Chapter 7

"And, again, I'm sorry! Good night!" Faolán hung up the phone. Apparently, he was already screaming before he even woke up, which ended up bothering and worrying some guests. There was nothing else he could do about it, but to apologize.

He leaned back against the pillow, exhausted.

'I think you've been cursed.' Rafe commented.

'Wow, that helps a lot, Rafe.' Faolán snorted sarcastically.

'I know. You're welcome.'

'You're ridiculous... Well, I'll try to go back to sleep. My head is killing me and I intend to go talk to Alanna as soon as her company opens.' Faolán settled back on the covers and closed his eyes. He feared he wouldn't be able to sleep again, but he fell asleep fast and slept soundly, to the point where he didn't even hear the alarm clock going off. When he finally woke up, it was almost lunchtime and he was hungry. Looking at the time on his cell phone, he jumped out of bed.

He rushed to the bathroom and showered as fast as he could. Rafe was scolding him, irritable. Faolán ended up blocking the wolf because he couldn't hear his own thoughts.

He drove to Paradise and parked right in front of the building, only to see Alanna's car pull out of the driveway as he was getting out of his vehicle. Sighing angrily, he got back into his car and followed her. He watched as the woman of his dreams got out of her car and walked into a fancy Arab restaurant.

"Do you have a reservation here, sir?" the man at the entrance of the restaurant asked, when Faolán tried walk into it.

"Uh… yes. I'm with Alanna Doyle, that pretty lady, over there." He pointed at her. The receptionist looked over and saw that she had, in fact, reserved a table for two, but without saying the other person's name. Therefore, he allowed Faolán to enter.

As soon as Alanna sat down at the table, Faolán sat down in the chair across from her, smiling. She finished placing her bag on the appropriate hook for that purpose and looked around, before speaking quietly to the man in front of her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked seriously.

"I said I'd look for you today. And I was lucky enough to see you leaving your company, so I followed you here." He spoke, as if it were the most natural and obvious thing in the world. He looked at the architecture of the place and nodded in approval. The place was large, with well-spaced tables, with white tablecloths on top of them and wide chairs, with a kind of twisted and varnished straw at the back. The lighting was slightly yellow. "It's very nice, here."

"I'm expecting someone else, Mr. Quinn." She said, her expression cold. Faolán narrowed his eyes at her. He felt jealous and also hurt. She didn't even look like the same woman who had surrendered to his kisses, the night before.

"Who is it?"

"I don't remember owing you an explanation." She calmy replied, then motioned to the waiter.

"You are my mate, how the hell do you not owe me explanations?" He blurted, before he could think his words better.

She looked at him with a frown. She opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the waiter.

"Madame, how may I be of service?" The short and slim man said, with his nose turned up.

"Water, please."

"And for the gentleman?" the waiter asked, turning to Faolán.

"For me it can b—"

"He's not having anything, because he's already on his way out. That's all, for now. Thank you." She interrupted Faolán, firmly.

The restaurant employee looked from one to the other, but didn't want to cause a fuss. He already knew Alanna and knew that she was a serious and very powerful woman. He bowed slightly and then walked away.

"I'm not leaving." Faolán said, leaning back on his chair, seeming at ease.

"I don't know what you mean by 'mate', and I'm not interested. I have a business lunch and you are disturbing me."

"Ah, business..." He said quietly. "As for the 'mate', I need to talk to you about it. Alone." He said, looking around.

"I've told you this before and I'll say it again: I have nothing to say to you, sir. If you keep pressuring me into making a decision about the land, you won't like the results. I hate being pestered about anything." She said and took a sip of the water the waiter had poured without saying a word, in order not to disturb the customers at the table, especially Alanna.

"And I've already said that this has nothing to do with the land. It's a personal matter between you and me."

"It doesn't matter. I don't wanna know. If it's not about business, then my interest in that subject is non-existent. Please get out and let me take care of my business." She put her index finger between her eyes, looking tired.

"I will, but on one condition." He said, leaning into her. She looked up at him. "You'll give me the opportunity to explain to you a situation that will change your life and mine."

She seemed to think, until she nodded. She just wanted him to leave.

Faolán rose and stood beside her. She looked at him, not understanding what he was doing. He placed his fingers under her chin and lifted it, leaning down and placing a soft kiss on her lips. The electricity between them was there when he touched her, but when they kissed, the tension was almost tangible. He reached for her hand and placed a piece of paper, which had a poem written, in it.

"I'll wait for your contact until five o'clock, today, otherwise I'll talk to you personally, again, the way I did today. See you later, my queen." He kissed the hand he was still holding and then left.