AT THE SAME TIME
ISABELLA
The door didn't open for drama, it opened for efficiency. Two servers slipped inside like ghosts, pushing a cart that looked like it cost more than my rent, my sanity, and possibly a small country. The moment they entered, the tension snapped, not gone, just rerouted, saved by food. Xavier leaned back slightly, expression smoothing into something neutral, controlled. Whatever he had been about to ask retreated behind his eyes like a predator deciding to wait.
"Dinner." One of the servers announced softly, as if raising his voice would offend the walls.
Plates were set down with surgical precision. The aroma hit me first. Warm butter, citrus, herbs, and something expensive and unfairly comforting. I stared at it in awe. No, absolutely not.
"That." I said slowly, pointing at my plate. "Is exactly how I like it."
"Is that a problem?"Xavier glanced at it, then at me.
"Yes." I said. "A deeply suspicious one."
The server smiled politely and vanished before I could interrogate him like a criminal mastermind. I poked the food cautiously, as it might confess.
"This is my comfort order." I said. "This is what I eat when I have had a bad day, or a bad life, or when I am avoiding thinking about existential horror."
"Then I am glad."Xavier picked up his fork, unbothered.
"You didn't just guess." I said. "You knew."
He paused, fork hovering for a fraction of a second too long.
"I pay attention." He said simply.
"That is not reassuring."I sighed.
"It wasn't meant to be."He smiled faintly.
I took a bite despite myself. It was perfect, of course it was. My phone buzzed again, I didn't even pretend this time.
"FOOD ARRIVED YET? If it's edible, you are winning. If it's perfect, run."Wanessa sent me a message.
I typed back under the table.
"He ordered my comfort food. I am afraid."I messaged back.
"Oh, oh that's BAD bad. Proceed, I want data."Wanessa teased in another message.
I choked on a laugh and covered it with a cough. Xavier's eyes flicked up immediately.
"Are you alright?"Xavier asked.
"Yes." I said quickly. "Just… inhaled incorrectly. A personal flaw."
"Should I call someone?"He asked.
"No." I said. "If I die, let it be dignified."
His mouth twitched. We ate in a strange, almost peaceful rhythm after that. Not stiff. Just quiet, comfortable in a way that made my skin itch with unease. Because this wasn't supposed to be happening, this scene didn't exist, not in any draft, not even the beta. I set my fork down slowly.
"Xavier." I said.
"Yes?"He asked.
"This is going very well." I said carefully.
"Is that a complaint?"He tilted his head.
"No." I admitted. "It's a warning."
A soft knock came at the door again, a dessert appeared. I froze because the server wheeled in a plate and placed it gently between us. My favorite dessert. The one I had never ordered in public. The one I had once written about, offhandedly, in a scene that didn't matter. I looked up at Xavier.
"How?" I asked quietly. "Do you know this one."
His gaze didn't waver this time.
"Because." He said, voice low, steady, intentional. "You don't hide as well as you think."
My heart sank and somewhere deep inside, the story shifted again, because food wasn't just being served, the trap instead was being set.
I was still clinging to my fork like a lifeline when Xavier leaned back in his chair, that calm, dangerous sort of smile curling at the edges of his lips.
"Wine." He said, just like that, smooth, casual as if ordering a beverage wasn't a threat to my life.
I blinked.
"Wine uh I mean, I don't usually drink before dinner?" I squeaked, realizing halfway through the sentence that I sounded like a startled rabbit.
He tilted his head, the corner of his mouth twitching in amusement.
"No? I suppose that makes tonight an exception."He said calmly.
My brain short circuited. Exception? Exception for me? He's flirting, he's definitely flirting, stop panicking, Isabella, stop panicking! The server appeared, cork in hand, moving with that quiet deference you only ever see around someone like Xavier Stoneheart. The cork popped, sharp but elegant, and I almost jumped out of my skin. Xavier poured my glass first, then his own. He handed it over with the faintest tilt of his wrist, eyes locking with mine.
"Careful." He murmured. "Sip slowly, I wouldn't want you to get dizzy from attention."
I choked on my fork, nearly stabbing my dessert like a misguided act of self defense. Attention? He's literally teasing me about being flustered. Right now. At a five star restaurant. I glanced down at my phone, my lifeline to sanity. Wanessa had already messaged.
