Chapter 4

"Penne was amazed by the flowers and said he deserved an answer. 'Yeah, I know, I'll think about it these days and give you an answer.' And you? Are you going to call Nick? There's that contract pending, the one his partner didn't sign. Call him and schedule a time to meet them to resolve this little problem. You're such a sweetheart, my beautiful partner, my best friend. I love you,' she said, kissing her on the cheek excitedly. 'So let's go,' and she pulled Liz's arm. 'You look like a child who just got a candy,' and they laughed together.

When they arrived at the company, there was a big surprise: Nick was waiting for the partners to discuss the contract. 'Can we offer you a coffee? Water?' Nick said he'd have a coffee. Liz asked Penne to accompany him while she sorted out an issue with another client. So they went out for coffee. After resolving what was pending, Penne talked about the weekend they had and said if he had come, he would have enjoyed it too. 'The place is beautiful and cozy.' He replied, 'Next time, invite me!' 'I'll do that, don't worry,' Penne replied with a smile. 'But you can invite me to dinner too. Just let me know the day.' 'Alright then. If I had known, I would have already done it. We'll talk later then. It was great to see you here today. I look forward to your call for our dinner. Have a good day.' 'Thank you, you too.'

The week went by quickly and Penne had dinner with Nick. So Liz invited Henry to dinner at her house. He, very punctual and eager, arrived very handsome, holding beautiful flowers in his hands. 'You look beautiful!!!' he said softly. 'Thank you,' Liz replied. 'Come in.' The table was very nice; she served him a wine he also liked. 'Henry, I accept dating you.' He hugged her and kissed her, and another, and another. She smiled and said, 'Easy there, Henry.' He replied, 'I've always loved you and love you more than anything, Liz.' 'And all I want is to make you happy.' 'I really like you too. We've always been together as friends and now as a couple. Can we have dinner now?' Liz said, smiling and expressing her happiness too.

And they toasted to the beginning of their relationship to be very happy. 'Now we just need to announce that we're dating, so your other admirers back off,' Henry said with a smile. 'You're silly. I don't have any admirers. And now I'm a woman committed to Mr. Henry Carl. We just need the engagement ring now,' Liz joked with Henry, who said it was the next step. 'And I want to arrange a dinner with our families to make the announcement.' 'Yes, let's set a date. You know my parents don't live here and visit very rarely. But we have time to organize everything. If you prefer, we can also visit them and I'll make the formal proposal.' 'Alright, Mr. Henry. We'll talk about that later.'

'Now, unfortunately, I have to leave you. It's late and you need to rest. But I want you to know that you've made me the happiest man in the world, and we'll be very happy together.' He then held Liz's hands, pulled her close, and they kissed. A beautiful kiss of love, then he opened the door and left. Liz poured another glass of wine, sat on the couch, and thought about the beautiful moment she had just experienced with her boyfriend.

At that moment, the door opened. It was Penne arriving, humming. It was clear she was very happy too. So they spent a long time talking about what happened on that magical night. 'We're both dating!!! We need to go out with the four of us to celebrate,' Penne said, all excited. 'Yes, we'll do that later. But now let's sleep. It's almost dawn and we're still awake,' Liz said, already heading towards the bedroom. 'Have sweet dreams, Penne Dalton.' 'You too, Liz Carl.'

The next morning, as the friends were leaving for work, they opened the door and faced two deliverymen, each holding a beautiful bouquet of red roses. Liz received hers and found a card with the words: 'GOOD MORNING, MISS LIZ, MY LOVE. MY GIRLFRIEND. I'M PICKING YOU UP FOR LUNCH TOGETHER. LOVE YOU. FROM: HENRY.' 'I have to call to thank him for these beautiful flowers and this lovely card,' she said, sighing, completely enchanted.

Penne took her beautiful roses, which also had a card that read: 'GOOD MORNING, BEAUTIFUL LADY. THESE FLOWERS ARE TO PERFUME YOUR DAY. LAST NIGHT WAS PERFECT! FROM: NICK DALTON.' 'I also have to call to thank him. When we get to the office, we'll do that.' Before they could do anything else, they sent messages while getting into the car. 'Wow, we're late, and we have a meeting soon.' 'Yes, let's go.' They hugged each other and left, very happy.

It was almost 1 p.m. when the secretary told Liz that Henry was waiting for her. She asked her to let him in. She opened the door and greeted him with a warm hug and a kiss on the cheek. She understood the reason for the kiss on the cheek, after all, they were at work and no one knew they were dating. 'I'm ready, just need to grab my bag. Where are we having lunch?' Liz asked. 'It's a surprise!!!' Henry replied. 'So let's go.' He held her hand and they walked side by side, while some employees looked surprised and admiringly.

Penne saw them leaving and joked with Liz, 'Are you coming back to the office today?' Henry replied, 'Maybe I'll just kidnap her for today.' And he smiled. 'Good afternoon to you too, Penne. Take care of my friend, okay, Mr. Henry?' 'You can count on it, Miss Penne.' He put his hand on Liz's waist and they left.

'I wanted to have lunch with you today, after all, it's our first date as a couple, and I've been looking forward to this day.' 'We'll have many more days, don't worry.' They had lunch, took a walk, and he took her back to work. 'Will I see you tonight?' Henry asked. 'No. We have a work commitment tonight. But I'll call you when I get home.' 'Alright then.' They said goodbye, and Liz watched the car slowly drive away before entering the building...