The Girl Named Elizabeth

"That is because you never met him thirty years ago," Matthew flatly said.

"As if you met him thirty years ago," Olivia replied in the same tone.

Matthew shrugged his shoulders. "I heard the stories," It was the story of his uncle being a leader of an organized crime group…the bad things he did back then, and how notorious he was. His uncle was a true definition of a leader of an organized crime group that was feared back then.

Olivia frowned. She rested her elbow on the table and placed her chin on her palm. "But it was just so hard to believe it seeing how he is toward his wife and daughter," And then she added in a dreamy tone. "Not to mention…he is so hot!"

Elizabeth's father might look stony but he was a very handsome man through and through. In fact, he was featured in a magazine as one of the hottest men in the country despite his age.

Matthew looked disturbed. "Did you seriously call my uncle hot in front of me?" He asked as he glared at Olivia.

But Olivia was not affected and never has been, by Matthew's glare. "Is he not?" She asked. Then her eyes caught two men that entered the cafe. "Oh,"

Matthew noticed that Olivia was looking behind him so he turned his head and instantly cursed when he saw who just entered the cafe. "What the fuck?" He has an annoyed look on his face.

Daxon was already walking towards them looking like he just got out of bed but it didn't lessen his attractiveness. In fact, he was obviously attracting the attention of some women inside the cafe. Not just because of his striking presence but because he was a famous musician.

Not to mention the other hot specimen, who despite his obvious foul mood, looked gorgeous as he followed Daxon.

"Didn't expect to see you here," Daxon said as he smiled at Olivia and then at Matthew.

"This is my cousin's coffee shop so what's surprising?" Matthew deadpanned. Then he looked at Nic. "What the fuck are you doing here?" He asked even though Nic looked like he would rather be in another place than in that cafe.

But they all know too well that the cafe is Nic's favorite place.

"I want coffee," Daxon said at the same time that Nic spoke, "He is pissing me off," Then Nic sat beside Matthew obviously looking pissed. Daxon on the other hand sat beside Olivia which earned him a murderous glare from Matthew.

Matthew will never forget that Daxon once said that he was going to pursue Olivia back in college. Although he knew that he was just pushing him off the edge, he knew that Daxon was partly serious about that because he liked Olivia.

Though he was certain that Daxon would not attempt to steal Olivia from him, he was still uncomfortable seeing them close.

"What are you doing here? I thought you planned to spend the rest of the day in bed?" Daxon asked with a mischievous smile on his lips. When Matthew left his office earlier, he sent a message to his friends that he is not to be interrupted for the rest of the day because he plans on spending it in bed with Olivia.

Of course, Olivia didn't know that Matthew said that. So, she was looking back and forth at Matthew and Daxon with a perplexed look on her face.

"She was craving something sweet. I swear she might be pregnant," Matthew smirked.

Olivia's eyes went wide and her face heats up. "Shut up," She glared at Matthew, and then she hit him with a tissue holder. Since the table is not that big, it was easy for her to hit him on his arm.

"Aw!" Matthew rubbed his arm even though he was not really hurt at all. In fact, he was smiling at his woman who had turned red at his words.

Meanwhile, inside the kitchen of the cafe, Elizabeth's smile didn't leave her face. Seeing her cousin and his girlfriend really lifted up her mood after a long tiring day.

Elizabeth is a timid woman so she has few friends. Olivia is one of those few and she loved seeing, talking to, and spending time with her even if it was just a few minutes in her cafe. Olivia has a lively personality compared to her boring personality. So having Olivia as a friend was like having a breath of fresh air.

Not to mention Olivia was very sincere and genuine. Another reason why he liked Olivia is that because she always gets an honest critique from her.

Elizabeth was a good baker. In fact, Olivia always says that she is the best baker in town. Not only Olivia who said that but some of her regular customers as well. Olivia's blog about her cafe and cakes years ago made Elizabeth's cakes even more popular because of her honest reviews.

That is why every time Olivia comes to the cafe, she always serves her something new, and then she would ask her for her opinion. Of course, not everything she baked was good but it didn't make Elizabeth feel bad about it. It made her do better and improve her skills.

Seeing Olivia excites her because she was baking something new in the oven and she wanted to have Olivia's honest opinion about it.

So the moment the oven alarmed, she put on her mitten and took out the apple crumble loaf cake. She didn't even wait to cool it down because Olivia and Matthew were waiting. She placed the loaf on a serving plate, drizzled it with caramel, and then she placed it on the tray together with Olivia and Matthew's coffee.

Elizabeth didn't even remove her apron, not even dusted it when she walked out of the kitchen with an excited smile on her face.

But when she looked around in search of Olivia and Matthew's table, she didn't expect to find an unexpected yet familiar presence with them.

Elizabeth's smile turned into a nervous one. Her steps become slow as if she was hesitating if she should go back to the kitchen. But then, she remembered Olivia. She cannot disappoint her, so she took a deep breath and though she felt her knees were shaky, she continued walking towards their table.

Olivia, Matthew, and the other man were talking and laughing while the other man had a grumpy look on his face as he glared at the man sitting across from him. They didn't notice that Elizabeth was walking towards them until she stood beside their table and cleared her throat.

"Uhm…" Elizabeth was about to say something but her words were stuck to her throat when the grumpy looking man turned his head and met her gaze.

Elizabeth instantly looked away in an attempt to hide her blush and looked at Olivia instead.

"Cakes!" Olivia cried as her eyes twinkled at the sight of the loaf cake in Elizabeth's hands. She was oblivious to the turmoil that Elizabeth was currently having inside.

Elizabeth smiled awkwardly as she placed the tray on the table. She didn't even bother to remove the cake and coffee from the tray because she doesn't trust that her hands will be able to do that successfully. "Yeah. I tried something new. I hope you will like it," She said as she nervously pushed her glasses up her nose.

Elizabeth wanted to say something more. Like she was hoping that she could get an honest review from Olivia but she felt her throat constricted when she felt someone's intense gaze.

Matthew and Daxon on the other hand were looking alternately at Elizabeth and Nic with mischief in their eyes. Especially to Nic who was staring intensely at Elizabeth as if he had forgotten that his friends were with him.

"I will definitely like it. Join us," Olivia said, making Elizabeth's eyes turn wide. The last thing she needs right now is to be at the same table as the man who has been coming to her cafe for years now and making her edgy.

Elizabeth doesn't know who the man is but his regular presence and the peculiar attention he was giving her made her become familiar with him. So it surprised her to see him with her cousin and his girlfriend. She wondered how they knew each other.

"Uhm…" Elizabeth has all the intentions to reject Olivia's invitation but she doesn't have the heart to deny her. Especially when Olivia was looking at her as if her answer would make her day.

Daxon who was still amusedly watching the interaction between Olivia and Elizabeth and the way Nic was staring at the latter knew that the small beauty will give in. So he excuses himself to order coffee for himself and Nic and possibly find a vacant chair to drag to their table so that Elizabeth could sit beside Olivia.

Once Daxon had left, Olivia grabbed Elizabeth's wrist and pulled her, "Come on, please,"

Unfortunately, Elizabeth doesn't have enough drive to say no to her friend. "I…Okay," She said timidly, making a mental note to avoid looking in front of her.