His hands shook and he couldn’t stop pacing through the first floor of his home. The Georgetown town house was the one luxury he’d allowed himself. He didn’t want a McMansion, but the town house spoke of wealth and history. It had been perfect for the rewriting of his story.
One look at her dressed for the formal evening, and he’d known she was perfect. He’d barely been able to tear his gaze away. It was like looking at the other part of himself. A piece that had been missing for too long. Yet her friend had stared at him, a sneer of derision on her face. Did she not understand who he was?
Confusion had filtered across Emilie’s face as soft color filled her cheeks.
She didn’t remember him. Well, they had only crossed paths briefly at the Haven. But he’d make sure she remembered who he was now. What he had accomplished. See that the headlines were only part of his story. When she really knew him, she would understand that their love was once in a lifetime. The kind that the great masters wrote about in plays and novels. It would be one for the ages, and he couldn’t wait to build that future with her.
It wouldn’t take much to learn her patterns and where she placed her affections.
People weren’t any more complicated than the programs he excelled at building. Learn their routines and you learned what they valued.
If he was anything, he was an excellent chameleon. He’d learned how to become exactly what people wanted. He could do that now.
It wouldn’t be a challenge. And when he finished, Emilie would understand how perfect their story would be.
He’d carefully craft a plan to woo her, full of mystery and romance. Step by step, and she’d understand what he’d known since their paths first collided. She was meant for him, and now he was ready to make her his.