Accidental Night with the Wrong Bartender

Elara's POV

As soon as I turned around, I was taken aback.

But it wasn't because of how handsome the stranger was... Though he truly was breathtaking, it was because of something else... His familiarity.

I had seen him before, I knew him from somewhere... But I just couldn't remember where.

But I couldn't just keep staring at his face.

I shook my head and cleared my throat, before planting a small smile on my face. "Em... Sorry, thank you for watching my kids."

He didn't respond.

The handsome stranger just stared at my face... His eyes had a hint of disappointment in them as he stared.

My smile became wry. His silence just made it all awkward.

"Em..." I began awkwardly taking a step back, while reaching for my kid's hands. "I... I will be leaving now..."

That was when he spoke.

"So you don't recognize me?"

My feet froze, and then I stopped to stare at his face.

"Huh? Am I supposed to?"

Sure, his face seemed familiar, but, this was an airport. A high-end one that cost me so bloody much to book a ticket for.

I could have seen him on the news or in a magazine. He had the aura of a rich person... I wouldn't be surprised if he were exactly that.

So no, I didn't recognize him.

Or...

My brows wrinkled in confusion, my brain still trying to remember where we could have met before. "I'm sorry, but have we met before?" I asked, leaning a bit towards him, before blinking my eyes.

Even if I've met him, which I doubted that I did, I didn't want to remember.

No... I didn't wish to remember.

That was my plan for the next few weeks, I would be staying in this country.

I didn't wish to bump into anyone from my past. I wanted no one to know that I had returned. I only had bad memories of this place.

I just wanted to do my job and leave this bloody country.

So... Maybe it was best I didn't recognize him.

We stared at each other for almost a minute. It was mostly the handsome stranger doing the staring, I was just surprised as to why he was staring at me with such intensity.

I was beginning to get uncomfortable, and was about to say something about it when the man by his side, whom I had only just noticed, leaned towards him and whispered.

"Boss, our flight is about to leave. We need to get going."

Flight?

It was just a whisper but I heard him. I had quite sensitive ears.

It meant that the stranger was leaving.

Good.

That was good.

At least I wouldn't see him again.

Hopefully, the rest of the time I have here will go smoothly.

"Thank you again," I spoke, appreciating him with a curt bow. Since he refused to say anything, there was no need for me to keep thinking. I turned towards my kids... Who for the first time in a long time, stayed quiet for more than five minutes.

And when I said kids, I meant the second one, Jake.

"Leo, Jake... Let's go..." I said and was about to leave, when a deep, cool voice flowed into my eyes.

"What's your name?" He asked, his tone sounding rough towards the end.

That voice...

It sounded so damn familiar.

It did something strange to my body that I didn't have time to think about when he spoke again.

"I asked for your name. "

He repeated.

I raised a brow at him.

"My name?"

I thought he said he knew me.

Well... How could he know me and not know my name?

This was getting, weird.

I just wanted to leave with my kids at the apartment I had rented, an almost an hour drive from her.

Plus, he had a flight to catch too, so...

"Er... Elara." I answered him. I let go of the hand holding Leo and stretched it towards him. "Elara Reyes."

The handsome stranger's eyes dropped down to my hand, the skin around his forehead a bit wrinkled, but then he looked up at me and smiled.

He raised his hand and held mine in a firm shake.

I felt a shiver run down through my body from my hands the moment our hands touched.

A corner of his lips rose in a smirk. "I'm glad we met again Elara Reyes... This time, I won't let you go that easily."

Let me...go?

We locked eyes... There was something there. Something other than familiarity, or... Or maybe amusement.

It was this strange emotion I couldn't name.

It gave me shivers.

Actually, everything about this handsome stranger gave me shivers.

From his face, down to his voice.

I subconsciously got the feeling to avoid him.

I forced a small smile on my lips and tried to retract my hand...

My heart drummed twice as fast when he held it tighter, still staring at me.

I turned to the man beside him, silently begging him for help with my eyes.

I didn't want to be rude. The man seemed like a big shot. My company wouldn't be able to survive it if I offended another big shot.

But the man didn't even bother to look into my eyes. His eyes were fixed on our joined hands; they were slightly dilated, and there was an expression of shock on his face.

'Come on... Your boss hadn't shaken someone so tightly before?'

I was just about to speak, giving up on the peace version of myself I had decided to be this morning before the flight, when suddenly... The speakers sounded an announcement.

"Last flight to California for the day..."

Cali... That's where he was headed, right?

It was just a guess... But I turned out to be correct.

The man only just smirked, released my hand, and walked away.

"Weirdo." I snorted, shaking my hand as though trying to get off the feeling of touch off them.

After shaking the feeling off, I turned to the kids.

"Let's go kids."

Jake had no problem, he grabbed my hand and nodded. While Leo... Leo just stared in the direction the strange man had left, as though he was in a trance.

"Mummy... Aren't we leaving?" Jake complained after a minute.

But, Leo's eyes were still following the handsome... No, weird stranger.

It wasn't until I snapped my fingers in front of him that he looked away.

"Let's go," I repeated a lot more firmly this time.

Leo nodded and grabbed my hand.

This time, I was the one who turned around.

Those strange men were out of sight.

I could finally let out a sigh of relief.

'Hopefully... My kids and I would never meet him again.' I inwardly thought, a weird feeling in my chest.

I turned around again, holding both my children, and left the airport.