Chapter 5

As soon as we arrived in front of my best friend's restaurant that I reserved in advance, I quickly parked my car in the parking lot as I was impatient for our dinner date tonight.

Then I got out of my car in a flash, so I could open the door for Hannah, the name of the woman who was with me at the moment.

"Thank you for opening the door for me." she said calmly as she got out of my car in an elegant way.

I just nodded my head in response and locked my car, before extending my hand toward her, asking her indirectly to hold my hand before we entered the restaurant.

She then accepted my earlier outstretched hand, and we walked towards the restaurant hand in hand.

Her hands, which felt small and soft, somehow managed to get rid of all the negative emotions in my mind right away.

Could it be that the owner of this hand has such a mysterious power that can calm the hearts of anyone who holds her hand?

Or is it just me who feels that way?

Arriving at the restaurant, I told a waiter, who approached me at short notice, and told the waiter that I had reserved a table in my name.

The waiter then checked the guest lists for a while before he nodded his head in agreement and directed us to one of the tables Frank had specially prepared for me.

Especially in the sense that he, in fact, prepared the place as if I were going to propose to someone at his restaurant, which in fact, it was still far away for me to propose to Hannah for now.

He even prepared a vase with fresh roses to decorate the table where we would enjoy our dinner.

Also, some white candles that were already lit and the table setting Frank had prepared for the person I was going to invite tonight.

I would make sure to beat him up after our dinner date tonight.

Certainly, but not today.

For such an obvious reason, I felt my regret for telling him I had found the right person.

If he had known that I had only found out her name today, maybe he would not have prepared such an over-the-top decoration.

"You don't mind, if the decoration for our table is a little bit..."

"Yes?"

Her face lit up when she saw the scene in front of her. I canceled my intention to comment on Frank's creation earlier at short notice before spoiling the atmosphere that managed to have a positive effect on Hannah, who was still holding my hand tightly.

"This is the first time someone has bothered to prepare all of this just for me. Thank you for preparing all of these just for me."

I guess I should thank Frank for setting up our table and cancel my intention to beat him to death. It was not in vain that I asked him to prepare a special table for me, although his taste, I must admit, was quite excessive.

Especially with the large number of flowers and the candles, which, if people like me looked at them closely, it was pretty obvious that they almost melted in half because of the long wait for the two of us to be here.

"Please have a seat. Tonight you are the star, Hannah Summerfield."

I let go of her hand so I could pull one of the chairs towards her and ask her to sit down. Without hiding her awkwardness, she sat down on the chair I had pulled out earlier.

Then I pulled the chair in front of her and sat with her.

A few moments later, a waiter came with spaghetti pomarola, spaghetti bolognese, lasagna (vegan version at my request), tiramisu, affogato, and café macchiato for our dinner menu.

Since Frank was really fond of Italian cuisine, of course, the menu offered by my friend's restaurant is a menu that is commonly found in Italian restaurants.

"Wow, there is spaghetti pomarola too! Just like in Eutimia!"

"Eutimia?"

She covered her mouth when she heard my question earlier, at short notice. "I am sorry, it's nothing."

"It doesn't matter. My younger sister often talks about Eutimia. She always said it is a very good story, although sadly, there has not been a sequel yet."

"You have a younger sister?"

"Yes, why do you ask?"

She stirred up her spaghetti pomarola. "It makes me envious to know you have a younger sister. She must be really cute."

"How come you call her a cute little sister when you've never met her? Believe me, she is really such a pain in the ass," I grumbled, scooping a mouthful of lasagna into my mouth. "I guess you also have siblings, don't you?"

"I have. But not exactly my sibling; it's my cousin. I have no idea if she remembers me or not."

"I beg you pardon?"

She shook her head. "It is nothing." She said, popping some of the spaghetti pomarola in her mouth.

"It really fits for a king! So delicious!"

I just laughed at her innocent reaction earlier and went back to eating the dinner menu last night.

As a matter of fact, I was not really sure I could finish all of this dinner menu at once.

Especially when I saw Hannah eating so voraciously.

I feel like I just want to keep looking at her like the way I did at this time.

Can I take her to my home now?

"Richard?"

I woke up from my dream in a flash. "Yes?"

"You are not going to eat that one, aren't you? Then give it to me."

I shook my head, handing me my spaghetti bolognese, which I still hadn't touched. "Sure. You can eat this as well."

She pushed aside her empty plate happily and took mine for granted. Then she resumed eating, ignoring me, who looked back at her with such admiration that she almost forgot my lasagna, whining for me to finish it.

"Hm, it really fits for a king! This is so delicious! So I want to take the chef home!"

I furrowed my brow as soon as I heard the words that came out of her mouth. "Seriously? Of all that, why would you want to take the chef home instead?"

"Yes. Just imagine it." the woman said, shoving the spaghetti bolognese back into her mouth. "If I could take the chef home, I would be able to eat delicious food like this every day. Isn't that right? Gosh, this is so delicious. I swear!"

I was the one who wanted to take you home, silly, I muttered, trying to hold back my laughter when I saw her reaction, who really enjoyed her food.

I then finished the lasagna, which was no longer warm, and finished it.

Every now and then I turned my gaze to Hannah, who was still enjoying her food as if she was eating alone and not with me.

After a while, she finally stopped eating her dinner. She did not seem as hungry as before, as I could see from the row of empty plates beside her.

She then wiped the corners of her lips clean from the remaining sauce with a napkin before she placed it on the dining table.

"I am really full now. Thank you for all of these."

"It was pretty obvious you were feeling full. It is the first time I have seen a woman eat that much without the slightest shame."

"Why should I be ashamed? It's rare for someone to offer such delicious food in front of me."

I covered my mouth, trying hard not to laugh at her spontaneous response.

"Can I invite you another time?"

"Of course you can invite me another time. You can invite me every day if you want. It's better to eat together than eat alone."

"Hm, I agree with you. Then, every time I get home from work, I will take you out to dinner together. Then I will drive you home. What do you think about my suggestion?"

She thought about my offer earlier, swaying my offer for a moment before she agreed to it.

A wise choice, I must admit, because I was really looking forward to the answer that did not reject my offer earlier.

"Can I ask you one thing?"

I nodded my head. "Of course, you can ask me anything or any question. Just tell me what you want from me and I will make sure to give you my answer or anything you asked for."

She grabbed my hand and held it tightly before kissing the back of my hand. Her completely unexpected action made my heart beat so fast that I could barely hide the nervousness I was feeling right now.

"I know this may sound sudden. And I do not want you to think the thing I am going to do with you is because of your title or status. I mean, to hell with all of that." She said, looking at me with a face that looked so serious as she said that.

"Then?"

"Richard Clark. Do you mind if I ask you to be my boyfriend right now?"