Her smile looked so beautiful and, for a moment, Loriel was dumbfounded. He swallowed and smiled back.
He was a man of a few words and he rarely smiled, but today he felt like smiling all day.
"So... are you going in the same direction?" he asked her, trying to check his luck.
The woman lowered her head and then nodded. "Yes, I happen to be going to Central Park too."
"How nice! It must be fate," Loriel exclaimed. He didn't even bother to go back inside the cafe to get his book. "Do you want to go now?"
She looked at him and nodded shyly. "Yes. Let's ask people how to go there."
"Come on!" Loriel reached out his hand and she instinctively took it.
As soon as her hand touched his, the man's heart skipped several beats. He almost froze in place. This hand was so soft and feminine. He almost took it and kissed it like what he was supposed to do in the past to his lovely wife.
However, he had to hold back. He didn't want to scare her. One, he was not sure this woman was Elise. And second... if she was really Elise... that means she didn't remember him.
He must not make things awkward between them. If this woman was really Elise, Loriel must know what the hell happened that she was already here, long before the year 2100.
Did the wicked Time Master lie? What a jerk! He even lied in his last breath?
If he wasn't already dead, Loriel really wanted to kill him.
"What's wrong?" the girl asked. She saw Loriel's expression and was wondering why the man looked upset. "Did you forget something?"
Loriel quickly shook his head. "No, nothing. Let's go. Let me ask that guy for the direction."
He motioned her to walk toward a man who was rushing to get somewhere. He stopped the man and forced a smile. "Hello, are you from around here?"
The man twitched his brows and growled as a reply. "Yeah. What do you want?"
"Uhm, we are new in this city and would like to go to Central Park. Would you please let us know which way is it?" Loriel asked him.
The man stared at Loriel in disbelief. The former king could guess what the man had in mind. He must think Loriel and this girl were weirdos for still asking direction in this day and age.
Loriel quickly added, "I'm sorry, I forgot my device so I am kind of lost now."
Only then did the man seem to understand. He pointed to their right. "It's that way. You might want to take the subway since it's cheaper. The bus is more complicated because you have to switch. That's the entrance over there. Just find any train going to Central Park and you'll be good."
"Thank you," Loriel said. "Have a nice day!"
The man only nodded and turned around to continue his journey. Loriel turned to the woman and smiled sweetly. "See? It's so nice talking to people and ask for direction?"
She smiled back. "You are right."
"Let's go!"
He walked toward the direction that the man pointed at. Yes, they could take the subway and go together. He would try to talk more with this woman while they were on the way to Central Park to find out who she was.
"Oh, by the way..." When they arrived inside the station, Loriel suddenly remembered that he still had not asked her name. "My name is Loriel."
The woman batted her lashes adorably and was in a panic for a few seconds before she obviously made up a name on the spot. "I-I... you can call me Elise."
Aksara