Here's chapter 4 ! Hop you guys like it :)

Rhysand was already seated in a booth inside the small pub when she came in. His eyes went to her, and Gods, was she beautiful. Her hair was held half up and falling lightly on her shoulders, she was wearing some light make-up, and her dark blue cocktail dress suited her perfectly, clinging to every curve of her body. He enjoyed the sight of her while she was scanning the pub, and when her eyes fell on him, he suddenly felt very self-conscious about his own clothes. He'd been at the gym ten minutes before and was wearing a loose tracksuit and a large hoodie, so at odds with her sophisticated beautiful dress. But she smiled faintly when she saw him, and advanced to meet him. He was about to get up to greet her, not sure if he should shake her hand, hug her quickly, kiss her on the cheek (that last one seemed definitely off-limits), when she just sat down in front of him, sparing him of the decision. Now that she was so close, he could see that, although she was smiling at him a few seconds ago, her eyes were red and swollen, as if she'd been crying only minutes before. She was looking away from him, her hands clenched together on top of the table, as if trying to prevent them from shaking. She looked so vulnerable, he would have liked to comfort her, but really had no idea how. So he just started talking :

"Well Darling, if I'd known you would look so lovely tonight, I definitely would have changed before meeting you !"

It was only a half-truth, as he was coming from the gym and had no other clothes with him. But he would certainly have made an effort to arrange his disheveled hair. Her eyes met his, and she seemed to suddenly register how she looked like, because she looked down herself and started blushing.

"I don't normally dress up that much, I was just at a party for work…"

Why was she trying to excuse herself for looking like she did, he had no idea. But she was obviously uncomfortable now that he'd brought it up, so he tried to unwind her by changing the subject :

"I'm going to get something to drink, what would you like ?"

"Hot chocolate would be nice, if you don't mind ?"

"One hot chocolate coming right up."

He left her at the table, hoping being alone for a few minutes would help her relax and feel a bit better.

She was a mess. An absolute mess. Not physically, she knew how good she looked in her dress, and even her sobs from earlier shouldn't have ruined her makeup too much. No, she looked fine, it was on the inside that she felt like she was crumbling all over. Tears had rolled down her face all through her subway ride to The Rainbow, but now that she was drained of them, she just felt… empty. Rhys had smiled so widely at her, and he seemed to be in such a good mood, she started regretting her decision to meet him. He was a man she'd met only two days earlier, they were supposed to go on a date the next day, her first date in a long time, and there she was, just wanting to brood in silence for the next few hours. Maybe it had been a mistake, he was probably going to cancel their date after seeing how unresponsive she was going to be right now. But she couldn't force herself, she couldn't act like she was cheerful. She'd pretended to be happy for too long with Tamlin, and it had cost her too much, she wouldn't be able to lie to someone else that way. So even if she ruined her chances to show Rhys how enjoyable of a person she could normally be, she wouldn't force it.

She was still staring at the sugar bowl on the table when he came back with two mugs.

"There you go, one hot chocolate. I didn't know if you wanted cream so I didn't pour any in, but I can go fetch some."

"Like that is fine, thanks."

He sat down in front of her and they said nothing for a while, before Feyre blurted out :

"To be honest, I don't know why I agreed to see you tonight, because I really don't feel like talking to anyone."

"Oh. Well, we don't need to talk if you don't want to. I'm fine with just enjoying my tea quietly, if you don't mind my company", he answered with a wink and a soft smile.

She met his eyes, and couldn't help but feel a little warmer on the inside at his words. So they sat there, sipping their drink, in unexpectedly comfortable silence. After a few minutes like that, Feyre already felt a tad better, and started talking, making him startle :

"So, what are you doing in The Rainbow, on a Friday evening ?"

"My gym is nearby. I usually go home earlier but I wanted to try an indian restaurant up the street before going home."

"The Thangabali?"

"Yes, have you tried it ? Is it any good ?"

"I did try it, more than once," she chuckled, "I live right above it. It's kind of my go-to restaurant when I don't feel like cooking. You should definitely try it sometimes."

"Duly noted."

They fell silent again, but this time, it was Rhysand that started talking :

"Feyre, I don't want to push you, and we can keep on not talking if you prefer. But if you want to talk to me about what happened tonight, you can."

