Chapter 36

“I can’t believe you booked the entire restaurant on our first date!” Amy couldn’t hide the surprise and excitement in her voice. She didn’t expect that her first date would be this special.

“I wanted it to be memorable” Bryan replied, taking a sip from his glass of water.

They were currently having their appetizer. It was Linguine and Prawns with Cognac truffle cream.

“Thank you” She smiled at his reply, tucking her hair behind her ear.

Although Amy was acting calm on the outside, she was nervous on the inside. This is her first date, she doesn’t want to say or do anything that could ruin it, that is why she is being careful with her words and actions. She has already embarrassed herself enough in the morning, he doesn’t need to see more.

‘Stop filling your head with past events’ Her subconscious said to her and she immediately heeded the advice, deciding to enjoy her date.

“This is awkward” Amy suddenly said with a chuckle.

“How so?” Bryan asked, genuinely interested in her sudden topic of conversation.

“I mean… I have practically nothing to ask you because I know almost everything about you… Not everything, though” She explained.

“You can ask me how my day went. I don’t have a problem with that”

“Really? Like I don’t have an idea what you did today”

“Enlighten me” Bryan then said with a playful smirk.

“You woke up probably by 6am in the morning and went for a morning run before hitting the gym, since you go to the gym only during the weekends. Then… You came over to my dad’s and you guys talked about whatever it is you talk about”

Bryan was surprised, yet delighted to know that Amy took note of his lifestyle. She never behaved like one who took notice of anything.

“You said goodbye and went home to continue whatever work- why am I even doing this” Amy stopped herself from being super weird.

“That was creepy, right?” She asked in a small voice, embarrassed by her action.

“No, not at all. I find it really cute”

Amy wasn’t buying his reply. He wasn’t being sincere to her. He only said that not to hurt her feelings.

“You’re lying” She mumbled with a pouty lips.

Just as Bryan was about to say something, a waitress came to serve them with Salisfy soup with duck royale and truffle before they would have their main course. They both said a polite ‘thank you’ and the waitress left.

“I didn’t say that to make you feel better, my love..” Bryan paused, holding her small hands from across the table.

“I was being honest with you… And since you know so much about me, tell me what I don’t know about you”

‘He is kidding, right?’ Amy thought to herself. There is no way in hell that Bryan doesn’t know practically everything about her.

“Like?..” Amy stressed with a raised eyebrow.

“Like what happened this morning” Bryan replied, making his statement clear.

Just perfect. She should’ve known he wasn’t going to forget what happened in the morning so easily.

“Nothing” She quietly said.

“It didn’t look like nothing, Amy. If I know better, I would think you were avoiding me”

Amy took a deep breath to prepare herself for the mocking reaction he would give her.

“Talk to me, princess” Bryan encouraged in a calm voice, caressing her knuckles.

“It was nothing, really. I- I just wasn’t expecting to see you, that’s all”

That was the best way she could put it. She couldn’t bring herself to tell him that she was embarrassed that he saw her in that manner.

“Was that why you decided to ignore me when I came to check up on you?”

Amy was shocked and confused to hear that he came to check on her. When was that? She wondered. She thought he wanted to check on her, but changed his mind. At least, that’s what his text said.

“I would never ignore you”

“But you refused to open the door when I came to your bedroom”

Amy then realized that it must’ve been when she was in the shower.

So, he did come to check on her.

“Okay, okay. I may have been avoiding you because I looked like a complete mess when you arrived, but I would never ignore you.. I was in the shower when you came to check on me” Amy regretted her choice of words when she noticed the smirk on Bryan’s face.

“I shouldn’t have said that” She was blushing scarlet as Bryan’s intense gaze wasn’t going away.

“I wasn’t looking like prince charming, either” He finally said in that husky voice of his.

“I was sweaty and didn’t have the best fragrant, but I wanted to see you… I couldn’t wait until our date” He sincerely explained.

“You’re embarrassing me”

“I’m glad there’s no one here to see that”

That was true.

She was glad the restaurant was empty, because if he hadn’t booked the restaurant just for them, she wouldn’t be this comfortable with him.

“You can be open with me” Bryan added with a mischievous smirk.

“Like, really open?” Amy asked in a seductive voice, playing along.

“If you like” He had an amused look on his face.

Bryan was enjoying their conversation. He never expected that Amy would act so relaxed with him. He had thought she would be nervous and quiet, but she proved him wrong.

“I love you” He blurted out before he could realize it wasn’t in his head, but that he had

Actually said it out loud.

“I love you too”

Amy narrated how her day went over their main course, which was Pan roasted beef tenderloin with maitake mushrooms. Bryan also chipped in what he actually did when he got home, which was freshen up, look for something to wear for their date, have lunch and take a nap, because he had planned out this day just for her, so he didn’t want to engage himself with any form of work and get carried away by it.

“Oh my God! I can’t believe I was wrong” Amy laughed, covering her face with her hands when she realized her guess was wrong.

“There’s always a first time”

Amy sent a frown his way when he said that with a proud smile, like he was some puzzle.

“I got it right, though. You just decided to add a new switch to your routine.. and it was all because of me” She said in her defense, smiling contentedly.

They had Gateau basque with poached apples and caramelized white chocolate for dessert. Amy was internally thankful to her mom for not letting her eat much before coming for this date, as she was already full.

When they were done with their dessert, Bryan paid the bills, not forgetting to drop a huge tip for the waiters. He then offered to take Amy home himself, to make up for not picking her up.