Too Late Mr. White! I'm Married To Your Rival Now novel Chapter 266

Aria's POV

I instinctively glanced at the man standing next to Paul.

That night in the car had been too dark for me to clearly see his face—I only remembered how pale he'd looked, almost sickly. Now I could finally see him properly. Beneath his refined brows sat a pair of expressive, almost flirtatious eyes. His nose was straight and defined, with perfectly proportioned lips below.

I only allowed myself that quick look before politely returning my attention to Paul. "Did you need something, Mr. Garcia?"

"Nothing particularly important," Paul replied with an easy smile. "It's just that you did us such a huge favor last time. The least we could do is show our appreciation, right? Are you free today? Maybe join us for lunch?"

He turned to Owen beside him. "Your flight to the West Coast isn't until this afternoon. Treating your lifesaver to lunch won't interfere with that, right?"

I watched them both, about to decline, when Summer finally emerged from the gate.

She spotted me and jogged over. "Aria! Sorry, have you been waiting long? I got caught up with something that delayed me."

Her seat had been toward the back of the plane, and right before landing, someone had claimed their phone was missing. The crew wouldn't let anyone disembark until it was resolved or reported to security.

"Everything okay?" I asked automatically.

"Yeah, all good. They eventually found it in their own trash bag," she rolled her eyes.

Summer finally noticed Paul and Owen standing there.

"Who are these guys?" she asked me, her eyebrows raised in question.

I glanced at the two men, momentarily unsure how to explain our connection.

Summer, assuming they were hitting on me, jumped in defensively: "Sorry, she's not interested. No phone numbers, no social media."

Paul laughed. "Miss, I'll admit your friend is absolutely gorgeous, but we're not exactly hard on the eyes ourselves. Do we really look like random guys trying our luck?"

I realized the misunderstanding and quickly explained. "I met them in Atlantic City. I helped them out with something small, and we just happened to run into each other now."

They weren't exactly friends—more like acquaintances at best.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" Summer's hands flew to her face in embarrassment. "Forgive me, gentlemen! It's just that my girl Aria here gets approached constantly, so I'm a bit overprotective! Totally my bad!"

Paul didn't seem offended. Instead, he looked at me curiously. "So what do you do, Miss Jones? You don't strike me as someone from the entertainment industry."

Initially, he had wondered if I might be some obscure actress or influencer, but on second thought, that didn't make sense. With my looks, I wouldn't be unknown if I were in entertainment.

Paul clearly kept up with the rotation of faces in that world, yet he couldn't place me anywhere in his mental database.

When we'd exited the plane, he'd spotted me standing alone, typing on my phone. There was something about my posture, my presence—he couldn't quite articulate it, but apparently just watching me stand there had conveyed some kind of serene, timeless elegance.

"Our Aria is a concert pianist," Summer announced proudly. "First place winner of the Leirer Award last year!"

Paul's expression revealed this was completely outside his realm of knowledge. "I don't know what that is, but it sounds impressive."

"It absolutely is!" Summer beamed with vicarious pride.

I didn't want to discuss my career further, so I interrupted their conversation. "Mr. Garcia, Mr. Duncan, I appreciate the gesture, but I'm only in New York for a connecting flight, so I'll have to decline lunch."

Paul looked disappointed but nodded. "Of course, we won't keep you then."

I acknowledged him with a small nod before turning to Summer. "Let's go get our luggage."

Summer had been ready to brag more about my accomplishments, but caught my tone and followed my lead as we headed toward baggage claim.

As Paul watched me walk away, he let out a low whistle. "A concert pianist. Wouldn't have guessed that!"

He nudged Owen with his elbow. "Had you heard of her before?"

Owen finally pulled his gaze away from where I'd disappeared into the crowd. "No," he replied simply.

Though from Summer's reaction, it seemed I was quite accomplished in my field.

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