?Chapter 95:


    Elliana wished Cole would just look at the damn menu already. Anything to get those sharp eyes off her. But Cole didn’t budge. He just kept staring at Elliana—silent, unreadable, and relentless.


    A fluttering drum in Elliana’s chest sputtered into an uneven pause. Suspicions of him recognizing her flooded her mind, but she quickly dismissed them. There was no way he could recognize her, so she coaxed her heart back to a steady rhythm. Still, his gaze bore into her like a physical force, making her too tense to even draw a full breath. Antagonizing him was thest thing she needed. After he stormed outst night, their dynamic was already strained. Now wasn’t the time to push her luck. ying it cool, keeping her distance—that was her only safe bet.


    The diner felt oppressively quiet, like the air had gone stale. Myles, Aron, Hugh, and even the bodyguards—they were all side-eyeing the tension, utterly baffled by Cole’s intense fixation on a mere waitress. Off to the side, Hailee and Briggs looked like they were bracing for a bomb to go off, nerves fraying for Elliana’s sake.


    Seated opposite Cole, the woman felt a sense of threat at how this stunning waitress had attracted Cole’s attention. Her lips tightened. But Cole couldn’t have cared less about what others thought. His gaze lingered on Elliana as if drawn by a ma. Because to him, she was breathtaking—undeniably, aggravatingly beautiful. She drove him out of his mind. She’d yed him, kept him at arm’s length with that icy attitude—but damn it, he couldn’t stop wanting her.


    Bathed in the diner’s soft, golden light, Elliana looked even more luminous—like a spotlight had chosen her and refused to move.


    Cole remembered the first time he’d glimpsed her real face: long hair tumbling loose, that fierce makeup stripped away, a towel hiding most of her features except her eyes and brow. Now she stood before him with sleek sses veiling her upper face, her mouth and nose fully revealed. Between the two moments, Cole had assembled her like a puzzle—half of her face at a time. Just like he’d guessed on their wedding night, Elliana was drop-dead gorgeous.


    Last time, even with only the upper half of her face visible, her vivid and shimmering eyes had mesmerized him, tugging at his attention with a spark.


    Now, it was her lips that held him spellbound. Full and delicately curved, they looked soft enough to bruise at the slightest touch, flushed a rosy pink like they’d been kissed by summer fruit.


    The urge to press his lips to hers raced through Cole’s mind nonstop. He’d kissed her once, and that thrilling spark had reyed in his mind repeatedly. Seeing her now brought it all rushing back, a pulse of heat that bloomed in his chest and tingled on his tongue.


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    Moments crawled by until the woman finally lost her cool. “Mr. Evans…” she cooed. “I’m so hungry.”


    Only then did Cole peel his eyes off Elliana.


    Cole tilted his head toward the woman, a teasing glint in his eye and azy smirk curling at the corner of his mouth. “Hungry, huh?”


    “Uh-huh,” the woman purred, lips pushing into a pout as she leaned in with a practiced flick of hershes.


    Cole didn’t bother replying. Instead, his eyes slid down to the menu, dismissing her with a flicker of disinterest.


    Taking advantage of this brief moment, the woman shot Elliana a hateful re, her warning crystal clear. A lowly waitress trying to steal her man? How ridiculous!


    Elliana didn’t flinch. She’d seen this brand of pettiness before and refused to entertain it.


    “Rmend me something,” Cole said suddenly, his eyes on Elliana, his voice slicing through the tension.


    Elliana’s eyes shifted toward Cole before she could stop them—and crashed straight into his. A bolt of heat raced through her chest. She looked away fast, pulse stammering in her throat. She had no idea what this ce’s best dish was. Her mind nked—until she remembered Hailee dropping off a te of creamy chicken spaghetti earlier, proudly calling it the house special. With that, she tapped the menu with a steady finger. “This one’s always a hit.”


    Cole gave a faint nod—then, with a casual smirk, lobbed that unexpected question. “So, what do you think of my date?”


    Elliana stiffened. Her mind nked. Did he really just ask that?


    Around the table, the Fletcher brothers and the bodyguards looked like they’d just witnessed a car crash in slow motion. Shock rippled through them. Asking a…


    Waitress toment on his own date like this? What was Cole thinking? He had never pulled something this wild before. What was up with him today?


    Elliana’s fingers tightened around her notepad as she fought the urge to fire back. What the hell was wrong with this guy?


    But before she coulde up with a response, Cole leaned back with a smirk and answered his own question, “She’s not as pretty as you.”


    The woman stiffened, her nerves splintering into panic. She darted a look at Elliana and then back at Cole, freaking out. Was this waitress about to ruin her shot with Cole? She hadn’t even sealed the deal yet—just barely gotten her toe in the door—and now this waitress was about to m it shut.


    Cole didn’t spare the woman a nce. His voice remained calm, smooth, and cutting. “But she’s got one thing going for her.”


    Elliana’s gaze tightened, her eyebrows pulling together. She couldn’t care less whether this woman possessed any merit. And why was he telling her this?


    “She’s upfront about being a seductress. No pretending. Unlike some people who look all sweet and innocent but are stone-cold inside, reeling guys in and then ghosting them…” His gaze lifted to meet Elliana’s, a half-smile tugging at one corner of his mouth, equal parts amused and dangerous. “So tell me, are you one of those heartbreakers?”


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