Chapter 50 Dinner With Lawrence
Hillary’s POVNôvelDrama.Org content.
“I’m not doing it Becks and you two can’t make me.” I told her pointedly when she held my hand to stop me from walking out of that French restaurant, then I turned around to leave her presence once more. Gosh, it’s so annoying when they both team up against me, it’s even more annoying now because Miguel is not around to speak up on my behalf. He is the only one that understands me these days and he always stands by my decision, he doesn’t force me to go on dates like these two crazy friends of mine. I can’t believe that they would set me up on a date with Lawrence Delaney, why can’t they just accept my decision to be alone. The worst part of it all is that they tricked me, they fucking tricked me. Avril told me she was going to take the kids out so I can have a few hours to myself, then Becky came over and suggested that we both hang out at the new fancy French restaurant in town. I jumped at her request without thinking about it.
I have always wanted to check out this new restaurant, I’ve been craving French delicacies since I heard about this new restaurant and now that I have the perfect chance to go check it out, I didn’t think twice about her offer, I accepted immediately. When we got to the restaurant, there was a long queue outside the restaurant, but Becky saved us the stress of having to wait for a table, she walked right up to the bouncers at the door and she told them that we have a reservation, then she leaned forward and whispered something to them. I wonder what she was saying and why she had to whisper it, I also wondered where she had gotten the money to make a reservation in this restaurant. I’m in charge of our account and I’m pretty sure that she hadn’t taken money out of the account. I would have asked her about it but there is a large crowd surrounding us and I really don’t want to embarrass her with such stupid questions, so I just kept mute and watched her work her magic out here. The guys checked their tab and smiled warmly at us, then one of them gestured for a waitress to come over and lead us to our table. I was so shocked to realize that it was the best table in the restaurant. I couldn’t hold it in anymore, I turned to her immediately and I was just about to ask her how she had done it, but she took the words right out of my mouth,
“It wasn’t me Hills, he did it.” She told me with a smile, gesturing to someone behind me.
“Hello, beautiful.” He let out in a sweet voice that made my heart flutter for a moment there. When I turned around, I saw Lawrence, looking as dashingly handsome as he has always been. Damn, he is so cute. He is not wearing his usual business suit tonight, he is wearing a blue jeans and a white shirt, then he wore a deep blue jacket that could be mistaken for black. He topped it up with his black suede shoes that have almost the same color as his jacket. He looks so dashingly handsome, so mouthwatering with his hair combed in his usual style that highlights his gorgeous features. I gawked at him for a few seconds, lost in the moment. I had to snap out of it quickly because I was beginning to admire the guy and I don’t want that right now.
“How dare you, Becky, how dare you?” I asked her fiercely, turning around to walk out on them, heading for the exit. It was at that point that I realized that she had tricked me into coming to this place. It had been their plan all along and I fell right into it. Becky came after me, calling out to me as I ignored her and kept heading for the exit. She caught up to me and held my hand, trying to stop me, but I shunned her with some angry words while I tried to leave her presence once more. She wouldn’t take no for an answer, she followed me outside, trying so hard to catch up with me because I was walking so fast to get away from her.
“Fine, I’m sorry Hills, just wait up and hear me out, please.” She called out once more while running to catch up with me, coming to stand in front of me.
“You win, Hills, you don’t have to go on a date with him if you don’t want to and you can blame it all on me because it is entirely my fault. I know how much you wanted to come here and when I found out that this restaurant belongs to him, I just couldn’t pass up on the perfect opportunity to get you two together and at the same time grant you your wish.” She told me honestly, giving me her best pity face that almost made me giggle loudly.
“He owns this place?” I asked in surprise as I turned to stare at the restaurant again. Who would have thought that the almighty Lawrence Delaney would be able to run a restaurant in such a beautiful manner. I for one, I would never have thought of that. He never strikes me as the kind of man that would be able to run such a business, he always looked more like an aristocrat, I always picture him in a multi-billion-dollar conglomerate, not in a restaurant. I guess there is more to these rich kids than what we see. I would never have thought that Nathan would be able to run a club, but he did and it was the best club in town. I guess there are many similarities between this guy and my Nathan, not to mention the fact that he loves me and he adores my kids. One dinner with him wouldn’t hurt, right?
Wait,
Hold on a minute…
Did I just compare this guy to Nathan, am I really considering this guy as a father for my children?
Damn!
These girls are getting into my head and I’m letting their twisted thought and words get into my head. Nathan would be so disappointed in me if he finds out that I ever had these disdainful thoughts. I think I need to prove to these girls that my Nathan cannot be replaced by this gorgeous man. The only way I can do that is by hanging out with him. Right now he is only showing them his good qualities because he still hasn’t got me to say yes to his request. I’m sure that once he is confident that I am swaying to his side, he would show his true colors, and then I can prove to them that no man can take Nathan’s place in my life.
