Pure Heart: Anything for You Series - Book 1 (4 page)

“Since it is already late, let's just eat somewhere near. I hope you don't mind if I take you to this place I enjoy going when I want to get away from hounding reporters and the paparazzi.”
Gabriel said, breaking the silence between them.

Right. I forgot that I was with a god, a celebrity, every woman's dream.
She just nodded in agreement to his plan. She had no other plans anyway. Since he offered and this was his treat, he should be in charge of picking the place. She need not have worried about how she looked, as she was dressed well tonight. If only her plans of having a romantic anniversary with Michael hadn’t been ruined then she would probably be drinking the night away with him. Thoughts of their last romantic night together flooded her. Her cheeks turned red and she suddenly felt flushed. They were some pretty intense memories to begin with, and she hated to admit it, but she was ready to have the same experiences again this night, but was disappointed when suddenly Michael had the need to turn her down. She felt defeated, her expectations shattered by the reality that when it came to her boyfriend, she was only second to his first priority, which was his career. She had done her best to be understanding about this, however sometimes she really felt like she should demand more.

Gabriel turned to the parking lot of a commercial building and parked his Bentley in the corner. As soon as he turned the engine off, he rushed to her side of the car and opened the door for her. Juliana was so unused to all this attention, but somehow she found herself liking it and wishing that Michael would do the same for her on all of their dates. She shook her head as she tried to forget about Michael, which she knew was impossible, but maybe only for a couple of hours, she could, she would.

Gabriel offered his hand to help her out of the car. She took his hand and let him lead her to this place that he was talking about. They walked to what looked like a coffee shop. When he opened the door and let her enter first, she gasped as saw what was inside. The walls were covered with tiled bricks. There were wooden tables were everywhere surrounded by an assortment of wooden chairs and soft couches. She saw some warm lights hanging on the ceiling to illuminate the room. A middle-aged woman smiled warmly at them before greeting them. Juliana walked to the counter and the woman handed a menu to her and to Gabriel, who was just behind her. She looked at what was written in the menu and realized that it was indeed a coffee shop however, they also served comfort food to go with their hot and cold beverages.

Cozy surroundings, a variety of comfort food, a selection of hot and cold beverages and just nearby their office definitely made her want to go back there again. If only she could always have some good company then her visits here would always be complete.

“Welcome Mr. Mitchell! I see you have brought someone with you tonight. What would you like to eat this night?”
The woman said with a smile on her face.

Juliana noticed that they knew each other, and by the way Gabriel squirmed, she knew he felt uncomfortable but why?

“Please, Lydia. Stop calling me Mr. Mitchell. Mr. Mitchell is my dad. Just call me Gabriel.”
He corrected her as he shook his head. He obviously did not approve of him being called Mr. Mitchell outside work, which made her chuckle. She was teasing him. She had probably known him for a long time, and somehow she felt herself smiling when he suddenly turned his attention to her.

“What are you smiling at, Ms. Austin? Enjoying our little bantering, are you?”
He raised an eyebrow at her as he inquired. 

He debated whether to use her first name tonight or her last, but he did not want her to feel awkward around him tonight, so he stuck with using what he usually called her instead. He only hoped that before this night ended, she would let her guard down and let him get to know her more.

“Nothing, Sir. I was just having fun looking at the menu.”
She responded as she tried to hide her smiling face from him. An employee laughing at her boss wasn’t exactly a pretty picture.

“Alright. I will have the usual, Lydia. What would you like to have, Ms. Austin?”
He looked at her with a skeptical face at first, and then dropped the act to place his order before she did. He asked without looking at her, which was a relief.

“I am famished. Would you mind if I order something heavy tonight?”
She boldly asked him. She was hungry, and even if most people would lose their appetites because of what happened to her earlier, she was different.

