Chapter 186

Chapter 186: Chapter 186

Samuel’s POV

“That won’t work,” Aria said. “I already told you on the phone last time—if you came here, this meal was on me. When nobody wanted to help Garrett, you were the one who stepped up. The least I can do is buy you dinner. If you don’t let me pay, I’ll feel like I still owe you.”

She wanted things settled. One meal, one check, and then she’d never have to see me again. We’d go back to our own worlds and that would be that.

I could see straight through the politeness. This wasn’t generosity. She was trying to buy back her freedom.

“Fine.” I stopped arguing and ordered.

As the meal went on, Kyle started loosening up. I didn’t bring up the elevator. The longer I kept quiet, the more the tension left his shoulders. He got chatty, laughed at Aria’s jokes, even reached over and touched her arm now and then.

They looked good together.

Aria kept the conversation moving the whole time. She asked about my work, how long I planned to stay, whether I was done with what I came for. Safe questions. Small talk meant to fill the silence, not build anything real.

“I was planning to leave tomorrow,” I said. “But I might stay a few more days.”

“That’s nice.” Aria nodded, and I watched her silently figure out how to make sure those extra days didn’t involve her.

“Are you free later this week?”

She looked up, and I saw the wall go up in her eyes. “I’m pretty busy the next few days. If you want company, Kyle can show you around.”

She’d rather send her boyfriend to babysit me than spend ten minutes alone with me. Got it.

I looked at Kyle and smiled. “No need.”

Kyle let out another quiet breath. Every time I opened my mouth, he braced like he was waiting for impact.

Halfway through the meal, Aria went to the restroom.

The second she was gone, I leaned back in my chair and looked at Kyle.

He wouldn’t meet my eyes. He picked up his water glass, set it down again, then fussed with his napkin. His discomfort was so obvious it almost had a taste.

Aria came back. I smiled lightly and picked up my fork.

She paid the bill.

“Samuel, I’ve got things to deal with this afternoon, so I need to go,” Aria said, already on her feet, slipping her hand around Kyle’s arm. “It was good to see you.”

“Go ahead. Both of you.”

She left the restaurant the way a rabbit bolts across an open field.

I stayed at the table alone, staring at the door she’d just gone through.

Aria’s POV

I didn’t breathe properly until I was back in the car.

Kyle sat in the passenger seat and looked at me. “You’re really scared of him.”

“I’m not scared.” I gripped the steering wheel tighter. “I just don’t want to be around him.”

Kyle took my hand and gave it a firm squeeze. “Then don’t be around him. A man who looks at people like that? He’s always calculating something. I could feel it the whole meal.”

“If he hadn’t helped Garrett, I never would’ve agreed to see him.”

Kyle wasn’t wrong. Samuel’s eyes were sharp, way too sharp. Nothing seemed to slip past him.

And then there was that night in the bar, months ago, when he leaned in and told me he wanted to kiss me.

I pushed him away and left, but the memory lodged itself in my head like a splinter. It just wouldn’t go away.

Sometimes I dreamed about him. In those dreams, when I pushed back, he didn’t stop. In those dreams, he pinned me down, and I’d wake up drenched in sweat, heart pounding like crazy, my face burning with shame.

Shame, just because I’d had dreams like that at all. Which was awful, because the worst part was... they weren’t always nightmares.

After that, every time I looked at Kyle, guilt chewed at me from the inside out.

Samuel’s POV

I spent the afternoon in the hotel dealing with paperwork, then headed out.

While I was in the elevator, Dominic called. “When are you coming back?”

“Missing me already?” I said with a grin.

“Just picked up a new project. Needs an audit.”

The elevator stopped. The doors opened, and someone stepped in. I glanced over.

The girl from last night. The one with the pink Rolls-Royce.

She looked at me, and I looked at her.

“I’ve still got a few things to handle here,” I told Dominic. “Give me a couple more days.”

“You still haven’t closed it?”

“I saw her, but it didn’t go the way I thought it would.”

“Then come back.”

“Easy for you to say. You’ve got some beautiful woman warming your bed every night. You have no clue what it’s like for the rest of us.” A little frustration slipped into my voice. “If I go back empty-handed, don’t expect me to get much work done.”

Dominic hung up.

I slipped my phone back into my pocket. When the elevator reached the lobby, I let the girl step out first, then followed after her.

I called Garrett Mercer and asked about Aria’s mother, then stood outside waiting for a cab.

“Hey.” The girl pulled up beside me and stopped, standing by the open door. “Where are you headed? I can give you a ride.”

I raised a brow. “You talking to me?”

“Obviously.”

“You sure it’s not a hassle?”

“Get in.” She pointed at the passenger seat.

So I got in. She pulled back into traffic.

“Where to?”

I gave her the address.

She glanced at me. “A rehab center. You got family there?”

“I’m visiting someone for a friend.”

“Oh.” She drove in silence for a block, then asked, “So was that guy in the elevator last night your boyfriend?”

“He’s not my boyfriend. Just a bit of fun.” Her face didn’t change at all when she said it.

I looked at her again. That kind of blunt honesty caught me off guard.

We reached the rehab center. I got out.

“Hey.” She leaned across the center console. “You’re not gonna leave me your number?”

I knew what she meant. “I’m going back to my own territory tomorrow.”

She pouted a little. “Yeah, but there’s still tonight.”

I laughed. Straightforward. Bold. In another situation, I probably would’ve liked her.

“Thanks for the offer. But there’s already someone on my mind.”

She shrugged. “Your loss.”

She drove off, and I went inside.