Their eyes met, and she looked at him for a while. She didn't know why exactly, why she felt like she could trust him. Maybe it was the way his eyes seemed soft and piercing at the same time, but when she answered, it wasn't to talk about a book, or a restaurant, or any other easy subject she could have talked about. No, when she answered, she said :

"My last relationship... I ended it a few months ago, and it wasn't the most… healthy break-up. Or the most healthy relationship for that matter. Anyway, tonight I ran into one of my ex's friends, and it brought back memories I would have rather kept at bay."

"That sucks. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, it kind of ruined my night. So I'm not going to be the most lively person tonight, sorry."

She was looking away from him, and she startled when his hands came on top of her own, clenched together on top of the table, covering them in a soft touch.

"You don't have to apologize, you're entitled of having a bad day", he said, and when she smiled at him, he added on a lighter tone, his hands still on hers "so how was the rest of your night ? You were at a party ?"

It seemed that phrasing what had happened, even if it was to someone that didn't know the rest of her messy history, had helped her calm down. Or maybe it was because he didn't know her history with Tamlin that she felt good about talking to him, even in scarce details. So she started telling him about the party, how proud she'd felt seeing her illustrations on the windows, the new project she might work on. All the while, his hands rested on hers, their drinks forgotten on the table.

They talked for nearly an hour, first about her night, then her work as an illustrator, before moving on to him and his job as a real estate developer. Ok, if he'd been completely honest, he might have told her that the company was his father's, and would someday be entirely his. But they had just met a few days before, and he wasn't sure he was comfortable with telling her about the fact that he was a billionaire, soon to be main shareholder and CEO of one of the biggest firms in the city. It might seem selfish, but he felt good when he talked to her, and he was afraid that she would change the way she looked at him if she knew exactly who he was. He felt good talking to her, and he felt good touching her, he thought, relishing in the sensation of her hands under his. When she'd talked about her ex and then actually apologized for it, he'd felt the urge to touch her, hoping she wasn't going to brush him off. But she'd let her hands under his, and it just felt right. Well, except for the fact that he was starving. With their unscheduled encounter, he hadn't eaten after leaving the gym. It had been nearly two hours since then, and his stomach suddenly protested loudly at being forgotten for that long. Feyre laughed at the sound, and said :

"Oh Rhys, you haven't eaten, I'm so sorry !"

"No it's fine, really", he answered, although the noise coming from his belly told another story, "Yeah, okay, I was betrayed by my traitor of a stomach ! I'm starving."

Slowly getting her hands out of his embrace, she reached for her purse to check the time on her phone.

"Actually, it's already more than 11 o'clock, I should head home."

"Yes I'm gonna go home too."

Although if he was being honest, he thought while putting on his coat, he really didn't want to go home, or not alone anyway. He felt a certain kind of ease around her, the kind that he would have liked to take home with him. But they were suddenly out of the pub and into the cold air of the night, saying good night. She was shivering in front of him, and he realized that she had indeed come into the pub without a coat earlier. That was certainly strange, as her dress was clearly not warm in spite of the long sleeves, and he wanted to ask her where her coat had gone, but found himself saying instead :

"You're gonna freeze to death with nothing to cover yourself with. Do you want my sweater ?"

"Oh no, thank you, I don't live too far, you're gonna need it more than I do."

"Can you at least take this to cover your head ? I really don't want you to get sick." He took a violet woolen hat out of his gym bag and handed it to her. She looked at the hand holding the hat, then looked up at him, and grabbed the hat slowly.

"Thank you Rhys, you really don't have to do that," she said, pulling the hat on her head nonetheless.

"Well, that way you can't cancel our date tomorrow by telling me you're sick !" He answered with a wink.

"Or maybe I'll cancel, and keep your hat forever..!"

"You should, it suits you well."

They stayed silent a few seconds, and Rhys was not sure how to say good night to her, but she pulled him into a quick hug and whispered in his ear "See you tomorrow, Rhys." The hug was over before he could register it had happened, and then she was walking away. He headed to the subway station, his hands in his pocket, the image of her walking up the street, in her lovely cocktail dress and his hat, stuck in his brain. Tomorrow couldn't arrive fast enough.