The Marked One (The Marked Series Book 1) (9 page)

“I thought we were first going on a date,” he joked, never expecting the reaction he got. Her hand, which was reaching for the old door’s knob, fell to her side and fear faced him in the shape of her eyes.

“Tristan, I hope you—”

“No, God damn it, I’m so sorry. I was just joking.” He stepped closer and saw her bite her lip in nervousness. “Aaliyah, I would never expect that.”

She looked at him, her jade eyes shimmering, “Tristan, before we even think of this any further, you need to know that I’ve been hurt. Very badly, and if we…”

He placed his hand under her chin to make her look at him. “You can trust me. I want to get to get to know you. I’m not here to play games, Aaliyah. I want something real with you and I think you do too.” Her lip trembled and he smoothed his thumb over the plump piece of flesh. “If that isn’t what you—”

“I want to trust you,” she said, her little hesitation overshadowed by the hope in her eyes.

He softly nodded and let his hand fall away from her chin. “So about this best part?” Her carefree smile was potent as she accepted his words and began to fight the door to open it. As she let him walk out first, he realized the view was easily the best he had seen, and he had been to all the best holiday destinations. He walked out onto the balcony and Aaliyah came to stand next to him.

The sunlight fell onto both their faces and when he looked at her, her head was held up to it as she sighed. “This is perfect,” she whispered. He took her hand, which was hanging at her side. She looked down at their interlaced fingers and softly tightened the grip before she looked at him with the most beautiful smile. “See, crappy things all have their own beauty.”

“It is still not a very safe place,” he stated.

She shrugged. “Gerardo will protect me.” She carried a teasing grin. He preferred the thought that
he
could have been the Gerardo, but for that matter to be discussed, she needed to trust him and they needed to get to know each other a little better. Even if he would give his soul to her in an instant, it was clear that people had treated her far too unkindly for it to happen so easily. “I’m going to go get ready.” She smiled and let go of his hand.

He immediately felt the loss and warmth of her hand. He stayed outside a while longer, allowing her some privacy while he was quickly realising that his feelings for her were far too strong. And for someone like him, a man who had more than he needed, caution made him avoid most relationships, as he knew the women he had been with only wanted to
make
easy money. He drew his mind away from the thoughts, as his soon-to-be ex-wife’s betrayal tortured him for a second.

Heading down the stairs, he heard the sound of the shower where the lockers, lining the wall, had a split. The realisation that Aaliyah maybe already trusted him a little more than expected made him feel more positive of what it meant for the relationship they would someday hopefully share.

He sat waiting on the couch. It was an awful brown thing that could challenge the building’s age, but it was extremely comfortable and the view he had was excellent. So much so, that in a few minutes he became lost in his thoughts, and then Aaliyah was standing in front of him.

Her perfect face was exposed with the natural beauty he’d wanted to admire all day, while her eyes only had little makeup, which emphasised how perfection should look. Her cherry lips curled. “Hallo.”

He rose from the couch. “You look beautiful.” Her simple red dress was paired with brown boots, and he saw a soft shade of red shine in her dark brown hair as the light fell in behind her. “Oh, I found this.” He handed her a city map. “It is a few years old, so I suppose that it is the reason you were expecting my father, during your interview.”

She smiled shyly. “Am I going to be demoted for using improper material to have researched the company?”

He smiled at her. “Never, but I take Cookie isn’t someone you know. Well, I hope not.”

She chuckled, looking down at the ad for a strip club at the back. “My landlady gave it to me, to help me get around the CBD. When I was at the university, I travelled with friends and getting to places was mostly campus-based.” Her gaze met his again. “I guess I should’ve looked at the date.”

“Then meeting you wouldn’t have been as exciting.” It was partly a lie.

Her gaze lowered, a sign she was feeling shy and it was something he truly found charming. “I suppose not.”

“Are you ready for our dinner?” He needed to distract himself, because as much as he didn’t want to pressure her into anything, he still craved to taste her lips. To feel the warmth of her skin, which he was already addicted to. He wanted to make a connection with her that he knew he should have never even had on his mind.

She walked to the cabinet in the kitchen and grabbed her handbag. “So what has Mr. Dennis-Patrickson planned for our dinner?” she asked as they headed for the door.

“Ivan did what now?” He was in disbelief. He knew the man would do something to kill his charm. If it wasn’t going to be hard enough to convince Aaliyah his intentions were pure, he was going to need to prove to actually be a proper guy as well.

“He told me that he would be planning our dinner,” she reported with a smirk.

“He seems to be trying to make it easier for me with my decision in getting a new assistant,” Tristan countered.

“Now, how am I to believe a man who runs a corporation would care to organise a dinner for a girl like me?” she teased.

“I think your expectation of what I have planned is an overshot version of what you’ll be getting.”

Her smile turned sweetly wicked. “Is that so?” He nodded with huge grin of his own. “Very well then, Mr. Gerardo. Shatter my hopes of being wined and dined like a proper lady.” She opened the door and let him walk through first, more excited that he was now sure she would appreciate the rather simple date.

For most of their drive, they were both quiet. Palisades singing “Sidney” felt too fitting for the situation, and he caught Aaliyah softly smiling to herself as she listened to the lyrics. When they arrived at Monterey Bay Fish Grotto, the valet took his keys, and Tristan saw Aaliyah already being awe inspired, as the view from the street level was more than one would expect.

Leading her away, he caught her smile of appreciation and he enjoyed the sweetness she reflected. After stepping off the elevator, the view from the restaurant was a sight to see, as it was sunset and the light was catching on the buildings on the other side of the river.

