The Billionaire That Found Me

Chapter 2 – Sparks and Shadows

Even after the dance, Ava’s fingers still tingled where they had brushed against Ethan’s. The gala hummed around her, but it all felt distant—muffled somehow, like she was underwater. The laughter, the music, the clinking glasses… none of it mattered. Only him.

She adjusted the tray in her hands, pretending to serve hors d’oeuvres while stealing glances at him. Ethan Blackwell, leaning against a marble pillar, seemed to glide through the crowd without effort. There was a magnetism about him, a quiet command of the space that made people step aside, either aware of his status or instinctively drawn to him.

Her heart raced. She told herself she had to keep her composure—after all, she was just a server. But every time he caught her looking at him, a small, unreadable smile tugged at his lips. That smile made her knees weaken and her thoughts scatter.

Then he was suddenly at her side, as if he had appeared out of nowhere.

“You look like you could use a break,” he said softly, his dark eyes scanning her face.

“I’m fine,” she replied quickly, though her throat felt tight. “Really.”

“Really?” His brow quirked up, and a faint amusement danced in his gaze. “You’re shaking slightly. Hands tense. Heart racing.”

Ava’s stomach twisted. How could he know that? She opened her mouth to reply but closed it again, lost for words.

“I’m… just nervous,” she admitted finally. Her voice was barely audible over the music.

“You’re nervous,” he repeated, echoing her words, but this time softer, gentler, like he wasn’t teasing but simply observing. “That’s perfectly human. And yet… you shine.”

Her breath caught. Shine? She was just a girl trying to keep her mother’s hospital bills paid. Shine was something she didn’t deserve.

He tilted his head, studying her as though trying to memorize every line of her face. “I’ve spent my life surrounded by people who say things I want to hear,” he said, “but I rarely meet anyone who makes me feel anything. You… do.”

Ava’s pulse quickened, and she felt her cheeks flush. Her heart hammered so loudly it was almost painful. “I… I don’t know what to say.”

“Say nothing,” he said, holding up a hand with a faint smirk. “Just be here. With me. That’s enough.”

The words made her stomach twist with longing and fear. Just be here. She wanted to run, to escape the intensity, the danger, the sheer magnetism of him—but she couldn’t. Her feet refused. Her hands were trembling, yes, but she wanted this too.

“You’re reckless,” she whispered, her voice barely audible.

“I prefer bold,” he countered, leaning slightly closer, letting the heat of his body brush hers. “Sometimes, it’s the only way to find something real.”

Ava’s mind swirled. Real? Could something real exist in a world like his, in a night like this, in a fleeting encounter she shouldn’t want? Her rational mind screamed no. But her heart… oh, her heart was already betraying her.

“I shouldn’t…” she started, then faltered.

“Shouldn’t what?” he asked, his tone both teasing and serious.

“Feel… like this,” she admitted. Her gaze flicked down, unable to meet his eyes. She felt exposed, raw, vulnerable.

Ethan reached out, his fingers brushing hers lightly, almost as if testing her reaction. “Feeling is not a crime, Ava,” he murmured. “Not tonight. Not ever.”

Her breath hitched. His hand lingered on hers, warmth radiating in a way that sent shivers up her spine. She wanted to pull away, to remind herself this was temporary, meaningless—but every instinct told her to stay, to lean in, to see where this could go.

“Talk to me,” he said suddenly, tilting his head. “Tell me something real. Not the polite answers you give servers or colleagues. The truth.”

Her throat tightened. She wanted to tell him about her mother’s illness, about the crushing weight of debt, about how every day felt like walking a tightrope over a bottomless pit—but the words stuck. Instead, she shrugged, an awkward attempt at casual.

“You’ll laugh,” she said quietly.

“I won’t,” he said simply, and she caught the sincerity in his gaze.

Ava’s chest constricted. No one had ever said that to her. No one had ever made her feel safe enough to even imagine telling the truth. “I… I’ve never been to a place like this before,” she admitted finally. “I… I just… work. That’s it. I try not to be noticed.”

Ethan’s lips curved into that infuriating, knowing smile again. “And yet here I am, noticing you anyway.”

Her heart thundered in her chest. She wanted to argue, to protest, to step back, but her body betrayed her. She leaned subtly closer, caught in the pull of him. The crowd, the gala, the golden chandeliers—they all faded. There was only him.

“And what if someone else notices you?” she asked quietly, testing the boundary.

“I don’t care,” he said simply, voice low, intimate. “I only notice you.”

Her pulse raced. She should tell him to stop, to step back, to leave before this escalated any further—but she couldn’t. Her lips parted slightly, and the words she didn’t speak hung in the air between them.

A laugh bubbled up from somewhere deep inside, surprising her. “You make it sound like fate.”

“Fate, chance, destiny—call it whatever you like,” he said, the faintest smirk tugging at his lips. “I just know I want to spend tonight knowing you. That’s all. No games, no pretenses.”

Her heart hammered. Just one night. One night to talk, to laugh, to breathe in the air around him. But she knew, deep down, that this night would change her in ways she couldn’t predict—and maybe shouldn’t.

“You drive me crazy, you know that?” she whispered, half-laughing, half-breathless.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” he said, his eyes darkening in a way that made her knees weak. “Because tonight… we see where this goes. No regrets. Just… us.”

Ava Hart’s life had already begun to shift, the world tilting in ways she couldn’t yet comprehend. One night had started. One night that could mean everything.