by Cynthia Dane
Sometimes I pretended that I would see Hadrian again. That there was a chance. That the man I had a lot of things to say to would cross my path one day and we would share one of his adorable smiles. Yet I’m a realist. I understand what the odds of something like that are in this huge world…
…This huge world that isn’t so huge after all.
“Hello! What would you like to…”
Our waiter – who was very smartly dressed for a waiter, I might add – stopped short in front of our table.
You know, if I had been in Hadrian’s shoes, I probably would have thought I was seeing ghosts as well.
Whatever English he had rehearsed for his role in this restaurant, none of it was good enough for dealing with his current situation. Nor was I prepared to see the man who swept me off my swipin’ right feet appear before me on my home turf.
“Hadrian?” I stood up, mouth agape. I wasn’t the only one shocked. After all, my friends had seen his picture. “Is that you?”
“I…” He put his tablet down. Someone dressed more like the waiters I expected to see approached and asked if we were all right. “It’s fine, Kim,” Hadrian said, his accent betraying those practiced words. “These guests are special tonight. They eat free.”
Whoa! He got to make that call? He must have been high up on the food chain.
I really had no idea.
Hadrian approached me on the other side of the table. “You live in this town?”
“Uh, yeah. You moved here?”
Kim the waitress glanced between us before smiling. “I’ll leave you to it, boss.”
“Boss?”
“Ah…” I never thought I’d see Hadrian’s goofy smile again. “This is my restaurant.”
“What!”
After an assertion like that, you can bet your ass I demanded he explain some things to me. In private, no less.
He took me back to his office. His spacious, tastefully decorated office that was a mix of Mediterranean chic and preferences he picked up during his several years in Japan. Nothing was cheap. Not even close.
“I… uh…”
Hadrian grinned at me. “You are still beautiful, yes?”
Sheesh, man! Give a girl an explanation before you slather it on thick!
Hadrian had apparently not been totally forthright with me when we met back in Japan. Why would he have been, when it was only a one-night stand and nothing more? But no, he never thought to tell me that after moving to Tokyo he worked his ass off in the bar circuit, saving as much money as he could while establishing powerful connections around the world – particularly in America. This restaurant was his. If it did as well as he projected, he would be opening up another one on the east side… and maybe a couple in California! Hadrian was going to have an Italian restaurant empire to rival his biggest competitors.
How the fuck was I supposed to respond to that?
“Maybe it is fate.” I was so enthralled with his change of clothes – gone were the jeans and leather, and hello finely tailored dress shirt and pants – that I almost didn’t hear him speak. “We met on the other side of the world only to end up here.”
That’s when I dropped my purse. I’d test his definition of fate really quick!
“There’s something I’ve gotta tell you.” I looked around the office, paranoid that there were cameras somewhere, ready to make me feel like a total fool. “Remember how things got kinda scary on our first date?”
I hoped he understood me. As it turned out, he did.
“I…”
“How many kids you want, Mr. Rich Entrepreneur?”
When he hugged me a few minutes later, that ridiculous cologne taking me back to those fun nights together, all I could think was that we would be up all night many, many more times. Fate had decreed it, and I have long learned to not ignore fate when it sends you a busy neighbor who puts ridiculous ideas in your head.
(Hadrian and I have been married a good while now, although I drew the line at his parents moving in with us. They can stay across the street, because a girl needs to write her romance tosh in private. Ahem.)
(PPS: He’s a much better kisser now.)
Thank you for reading! Sign up for Cynthia’s mailing list to find out about future releases! Some of them more fictional than others…
Want to find out about the latest Cynthia Dane releases?
SIGN UP FOR THE MAILING LIST!
Want to join TEAM DANE, home of the ARC and Street Team?
FIND OUT ABOUT TEAM DANE!
Want to get in touch with Cynthia? Take your pick below!
Official Site // Facebook // Twitter // Google Plus // Tumblr
Loved this? Check out other works from Cynthia Dane!
HIS DOMINATION
One year ago Monica left an abusive Dom. Now she’s attempting to piece her life back together thanks to a new, thriving business and the attentions of alpha billionaire Henry Warren. Can she love - and submit - again?
DOM VS. DOMME
Two billionaires. Two alpha personalities. One drunken bet.
Ian and Kathryn go way back to an embarrassing incident that soured relations between them… until they’re thrown into a multi-million project together. Now, forced to face the attraction they still have after twelve years, Ian and Kathryn have to overcome one tiny obstacles.
They’re both Doms.
One drunken night Kathryn makes a bet: whoever does worst at their project has to submit for a night. What she doesn’t anticipate? Is losing.
THE BILLION DOLLAR CONTRACT
Jasmine needs a job. The rich and handsome Ethan Cole needs a sub.
Can they come to an agreement? Only after Jasmine signs the dotted line!
THE NIGHTINGALE TRILOGY
Nala's sister is dead. Vincent's fiancee is dead. The man who had them killed? It's time to take him down.
