Page 6 of Yours Suddenly

Amusement, slight and fleeting, comes across his features. “Eat,” he says.

I push a forked piece of lobster past my lips.

He says, “From now on, if you need anything to eat, I will ensure it is the most expensive one available. None of that cheap risotto shit you were about to eat down there. ”

“Okay,” I squeak. How does he know about the food I ordered downstairs?

He digs into his own food like he just didn't say something husband-worthy. And stalkerish.

“So, does that mean we're dating now?” I say, trying to make the atmosphere less tense.

He smiles again. Each time he does, he seems a little surprised. It's like he doesn'twantto smile, like it’s something that comes to him rarely, but with me, he just can't help it.

It makes something soar inside me, like I'm proud of an achievement.

“It means I'm already thinking about making you my wife.”

“We just met,” I blurt out after a few seconds of utter silence. “Like… it hasn't even been twenty minutes.”

“It’s been an hour for me,” he says.

“Oh, right, I forgot. You were stalking me.”

He smirks again, shaking his head, running a hand over his mouth.

“What's your name?” I say.

He looks up at me, amusement still in his eyes. “Roman.”

Of course, it’sRoman. As dangerous-sounding a name as he looks. His lips, his eyes, his hair, his hands screamRoman.

“I feel like I've heard it before. Roman Trent?” I say.

He raises one eyebrow. “It looks like I'm not the only one with a stalker.”

“No, no,” I say with a laugh. “Don't lump me in it with your weird hobbies.” I gulp down some lobster, alarmed at how comfortable I already feel. “I know you from, like, business and stuff. You're one of New York's top businessmen.”

He pauses. “Correct. I take back my previous statement. It doesn't count as stalking if I'm well-known, does it?”

I smile. “No, it doesn't.”

I study him. A lot of the businessmen in New York are dangerous. They kill each other to compete. Roman Trent is in real estate. Lately, people have been playing dirty to get land where lucrative buildings can be erected. It's not something I've been following closely, but I hear customers, usually CEO and old money types, discussing this at the cafe where I work.

“Your accent,” he says. “You grew up in Wisconsin?”

My eyebrows rise. “Yes?”

“You sound like a character fromYours Suddenly, Sawyer.” He takes a sip of his wine, eyes on my lips once more, making me shiver.

“Which is my favorite movie of all time,” I say. A film from the nineties set in 1978 Milwaukee about the forbidden and dangerous love between two restaurant heirs. Very bittersweet ending.

He smiles. “We have a lot in common. Alexandra.”

And it turns out we do. The night slips away as we chat. We’re both Leos. We both like the same genre of music, which I do not believe because he does not look like he listens to moody rock.

“It used to help me sleep at night,” he says.

“That… is so valid, actually,” I say.

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