The moment I stepped out of Dakota's Café, the evening breeze brushed against my skin, cool and refreshing, carrying with it the comforting scent of roasted coffee beans and warm pastries.
I paused for a brief second, letting it settle my thoughts. After everything that had happened these past weeks, I needed that moment more than I cared to admit.
For once, my mind was not racing with worries about job applications or unanswered emails. It was not about rehearsing interview answers or pretending I had everything figured out. Today felt different. Lighter.
Today, I felt like myself again.
I slipped my apron into my bag and straightened up, rolling my shoulders back as if reminding myself that I was still in control of my own life.
Beth had already gone ahead, her voice bubbling with excitement as she spoke on the phone about some "big news" she refused to share yet. Typical Beth. Dragging suspense like it was a sport.
I shook my head, a small smile tugging at my lips as I walked past the café parking lot. The streetlights had begun to glow, casting soft shadows across the pavement, and the evening felt calm.
Too calm, maybe.
That was when I saw it.
A sleek black car, impossibly polished, sitting like it owned the entire space.
My steps slowed.
I did not need to see who was inside to know.
Still, my heart betrayed me, picking up its pace as the car door opened.
And just like that, there he was again.
Xavier Steel.
This was not our first meeting. That alone should have made this easier. It should have made him less… overwhelming. Less capable of throwing me off balance with just his presence.
It did not.
If anything, it made it worse.
Because now I knew exactly who he was.
And somehow, that knowledge only made him more dangerous.
He stepped out of the car with the same effortless confidence I remembered, dressed in a dark suit that fit him perfectly, like it had been tailored to match his arrogance. His gaze swept across the area before landing on me, and there it was again.
That look.
Recognition.
Followed closely by amusement.
As if he had been expecting this.
I told myself to keep walking. To act like his presence did not affect me. But my feet slowed anyway, betraying me in the most annoying way possible.
"Still not watching where you're going?"
His voice came from behind me, smooth and familiar, carrying that same teasing edge I remembered.
I stopped.
Slowly, I turned to face him, already preparing a response sharp enough to remind him I was not someone he could easily play with.
But the moment our eyes met, something shifted again, just like before.
Annoying.
"You again," I said, crossing my arms slightly, masking everything else I was feeling. "Do you make a habit of sneaking up on people?"
He raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. "Sneaking up?" he repeated. "I'm standing in plain sight, Amelia."
The way he said my name so easily made something tighten in my chest.
"So you do remember me," I replied, tilting my head. "I was starting to think I was just another forgettable face."
That earned a low chuckle from him.
"Forgettable?" he echoed, stepping a little closer, just enough to make me aware of the space between us. "You're many things, Amelia Winters. Forgettable isn't one of them."
I hated the way my heart reacted to that.
Still, I refused to let it show.
"Careful," I said lightly. "You almost sound sincere."
"Maybe I am," he replied, his gaze steady on mine.
For a brief moment, neither of us spoke. The air between us felt charged, like something unspoken was building quietly beneath the surface.
It was not just curiosity anymore. It was something deeper. Something neither of us seemed willing to acknowledge out loud.
I broke the silence first.
"So what is this?" I asked. "Coincidence? Or do you just happen to show up wherever I am now?"
His lips curved slightly.
"I could ask you the same thing," he said. "But I think we both know I don't believe in coincidences."
Of course he didn't. A man like Xavier Steel probably believed he controlled everything around him.
"Well, I do," I replied. "And I'd like to keep it that way."
"Is that so?" he murmured, his tone softer now, but no less intense. "Because it doesn't look like you're trying very hard to walk away."
That hit a little too close to the truth.
I straightened immediately. "Maybe I just don't like being told what to do."
"That," he said, his smirk returning, "I've already noticed."
There it was again. That pull. That quiet challenge in his voice that made everything feel like a game I had not agreed to play.
And yet, somehow, I was already part of it.
Before I could say anything else, he adjusted his cufflinks, his expression shifting back to that composed, unreadable mask.
"I'll see you again, Amelia," he said, as though it was not a possibility, but a certainty.
I frowned slightly. "That sounds less like a guess and more like a plan."
He held my gaze for one last second, something unreadable flickering in his eyes.
"Maybe it is."
And just like that, he turned and walked away.
I stood there for a moment, watching as he got back into his car and drove off, the sound of the engine fading into the distance.
Only then did I realize I had been holding my breath.
"This is bad," I muttered under my breath.
"Bad?"
Beth suddenly appeared beside me, eyes wide and sparkling with curiosity. "That did not look bad. That looked like the beginning of something very interesting."
I shot her a look. "It's not interesting. It's complicated."
She grabbed my arm, grinning. "You like him."
"I do not," I said quickly.
"Amelia."
I exhaled, shaking my head. "He's trouble, Beth. The kind of trouble that doesn't come with warnings."
But even as I said it, I could not ignore the truth quietly settling in my chest.
This was not over.
Not even close.