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I couldn’t quite explain it, but even though she looked stressed in a way, she also looked and felt as light as the wind. Her eyes were clear and bright and seemed to hold no hidden shadows or grief, and it made me want to roll down the window just so that I could stare further into them. Eventually, though, and after glancing at the watch on her wrist, she straightened, and in no time, had dashed away and straight into the lobby of the vineyard.
I couldn’t see her any longer, yet I didn’t move, perhaps with the hope that she would come out again, but she didn’t. A few minutes later, my phone began to ring, and I looked down to see it was my mother. I could no longer delay, so I picked it up, and after giving a look to James through the rearview mirror, he immediately got out of the car and came over to the side to pull the door open for me.
“Are you here yet?” my mom asked as soon as I picked up the phone.
“Just getting in,” I replied.
"Oh, that’s great news. I didn’t think you’d be able to make it.”
"Aurora?" I asked, and I could hear the smile in her voice even before she replied.
“She's here.”
“And her mood?”
“She’s been sullen as usual, but she keeps staring at the door, so I know that she's expecting you.”
This was good to hear, so I ended the call and headed over to the reception desk to ask for directions to the arranged location.
Chapter Six
Evelyn
I had to blame someone for this mess, and for once, it was not going to be me.
Forget being the bigger person because as soon as I got back, I was going to chew Anna to pieces. Not only had she forced me to accompany her for a colleague's birthday the previous evening, so that I could, of course, be her eyes and ears in judging the interactions between her and the guy she had the most ridiculous crush on, she had forced me to drink along with her to calm her nerves and then told me she'd set an alarm for me to be up on time as soon as we got home.
Because she hadn’t done any of the above, I’d slept till Aurora’s phone call had woken me up, asking me once again if I wanted to ride to the Hamptons along with her since she was on her way.
I’d almost taken it but knowing that I would need a lot of privacy to get ready so as not to seem as scattered and disoriented as I currently did, I’d declined. I didn't regret it, but it now meant that I was later than ever and looked like a complete mess. The plan had been to head back to my apartment to get my already ironed and laid-out change of clothes, which was supposed to be a dress very suitable for the late summer day. Instead, I had grabbed my rumpled black pants from the previous night, found a checkered dress shirt in Anna’s closet, and slipped into her gym shoes since I wasn't able to find the decent heels I had worn out with her the previous day.
I looked absolutely hideous, and the reflection in that car had shown just how bad it was. Aurora, until that moment, had left me with two calls and seven messages, less than half of that I had responded to, so I was under immense pressure to hurry up to join her in the hall where everyone was waiting. However, when I saw the sign for the ladies' bathroom, I instantly hurried into it.
In there, I wrapped my hair into a tighter bun, smeared on the red lipstick I had found in my backpack so that I wouldn’t look so pale, hungover, and dead, and folded up the sleeves of the shirt I now knew looked quite old and unappealing. Sighing, I stared at myself and couldn’t help but feel disappointed because this was not the impression I had hoped to make.
I had connected enough dots by now to know that Aurora's family was not a regular family. Although I still hadn’t been curious enough to search for them since I would find out eventually, I couldn’t shake the idea that working with her and doing well was the gateway I had been looking for to connect with more elite clients. A few minutes later, I felt a little bit better, but my shoes were lamentable.
In order to appear as put-together and professional as possible, I pulled my camera out and got ready to walk. I took slow, measured steps as I approached the area that the receptionist had directed me to. However, just as I approached, I was forced to come to a halt.
There was a man standing right by the huge arched entrance door, on the phone, his other hand in his pocket, his eyes trained on whoever was in the room. He was so regal that I couldn’t help but stare at him: his broad, tall physique, sharp jawline, and intense glare. He seemed like
a general in the military, impeccably dressed. I was torn between going close enough to smell him or remaining back until he went where he was headed, so he wouldn’t see me, and I wouldn’t feel even worse about myself.
My hand lifted before I could stop it. I quickly focused my camera and then I clicked. The sound startled me, but as I took the shot, it was as though the moment reverberated through me. And thus, I couldn’t stop. He was in a place where the lighting was almost unreal. The area to his left, where I was, was quite shadowed, while from his right was open and filled with sunlight, creating an unreal effect. He straightened and turned his head towards the right, and I took the chance to take yet another shot.
Just before I clicked, however, it was as though he sensed my attention on him, so he turned, and that was how I took the perfect, jaw-dropping but also terrifying picture of his face staring straight at me. From his physique, side profile, and suited appearance, I had been certain that he was attractive, but seeing his face through my lens, I was frozen in place. As I stared at the digital result, I was sure he couldn’t look this real. I lifted my gaze and found, to my horror, that he was still watching me. I had been caught red-handed, yet he was every bit as devastatingly handsome as I had seen.
I should have been immediately apologetic or even embarrassed and turned away or continued on my way, but I couldn’t. It was as though I was frozen in place, especially when he put the phone away and began to head over to me. I tried to look away, then lowered to put my full attention on my camera as though I hadn’t even noticed, but pretty soon, the most intoxicating scent of tobacco and vanilla mixed with lime and something so deliciously exotic and sinful at the same time that I had absolutely no hope of identifying wafted much too close towards me, and then his polished leather shoes came into sight.
“This is my second encounter with you,” he said, and my heart thundered against my chest. If someone had told me that there could be anything else remarkable about him, I wouldn’t have believed them. But at his voice, as clear and boisterous as the waves smashing against rocks and equally as calm, I was almost struck dumb. I looked up then and had no choice but to summon what was still remaining of my confidence to stare into his gorgeous grey eyes.
“What?” I asked, barely coherent with whatever words I was making.
“You used my car as a mirror earlier,” he said, “and now you’re outrightly taking pictures of me? Don't you think you're taking too many liberties of my person and property?”
I had absolutely no idea what he was saying or talking about, but he didn't seem to be in a hurry for a response. So, as a result, I was able to put his words together enough to recall that I had indeed stopped before a dark sleek car by the curb and quickly checked my appearance in the tinted window at the back. My hand immediately slapped over my mouth.
"Holy shit!” I swore.
