Chapter Three

After storming out of Ayc’s office, Aria drove home a little faster than normal. She had always been a bit of a speed freak, she loved the thrill and how the world passed her by in a blur. Somehow it calmed her. 

The moment she got home she climbed into a warm shower, with the hope that the water would relax her tense muscles and salvage her mood even just a little, Deagan did not deserve to be on the receiving end of her foul mood. 

Aria stared in approval at her reflection in the standing full-length mirror. The chiffon halter neck black dress hugged her torso and flared out around her hips all the way down to her knees, showing off her impeccably tanned legs which were held up in a pair of black stilettos. Her waist-long golden blonde locks were pinned out of her face and a pair of black flower stud earrings adorned her ears. Simple yet elegant was what she was going for and she was beyond happy with the end result. 

She’d never been much of a make-up lover, but today, unlike other days, she put in the effort to achieve the perfect winged eyeliner and flawless fuchsia lips, she felt slightly pathetic for wanting to impress him, but not enough to stop herself.    

Glancing at the clock when she was satisfied with her appearance, she realised that she was right on time, then all of a sudden the nerves kicked in, she had been on many dates, with boyfriends as well as a few other guys in the past, but none had ever made her feel this nervous. 

She knew the moment she laid eyes on Deagan that he was different from anyone she’d been acquainted with before. She was so lost in thought that she almost missed the sound of the doorbell ringing. Sucking in a deep breath, she attempted to calm her nerves before opening the door. 

The sight before her made her breath hitch for a second. Deagan was dressed in dark blue jeans, a crisp white V-neck that molded to his chest beneath a black slim fit suit jacket and a pair of black Timberlands, on his feet. His hair was slicked back in that natural-looking side sweep that she was sure took him the longest time to perfect; she smiled at the thought. 

Deagan was in no way prepared for the vision that greeted him when Aria opened the door; the black dress contrasted her beautiful golden blonde locks and made her hazel brown eyes pop. 

“Hi.” He breathed with a magnificent smile on his face,

 “Hey.” She greeted with an equally bright smile. 

“Ready to go?” he asked and she nodded as she stepped out and locked the door behind her. He held his hand out for her to take and led them both to his red  Ford Granada, 1975  model, and opened the passenger door for her. Being a major car fanatic, seeing his car and its condition, impressed her extensively. 

‘Pure leather interior, a real classic.’ She thought appreciatively and her admiration did not go unnoticed by Deagan, he watched her awed expression with fascination, it was something unusual for him to have a woman look at his car with such intensity. 

“I love your car!” she sounded intrigued and his heart bubbled with pride. More often than not, people judged him for driving his grandfather’s car, and here she was admiring it. 

“Thank you, she’s my pride, guess you can call it a family heirloom.” He ran his finger across the dashboard and smiled lazily at her. 

“Wow, that’s awesome. She’s in impeccable condition!” he grinned and started it up, 

“Let’s just say both grandma and mom, were jealous of the attention Shelly got.” She laughed out loud, but couldn’t help admiring their dedication. 

The drive was filled with light conversation, Deagan adored that about her, he never felt pressured to speak to her and silences were never awkward. Before long they arrived at Al Fresco, an Italian restaurant in the heart of, Seattle; well known for their amazing Risotto and Carbonara, the place they both agreed upon during their earlier conversations. 

Aria’s nerves had calmed slightly since she got into the car with him and felt at ease enough to tease him when he ran around the car to open the door for her, “So chivalry isn’t dead after all.” She smirked taking hold of his outstretched hand, to which he replied with an exaggerated curtsy which caused her to laugh out loud. 

He couldn’t help but stare at her as the sound of her melodious laugh filled the air around them, gaining the attention of a few bystanders who smiled at the golden-haired beauty as well. 

“Good evening, my name is Jodie and I’ll be your waitress for the evening. Can I start you up with some refreshments and an appetiser before you order?” the cheerful rainbow hair coloured girl greeted the pair with a wide smile. 

Deagan glanced over at Aria who was looking through the refreshments menu with a thoughtful look on her face before his gaze fell back on the bubbly waitress, “I’ll have a glass of Amarone Della Valpolicella 2012 and get us a starter platter to share please.” he looked over at Aria who’s head shot up at the mention of the drink, she was impressed by his choice, she had been stuck between Amarone and Chianti for the evening. 

“I’ll have a glass of 2013 Tesco Simply Chianti thank you.” Jodie jotted down their order and smiled widely at them. 

“I’ll be right back with those, in the meanwhile you both can decide on the main course.” She said and then rushed off towards the kitchen. 

“The lady sure does know her wine,” Deagan smirked impressed causing a light blush to spread across her cheeks. 

“I guess you could say that. My dad is quite a wine lover so after spending twenty years’ worth of family holidays visiting wine farms across the world, I’d say I know my way around the grapes well enough.” He chuckled at her slight frown, which disappeared almost immediately afterward, “You’re not too shabby yourself Mr Lockheart.” She teased, but he simply sent her a small smile. 

“When you work for one of the richest men in the city, you pick up a few things.” At the mention of his job, Aria’s interest was piqued. She leaned forward in her seat, eyeing him with curiosity. 

“What is it that you do exactly Deagan?” He smiled softly and said, 

“I am Andrew King ’s bodyguard, personal chauffeur and right hand .” She was slightly surprised, but in no way disappointed. 

