Chapter 46 46
“Thank you, Alex,” Blair said softly, forcing a smile as her heart finally slowed. “For… for saving our lives.”
She shifted Maverick to one side and reached out.
Their hands met.
Warm. Firm.
Alexander’s grip lingered just a second longer than necessary—his thumb brushing lightly against her knuckles, as if memorizing the feel of her skin.
Something passed between them.
Blair noticed.
She pulled her hand back immediately, fingers curling into her palm, unease flickering across her face.
“I still don’t know how to repay you,” she said, trying to sound casual, but her voice gave her away. “What you did was… more than enough.”
A corner of his mouth lifted.
“Well,” he said lightly, breaking the tension, “you could invite me for coffee.”
Blair blinked.
Coffee?
She let out a small, surprised laugh. “Coffee?”
“How did you know I make—”
Blair stopped mid-sentence, suspicion flickering in her eyes.
Alexander didn’t hesitate.
“I run a small company just across the street,” he said smoothly, already assembling the lie. “My staff orders coffee from your café all the time. Hard not to notice who makes it.”
Blair relaxed almost instantly.
“Oh,” she said, smiling politely. “That’s nice.”
She shifted Maverick higher on her hip. “I should get going now.”
“Of course,” Alexander replied, stepping back to give her space.
She nodded once, offered a small, grateful smile, and walked away—Maverick waving absentmindedly as they disappeared down the sidewalk.
Alexander waited.
Five seconds.
Ten.
Until she was completely out of sight.
He exhaled hard.
“Geez,” he muttered under his breath. “That was close.”
His calm shattered the moment he turned.
His driver and two bodyguards stood frozen near the car, faces pale.
“What the hell were you doing?” Alexander snapped, voice dropping into something lethal. “You almost hit them.”
The driver stammered, “Sir, the brakes—”
“I don’t care,” Alexander cut in sharply. “I didn’t sign up for that. Do you have any idea what could’ve happened?”
His fists clenched.
“What if I’d lost her?” he hissed. “What if I’d lost them right there?”
Silence fell.
Alexander dragged a hand down his face, chest rising and falling.
“Never,” he said coldly, eyes burning. “Ever let something like that happen again.”
“Yes, sir,” they chorused.
He turned back toward the street where Blair had vanished, jaw tight, gaze dark.
The anger drained from Alexander’s face as quickly as it had come.
Silence stretched.
Then he spoke again—
“…I told you to pull the stunt.”
The driver looked up sharply.
“That was the only way to get her attention,” Alexander continued, jaw tight. “She wouldn’t have stopped otherwise. But I said close, not reckless.”
He exhaled slowly, frustration biting at his composure. “You were careless.”
“Yes, sir,” the driver said immediately. “It won’t happen again.”
Alexander straightened. “Good. Because next time, there won’t be a next time.”
He turned away, already done with the conversation.
“Take me home.”
\---
The Burke mansion felt unusually quiet when he arrived.
Alexander moved through the halls restlessly, jacket discarded, sleeves rolled up. He checked his watch.
3:12 PM.
Too early.
He tried working—failed.
Tried reading—didn’t register a word.
Tried training—stopped halfway through.
Every thought circled back to one thing.
Six p.m.
Coffee.
Dinner.
Blair.
He checked his phone. No messages. Of course not.
“She agreed,” he muttered to himself, pacing the length of the living room. “She agreed.”
The memory of her smile replayed in his head. The way she pulled her hand back. The way she stood instinctively in front of her son.
Mine, a dangerous voice whispered inside him.
Alexander stopped by the window, watching the sun sink lower in the sky.
4:45 PM.
5:10 PM.
5:32 PM.
For a man who owned half the city and controlled outcomes with a word—
Waiting was torture.
By the time the clock ticked toward six, Alexander was already dressed, already ready, heart beating far too fast for someone who prided himself on control.
He glanced at the door once more, impatience and anticipation tangling in his chest.
“Just coffee,” he told himself with a humorless smile.
The butler knocked once before entering.
“Sir,” he said respectfully, bowing his head. “The Garcia heiress’ yacht party will be starting in ten minutes. Your presence was… strongly expected.”
Alexander didn’t even turn.
“Cancel,” he said flatly.
The word landed like stone.
“Sir?” the butler hesitated.
“I’m not going,” Alexander repeated, checking his watch again. Five minutes to six. “Send my apologies. Or don’t. I don’t care.”
The butler swallowed and nodded. “Very well, sir.”
As he retreated, two other staff members lingered near the corridor, voices dropping into hushed whispers the moment they thought they were out of earshot.
“Did you hear that?” one murmured. “He turned down the Garcia heiress.”
“For coffee,” the other whispered incredulously. “Just coffee.”
“I swear,” the first sighed dramatically, “if I could see that woman’s blonde hair even once—”
“—or just breathe the same air as her,” the second added dreamily.
Alexander paused mid-step.
His jaw tightened.
Blonde hair.
The words crawled under his skin.
He turned sharply. “Enough.”
The corridor fell silent instantly. Heads bowed. Apologies spilled out in nervous murmurs.
Alexander didn’t wait for them to finish. He walked away, long strides carrying him toward the front of the mansion.
The head bodyguard stepped forward cautiously. “Sir… should we prepare the car?”
Another driver was already reaching for the keys, unease written all over his face. “At least let us escort you. Just in case.”
Alexander didn’t even slow as he shrugged on his coat.
“No,” he said calmly.
The word alone made them stiffen.
“I’m fine,” he added, tone firm, final. “Stand down.”
“Sir—” the bodyguard tried again, worry bleeding through his professional mask. “You never go out alone.”
Alexander turned then, eyes sharp, dangerous. “There’s a first time for everything.”
Silence followed.
He walked past them, through the tall glass doors, and out into the evening air before anyone could argue again.
The gates slid open. The city noise swallowed him whole.
Alexander adjusted his collar and kept walking,
A yellow taxi screeched to a stop.
The driver leaned out. “Where to, sir?”
Alexander hesitated—just a second—before answering.
“A café,” he said.