When they took their seats, he could tell that Aaliyah wasn’t enjoying the eyes on her. Some looked in wonder at her, as they recognised him, and others looked at her in disbelief of having her mark revealed, while with
him
. He couldn’t understand why they were judging her, when most of them clearly had plastic surgery to hide things none of them likely needed to be ashamed of.

“Aaliyah,” he said, attempting to grab her attention, “look at me and ignore their stares.” She looked at him with slightly bewildered eyes, and then she let out a breath and nodded at him. In an attempt to distract her, he asked, “The town you grew up in, why did you move?” Her focus completely turned to him, and he saw her shaken expression. “I read it in the file Ivan found for me. I apologise. I realise it is overstepping, but I really want to get to know you.”

She smiled shyly again, the smile he was already so fond of, and she looked down at her hands. Her long, caramel-toned fingers twined together, and when she looked at him again, her eyes held a great amount of sombre happiness. “The answer is one that…it is one of those things that are hard to talk about.” Her tone matched her soulful eyes.

“Sorry, I just want you to forget the people and be here with me.” His words felt off, but he wanted just that. For her to forget the eyes he wished were looking at her in admiration rather than sick amusement, because he could only see the beauty.

She thought for a moment, her perfect green eyes focussed on him and then she stared out of the windowed wall. It was luckily a clear evening and the beautiful city lights shone brilliantly, causing small sparkles to reflect on the rivers and in her eyes. He caught her tiny outlet of breath and hope lifted her lips in the shape of a content smile.

Her eyes met his once more. “The town I grew up in, Cradock, it is a really small Karoo town with like a tenth of the population of Pittsburgh. So, when my mother…” A soft quiver began playing on her lower lip, but she still looked content. “She got cancer. So moving to Port Elizabeth was a better option. Financially, for my father, and medically, for my mother. She said that the best part of it all was that I’d get a much better education.” Her smile surprisingly grew. “She made everything so simple, but I was also homeschooled by her up until then.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t…didn’t think it through.” He felt some of his own pain rising to the surface.

“No, don’t be sorry. I obviously miss her and it felt unfair to lose her, but I have so many good memories that being sad wouldn’t honour her. The most important thing is that I shouldn’t remember the sad things.” Her eyes slanted as she seemed to see right through his mask. “You’ve also lost someone important?”

As if sent by the heavens, the waiter finally brought their wine, but now Tristan felt reluctant to drink any of it. With the wine poured, he eyed the glass. He rarely drank anything apart from special occasions, as he’d finally gotten a handle on his problem. Still, the memories of Gabriella began haunting him. Her hazel eyes so frightened and then…nothing.

A velvety hand touched his, and he faced the green pearls staring at him from across the table. “Tristan, you don’t have to tell me.” Her expression comforted him. “So the weather…crazy stuff?”

He let out a small chuckle at her method of trying to distract him. In that small way, she had helped his mind away from the pain and back to their date. She smiled at him, clearly understanding his mind was fighting a battle with something he never felt could be won.

He raised and clinked his glass with hers. “To odd weather patterns.”

“To odd weather patterns.” She chuckled, took a sip, and let out a small moan. He assumed it was due to the wine’s great taste.

As he took a sip of the Opus One meritage, the aromatic array of flavours danced on his tongue with brilliant cedar, plum, and tobacco tones, and he realised that these things were likely not what Aaliyah would ever be bothered over. It was somewhat a relief, as the type of women he usually dated were far from how he saw her.

She was down-to-earth, didn’t expect the best, and the greatest part was that she had no pretences. He smiled to himself as he admired their view of twinkling lights and manmade structures built along one of Mother Nature’s most beautiful creations.

“Why are you silently smirking? Are you making evil plans to rule the world?” she teased. “Wait, you already do that.”

He gave her a simper, feeling cocky about it when he caught the sparkle in her eyes. “I reserve those thoughts for when I’m in my office looking down at the city I want to be mine,” he countered with an evil tone that had her laughing. “But no, I was just realising that this is a great evening.”

She flushed again. “Yes, and it has barely begun. Yet it is an amazing start, if having nice wine and a great view has anything to do with it.”

“You forgot good company,” he added casually.

She sat back, finally completely relaxing. “I’m still deciding about that one.” He loved her charming wit and how at ease she seemed around him. She wasn’t trying to impress him, and that was a main reason why he thought she was enjoying his presence as much as he liked hers. “So, what do you do besides handing out dream jobs, running a huge company, and planning to take over the world?”

“Not much, to be honest.” He thought about her question. “If I’m not on a plane to somewhere, I’m at an office doing negotiations.” Actually saying it made it sound like quite a boring life.

“Come on, there has to be something. Or are you one of those fanboys who secretly collect all the band memorabilia and stash it in a huge room, where unmentionable things happen?” She was fighting not to break out in laughter.

He jovially shook his head. “No, I’m not one of those.” The more he thought about it, the more he realised he didn’t have much of a life of his own. “I do have a bitch who runs my life at home.”

Her eyes grew as big as the Savannah and she cleared her throat. “Uhm, sorry, what?”

Tristan couldn’t help but laugh. “I have a dog and she basically runs my life at home.” Aaliyah looked relieved and was smiling profusely at him again. “Her name is Isabella. She is a rescued Great Dane.”

“Odd name for a dog. Still beautiful though.” Aaliyah looked at him with admiration and was luckily so distracted she didn’t notice the terrible stare the man with the greased hair had given her.

“It was my grandmother on mother’s side’s name.” Aaliyah made a face of utter disbelief. “As you said, it is a beautiful name and I never met any of my grandparents. My parents were both disowned and then they came here, hoping for a new start.”

“Wait, the fairytale story about your mother, who would’ve been a Duchess? Is it true?”

“Was it in your odd map?” He smiled at her. She looked awkward.

“My friend, she’s a local girl and—”

“Local?”