Page 32 of Rebellious Hearts

“You do it,” she said.

“I’m not doing it.”

“Come on, don’t be such a stick-in-the-mud. There’s a first for everything, you know.” Her eyes twinkled with mischief. “And you never forget your first.”

“Fuck,” I breathed and dipped my finger in the water, running it along the line. A sound came from my glass, too. Different from hers. She started explaining water levels to me, and how it affected the vibration of the glass to change the tone of the note when someone cleared a throat behind us.

When I turned, Richard Thompson had arrived.

Damn it, he’d seenthat.Me playing with a wineglass like I was a fucking child.

“Mr. Thompson,” I said with a broad smile and held out my hand. “Ben Blackwood.” I would keep on this professional business smile and pretend like everything was as it should be.

“Richard Thompson,” he said, shaking my hand with a strong grip. “You can call me Richie.” He took Sofia’s hand and shook it, his smile broadening.

He liked her.

And why not?

I was pretty sure everyone liked her.

“Please, join us,” I said. “Can I offer you a glass of water?”

Richie glanced at the glasses.

“I think I’d like some wine,” he said with a sniff.

Yeah, fuck, imagine we’d done it with wine instead of water. That would have been even worse. Although a small part of me chuckled at what that would have looked like with Sofia’s fingers in the wine, and her eyes focused on the sound she made, her lips pursed like that…

“Sauvignon Blanc,” I said to the server, who seemed to appear out of thin air. “And you can bring the entrées when you’re ready.”

The server nodded and disappeared to fill the order.

“I ordered grilled salmon and vegetables for us,” I said to Richard.

“Good show. I love seafood.”

That had been a good move.

I nodded, pleased with myself. We made small talk for a short while until the server brought our wine. The Sauvignon Blanc had a crisp taste, with a little acidity that would complement the salmon beautifully when it came. I’d thought of this meal at length last night before I’d arranged it with the chef here.

I wanted the meeting to be as successful as I could make it.

Of course, the outcome would be out of my control, but I would control what I could.

“What do you think of the town?” Richard asked Sofia.

“Oh, I think it’ssopicturesque,” she said. “I can just imagine what it must have been like in its heyday. Walking down thosecobbled streets, buying an ice cream from one of the local cafés, or shopping at a little boutique…” She babbled on about the town, gushing about it as if it was worth something, now, and not the mess it was.

I wanted to get down to business. Urgency to seal this deal and get going with the project pulsed through me like a current.

This wasn’t just an important meeting for Blackwood Inc., but it would be good for the town, and in turn, good for my name. I just needed Richard’s investment and his endorsement to kickstart the project.

The server brought our salmon and vegetables, and it looked fantastic.

Sofia closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, smelling the food.

“This looks incredible,” she said.