"Alert. He's teasing. This is dangerous."Wanessa sent a message.
"DANGER ISN'T THE RIGHT WORD. I think I might die."I sent her a message.
Xavier raised an eyebrow at me.
"Excuse me?" His smile deepened, playful but deliberate.
"I uh, nothing!" I said too loudly, waving my hands like a drowning person.
"You are cute when you panic." He leaned in just slightly, voice low, teasing.
Cute? My brain short circuited entirely. I could practically hear Ina cheering somewhere off screen, and Michael's whisper of despair echoed faintly about needing a cold shower and a therapist. I tried to regain composure.
"I am not panicking." I lied through gritted teeth, staring at my water glass as if it were a shield.
Xavier's gaze lingered.
"Of course not. You are composed. Elegant. Like someone who knows exactly what they are doing."He grinned.
My stomach twisted. He wasn't just complimenting me. He was daring me to flinch, daring me to react and I was failing spectacularly. Then my phone buzzed again. Wanessa. Of course.
"Flustered. Good, keep it that way. I take notes."Wanessa teased.
I groaned, texting back under the table.
"Stop encouraging him. This is literally a trap."I sent back a response.
Xavier caught the movement of my thumbs under the table and smirked faintly.
"You are hiding something."He said.
'I uh my phone?" He leaned in just slightly, voice low, teasing.
"Perhaps." He said, teasing. "Or maybe your thoughts. They're quite readable right now."
I felt myself shrink in the chair. Readable? My thoughts? He's flirting, he's literally flirting, and I am the side character who is now officially screwed. Then he suddenly lifted his glass, the red wine catching the dim restaurant lights.
"To learning dangerous things about people who try to stay composed."He said calmly.
I wanted to pour water on the table and escape, but all I did was lift my glass with a trembling hand. Because Xavier Stoneheart wasn't just making wine tonight.
He was making me a plot twist I wasn't ready for, and somewhere in the back of my mind, Wanessa's next text lit up the screen.
"Good, he's flirting."She sent a message, and I sighed.
"You not wrong about it, I am nervous."I sent message back.
Dinner ended without explosions, arrests, or me faking my own death, so by my standards, it was a success. Xavier paid without looking at the bill, because of course he did, and rose from his chair like the night hadn't subtly rearranged my entire existence.
"Shall I take you home?" He asked, already holding my coat.
I hesitated, very briefly. Then nodded, because at this point refusing felt like arguing with gravity. The car ride back was quieter. Not awkward, worse, comfortable. City lights slid past the window. The engine hummed low. Xavier drove with one hand on the wheel, relaxed, sleeves rolled just enough to be unfair. I stared very hard at the streetlights, determined not to think about how natural this felt. We stopped in front of my building. He cut the engine but didn't move right away.
"Bella." He said softly. I turned towards him and my heart did something stupid. "I would like your number."
"You already know where I live."I sighed in defeat.
"That doesn't mean I should skip steps."His mouth curved.
"You are absurd."I huffed despite myself.
"And yet." He said calmly. "You are still here."
I pulled out my phone, typed it in, and handed it over before my courage could evaporate. He saved it, slow and deliberate, then looked at the name on the screen.
"Bella." He read. "Good."
I opened the door before I could say something unwise.
"Good night, Xavier."I said.
He stepped out of the car just long enough to close the door for me, leaning down slightly.
"Good night." He said. "I am glad you came."
I didn't trust my voice, so I nodded and escaped into the building. Up the stairs, one flight then two. My heart still hadn't caught up with reality. I reached my door, unlocked it stepped inside and closed it before exhaling and then my phone buzzed. Slowly, like this was a bomb, I lifted it.
"You forgot something. It's Xavier."Xavier has decided scent a message moments after he left.
My stomach flipped.
"What?"I asked in a message.
Three dots appeared almost instantly.
"You smiled when you left. I'll be thinking about it."Xavier Stoneheart sent answer.
I stared at the screen, face heating, soul leaving my body in a neat, orderly fashion as another message came in.
"Sleep well, Bella. Tomorrow, I will bring another rose."He sent a message.
I dropped my phone onto the bed and screamed silently into a pillow. This was bad. This was very, very bad. Because Xavier Stoneheart didn't just get my number. He got my attention, and I had a terrible feeling he wasn't planning to give it back.