“Oh my, aren’t you lucky? The man has the most amazing car collection and I’m sure you get to drive them all, right?” Deagan’s eyes widened in shock, there was no way he was expecting her reaction or anything close to it, but Aria always seemed to have the strangest reactions to everything. 

He chuckled lightly and thought, ‘I guess I’ll have to get used to it’ shaking his head lightly before replying, “Yes he does indeed have a wonderful collection and it is nothing, but a pleasure to sit in the driver seat of each one of those babies, but if you don’t mind me asking; how do you know Drew?” he was curious, Drew and Deagan had been best friends since their college days, but not once has Drew ever mentioned knowing such a gorgeous woman. 

Before she could answer their drinks arrived, Jodie set the wine down along with their starters, “There we are, are you both ready to order, or would you like some more time?” the young lady asked with a welcoming smile. 

“I’ll have the Spicy chicken Risotto with a side of parmesan, please.” Aria smiled and looked over at Deagan, 

“I’ll have the Chef style Chicken Scallopini and a slice of Garlic Bruschetta, thank you.” she nodded and repeated their orders back to them before taking off towards the kitchen once more. 

“Cheers!” Aria grinned raising her glass to him, “To new horizons.” He nodded with a smile and touched her glass with his own, 

“To meeting new people.” He said and they both sipped on the wine of their choice.

“Oh I have never had the pleasure of meeting the man in person, but I did do some work for him a few years ago when Mr Oden’s daughter went into labour, I signed off on the security details that he added to his home.” She explained and he nodded in recognition, on the day of the inspection the both of them had to rush out of the country when a fire broke out at a shipping yard in Mumbai, India.  

“A lawyer then ey? I never would have pinned you for the courtroom type.” He teased and she laughed at how ridiculous he looked when he wiggled his eyebrows. 

“Do tell, what did you pin me for then Mr Lockheart?” she leaned forward in mild interest with a smirk on her face, to which he waved his hand disinterestedly and sipped on his wine before answering her in a nonchalant tone.

“Oh I don’t know, I was thinking of a sexy personal assistant?” he looked her dead in the eye and smirked devilishly. She was so caught up in noticing just how sexy his smirk was that she almost missed what he said, but despite being partially distracted by his handsome face she matched his smirk and said, 

“I guess it would be perfectly fitting, especially with that slick leather skirt you chose for me the other day.” Just like the day in the store his smirk dropped into a scowl at the thought of all those stuffy businessmen feasting their eyes on the sight of her beautiful ass in a tight leather skirt, laughter bubbled from within her at his reaction, she found it absolutely adorable how his entire demeanor changed with the mere mention of the skirt. 

Like each time before Deagan found himself smiling unconsciously at the beautiful woman laughing before him, her laughter entranced him, to a point where he felt like he needed to see and hear it every day for the rest of his life. After a few moments her laughter calmed aside from a few light chuckles she took a sip of her wine and a bite of the Croquette that lay on her plate before looking back up at the man in front of her who once again caught her eye and held her stare, 

“It’s okay though, I find your intelligence very alluring.” 

They stared at each other for a few seconds before Deagan winked and looked down at his plate with a satisfied smile. It was one of the rare times that she did not have a witty comeback, his intense stare seemed to have rendered her speechless, she found it hard to comprehend that a man she had met mere days ago could make her feel this way, she shook her head to rid herself of her wayward thoughts. 

The rest of the evening progressed well, after their moment, their food arrived and the chatter began once again, both shared stories and experiences. 

“I don’t think I will ever be able to handle dessert after that, my pants if probably molded to my hips by now.” Deagan sighed dramatically once they had finished off their main course. 

“You’re telling me? I’m fairly certain the next time I wear this dress it fit loosely from being stretched out tonight.” Her eyes widened in an exaggerated manner causing him to laugh, 

“It doesn’t matter; you’d still be the most radiant woman in the room.” Aria narrowed her eyes in mock scrutiny as the waitress came by and started clearing the table and leaving them the cheque. 

“Hmm, I wonder just how many more synonyms you have hidden under that sleeve of yours.” She commented causing him to laugh as he searched his pockets for his wallet. 

She watched in amusement as he patted down each of his pockets searching for his wallet only to come up with nothing, “Damn, I must have forgotten my wallet in the car, let me just go grab it quickly.” He muttered standing up, 

“Woah hold up tiger, who said you were paying anyway?” Aria raised an eyebrow at him as she slipped the total along with a tip into the little checkbook before he could protest, 

“What do you think you’re doing? I asked you out so that means I’m paying and plus I owed you for ruining your outfit.” He frowned and went to grab the booklet from her, but she was too quick for him. 

“You’re right, oh well I guess we’re just going to have to go out on another date then.” she winked and turned to walk away but he grabbed her wrist, 

“Only if you promise to let me pay, I can’t have this happening all the time, it’s seriously bad for my ego.” He warned, but he was surprised that instead of feeling offended like he usually would have, he was impressed. He felt a strange sense of pride towards this woman; she was every bit different from the women he had met in the past. 

She blushed, a sudden wave of guilt hit her as she realised that she may have offended him by paying for their meal but the guilt washed away when she saw the hopeful smile on his face, “Deal-” She smiled, and his widened, “and to make it up to you, I’ll even let you pay for our third date.” She wiggled her eyebrows at him, he rolled his eyes playfully but couldn’t help the small smile that graced his lips at the thought of going on a third date with her. They hadn’t even been on the second one and yet the promise of a third got him excited, he shook his head as his subconscious mocked his pathetic behaviour.