The perfect date

LIANA

I spent almost an hour standing in front of my closet trying to decide what to wear.

Which was ridiculous.

It was just dinner.

Not a wedding.

Not a proposal.

Just dinner with a man I barely knew.

So why was my heart beating this hard?

I pulled out three different outfits before finally settling on a simple black dress that hugged my waist softly. Nothing too dramatic.

Still, when I looked at myself in the mirror, I barely recognized the girl staring back at me.

Nervous.

Excited.

Terrified.

Behind my bedroom door, I could hear my mother moving around the apartment kitchen. Ever since Kane entered our lives, the tension between us had become unbearable. She watched me constantly now, like she was waiting for something terrible to happen.

And maybe that was why guilt twisted in my stomach as I grabbed my purse.

Because I was lying to her.

I walked into the kitchen trying to act normal. “Jess asked me to stay over tonight.”

Mom looked up immediately from her tea. “On a Thursday?”

“She’s upset about something with her boyfriend.”

The lie came out smoother than I expected.

Mom studied me quietly for a few seconds, and for one horrible moment, I thought she knew.

But then she sighed tiredly. “Don’t come home too late tomorrow.”

Relief rushed through me so fast it almost made me dizzy. “I won’t.”

As I walked toward the door, her voice suddenly stopped me.

“Liana.”

I turned around.

Her expression softened slightly. “Stay away from Kane Mercer.”

The guilt hit me hard enough that I almost confessed everything right there.

Almost.

Instead, I forced a smile. “Goodnight, Mom.”

The second I stepped outside the apartment building, I froze.

A black car already waited by the sidewalk.

Kane leaned casually against the driver’s door wearing an all-black suit, one hand inside his pocket. Streetlights reflected against the wet pavement around him, making the entire moment feel unreal somehow.

Like a movie scene.

The second his eyes landed on me, his entire expression changed.

Not dramatically.

Just softer.

Warmer.

And somehow that affected me more.

“You look beautiful,” he said quietly.

Heat rushed to my cheeks instantly.

“Thank you.”

He opened the passenger door for me without taking his eyes off me once.

The inside of the car smelled expensive and clean, filled with soft music playing quietly in the background. My hands felt shaky as I buckled my seatbelt.

Kane slid into the driver’s seat beside me. “So,” he said calmly, “how did you get your mother’s permission?”

I laughed nervously. “I lied.”

One of his eyebrows lifted slightly. “You?”

“Apparently I’m capable of crime after all.”

A soft chuckle left him, low and deep enough to send warmth down my spine.

“What did you tell her?”

“That I was staying at Jess’ house.”

“Jess,” he repeated. “The friend who studies graphic design and cries every time she drinks tequila?”

I turned toward him so fast my jaw nearly dropped.

“How do you know that?”

His mouth twitched slightly like he enjoyed my shock. “You talk about her a lot.”

“No, I don’t.”

“You do.”

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. “That still doesn’t explain how you know she cries over tequila.”

“She posted about it once.”

I stared at him.

He glanced at me briefly before pulling away from the curb. “What?”

“You’re weirdly informed about my life.”

“I told you already.” His voice softened slightly. “I pay attention.”

That answer should not have made my heart race the way it did.

The city lights blurred past outside the windows as we drove downtown. Rain still drizzled softly against the glass, turning everything outside golden and blurry from the streetlights.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“You’ll see.”

Twenty minutes later, the car stopped outside a rooftop restaurant overlooking the city skyline.

My mouth literally fell open.

“Kane…”

“You don’t like it?”

“No,” I breathed out quickly. “It’s beautiful.”

His eyes stayed on me for a second too long before he quietly said, “Good.”

The restaurant itself looked magical. Warm lights glowed overhead while soft piano music filled the air. The entire city stretched below us like sparkling stars.

I suddenly became very aware of how ordinary I was.

And how extraordinary he seemed.

A hostess immediately rushed toward us. “Mr. Mercer.”

Kane gave a small nod.

She led us toward the most private table on the rooftop while every employee we passed seemed strangely tense around him.

Kane pulled my chair out for me gently before sitting across from me.

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

The city wind moved softly through my hair while candlelight flickered between us.

“You’re staring,” he murmured.

I looked down quickly, embarrassed. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize for looking at me.”

My stomach flipped violently.

God.

Everything he said sounded intense.

The waiter appeared seconds later, almost too quickly, like he had been waiting nearby the entire time.

“What would you like, sir?”

Kane looked at me first. “Order whatever you want.”

I hesitated nervously before choosing the cheapest thing on the menu.

The waiter wrote it down quickly before looking at Kane.

“The usual, Mr. Mercer?”

“Yes.”

The second the waiter left, I frowned slightly. “They know you really well here.”

Kane leaned back calmly. “I come here sometimes.”

The answer felt incomplete somehow.

But before I could think about it too much, he suddenly asked quietly, “What’s your biggest dream?”

The question caught me off guard.

I looked down at my hands. “Honestly?”

“I prefer honesty.”

I smiled faintly. “I just want my mom to stop struggling all the time.”

Something shifted in his expression then.

Like sadness.

“She talks about you constantly,” I admitted softly. “You know.”

“She does?”

“She thinks you’re dangerous.”

A small smile appeared on his face, but it didn’t fully reach his eyes. “Maybe she’s right.”

I should have laughed.

Instead, the answer made my chest tighten strangely.

The food arrived a few minutes later, but somehow the conversation mattered more than eating.

For the first time since meeting him, Kane slowly started opening up.

Not completely.

Just enough.

“My father believed weakness ruined men,” he said quietly while staring out over the city. “Everything in my childhood was about power. Control. Fear.”

I listened carefully.

“My mother was different,” he continued. “She was soft. Kind.” His jaw tightened slightly. “She died when I was young.”

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

For a moment, pain flashed across his face so quickly I almost missed it.

“People only stay soft for so long,” he murmured.

The sadness in his voice hurt unexpectedly.

For the first time, Kane Mercer didn’t feel untouchable.

He felt lonely.

Dangerously lonely.

Without thinking, I reached across the table and touched his hand gently.

The second I did, his entire body stilled.

That was when I noticed his knuckles.

Bruised.

Split slightly.

Like he had hit something recently.

Or someone.

My breath caught.

Kane noticed where I was looking immediately.

Slowly, he turned his hand over beneath mine, hiding the bruises.

“What happened?” I asked softly.

“Nothing.”

“That doesn’t look like nothing.”

His eyes held mine for a long moment before he quietly said, “Some problems require physical solutions.”

A chill slid down my spine.

There it was again.

That quiet darkness underneath him.

Still… I didn’t pull my hand away.

Hours passed too quickly after that.

By the time we left the restaurant, the city streets below were almost empty.

The rain had finally stopped.

Kane walked beside me silently until we reached the car, but instead of opening the door immediately, he stopped.

The air between us suddenly felt heavier.

Warmer.

My heart started pounding hard enough to hurt.

“You should go inside before your mother calls the police,” he murmured.

I laughed softly. “Probably.”

But neither of us moved.

Kane stepped closer slowly.

Close enough that I could smell his cologne.

Close enough that I forgot how to breathe.

His hand lifted gently to my face, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear.

“Liana,” he said quietly.

The way he said my name felt dangerous.

Addictive.

Before I could think, his mouth crashed against mine.

The kiss stole every thought from my head instantly.

It wasn’t soft.

It was consuming.

Intense.

Like he had been holding himself back for too long.

My fingers grabbed his coat automatically as his hand tightened around my waist, pulling me closer against him.

The entire world disappeared.

The city.

The cold.

Everything.

All I could feel was him.