For a moment, Orion thought that he was seeing things. He blinked then blinked again. When he opened his eyes Vina was still at the entrance of the restaurant looking as ghostly as ever. What the hell had happened to the neat hairstyle? The sexy white dress? The pink heels? Instinctively, he picked up the menu and held it in front of his face. He did not want her recognizing him when she was looking like that, lest the other diners think that they knew each other.
Please don’t come closer, he prayed. But she kept coming. Through the side of his eye he caught the flutter of her white dress right beside his table. She must have seen him. Hell! Sighing in resignation, Orion started to lower the menu. Bu that’s when he noticed that even though Vina was beside his table, she wasn’t facing him. Her attention was on the guy at the next table.
“Daniel, right?” Good God! Even her voice sounded a little spooky.
“Do – do-“ The poor man gulped as he took Vina in, spookiness and all. “Do I know you?”
“I’m Vina. Alvina Song,” She held out her hand. “Your blind date.”
“Al- Al-” Daniel looked at her hand then back up at her like he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing. “Alvina?”
“Yes. Sorry I’m late,” she said as she pulled out a seat opposite the man. “I was accosted by a ghost on my way here and she insisted that I let her daughter know what her bank account number was.”
Even if Orion wasn’t still holding the menu in front of his face, he doubted that Vina would’ve noticed him. She was too engrossed in scaring the living daylight out of her date. And it was working. Daniel’s fear and shock were obvious in his wide-eyed gaze and pale face. Not that Orion blamed him. Even though he’d seen Vina coming into the hotel looking as normal as any woman, her transformation into ghost-whisperer was spine-chilingly realistic.
Daniel swallowed hard before stammering, “A – a g-ghost?”
“Didn’t the matchmaker tell you?” Vina leaned forward towards the guy and lowered her voice to a loud whisper. “I see dead people.”
Daniel looked like he was about to have a heart attack. His mouth opened and closed like that of a fish before he finally managed to find his voice. “What- what?”
“I see dead people,” Vina repeated. “Speaking of have you lost someone recently? There’s a woman standing beside you.”
“What-” Daniel jumped in his seat, his head turning this way and that way as he searched for the alleged ghost. He was so busy looking for the ghost that he didn’t even see Vina’s lips twitching in a smile.
And that’s when it hit Orion. Vina was deliberately sabotaging her date.
Why? Was this man not up to her usual standards. Not rich enough.
Daniel suddenly pushed his chair back roughly and jerked to his feet. “Um… um… could you give me a minute? My phone is ringing.”
“I don’t hear it ringing,” Vina offered helpfully.
“It’s – It’s on silent.” Daniel pushed his seat back roughly and jerked to his feet. “I- um- excuse me.”
Orion could’ve sworn that he saw smoke rise from the sole of the man’s shoes as he fled the table. Something told Orion that Daniel wasn’t coming back to this freak show of a date. Despite himself, Orion smiled. He had to give it to Vina, she was a pro at sabotage. She must’ve found the situation funny too because she chuckled as she reached for her menu.
Orion chose that moment to lower his menu. But Vina didn’t notice him. Her eyes were on the menu, perusing it. She was still engrossed in the menu when the server came. To his credit the young man didn’t even blink at her strange appearance. His voice was completely even as he asked, “What can I get you ma’am?”
“What’s today’s special?” Vina asked, now sounding completely normal.
The server gave her his recommendations then once she’d ordered, he pointed to the still empty seat opposite her, “What about him? Do you want to order for him or should we wait?”
“Neither.” Vina grinned up at the server. “I don’t think he’s coming back.”
Once the server was gone, Orion shuffled his feet beneath the table to draw her attention to him. It worked must’ve worked because Vina glanced in his direction. He expected recognition, maybe annoyance, or shock, but he got… nothing. She held his glance for less than five seconds before she turned to her purse to extract her phone. Soon, that phone had her full attention.
Maybe she hadn’t seen him properly. Orion cleared his throat loudly.
Vina didn’t look up from that darn phone. Orion frowned. Did she really not recognize him or was she pretending? Despite her scammer ways, Vina intrigued him. He wanted to know more. He wanted to know why she’d sabotaged her date. He wanted to know whether the word shame was missing in her dictionary. Still, he didn’t want to be the first to approach her because that would give her the upper hand. But he also didn’t want her leaving before they talked or argued.
He cleared his throat again and again, got nothing from her.
As if on cue, her phone rang. Without missing a beat, she picked it and answered in Korean, “Yes, I’m at the restaurant with the lawyer.” She paused to listen to whoever was on the other end of the phone. “No, he’s not here right now.” When she spoke next, her tone held a note of wariness. “Yes, Halmeoni, he looks just as rich as you said he was.”
