Page 74 of The Arrogant One

“Mr. Hart Weston,” the server added, “the owner?—”

“Of Charred,” I whispered.

And as soon as the words left my mouth, Lockhart got up from his chair and began to walk over to our table.

SEVENTEEN

Hart

The heat from Sadie’s gaze followed me the entire way over to her table. It didn’t even seem like she blinked—that was how focused she was. And with each step that brought me closer to her, the thoughts in my head built into larger ones. The last thing I wanted her to think was that I’d followed her to Charred or that running into her was anything more than a coincidence. But given that I was one of the owners here—a conversation I still hadn’t had with her—I wondered if that was the reason she had come and she knew that I was part of The Weston Group. Or she knew nothing about my work, and crossing paths was merely by chance, my sighting of her random.

“Sadie,” I said when I was only a pace away, stopping at the side of her chair, leaning down to kiss her cheek. “It’s good to see you.”

“Hi … Lockhart.”

As I idled for a moment, taking in her incredible scent, I letmy lips linger on her skin. Was there ever a scenario where Sadie didn’t look incredibly beautiful? I hadn’t found one yet.

I whispered, “I’m surprised to see you here.”

She caught my eyes as I pulled back. “Same.”

“When I go out with my family, nine times out of ten, we end up here.” I pointed behind me at the bar, but didn’t look in that direction. “I was just in there, having drinks with my brother and sister.”

“Our server mentioned you were the owner … I didn’t know.” She paused. “Makes sense you’d choose to come here, especially with how good it is.”

So, she didn’t know, and this was nothing more than a coincidence.

I wondered if she was upset that I hadn’t mentioned the restaurant—or any of the restaurants—during all my talk of being a foodie.

What I did know was that something about this situation felt off, and I couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

“Oh my God, I’m being so rude,” Sadie said. “Bryn, this is Lockhart.” She gave Bryn her eyes. “Lockhart, this is my best friend, Bryn.”

I extended my hand toward her best friend. “It’s nice to meet you, Bryn. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Lockhart,” Bryn said, her eyes widening as she shook my fingers. “I think you know I’ve heard loads and loads about you.” She smiled. “Funny enough, I was just telling Sadie how badly I wanted to meet you.” She surrounded my hand with her free one. “It’s so lovely to finally get the opportunity.”

I flicked my bottom lip by running my teeth across it. “Loads and loads, huh?”

She laughed. “You’re the man my girl can’t stop raving about.”

“Bryn …” Sadie moaned.

“What? It’s true.” Bryn winked at her.

I chuckled. “However Sadie feels about me, I feel even deeper for her.”

Bryn nodded, her grin growing. “Oh, I like you.”

Our hands dropped, and I asked, “Are you enjoying yourselves at Charred?”

“We’ve only had the tuna and the burrata,” Bryn replied. “They were outstanding.”

“She’s right,” Sadie said. “I really loved both.”

It was her eyes—that was what felt off. The way they were looking at me, the way they were trying to see right through me. And it was her tone too. Normally, it was full of flirtation and lightness, and those were gone. In their place wasn’t a heaviness; she just sounded like a friend rather than verbally taunting me to shred the clothes from her body.

I was sure this had to do with my ownership of The Weston Group—something I now had to discuss with her. Not here, but tomorrow night during our date.