“Why would I mind? I like women with good appetites. It's a breath of fresh air from all the vegetarian and other diets that I keep on hearing from women often.”
Gabriel revealed. From women? Did that mean he had been with so many? If yes, how many? Was he really the womanizing devil that the media portrayed him to be? She wondered before announcing her order.

“I'll have a lasagna with some roasted chicken and some white wine, please.”
Juliana said as she smiled at Lydia, who wrote her order on a piece of paper before turning her attention to Gabriel. One of his eyebrows rose as if she piqued his interest in a way.

“Lydia, I'm changing my order to grilled lamb chop with tzaziki and steamed vegetables and a bottle of your finest red wine, please.”
Lydia smiled as she acknowledged his order before writing it down.

He closed the menu and handed it to Lydia. She smiled as she graciously accepted it. She repeated their orders and asked if they would be having anything else. Juliana wanted to order something sweet, but she figured she should wait until later on to see if she could still eat more. Gabriel stopped her from giving back the other menu to Lydia, who had already turned around to relay their orders to those inside the kitchen.

“We keep the other menu. Just in case we both want something else to order later.”
He said.

He had a point so she believed him. He held the menu in his other hand as he led her to his favorite spot. He let her sit on one of the soft couches first before sitting opposite her. He smiled at her as he felt himself letting loose here. He placed the menu on the right side of the table for easy access. She didn't want to sit in silence as she already owed him for saving her from all the tears that she would probably be shedding tonight. She knew she would be crying alone inside her room right now if it weren’t for him and his offer to eat dinner with her tonight.

“Lucky for us. It's the weekend tomorrow. Do you have any plans?”
Gabriel inquired as he sat comfortably on his seat.

The weekend. How could she have forgotten about it? She was too focused on planning tonight's dinner with Michael for their anniversary. She figured the rest of the planning should be on his side, but after he had called her to tell her that the date was off because of another late night at work, she figured there was nothing planned for them during the weekend either.

So much for having an ideal boyfriend! Who was she kidding? She looked around and saw that there were a few people around them and all of them seemed to be too absorbed in what they were eating or what they were talking about to care if they were there, which helped lessen the pressure of being with Gabriel tonight. The tense muscles in her shoulders were starting to loosen up as she willed herself to just relax and enjoy this night.

“Actually, No. I don't have any plans for this weekend.”
Deep inside she wished she had though.

She knew how lame her answer sounded, but there was nothing she could do about it. She decided to change the topic fast before he started getting nosy. She looked around to see if there would be something they could talk about around them. The name of the establishment in the menu suddenly caught her attention. “Lydia's,” she read.
Wait, what? Wasn't Lydia the name of the woman who welcomed them here and took their orders earlier?

“Is the woman who took our orders earlier the owner of this establishment?”
She blurted out. Gabriel smiled as she asked him about it. He obviously knew something she did not.

“Yes, that's her, and let me tell you a little secret...”
He leaned on the table in front of her. She mirrored his actions before he whispered his secret to her. Soon his lips were close to her ear, making it easier for him to tell her his secret.

“Lydia is also my aunt, my mother's younger sister. I am also her favorite nephew and her number one customer.”
He confessed to her with a huge grin on his face.

What? They were really related?
Now, she had heard everything. She only hoped she liked her. Wait, what was she thinking? Why did it matter if she liked her or not? It was not like she was dating Gabriel. But seeing them together right now, it was safe to assume that they might be and she did not want anyone to think so. What if Michael found out and thought she was cheating on him? She would be in a lot of trouble if that happened. She wanted to panic, but before she could say or do something, she heard a woman's voice in the background. When she looked up, she saw Lydia with one of the waiters and their orders in a tray. She blushed and looked away.

“Sorry, Aunt Lydia. I was just disclosing to Ms. Austin our little secret. But I think she is still doubtful that I am telling her the truth.”
He said with a sly smirk on his face. He winked at her, which made her blush further.

“Hey! I didn't say that! Of course I believe you. Please don't listen to him, Lydia.”
She protested.