“I’ll just go in and tell him that something came up and we have to cancel, but you have to promise me that you won’t scold Avril for this, please, it’s all my fault, not hers. Just hold on a minute, I’ll get you some takeout and I’ll cancel with Lawrence.” She told me sadly, turning to head back inside but I stopped her before she got in,
“That won’t be necessary, I’ll go back in and have dinner with him, yuck.” I said in disgust scrunching up my face to mimic the look of someone that is about to throw up.
“What are you saying, are you saying that you will go in there and sit through this dinner, even if you are obviously not happy about it? You don’t have to do it, Hills, you have nothing to prove to anyone. You…”
“Yes I do, Becky,” I said firmly, cutting her words short, making her eyes go wide in surprise.
“I need to prove to you all that I don’t need him in my life, I need to prove to everyone that Nathan cannot be replaced by anyone. He is the only man for me, not this Lawrence guy and not any other guy. I’ll go on this date and I’ll give him a chance to come into my life, but you have to understand one thing Becks, this is the last time you’ll ever try to set me up on a relationship with any guy. If this shit doesn’t work out with Lawrence, then you have to stay the fuck out of my personal life. No more blind dates and certainly no more nagging, got it.” I asked sternly, trying my best to make her see that I mean every damn word that I’m saying. I wouldn’t want something like this to repeat itself and I mean it. She nodded in response but she still had a few objections,
“I understand Hills, but I mean when I said that you really don’t have to do this. I would cancel right now and I will…”
“Go home Becky, except you want to tag along for our dinner and ruin it for us before it even begins. I will have him drop me home after our dinner.” II told her calmly before turning to walk back inside. I should have figured this out sooner if only I wasn’t too anxious to come here in the first place. Becky never liked French foods, she has always made it clear to us that she hates it. Whenever we order French fries for dinner, she always ends up ordering a pizza. I should have asked her why she suddenly decided to eat at a French restaurant with me, but I was too excited to think of anything else other than the fact that I get to eat dinner at this fancy new restaurant. I looked up and saw Lawrence standing by the door, a relieved smile plastered on his face. Damn, this guy is so handsome and I’m beginning to make those stupid comparisons again. What the hell is wrong with me?
“Thank you, Hillary. You have no idea what this means to me.” He whispered in a sweet tone that sends shivers down my spine. He leans forward and places a soft peck on my cheek and my heart missed a beat when his lips connected with my cheek. This guy is dangerous. Not the bad kind of danger, I mean the good type. It’s been so long that I’ve been with a man, and right now, with all his smooth and seductive moves, I think he is getting to me, and that is so not good. I hope I didn’t make a mistake by agreeing to this dinner, I really don’t understand the way I’m feeling right now.
“I… I… I’m sorry about my reaction earlier. I… I… I just don’t like surprises.” I stammered out. When did I become a stutterer, why am I acting like a lovestruck puppy. Gosh, this is so embarrassing.
“I’ll take note of that my love, I’ll try not to upset you next time.” He whispered into my ears, pecking me on my cheeks once more as he puts his hand around my waist, leading me back inside. The butterflies in my stomach danced happily, I have never been this nervous in my entire life, the last time I felt this nervous was that night when I first danced with Nathan at OXBY’s. I can’t believe that I’d agreed to go on with this dinner date. This is a huge mistake, I’m so sure of that.
He led me back to the best table in the restaurant, it is close to the huge floor-to-ceiling glass window and it overlooks the busy street, giving a pretty good view. The view is not as elegant as our rooftop restaurant, but it is beautiful nonetheless. He pulled the seat for me, letting me seat first, then he pushed my seat back inside before he turned around and sat on the other side of the table, sitting right in front of me.
“I hope you don’t mind, I ordered for wine already,” he let out with a smile gesturing to the bottle of champagne that is sitting on the ice bucket on the table. He made a hand gesture and a blonde waitress came forward and opened the bottle of wine, pouring it into the two empty glasses on the table. She stood beside me as she poured the wine, leaning forward to expose her boobs to his full view, trying to make eye contact with him while she tried to seduce him. I turned to see his reaction to her seduction, but I saw none, I mean none at all. It is either he thinks she is invisible or maybe it is because he has his eyes fixed on me, but he paid little to no attention to her, he only gestured with his hand to give his orders to her. If I were this waitress, I would give up already because this is so fucking embarrassing. She finished pouring the wine and walked away, swaying her hips as she left. I almost laughed out loudly, but I had to ignore it so he doesn’t think that I’m jealous or something.
“You are so beautiful.” He let out in a soft whisper as I took a sip of my wine. I smiled at his compliment, but that smile grew wider when I tasted the wine, I let out a soft moan when the flavors hit my tongue and exploded in my mouth. Damn, this wine is so good. I picked up the bottle to see the brand because I’m definitely ordering this wine at the restaurant.
“What, you don’t like it? I can have them bring something else,” he let out in a panic when he saw me reading the label of the wine.
“Are you fucking kidding me?
