Chapter 98: Chapter 98
Amelia's POV
Ralph's glance fell upon me and he smiled a little flirtatiously, coming a little closer to me and leaning a little, making my eyes go wide. Tristan scowled at him and I could feel him breathing fire already.
"So, who's the lovely lady?" Ralph asked as he held out his hand for me to shake.
"This is Amelia," said Tristan, avoiding my eyes and glaring at Ralph.
"I'm Ralph, the head chef here. Hope you liked the food?" asked Ralph as he held my hand and lifted it to kiss my knuckles, making Tristan raise an eyebrow at his action. It was obvious that Tristan wasn't liking it one bit.
"Yeah, it was awesome. You really are the best," I grinned, feeling embarrassed at the attention he was giving me. Ralph smiled and bowed like a true gentleman.
"Thank you Madame!" he said with a smile, still holding onto my hand. I felt a little awkward now. Was the man deliberately behaving this way to rile up Tristan?
However, to my horror, Tristan snatched my hands away from Ralph's and held them on his own. Ralph grinned mischievously, "So, are you and your friend enjoying the tour so far?" he asked Tristan but his eyes glittered with a warning. Even a blind man could tell that he was jealous beyond words. My heart fluttered with happiness. What should I deduce from Tristan's jealousy? I wanted to make him more jealous. Would he then blurt out how he felt for me?
Tristan scoffed, "Yes, Ralph, my girlfriend and I are enjoying our date," he gritted out. Ralph laughed out loudly, "Right, I got it. I'll leave you two then. Nice meeting you Amelia," he said and he waved and walked back inside.
"When did I become your girlfriend?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him with disbelief. He seemed to color a little at my question, much to my amusement.
"Didn't you notice he was hitting on you? You should thank me that I saved you," he said in annoyance. "Not that I said anything wrong, you will be my girlfriend eventually," he mumbled softly but I heard him distinctly.
"I heard you," I said with a smirk and he rolled his eyes but a small smile played on his lips as if had wanted me to hear it.
"Good then, you know your future," he said smugly and I rolled my eyes at him.
"My future is with my work," I corrected him.
"Learn to live a little, baby doll. Work is always there but you have one life. Don't waste it," said Tristan quietly watching me. He wanted to say a lot more and I waited for him to say it but he just sighed and looked away.
"I'll try, Jay. I haven't lived for the last eight years. I just survived because of my work," I told him quietly. He didn't ask a single question, but his hand sought mine and we slowly walked back towards the topmost deck. There was a silent understanding between us. He seemed to know what I had gone through. It was strange since I had no idea what he went through in my absence.
We cruised by the Empire State Building and started back for the Chelsea Pier. I was a little disappointed. I could travel around the world on this yacht with Tristan by my side. I didn't want it to end at all.
"It ended so soon," I said before I could control myself. Tristan turned to look at me.
"I can give you a detailed tour of the yacht. Do you want it?" he asked softly. I nodded. Of course, I did. It would give me a few more minutes with him.
Tristan gave me a detailed tour of the yacht, it was breathtaking. I freshened up in the en-suite and we waited, hand in hand, disappointed that the trip ended so soon. I could have lived with him here forever. The yacht anchored and we alighted after saying our goodbyes.
We went to the parking lot, it was already 11 o'clock and we headed home. The entire ride Tristan was quiet, and I didn't know what was going on in his head.
"I had a great time. I loved every minute of it. Thanks for this outing, Jay," I said smiling at him. I waited for him to admit the same to me but he didn't say a word. I wanted him to speak his mind, I wanted to know what he was thinking but he just gave a quick glance my way and continued to drive in silence.
"Didn't you enjoy even a little with me?" I just couldn't help the hurt from showing in my tone.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it, baby doll. I had the best time of my life today, with you," he said seriously, his eyes dark, and unsmiling, mouth tense. My heart did a somersault and started hammering in my chest at his admission. My hopes started soaring sky-high at his words. I know that I might look like a crazy woman hopelessly in love but I didn't care. I smiled warmly. 'So have I, Jay. I too had the best time of my life because I love you,' I thought.
He stopped the car smoothly in front of my building and came over to open my door. My heart skipped a beat or two when his warm hand, held mine and he helped me out. He locked the door and guided me towards the elevator, we went in quietly and reached my floor. He used his set of keys to open my door, and we went in. We were both silent and I could feel the strange electric current in the air. There was an intense se*ual tension between us which seemed to draw us closer every minute. My heart was thundering in my chest with anticipation. I noted the excitement in his step, the darkening of his eyes, the erratic breathing, all telltale signs that his condition was no better than mine. I had heard from my friends that you kiss on a date. So would Tristan kiss me? Why was he not leaving?