Young Millionaire Saves a Woman From an Awful Blind Date, He Never Expected to Fall in Love Himself
A Rescue and an Unexpected Connection
Foster knew she’d made a mistake the second her blind date opened his mouth and started complaining about the temperature of his water.
“Room temp? Are they trying to kill me?”
The man, Travis or maybe Trevor, snapped at the waiter, waving his hand like he was swatting flies. Foster offered the waiter a small apologetic smile as he scurried off.
Her date didn’t notice. She pulled her cardigan tighter around her shoulders and forced a polite laugh.
“I’m sure he’ll bring you ice, Trevor.”
Travis leaned back in his chair, his voice booming.
“I specifically said no lemon. If they screw that up, imagine what they’ll do to my steak.”
Lara’s eyes darted around the restaurant, desperate for a reason to leave. She’d given online dating a try after her best friend begged her to, but this was the third disaster in a row and by far the loudest.
That’s when a deep voice behind her said, “Sorry I’m late, honey. Got caught in traffic.”
She turned, startled, and looked up into the eyes of a man she’d never seen before. He was tall, dressed in a navy suit that definitely wasn’t off the rack.
His dark hair was slightly tasseled, like he’d just run a hand through it. His blue eyes flicked to Travis briefly before focusing entirely on her.
“I…” she started, confused.
He leaned down and kissed her cheek lightly.
“You okay?” he whispered, his voice low enough that only she could hear it.
Lara blinked twice, then nodded.
“Good, because in a second…”
He turned to her date.
“I’m going to need you to leave,” the man said calmly but with an unmistakable authority that made Travis freeze mid-sentence.
“This is my girlfriend and you’re clearly upsetting her.”
Travis scoffed. “What? She said she was single.”
“She was until five minutes ago.”
The man slid into the booth beside a like he belonged there, his arm brushing against hers.
“Now leave before I call the manager. Or worse.”
“Yelp.”
The guy actually palded. He stood abruptly, muttered something under his breath, and stormed out.
Lara exhaled, barely realizing she’d been holding her breath. She turned to the stranger.
“Okay, what just happened?”
He smiled for the first time, and it was unfairly charming.
“You looked like you needed rescuing. I was sitting two tables over and couldn’t listen to that guy complain about water any longer.”
She blinked. “So you just jumped in?”
“Yeah, sorry if that was out of line.”
She shook her head. “No, it was… Thank you. Seriously, that was the worst date I’ve ever been on.”
“I believe you. He ordered bottled water like he was negotiating a peace treaty.”
She laughed, covering her mouth.
“I’m a Lara.”
“Atlas Fairbanks,” he said, reaching out to shake her hand.
Her eyebrows rose. “Atlas?”
“My parents were big on mythology and drama.”
She smiled. “It suits you.”
A waiter returned and looked confused to see a different man sitting at the table. Atlas gestured at the menu.
“We’ll both have the chef’s special and a bottle of the shade Marggo.”
Lara blinked. “That’s expensive.”
“I know.”
He turned back to her. “Let me buy you dinner as a thank you for letting me crash your disaster.”
She hesitated. “You don’t have to.”
“I want to,” he said simply. “Unless you have somewhere else to be.”
She didn’t, and honestly, sitting across from him was already better than the last hour of her life.
“All right,” she said. “But I’m paying next time.”
His eyes twinkled. “So there’s a next time?”
She flushed. “Well, I didn’t say that yet.”
They talked through dinner like they’d known each other for years. Atlas was sharp, funny, and knew how to listen.
He didn’t talk about himself unless she asked, but when he did, she learned he ran a startup that had exploded over the last three years, something to do with logistics and AI.
She didn’t understand half of it, but the way his eyes lit up when he spoke, it was hard not to get caught up in his passion.
By the time dessert arrived, she was laughing so hard she had tears in her eyes.
“I swear,” she said, gasping. “You did not walk out of a job interview just because the guy wore socks with sandals.”
Atlas grinned. “It was a tech startup. We have to draw the line somewhere.”
She shook her head. “You’re ridiculous.”
He leaned forward, voice softer now. “You’re beautiful.”
She froze, not because it was the first time someone had said that, but because it was the first time in a long time it felt like they actually meant it.
Her voice was barely above a whisper. “Are you always like this with strangers?”
He hesitated. “No, actually I’m not. I don’t usually rescue women from dates or crash their tables.”
“Then why tonight?”
He looked at her for a long moment. “Because the second I saw you, I didn’t want you looking at anyone else.”
She swallowed hard. When they walked out of the restaurant, the valet pulled up in front of them with a sleek black Estan Martin.
Lara blinked. “That’s yours?”
Atlas nodded casually. “Want a ride home?”
She stared at the car, then back at him. “You’re a millionaire, aren’t you?”
He raised a brow. “What gave it away? The wine or the car?”
She laughed. “Both.”
He opened the passenger door for her. “Still want to pretend there’s no next time?”
She slid into the seat. “I’m starting to think you might be trouble.”
He leaned down, smiling. “Only the good kind.”
As they drove off into the city lights, Lara had no idea where this was going, but for the first time in years, she actually wanted to find out.
