”
Tahir was staring at me and I couldn’t help but stare back. I had to look up to meet his eyes, even in my heels. I felt a little light headed as I glanced at him. I didn’t understand why being this close to him was affecting me so much.
He was undeniably handsome; a classic tall dark and handsome stranger. It was unlike me to be at a loss for words and it was strange for me to find myself feeling shy. But here I was, blushing as he smirked down at me.
“I’m flattered that you’re curious,” he said. “But I would prefer not to be interviewed.”
“Why not?” I insisted. “I really just want clarification on a few points.”
“I value my privacy,” he responded. “I see no reason that my age or my work would be of interest to the public. If you were asking for personal reasons, I might be more inclined to sate your curiosity.” He smirked at me a little as he spoke.
“You won’t at least confirm your age for me?” I asked, returning his smirk.
“How old do I look?” he responded with a raised brow.
I looked him over slowly. He was fit. That was obvious from the way his collared shirt clung to his chest. There were no fine lines on his face and no white in his hair. He couldn’t possibly be over 40.
“I’m not sure,” I said hesitantly. I didn’t want to guess too high and offend him, but he’d looked the same for at least ten years.
“I promise, you’ll never guess it,” he said.
“45?” I said uncertainly.
He smiled. “That’s closer than I thought you’d get,” he said. That still didn’t tell me how old he was, but it'd do for now. “Should I guess your age?” he asked.
“I’m 24,” I replied. The fact that I was nearly half his age did nothing to temper the attraction I felt for him.
“You’re very composed for someone so young,” he responded.
“It comes with the job,” I said with a slight shrug. I did have to keep my cool in order to conduct interviews. You could never really guess how someone would react to questions and you had to be ready to redirect your questioning at any moment. “What about you?” I asked. “What do you do for a living?”
He scoffed a little and shook his head.
“That was smooth,” he said. He sounded a little annoyed, but kept talking. “I work as an appraiser and private contractor assessing the authenticity of artifacts.”
That wasn’t the answer that I expected at all. I thought that he was going to say he was a tech investor or something boring like that. “I didn’t realize there was so much money in that kind of work.”
“I work with a lot of museums and governments attempting to reclaim stolen and lost relics,” he explained. “Is that enough for you to finish your little article?”
“Almost,” I said. “Where are you from?”
“You’re very curious about that,” he pointed out suspiciously. “Why?”
I shrugged. “I just wonder how far you’ve traveled to land in our little town.”
“I’m from France,” he said rather indifferently. “Is that enough now?”
“Yes,” I said. “Thank you. I’m sorry for bothering you.”
“You clearly aren’t sorry,” he pointed out. He was right, but it somewhat stung that he said it. “Is your curiosity sated, Miss Donnelly?” he added.
“Yes,” I said. “For the most part.” I had a million more questions, but they had nothing to do with the article.
He narrowed his eyes at me and I bit the inside of my cheek. I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was somehow reading my mind. It was a paranoid thought, but I was probably just overtired.
Tahir looked down at me and his dark eyes seemed to sparkle as the corner of his mouth quirked up in a smirk. The expression made his already handsome face even more alluring.
I could feel my face heating up as he opened his mouth to speak.
“Thea!” a voice called out from behind me. I grimaced and closed my eyes. I knew that voice. It was my ex boyfriend, Manny Caro. He was the last person on earth that I wanted to see.
Tahir took note of my reaction and looked at the source of the voice. He looked back down at me. “We have time to slip away if you want to avoid him,” he said softly.
“Please,” I pleaded.
He seemed grateful for my response, but I didn't have time to think too hard about it.
Tahir hooked my arm in his and expertly maneuvered us through the crowd. I was too distracted by his touch to care where we were going. The noise of the crowd faded as we stepped through a side door into the courtyard.
The moonlight was casting the garden in pale white light and the air was cool and fresh. The silence was a relief after the noise of the crowd inside and I sighed a little. And it was then that I realized we were alone.
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