What do you think is the revenge all about? ;)
The dessert was sweet, but not nearly as sweet as the way Joaquin’s eyes softened every time they met mine.I pushed my spoon through the last bite of crème brûlée, fighting the ridiculous urge to stall just so I wouldn’t have to say goodbye to this night.“I don’t want this date to end,” I admitted, almost sheepish. “It’s been… a long time since I’ve had one.”Joaquin leaned back, one brow lifting. “A long time?”I laughed, embarrassed. “Okay, don’t judge me. My last real date was back in college.”That earned a low chuckle from him, warm and rich. “College? That was—” he paused, eyes glinting with amusement “—a very long time ago.”I gasped in mock offense, swatting lightly at his hand across the table. “Excuse me? Are you calling me old?”“Never.” His lips curved, that rare playful grin tugging at his usually composed features. “I’m saying I need to make up for lost time.”Heat bloomed in my chest, half from his words, half from the way he said them—like it was already a given, lik
The restaurant was the kind you only saw in glossy magazines—the kind where chandeliers glowed like stars and the tables gleamed with silver and glass. I smoothed the hem of my dress for the tenth time, pulse quickening as Joaquin led me in with a hand at the small of my back.He hadn’t said much on the drive after my question, but the warmth of his touch lingered, and I found myself clinging to it like a lifeline.The hostess smiled, led us to a private corner table near the windows. The city glittered below, a canvas of golden lights, and for once I felt like I wasn’t drowning in pretense.“This place is…” I trailed off, struggling for the right word. “Beautiful.”“Fitting,” he said simply, holding my chair out for me before taking his seat. His voice was calm, but his eyes lingered longer than usual, and something unspoken curled in the air between us.I fiddled with my napkin, trying to ease the tension in my chest. “So, is this the part where I should make small talk about the we
The valet opened the car door for me, but before I could slide in, Joaquin brushed past, taking the keys himself.“I’ll drive,” he said simply.I blinked. “You? You never drive to these things.”His mouth curved faintly as he held the door open for me. “Tonight’s different. If I’m taking you on a proper date, I’m not handing it off to someone else.”Something in my chest fluttered at the quiet sincerity of it. I slipped into the passenger seat, smoothing my dress as he shut the door and rounded to the driver’s side.The car purred to life, and we pulled away from the mansion lights, city streets stretching ahead of us.For a few moments, there was only silence, the low hum of the engine, and the faint music drifting from the speakers. It felt… intimate. Too intimate. My nerves buzzed, still frayed from earlier.“Back there,” Joaquin said suddenly, eyes fixed on the road, his voice smooth but edged with something I couldn’t quite place. “You were helping Javier.”My pulse skipped. “His
I took a final look in the mirror, smoothed down the hem of my dress, and inhaled deeply. Tonight wasn’t just any dinner—it was my first date with Joaquin. And no matter how much I tried to convince myself it was “just dinner,” the butterflies in my stomach weren’t buying it.As I made my way down the stairs, the low murmur of voices drifted up. I slowed, recognizing them instantly.Joaquin. Javier.My heels paused against the step. It wasn’t like me to eavesdrop, but something in their tones made me linger, leaning ever so slightly against the banister.“Take a breather for once,” Joaquin was saying, voice edged with that quiet authority he carried so effortlessly. “You look like hell. Haven’t you slept properly in days?”“Don’t start,” Javier muttered, dismissive. “You sound like an old man. I’m fine.”“You’re not. You keep running yourself ragged. Even you have limits.”Silence stretched, broken only by the faint clink of glass—Javier probably nursing one of his late-night drinks ag
Two weeks passed.Two weeks of keeping my head down, forcing myself to breathe, to write, to focus.The first few days had been unbearable, the silence of my thoughts constantly circling back to that night—to Javier’s words, his honesty, the kiss I couldn’t forget even if I tried.But somewhere between drowning in manuscripts and staring at my laptop screen until my eyes blurred, I found a rhythm.Work. Tea. Sleep. Repeat.It wasn’t glamorous, but it steadied me.Joaquin, too, seemed to find his balance again. Our interactions became clean, professional. When he needed to discuss manuscripts, he came to me, voice calm, clipped, like a boss with his editor. He didn’t linger. He didn’t push. And oddly enough, that steadiness was exactly what I needed.It reminded me why I was here in the first place. My dream. My writing.And then—like the universe had decided I deserved some kindness—Joaquin began reading my work too.“You’ve got good bones here,” he said one afternoon, holding a printo
The quiet of Joaquin’s office was exactly what I’d asked for—just me, a stack of manuscripts, and silence. No eyes on me. No brothers breathing down my neck, intentionally or not.But my head wasn’t cooperating. Every time I tried to focus on a paragraph, my mind drifted. To Joaquin’s gray eyes when he asked if he was losing me. To Javier’s mouth on mine, and the way guilt and longing had tangled so tightly I couldn’t tell them apart anymore.I pressed my palms against my temples, exhaling sharply. “Work, Haven. Focus.”The door creaked open.I didn’t even need to look up. Only one person walked into a room with that kind of reckless ease.“Busy, Venny?” Javier’s voice was low, teasing—but softer than usual.I set the manuscript down, bracing myself. “What do you want, Javi?”He leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed over his bare forearms, his shirt sleeves rolled up. For once, though, he wasn’t smirking like the devil who lived to make me squirm. His eyes were… gentler.“I wanted