Dinner with her? No way!
The restaurant was hushed, cloaked in soft golden light. Crystal chandeliers shimmered above, their glow spilling across white tablecloths and gleaming cutlery. It was the kind of place where laughter echoed warmly and glasses chimed like music. But tonight, it was empty. Ares had booked the entire space for one reason alone, to be with her.
Tessa sat across from him, her hair falling in sleek waves, her skin glowing in the candlelight. She hadn’t stopped feeling nervous since she arrived, but Ayisha’s words still rang in her mind—make him want you, don’t beg, don’t ask. So she sat straighter, let her smile be easy, and tried to quiet the hammering of her heart.
Ares, for his part, was different tonight. Not the cold businessman she had braced herself to meet,
