Chapter 2

She couldn’t understand what kind of curse she was under, with misfortune piling up one after another. It wasn’t enough that she had a terrible boss, and that he was attending the same engagement party which would later make him her stepbrother—now she was stuck sitting beside him on a long flight back to Manila.

As they settled into their seats, Ainara tried to ignore the way his cologne smelled like cedar and regret. He pulled out a tablet. She pulled out a book. Their elbows touched. Neither moved.

Thirty minutes into the flight, he glanced at her page.

“You’re still reading that?” he asked, pointing at the romance novel in her hands.

“It’s called savoring.” “It’s called procrastinating.”

She turned to him. “Why are you like this?”

Andres only laughed. She closed the book, suddenly losing the mood to read.

“What would you like me to do?”

Andres shut off his tablet and faced her. “Talk to me.”

Ainara frowned. “And what exactly are we supposed to talk about?”

“Anything. Except work. I don’t want to talk about work. Tell me about yourself—”

“What is this, a Miss Universe Q&A?”

Andres chuckled, letting his eyes linger on her beautiful face. Even as a child, Ainara had been striking. But beauty came with a strong personality, and Andres knew she breathed fire whenever she wanted to prove herself right. He found that sexy as hell. A complete turn‑on. If only she would agree to a no‑strings‑attached relationship, he’d think they had a chance.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked.

“Like what?” Andres murmured, still mesmerized. How many times had he planned to ask her out to dinner, only to change his mind?

Ainara was a hopeless romantic, while he didn’t believe in marriage. They wanted different things.

She wanted to say, Like you want to eat me, but held back.

“Like you’re possessed by some evil spirit. Like you want to strangle me.” It wasn’t true, but it was the best she could come up with.

“Like the BDSM way?” He wasn’t into that, but he wanted to keep the conversation going. Ainara talked more when teased, and he enjoyed hearing her thoughts, ideas—everything.

“You’re into that?” she shot him a sharp look. Now he had her attention.

“Are you?”

Ainara gasped. “Of course not! I’d rather die than engage in that. It’s sick.”

“Okay.”

She leaned back and put on her headset, determined not to talk to him anymore. But the damn man kept staring, and she could feel the heat of his gaze. She yanked off the headset and faced him.

“Quit staring.”

“It’s a free country.”

“Ugh! You’re impossible.”

She covered her face with both hands, then dropped them seconds later. Maybe she should switch seats? But the flight was full—no chance.

“You have ten minutes of my time, then you’ll leave me alone. Deal?” she said.

“That’s not long. You know this is a long flight.”

“Then watch a movie.”

“I don’t want to do that. I want to talk.”

She wanted to hand him coins to buy someone else to talk to. But Andres was a billionaire—far richer than her.

“Fifteen minutes.”

He shook his head.

“Thirty, and that’s final.” “I get to ask you anything I want for thirty minutes, and we have a deal.”

“Wait, is this off the record or am I going to pay for this once we’re back in the office?”

“It’s off the record. We’re on a plane.” He tried not to smile, but failed. Technically, they were in international waters.

Ainara swallowed when she saw him smile. He rarely laughed at the office, always serious. But now it was like a switch had flipped—she was seeing a different version of Andres.

“Fine. Fire away.” If this was the only way to make him leave her alone, she’d endure it.

“Do you think I’m handsome?” Her jaw dropped.

“Excuse me?”

“Do you think I’m handsome? Because you never look at me like the other girls in the office. You’re always rushing to get away from me, while the others beg for a chance to stay. I’m beginning to think you need glasses.”

“Are you flirting with me right now?” Her heart hammered in her chest.

“If I am, would you flirt back?” he challenged.

This was wrong on every level. As soon as the plane landed and they went to that engagement party, whatever this was would be over before it even began.

“You’re just bored, Andres. Sleep it off.”

“I’m not bored. I think this is the best time to talk about this attraction between us. I enjoy our daily banters in the office. And when office hours are over, I look forward to the next day. Don’t you?”

Ainara swallowed again. She felt the same way, but was too embarrassed to admit it. He was still her boss.

Andres brushed her cheek, tracing her lips with his finger. Slow. Warm. Like fire catching on dry wood.

“Why do you ignore me?” he whispered.

Maybe it was the wine… or maybe the cabin pressure—but she was seeing Andres differently. This softer side. Sweet. Charming. Like a moth drawn to flame.

“Would you go on a date with me, Pilar?”

The way he called her by her second name felt electric. He was the only one who did. Even Mateo had always called her Ai, just like the rest of her family.

“We’re up in the air. Did you forget?”

Andres frowned.

“Our parents are getting married.”

“Exactly. So once we land, we forget everything that happened on this flight. That includes all our conversation and… whatever we’ll be doing.”

There was no escaping him. He always had a loophole.

“We’re having our date here?” Ainara glanced around. The plane didn’t have much space.

“Yes, with airplane food—but we can have plenty of wine.”

“You hardly drink.” She’d noticed that about him.

“I will on this date. So what do you say?” He raised his brows, coaxing her.

She found herself agreeing.

“That’s my girl.”

Something wrapped around her chest when he said it. Warm, like a blanket—something she’d never felt with Mateo. With Andres, she felt safe. With Mateo, she had to watch every word.

He looked at her then, really looked.

“You’re not what I expected.” She frowned.

“What did you expect?”

“Someone easier to ignore.”

She swallowed. “You’re not what I expected either.”

He leaned in slightly. “What did you expect?”

“Someone easier to hate.”

Their eyes locked. The cabin hummed. The air shifted—from banter to something heavier, unspoken.

It wasn’t every day they talked like this. Usually, they were too busy sparring.

Andres ordered food and wine. They started talking again, this time about a swimming competition years ago. Andres had been disciplined because he was on the university swim team. She was a freshman at NYU while he was in his final year.

“Girls were all eyes on you.”

“Really? I didn’t notice. I only had eyes on that freshman.” He sipped his wine, never breaking eye contact.

Ainara swallowed. Was he talking about her? Impossible.

“You had goggles on,” she teased, her voice nervous, eyes dropping.

Andres lifted her chin with his finger. “That freshman was you.”

Ainara didn’t know what to feel. Not once had Andres shown her he liked her. They’d passed each other in hallways, but he never greeted her. He’d only look at her, frowning, his gaze so intense it felt like fire.