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"Miss O’Connell," he said politely. I arched an eyebrow at him. Really? I'd crashed into his boss’s car, crashed into his boss, and then he'd caught me practically shagging his boss. We still weren’t on first name terms?
I slid into the car, trying to pretend like getting into a Rolls Royce was something I did all the time.
Compared to the welcoming exterior of my gran's cottage, with its ivy covered walls and faded blue door, the Rolls felt cold and soulless. I tried to relax as we set off.
"Elliot, about the other night. I…" I trailed off, trying and failing to find a way to apologise for the way I'd behaved in the Harrington House garden.
"I saw nothing, I heard nothing," he said, his eyes firmly on the road. He must have noticed how embarrassed I was because he caught my eye in the mirror. "Truly, Miss, don't worry yourself about it."
I nodded and gave him a small smile. I liked Elliot. I was desperate to pepper him with questions about Alfie but I knew he wouldn’t tell me a damn thing so I left it alone.
"Can you tell me where we're going tonight?"
"A restaurant near London."
"That's it?"
"That's it. Some music, Miss?"
"Please. Something soothing." He pressed a button and a moment later, I relaxed into the seat as an angelic voice I didn't recognise filled the car.
An hour later, Elliot pulled in alongside the most elegant restaurant I'd ever seen. The wordL'Amourwas stencilled high above the door in black and silver script. It was beautiful, but the windows were covered in huge cream drapes, shielding the inside from pedestrians. I wondered if it was closed.
Elliot opened my door, I climbed out as gracefully as I could and followed him. He knocked on the restaurant door for me, and it was opened a second later by a smart looking man in a suit, sans tie. His beard was neat and flecked through with grey, and he had bright, smiling blue eyes.
"Miss O'Connell," Elliot introduced me to the man before abruptly turning, getting back into the Rolls, and driving away.
What is going on?
The man, whom I assumed to be the maître d', ushered me inside with a ‘this way, madame.’ I followed him into the dining room. I expected a busy room full of tables and diners. Instead, I found a room lit by a hundred candles and completely free of tables except for one in the centre of the room, where Alfie Tell waited for me.
Alfie stood as I entered, eyes raking me from head to toe in appreciation. The deep grey suit he wore was perfectly tailored to his muscular body. I bit my lip as I drank him in.
He was just so delicious to look at.
He crossed the room and pulled me into him, kissing my cheek.
"You are resplendent, Miss O'Connell," he whispered in my ear and I shivered at the proximity of his mouth to my neck.
"Thank you." He pulled my chair out for me and I sat. "What's going on here?" I asked, gesturing at the empty room. "Is the place shutting down or something?"
He arched an amused eyebrow at me. "No, Lola, it's not shutting down. I bought the place for the evening. Or rather, for the night, so we can take our time."
"Seriously? People actually do that?"
"Yes. Do you like it?" He tilted his head at me, watching me closely.
"Yes. I mean, it's a little strange. I like to people watch, you know? I just didn't expect this."
"You don't like it." His shoulders were stiff, his features a cool mask, as if he didn't want me to see how hurt he was. Me and my dumb mouth. He'd gone to all this effort for me—sending Elliot to pick me up, getting this place for the night. I suddenly felt like the most ungrateful girl in the world.
"No, I love it. Really, Alfie. I'm just not used to this sort of thing. It's beautiful, thank you for bringing me here." I smiled, trying to fix the bad start we’d gotten off to.
This morning, I had hated this man. Now I was grateful that he was spending time with me, thanking him for taking me ona date that I had refused to go on yesterday. How had that happened? I gazed at the Adonis in front of me, unable to fight the feeling that he had just engineered my entire mood.
“Say my name again.”
A blush immediately crept over my cheeks. “Alfie.”