I love it, this is like the best wine I’ve had in a very long time. Where there hell have they been hiding this?” I responded with a soft chuckle, making him smile in relief as I gulped down the wine and emptied my glass almost immediately. So far, he has been a perfect host and he is behaving like a proper gentleman. I can’t believe that I’m actually going to say this, but I am beginning to like the guy. He is just so perfect, some would say that he is too good to be true. We spoke a little about business and we spoke about our personal lives as well. I told him only the necessary things, he never raised questions about my kids and their father and I never said anything about him either.
I let him do all the ordering because I could see that he has such a good taste in everything. He didn’t disappoint, he had me moaning delightfully as I ate a perfect French meal. The dessert was even better, I am so glad that I agreed to go on with the dinner, I totally had fun. Although I still think that this is a huge mistake because I’m beginning to fall for this guy. I keep making comparisons, trying to see the similarities that he has with Nathan, and funny to see, I think they have so many similarities and it’s so weird because I don’t know if I like him because he is a nice guy or is it because he has a lot of similarities with my husband who might still be alive or dead.
Crazy right?
That is what I think as well, I think it’s totally insane but I can’t do anything about it, at least not now. I’ll just go with the flow and see where this leads us. He held my hand as he led me out of the restaurant, leading me to his white Rolls-Royce that is parked just around the corner. It’s a few minutes past eleven o’clock. I can’t believe that I stayed out so late without thinking about my kids. I was having so much fun that I forgot about them, what kind of a mother am I?
The worst part of it all is that I don’t want this night to end, I totally enjoyed his company and a part of me is telling me that I want more, I just don’t know what more I could be expecting, but I let him lead me to the car, I have to head back home before I do something I would regret. He opened the car door, letting me get in before he turned around to go through the other door. His driver drove slowly as he took me back to the house. Lawrence held my palm all the way, caressing me softly. There is tension in the air, I can feel it and I’m damn sure that he can feel it as well. I gulped down deliver down my dry throat, it was getting impossible to breathe in this car. We both know what is happening but I guess we both have our reasons for resisting this temptation. He wants to be the perfect gentleman, he doesn’t want to make a pass for my honey pot on our first date.
As for me, I don’t even know what my problem is. I like the guy and from the way, I’m feeling right now, it is obvious that I want more from him, but I just can’t make that move, I just can’t do it, it would seem like I am throwing myself at him and I just can’t do it. Even if I’m going to do it, it won’t be on our first date, I mean, it’s not supposed to happen on a first date right?
Although, I did do it with Nathan the first time, but I can’t just do it. We sat in that awkward silence as the car drove on. When we arrived at our house, he came down to open the door for me, and he help my had as he walked me to the door.
“Thank you for tonight, Lawrence. I didn’t want to have this dinner with you, but I’m glad that I did. I had so much fun, tonight.” I told him honestly, making him smile as he pulled me into his arms,
“Then let’s do it again, tomorrow night.” He muttered softly.
“I want to say yes, but I can’t do it tomorrow night. I stayed out late tonight, I need to make it up to the kids, I need to spend time with them tomorrow.
“Then let’s all do it together in the afternoon. This time, we’ll do it at your restaurant, how about that?” he asked.
“That would be perfect.” I responded with a smile. I’m already looking forward to it, I think the girls were right when they said that I needed a man, now I can see it. I really need a man in my life.
“Good night my love.” He leaned and pecked my lips, brushing my lips with his. He lingered a little, waiting to see my response. When I didn’t respond, he pulled back with a smile and kissed my cheeks. I don’t know what came over me at that moment, I don’t even know what I was thinking but when he pulled back to gaze at me, I wrapped my hands around his neck, boldly kissing him full on the lips. He responded eagerly, he kissed me even more passionately, backing me up against the wall. I moaned into the kiss, wrapping my legs around his hip. It went on for some minutes and we both knew that we don’t want it to stop, we both want more…
“Would you like to take this back to my place?” he breathed out, kissing my neck, making me shiver in desire.
“I think she would like to go in and check on the kids. It’s time to call it a night.” Someone said in an angry tone, making us free immediately. I know that voice, it’s Miguel, but he is so damn angry, I have never seen him this angry before. When I turned to peek at him, he leveled me a murderous glare, making me feel a little bit guilty because I know I would have accepted Lawrence’s offer and I would have followed him back home tonight, leaving my kids to the care of Avril and Becky.
“He is right, I need to check on the kids, but we’ll be seeing you for lunch tomorrow.” I told him with a smile, unwrapping my legs from his waist. He nodded with a wider smile, kissing me softly on the lips. He said his goodnight to Miguel and I, then he turned around to head back to his car, leaving me with a furious looking Miguel.
“Next time when you decide to flirt around with men, I’ll suggest that you think about your kids and their father.” He spat out angrily before turning to head back inside, leaving me standing out there in the dark. Why the hell is he so furious, it seems like he doesn’t want to see me with any guy, he doesn’t want me to move on with my life, what the hell is wrong with him?
Is he expecting me to remain single forever?