Ah! She was talking to her grandmother – the Commander-In-Chief of the Gold-digger Brigade.
Orion glared at Vina, practically burning a hole into the side of her face. But his stare didn’t seem to affect her. In fact her lips twitched in a smile as she spoke to her grandmother. “Of course I’m doing everything to hook him.”
Was she talking about Daniel? Orion frowned. From what he’d gathered, she’d been doing everything not to hook him.
Vina’s voice took on a sorrowful note as she said, “But I don’t he likes me as much. When I told him I was thirty-one, he didn’t look happy. ”
Though Orion couldn’t clearly hear what was being said, the older woman’s yell was so loud, he heard it from where he was seated.
Wincing, Vina held the phone away from her ear. It was only once her grandmother was done ranting, that she put the phone back to her ear. “It just slipped out. I’m sorry.”
Even to Orion, the apology sounded fake as hell. It didn’t help matters that Vina was grinning as she added, “Of course I won’t do anything more to ruin his opinion of me. Trust me, I promise.”
The more Orion listened to the conversation, the more his annoyance faded. It was obvious that he’d completely misread Vina. She wasn’t a gold-digger. From what he could tell, she was in the same position as him, being forced to go on blind-dates by her family. But unlike him, she was only pretending to go with the flow. She’d figured out a genius way to thwart their efforts; make herself completely unlikeable so that potential dates were turned off on sight. He was almost tempted to take a page out of her book. Then again, he wasn’t sure he’d look quite as good in ghost-gear as she did.
His initial attraction to her came flooding back in. His lips kicked up in a smile as he watched her speak on the phone. This had to be fate’s way of giving him another chance to get her number. And this time he wasn’t leaving without it.
OF COURSE VINA had recognized Mr. Mannerless from the moment their eyes had met. How could she not? It wasn’t every day that she met bold eavesdroppers like this one. And yes, she’d pretended not to. Why? Because she wasn’t interested in rehashing their last meeting or starting another argument.
She’d hoped that if she ignored him, he’d follow her cue and pretend that he didn’t know her either. Unfortunately, the man was dumber than he looked. It was obvious that the blatant eavesdropping and staring was his attempt at getting her attention. Well, she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction. Turning slightly in her seat to avoid his eyes, she listened to her grandmother.
“When he comes back tell him that your father is a works for the consulate,” Doo-shim advised. “That should help him get over the age thing.”
“Okay, I will,” Vina agreed obediently even though she knew full well that her date wasn’t coming back.
“Good. Good. We really have to catch this one,” Doo-shim continued. “The matchmaker says that this is one of her top-tier matches. Everyone wants him. We probably won’t find a good one like this one again anytime soon, so make sure you catch him.”
“Don’t worry,” Vina assured her. Injecting some pep and determination in her voice, she added, “I’ll make sure to catch him.”
With that Doo-shim ended the call. Poor woman, Vina shook her head. If only she knew what I’m really up to. Did she worry that one day her parents and grandmother would realize what she was doing during her dates? Not really. They’d never believe that she was doing anything to sabotage her chances at marriage.
Vina was living a double-life. She had one Vina for her family, and another one for the rest of the world. Her family’s Vina was an obedient daughter who did everything she was asked to do without even a word of protest. To everyone else, she was a free spirit who lived exactly as she wanted and took no bullshit. Some might call her two-faced, she preferred to be called a survivor.
She was just tucking her phone back into her purse when Mr. Manner-less suddenly stood up. Her hopes that that meant he was leaving were dashed when he suddenly crossed the short distance between their tables and settled in the seat opposite her.
Looking as confident as could be, he smiled. “Hi.”
That smile! Vina could’ve sworn that her pulse stopped in its track. That smile was that kind of smile that made hearts beat faster. Crooked, naughty and sexy to match his good looks.
Snap out of it. She mentally shook her head before leveling a haughty look at him. “That seat is occupied.”
“No, it’s not.” He slouched back in his seat as his smile deepened. “We both know he’s not coming back.”
Vina could’ve denied the assertion but what was the point. Mr. Manner-less had watched her whole performance so he’d probably figured out her whole game. Narrowing her eyes, she said, “If this is about your car-”
“First things first – shouldn’t we introduce each other?” He stretched his hand out. “Hi Alvina Song, I’m Orion. Orion Lee.”
What kind of a name was Orion? Vina stared at the outstretched hand then back at him. “How do you know my name?”
“I’m a good listener,” he answered, unblinkingly.
