8. A Heart's Desire

Cassie's POV

'He held my toes and slowly massaged them. The feeling was enticing, and it washed over my body. I closed my eyes as he let his hands over my chest. The attraction became stronger. I felt pulled up to him, so he put his arms around my waist, and I clapsed onto his shoulders.

"I have something to show you," he whispered to my ears.

"What is it, Jaxon?" I asked.

He jumped from the bed and knelt down on one of his knees.

"We don't need a priest. I can say it on my own," he said.

 "Say what?" I asked in curiosity.

"I want to marry you, Cassie, but I don't want a big wedding. It is dangerous for us," he said.

"I will do anything to be with you," I assured him.

"Will you marry me, Cassie? I want my family together now. We will be the happiest family in the universe!"

"Yes! I want to marry you, Jaxon. Yes, I love you!"

I jumped at him, and he squeezed me onto his body.'

An alarm buzzed and woke me up from my sweet dream. I was supposed to prepare and dress Cathy for school. That morning, I had countless things to do, and there was much work waiting for me in the restaurant. I woke up and prepared as usual but requested Mary to help me by taking Cathy to school. She did as I requested. Thereafter I went to the restaurant.

I found many people already standing at the entrance, including my employees. They were used to me opening early, but that day, I was late, and my customers were patient enough to wait for me. My restaurant was in the heart of the town closer to where everyone worked. So, it was easy for people to cross the road and come for breakfast or lunch. I greeted everyone and proceeded to open the doors.

Since we opened late, we multitasked. Others went straight to make tea and coffee, which was what people needed in the morning. While others were busy preparing buns, hotdogs, and more. I was busy serving people in their tables. Despite the delagation of tasks, I realised I needed more employees. However, I wasn't going to be able to pay them all, so I had to utilize the small number I had. My employees loved me, and they understood me in any way. I loved them back because if it wasn't for them, my restaurant wasn't going to grow.

At ten o'clock, when there were few people in the restaurant, I took a break and checked on my phone. I saw a message that was sent by a new number, and I clicked it open to read.

'Good morning, Cassie. I might come for a tea in your restaurant. Please, I hope you are not angry. It's me, Jaxon.'

The message made me smile, and I realized my feelings for Jaxon were still intact. Frankly, I loved him. Clad in smile, I threw my phone into my purse and went to the kitchen. If he was coming to the restaurant, I was supposed to make tea for him myself. I opened the shelves, looking for a special cup. He was supposed to feel special and loved. I was willing to take all the risks to feel his love again.

Without a fuss, I found my magic cup. It was blue and had a red painting of a heart on its exterior. It was bought by my mother as a gift to my father, and I was surprised when they both gave it to me on my birthday. They said it resembled their love and wanted me to have it. So Jaxon was going to drink tea from that special cup. I set everything ready and waited to see him stepping inside the restaurant.

About an hour passed while waiting. My eyes were focused at the entrance, but he wasn't there yet. I continued waiting until I started to complain alone. My workers could see that I was impatiently waiting for someone. Jaxon was always good in making me wait. Judging by the time I waited, I ended up thinking he was not coming because it was then noon. I looked at my efforts trying to behave as his wife and realized that for sure, I was crazily in love. However, my spirit was lowered by him not coming. I went to wash plates in the kitchen and concentrated on my customers, who were not giving me false hopes like Jaxon. It was my usual behavior that when I was bored, I got myself busy, and at that moment, washing dishes helped me to calm down.

"Hey lady, are you Cassie?" an old woman asked. She was one of my customers.

"Yes, that's me," I responded with a smile on my face.

"The owner of this place?" she asked again to be assured.

"Yes, I am," I responded and politely asked, "Can I help you?"

She held my shoulders and showed me a man who was sitting far corner of the restaurant.

"Do you see that man?'' she asked and said, "He has been waiting for you for too long. He said I should tell you your dress perfectly makes you look more beautiful."

I blushed, looking at the man to an extent that I didn't continue paying attention to the woman. The man was Jaxon. He looked at me and waved. I remembered he used to be the most romantic guy, and every girl in high school crushed him, but he was always mine. His charms still worked on me. I walked to him. He stared at me like crazy as I walked. I wished I had magic to close his eyes. The distance to his table felt long as he continued looking at me. My uniform, which perfectly lined my body, kept him in a smile.

"Pardon my gesture, I just need a coffee," he said before I even stopped to greet him. I got bored, he treated me as if I were his waiter.

"What? Well, yours is no longer available. You came late," I said, my mood becoming dull. However, I thought otherwise and realized that I was the one wrong. Jaxon was my customer, and I was supposed to take his orders and serve him. I was the one wrong by having expectations. He remained quiet, looking at me. I felt like explaining myself further to him was the only right thing.

"I don't know whether you understand this but… "

He stopped me from explaining just by putting his finger over his lips.

"Be at ease, hey. Just bring me a cold coffee," he said and added, " And, please, add some ice."

I went to make his coffee. He didn't stop staring at me as I walked away. We were both fooling ourselves as if we had no serious things to talk about. He was trying to look normal, but in his eyes, I saw it was different. I came with his coffee and stood next to him to finish drinking. I expected him to ask me to sit down and chat with me, but he didn't care. He slowly drank his coffee while reading the newspaper. That embarrassed me in front of my workers. I decided to go away from him. But he stopped me from going.

"What? What more do you want, Jaxon?" I asked.

"I am done drinking the coffee. I liked it," he said, folding his newspaper.

I took the cup from the table and waited for him to talk something at least.

"Are you leaving?" I asked.

"Yeah, I got plenty of things to do," he responded.

"I know, there's a lot on your plate, but won't you say anything all?" I asked while holding the cup onto my stomach.

He stood up and walked closer to me. He held my hand and said, "Cassie, I know we have a lot to talk about. Why don't we talk tonight here?"

"You mean a date?" I asked, looking at his brown eyes.

"Yes, if that's how you call it," he said, smiling.

I agreed at once. We were going to meet at the restaurant that night. He left me feeling happy. The idea of a date gave me hopes. I wanted to reconnect with him despite his actions in the past. Love made me forget that Linx's family was going to be angry at me. However, all that didn't matter. Linx died while we were no longer living together.

Please don't judge me, I was in love.