Chapter 5- Twice My Age

Sophie

I felt someone staring at me and my eyes immediately went toward the direction, then collided with dark, intense ones. Shit. 

Alexander stood there with his magnificent personality, his cold eyes devoid of any reaction. I stilled at my place, not knowing whether I should walk away or go to him for a casual meetup.

Before I could take any single step, he was already coming toward me, his walk was slow, elegant, the aura he was carrying. 

Damn. I gulped, everything inside me screaming to take a step back. This man's personality attracted me like nothing ever had before, his presence affecting me even more than James ever did.

Alexander stood in front of me, a smirk tugging at his lips, his expensive perfume already corrupting my brain cells, screaming sin.

"Hello, Miss Sophie," he said in his deep, sexy voice.

I smiled nervously. "Hello, Mr. Fox."

He raised his perfect eyebrow. "Mr. Fox, hmm. Interesting."

I didn't know what else to say. Taking his first name would feel too intimate and awkward between us. 

"Seems like you come here often," I said, trying to fill the silence.

He shrugged. "Not before, but these days I frequently visit," he said, and his eyes flicked over me from head to toe before he pulled his intense gaze away. Damn, was he actually checking me out?

"Why?" I blurted out before I could stop myself.

"Well, because I recently bought this club. As the new owner, I have to make sure my customers are comfortable here," he said meaningfully.

"Oh. That's all I could manage.

"Let's take a seat," he offered, gesturing to the side seat. I should have gone back home since it was already getting late, but I sat down anyway, loving his presence far too much to resist it.

"So are you doing fine now? Last time you were heavily drunk," he said.

I blushed suddenly, remembering that night when I had slept at his house and the next day stumbled into him in the most embarrassing position imaginable. His mouth on my boobs. God, stupid me.

I tried to kill my stupid blush. "Oh yes, yes, Mr. Fox, I am fine now. Last time I was just in a bad mood."

"Breakup?" he softly asked.

My eyes filled with tears. The agony, the pain came rushing back with full force. James's cheating had shattered my self-esteem completely. I felt like I was nothing, like I was useless.

"Hey, Miss Sophie. I am so sorry, I should not have asked such personal questions. Please forgive me." 

Alexander's panicked voice pulled me out of my heartache.

I gave him a sad smile.

"I caught my husband cheating on me." I didn't know why, but I told him. Just like that.

"What?" he almost shouted, like he genuinely couldn't believe someone could cheat on me.

I nodded. "People are unpredictable, Mr. Fox. You never know when they do something you believed they never would."

He nodded slowly in understanding. "So are you single now?"

Why, I could hear a hint of excitement somewhere beneath his composed voice. Damn. What was I even thinking? 

Why would he be interested in someone like me, someone who had just crawled out of a painful past, when this man, who looked like sin itself, could have any beautiful woman he wanted?

"I'm a free woman now and planning to divorce my husband," I said.

"Good" he said, and lifted his glass of wine and drank.

"What about you, Mr. Fox?"

He chuckled softly. "Well, I am a forty-five year old divorced man, and I have a son who is twenty-five now," he said casually, like it was the most ordinary thing in the world.

My eyes widened. Forty-five. Damn. This man didn't look anywhere close to that age. He looked like someone in his early thirties. 

And his son was older than me. But what shocked me more was hearing that he was divorced. A quiet, satisfied happiness filled my chest before I could stop it.

I shook my head slightly. What was I even thinking? I had just been betrayed by my own husband, and here I was developing a crush on a man who was nearly twice my age.

"So are you single now too?" Shit, I blurted it out again before I could stop myself.

He smiled again, and god he blessed me with his dimpled smile that did absolutely nothing good for my composure.

"I'm single. Just meaningless one-night stands, that's all," he said, like it was the most normal thing to admit out loud.

I didn't know why, felt a flicker of disappointment but quickly controlled myself. He was a free man, and on top of that, handsome as hell, so it made complete sense that he slept around. 

But at least he was honest about it and didn't try to pretend he was something he wasn't just to impress me. I respected that more than I should have.

We didn't say much after that. He sipped his wine quietly and my eyes wandered over the people around us. After a while I stood up.

"I think I should leave now, Mr. Fox," I said, rising from my seat.

"I'll drop you," he said immediately, already ready to stand.

"Ohh no, Mr. Fox, you really don't need to. I can manage."

"Miss Sophie, are you scared of me because of what I said a few moments ago?" He was clearly referring to his confession about the one-night stands. 

I shook my head in denial. "I am not judging you, Mr. Fox. It's just I don't want to trouble you the way I did last time."

"It was not trouble at all," he insisted.

I don't know why, but I agreed. He guided me to his car and let me settle in comfortably. God, how had I agreed to get in his car after only one real meeting? 

But something kept pulling me toward him, something I couldn't name or explain. And I knew he wasn't someone who would take advantage of a woman. I felt that much about him already.

Alexander drove in silence. I gave him my address even though he hadn't asked for it.

I wanted to ask him so many things, like why he divorced his wife, but I stopped myself every time. 

It would have looked inappropriate, and besides, I didn't have much experience talking to a man like him. Soon the car slowed and stopped in front of my apartment building.

I looked at him. He was already staring at me.

"Umm.., thank you, Mr. Fox," I said warmly.

But Alexander didn't smile this time. His eyes dropped slowly to my lips, and then he leaned toward me, slightly closing the distance between us. I gulped.

Oh my God. Was he about to kiss me?