Vina couldn’t help herself. A reluctant laugh escaped her lips. “Is that what they’re calling eavesdroppers these days? Good listeners?”
“Maybe.” His grin widening, he repeated,
Her reluctant amusement was enough to make his grin widen. He repeated, “Hi Vina, I’m Orion.”
“No thanks.” She slapped the back of his outstretched hand. “Go away.”
“No.” His hand fell and he sat back in his seat. “We haven’t talked about my car.”
“I told you I’m not paying for the damage.” She gave him an unsmiling look. “It’s not my fault that you braked too fast.”
“We both know it was your fault.” Orion folded his arms over his chest. “And I bet CCTV at the mall will back me up.”
Vina froze and her breath caught in her throat. Oh damn! She hadn’t even thought about surveillance. Her eyes locked on Orion’s, and in the dark depths of his she saw amusement. He knew he had her. Still, she didn’t want him to know that he’d rattled her.
Feigning annoyance, she huffed, “You know what? Whatever! It’s just a little bumper damage anyway and I’m not petty enough to make it a big deal.” She opened up her purse and took out a pen and her check-book. “I’ll be the bigger person here.”
“Will you?” Orion’s eyes danced with mirth making it clear that he wasn’t fooled by her act.
Her pen poised over the now open check-book, she asked, “How much?”
“How much what?”
As if he didn’t know! Irritation throbbing in her voice, Vina asked, “How much for the repairs? And don’t try to stiff me; I’ve fixed a few bumpers in my life.”
He arched his eyebrows. “Oh, so this isn’t the first time you’re doing this?”
God! This man was sooo annoying. Vina had to pull in a deep calming breath before once more asking, “How much?”
“I don’t want your money.” His gaze turned suddenly serious. “Have a drink with me and we’ll call it even.”
Vina blinked. She must have heard him wrong. “Huh?”
“Have a drink with me and we’ll call it even,” he repeated. Even though he was still slouched on his seat, there was something tense about his body and his eyes; like a leopard pretending to be relaxing while covertly tracking its prey. It sent unease trickling down Vina’s spine.
Her eyes narrowed, she watched him. “Why?”
“Why not?” Orion shrugged. “I’ve already repaired the damage.”
“I could reimburse you.”
“Or you could take the cheaper route and buy me a drink at the hotel bar for just a couple of dollars,” he countered.
It was a good offer – too good to be true. Vina inclined her head as she watched him with suspicion. What was his game? He didn’t seem like the charitable sort. Was this some kind of trick? Maybe a delay tactic while he waited for the cops to come and arrest her? Or was he planning to spike her drink?
She must’ve stared at him for too long because Orion gave her an annoyed look. “Are you seriously having a hard time deciding between having a drink with me or paying for repairs to my car?”
Yes, she thought but didn’t say it aloud. After another pause, she said, “Fine, I’ll have that drink with you. Just give me time to change. I can’t go out looking like this.”
“Sure.” He shrugged. “I’ll wait for you here.”
Vina could feel his gaze burning a hole into her back as she started towards the exit. It was only once she was out of the hallway that she finally took a relieved breath. That was close. Thank God she’d managed to get out of there without letting him in on her real plan.
Have a drink with him? Hah! She was not that daft. Chuckling, she made her way to the restroom to change. It took less than fifteen minutes for her to scrub off the garish makeup and change back into her normal clothes. By the time, she was done she looked like a new woman. Smiling at her reflection in the mirror, she twirled to get a better view of herself. Pretty. It was too bad that her dates would never get to see this side of her.
You know what? Maybe a drink wasn’t such a bad idea after all. Now that she’d ditched her date and Orion, what was stopping her from popping into that nice bar downtown? Who knew? Perhaps she’d meet a nice no-commitment man there, drink with him, maybe dance and eventually go where the night took her. If her family called, she could always say she was spending the night at April’s or at her other friend, Snow’s place. Mm. She grinned. Sounded like a plan.
She grabbed her clutch-bag and the shopping bag that held her costume and started towards the door. Half-afraid that she might find Orion waiting for her in the hallway, she peeked outside first. When she didn’t see him, she opened the door completely. Grinning, she strolled down the hallway and to the foyer. Orion wasn’t there either. Hah! She wished she was a fly in the restaurant so that she could see his expression when he realized she wasn’t coming back. With a cheerful wave to the concierge, she exited the hotel.
But her happiness was premature.
As soon as she got to the parking lot, she saw him. He was leaning back against his truck, arms crossed over his muscular chest, one long leg crossed over the other like he was waiting for someone – for her. Her heart seized as did the rest of her and her footsteps came to an abrupt halt.
Orion smiled. “Going somewhere?”