“Are you now, Gabriel?”
Lydia smiled, knowing how shocked Juliana would be, especially since they did not look alike, making it impossible to know that they were related.

Lydia instructed the waiter to bring their orders to the table. Juliana salivated when she saw the lasagna and the roasted chicken leg on her plate. She looked at the Béchamel, which was poured generously on top of her lasagna, while her chicken leg looked moist and delicious. She looked over Gabriel's order and made a mental note to herself to try that out next time. The lamb chop looked like it was grilled to perfection. Although she had never tried tzaziki before, she knew it went well with lamb. The waiter also gave them two bottles of wine – one red, one white. She swallowed as she remembered she was not a heavy drinker. It did not matter if they were drinking wine tonight; she knew she would have to be careful not to drink too much with her boss.

“Bon Apetit!”
The waiter said before leaving the table.

“Gabriel, just call me if you need anything else, okay? I hope you and Ms. Austin will both enjoy your stay here.”
Lydia said before leaving and attending to the other customers.

“She is such a sweet woman.”
Juliana smiled and nodded at her and the waiter as they left them to eat.

“Yes, she is. Very. She raised me like I was her own, especially since my mother was so busy building her career as an interior decorator for the rich and famous while my father was busy building his empire in the publishing world. My siblings and I were often left with Lydia. I am surprised she was able to survive all three of us growing up. We were quite a handful you see.”
He admitted.

“I think all children are. It is a phase that every child goes through, otherwise something is wrong with them.”
She said as she looked at him.

He nodded as he took her glass before opening the bottle of white wine. He poured some in her glass and handed it to her. He did the same with his red wine before pouring a lot in his glass. She looked at Lydia from a distance. She reminded her of her mother growing up. If only she didn't die so young. Her thoughts were interrupted with Gabriel suddenly asking her a question.

“What was your childhood like?”
A personal question which she did not expect him to ask.

“Happy.”
She lied.

Her childhood was a far cry from happy. She was an only child, but that fact did not make her lonely. What made her lonely was the fact that when her mother died in a car accident, her father was never the same again. The once happy family that she had was gone. She was 10 when it happened and she had no one else but her father, yet he shunned her away. She grew up feeling unwanted. He had been so cold to her. She grew up seeking attention, care and love from others.

She desperately tried to be wanted. It was a pitiful existence. Although everybody liked her, she was uncertain if they truly did. She grew up feeling inferior and hiding behind the mask of happiness. She always smiled even when she was in pain, and she acted normal when deep inside she felt like she was dying. But Gabriel didn't need to know that.

She picked up a fork and knife and started digging in. The lasagna was not just cheesy but creamy as well, while the chicken was not just tender and flavorful, it was incredibly moist too. Gabriel looked at her as if he was waiting for her to say something more. She had forgotten that she only gave him a short response to his question about her childhood, but she didn't want to give him the exact details.

“Come on, Ms. Austin. Spill it out! I did give you a sneak peek to my childhood. It is not fair if you won't share.”
He pouted like a little kid demanding something from his parent, which made her roll her eyes without her knowing it.

“I'm an only child and my father is a professor who travels in Europe for work. We only get to see each other once or twice a year whenever he is here in America.”
She looked away as she gave him more information, which she felt she shouldn't but she did. She still didn't want to talk about her mother, no matter how much she missed her and loved her. It just was not something someone brings up when they are eating dinner with their boss.

“Europe, huh? Have you ever been there?”
Gabriel said as he cut on his grilled lamb chop.

“Actually, no, but maybe someday. Have you been to Europe?”
She said before scooping some lasagna and placing it inside her mouth.

“Yep. I went there before my father told me he would be retiring soon and that he needed me to take his place. It was a backpacking trip, but that wasn't my first trip there. You should really go next time.”
He said as he continued eating.

“I'll try.”
She wished it were that easy.