lody looked in the mirror for what felt like the hundredth ti and exhaled slowly. She needed to get this right- not just her appearance, but the impression it created. After returning ho this evening, she’d gone over the conversation with Adam piece by piece, combing through every glance and every silence.
It hadn’t taken her long to realise what had gone wrong. She’d let her guard slip. She hadn’t said anything outright, of course, but sothing in her expression or tone must have revealed more than she’d ant to the previous ti when he had dropped her ho. And Adam had probably picked up on it. She sighed. If only she had not been feeling too vulnerable, this would not have happened.
Today, she would be more precise. Professional but also determined to let him see her in a new light... that she was much more attractive than lanie. She didn’t want to look like she was trying too hard, and she certainly couldn’t afford to seem obvious. The key was balance. Let him see her differently and co to that conclusion on his own.
She studied the dress she had eventually chosen. This one should work. It was simple, well-fitted, and showed the right amount of cleavage.. With a blazer, it projected confidence and control. And later she would take the blazer off- casually, of course, a throwaway comnt about the heat or maybe if sothing falls on her.. Just enough to catch his attention. Let the dress do the rest.
She wasn’t looking to seduce him because she knew that would be a mistake. What she wanted was far more subtle. She wanted him to look at her, really look at her. To make him look twice. To make him wonder.
Finally, she glanced at the ti, realised that she would be just late enough to walk in so that he could give her a once over. She grinned. Perfect.
***
He didn’t look.
To say she was disappointed would be an understatent. As she stepped into the spacious coffee shop, she knew she had drawn attention. She could feel it-the subtle shift in the air, the way heads turned ever so slightly. Several n glanced her way, their eyes lingering longer than necessary, taking in the lines of her legs, the curve of her waist. The dress was doing its job.
But the one man she had dressed for? The only one whose gaze she actually cared about? He didn’t even glance up from his phone.
Her stomach tightened. She stood still for a beat longer than necessary, as if giving him one last chance. Nothing.
She clenched her hands into fists and then slowly relaxed them, smoothing her palms against the sides of her dress before walking over to the table, and standing next to it. Now he would have to look up.
Adam finally looked up.
Not the way she had imagined. No pause, no once-over. Just a polite glance and nod, followed by him getting to his feet and gesturing," Miss lody. Please take a seat."
She smiled at that. Dam* it! Couldn’t he at least co and pull a chair for her? With a disappointed feeling, she sat down.
He did the sa and then got directly to the point, "You said there was sothing about lanie you wanted to talk about."
Straight to the point. "I did say that. But give a second. I’m thirsty."
She raised a hand. The waitress appeared almost imdiately.
"A cucumber mint cooler, please," she said, then turned to him. "What would you like?"
Adam shook his head and answered in a clipped tone, "No. I’m fine." His tone was clipped, and impatient. She felt frustrated inside at his answers. Da*n it! Couldn’t he be a little patient?"
But she nodded, unbothered on the surface, not letting her expression show. She stood up again and slipped off her blazer. "It’s warm", she said simply, placing it over the back of the chair before sitting back down, carefully
Nothing. Not even a glance. His eyes were on the table, then the door, then the people behind her. Anywhere but her.
She took a slow breath and reached for her glass when it ca. Sipped. Set it down.
Her smile was still in place, but her chest felt tight.
"Alright," she said, took a deep breath and said. "Let’s talk."
Adam nodded and waited for her to continue. He already had a guess in his heart but he needed to know what it was that lody knew ad lanie might not. He leaned back slightly, waiting.
lody didn’t speak right away. Instead, she looked around. and said, "They’ve redone this place. It feels bigger sohow."
Adam felt annoyed at the delay tactics that lody was using but he simply glanced around and then at her," Does it?"
"Hmm. I used to co here all the ti until a couple of years ago. They’ve got, really good coffee."
Adam nodded and glanced at the ti. While he was willing to listen to her, it did not an he had the patience to entertain her.
"Miss lody, let’s not waste ti talking of random things. You said you had sothing to discuss about lanie. Please do that."
This ti, lody let her annoyance show. "Do you have to be so abrupt?" she said, sharper than before. "Can we not talk about sothing else for a few minutes?"
Adam didn’t so much as flinch. His expression didn’t change. He simply shrugged, calm and unmoved. "Miss lody, we’re both busy people," he said. "If you don’t want to talk about it now, that’s fine. I can leave, and we can talk whenever you’re ready."
He pushed his chair back and stood, clearly done. He had no intention of wasting another minute on what looked more and more like a aningless conversation.
And he would have walked away.
But the mont he stood, lody’s control snapped.
"lanie is my sister," she blurted, her voice louder than intended, cutting through the low murmur of the café.
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