Chapter 2 Chapitre 2

The pressure on his rib cage was almost unbearable.

Gabrielle tried to breathe normally as she followed the server through the restaurant, her heels resonating against the ground like an irrevocable sentence. The place was too elegant, too refined. Exactly what she should have expected.

And yet, her stomach contracts more when she saw Nathan, installed at a table near a large picture window. He was there, perfectly relaxed, a glass in front of him, and as soon as he looked up, it was like an invisible force that anchored him on the spot.

It swallowed the rise of adrenaline and advanced with a controlled step.

- You are on time, he said, a shadow of satisfaction in the voice.

She settled in silence. Her gestures were precise, millimeter, as if all in her should be calculated. She couldn't afford to be this woman who hesitates, who betrays something by herself.

Nathan watched him for a moment before putting his glass.

- You are nervous.

His heart missed a beat.

- I am tired.

Too fast. He noticed it, of course.

He did not let his smile escape, but he was there, in the way his gaze lingered on her, in the tiny spark that betrayed her fun. He knew.

Gabrielle straightened her shoulders slightly, crossing her legs under the table to anchor something tangible.

- So, is that how you approach all your dinners? Psychological analyzes from the first minutes?

- Only when they are interesting.

He threw this answer to her as obvious, and she had to hold her teeth so as not to react.

The server returned to take their order. She chooses something at random, without even thinking about it, aware that the shadow of a tension still floated in the air.

Nathan didn't take her eyes off her.

- You regret having come.

She pinched her lips.

- Do you still like to state what others feel?

- Only when I'm right.

A thrill ran on his skin. He didn't play, he was testing. Each exchange was a movement of chess, and she was losing.

She put her hands on her lap to hide their slight tension.

- You don't know anything about me.

- I observe.

A sigh escaped him.

- And what did you observe?

His gaze was more intense, more serious.

- That you are used to controlling each interaction. That you weigh each word before you speak.

She remained silent, unable to turn away from him.

- And that, for a reason that escapes you, I disturb you.

The silence between them was responsible for a strange current.

She could have denied. She should have. But the words remained blocked.

So she chooses another strategy.

- Are you sure you are not a profile of the FBI?

He finally smiles.

- Just someone who hates wasting time with appearances.

Gabrielle forced a smile in return, but deep down, she knew he had just seen through her.

And that was the problem.

Gabrielle intercepted the movement before even thinking about it.

Her arm brushed against Nathan's when she grabbed the cup of wine before she switched to him. A quick, instinctive gesture.

The surprise crossed a brief moment before he looked up an amused eyebrow.

- I didn't know you had such sharp reflexes.

She rests the glass without answering, too conscious of the fact that she had revealed herself without wanting to.

The server, mortified, excused himself, picked up the bottle half overturned and walked away by bowing.

Nathan, he always scrutinized it with this particular interest, the one who put it on the defensive.

- Do you often do that?

She forced herself an indifferent air.

- Catch up with overturned glasses? Only when the opportunity arises.

He laughs gently, shaking his head as if she truly amused him.

- I was talking about being the one who saved the situation before she even turned badly.

Gabrielle tried to maintain her impassive mask.

He was not wrong.

She was the one who anticipated, who avoided complications before they occurred. But hearing him say it, and above all seeing the real interest in his eyes, made the thing much more disturbing.

She took a sip of water to take care of her hands.

- This is a bad habit, she finally replied.

Nathan leaned slightly back, crossing her arms on the table, and she felt that he would not let her let go so easily.

- I would rather call it a talent.

- You always find a way to make things more interesting than they are.

- Only when they deserve it.

The intensity in his voice, almost imperceptible, sent a thrill under his skin.

She looked away for a moment, staring at the subdued light of the restaurant, looking for an anchoring.

Nathan showed him a sincere interest, it was undeniable. No unnecessary flattery, no ready -made sentences. Just this destabilizing way he had to see her, really see her.

And that was precisely what bored her.

She couldn't afford to be seen.

- You doubt me, he noted without detour.

His gaze immediately returned to him.

- I don't know you.

- This is a way to avoid the question.

She stared at him for a moment, looking for a fault, something that would allow her to take over.

- Why me?

His voice was low, controlled, but there was no sly smile in return.

Nathan detailed her for a second, as if he weighed his words with more care than usual.

- You are different.

She did not expect such a simple answer.

- It's vague.

- And it's true.

His tone did not leave room for doubt.

A silence moved to each other, an unstable balance on which she had no grip.

Then Nathan straightened slightly and stared at her with light fun, as if he decided to offer him a way out.

- You know, you should learn to accept a compliment from time to time.

- I'm not sure it's one.

His smile grows.

- It was.

The server returned, bringing their dishes, and Gabrielle hastened to grasp this diversion to break the exchange.

But she knew he had already won.

And that, in one way or another, she had just approached a little too close to this precipice that she tried to avoid.