CHAPTER 14: ROMANTIC

CHAPTER 14: ROMANTIC
I leave the company and receive a message from Imanol with the location of the place where we'll have dinner. I hurry to get in the car and tell Luck where to go.

After a few minutes, we arrive at the restaurant, and before going in, I immediately see Imanol. His attire makes him stand out in that elegant place.

"You made it!" he says with noticeable excitement.

"Hey, umm, this place is..." I search for the right word to describe the place, but Imanol interrupts me before I can say anything else.

"Boring?" he asks, laughing.

"No, I mean, it seems very different from your style."

"But it's your style, isn't it?"

"No," I respond immediately and start laughing. "I'm more like you, with your alternative style."

"I thought that... I'm sorry, I didn't know," he apologizes while scratching his head. "Do you want to go somewhere else?"

"No, don't worry, this is fine," Imanol looks at me and walks towards me, opening the chair for me to sit.

"Do you like wine?" he asks as I sit down.

"I'd prefer to have juice or mineral water."

"Alright," he responds and calls the waiter.

After that, we start ordering food and talking about the foods we like and dislike. Finally, we end up talking about the weather. Who talks about the weather these days?

"I know I said I just wanted to say goodbye, but that's not all. I need to tell you something," he looks at me with confusion, and he runs his hand over his face.

"Just tell me, you're scaring me," I say, and he looks at me seriously.

"I'm sorry, I don't know how to say it. I know I probably shouldn't, but I want to."

"What is it?" I lean closer to him and look into his eyes. "You're scaring me," I say and laugh.

Imanol looks into my eyes and then glances at my lips. I start feeling a bit nervous, and he notices.

"I like you," he says, getting closer to me.

I try to move away, but he holds my arm, preventing me from moving back. Imanol moves his face closer to mine, leaving his lips inches away from mine.

"Don't kiss the wrong prince, remember?" I shift my gaze from his eyes to his lips and close the gap between us, pressing my lips against his.

I close my eyes and place a hand on his cheek. Our lips move in sync, and my heart beats rapidly. I pull back a bit, and I see his eyes gradually open.

"I couldn't let you leave without kissing you," he says.

"I'm leaving because I know this is not right. I don't want to see you with my brother," Imanol looks down and lets go of my arm. "You're him, and there will never be an 'us' between you and me."

"I wish it wasn't like that," tears start filling my eyes, and he stands up.

"We better go," he says, and I immediately stand up and walk out while he stays to pay the bill.

"Are you coming back?" I say as we approach my car.

"I don't know, time will tell," he looks at me and then hugs me.

"I'm going to miss you," I whisper in his ear.

"Me too," he says, doing the same, and then kisses my cheek slowly moving away.

I watch him, and an immense urge to run toward him fills my body. Imanol gets on his motorcycle and starts it. I feel my heart racing, and I remember the dinner with Harry.

"I messed up.

"I messed up," I say, closing my eyes tightly. "Damn it."

"Are you okay, Miss?" Luck asks in front of me, looking confused.

"Yes, I'm sorry. Could you take me to buy some things?"

"Yes, Miss," he responds, and we get into the car.

I'm at the supermarket, but I can't stop thinking about Imanol, the kiss, Harry, the dinner, how foolish I am, and how I messed up. I don't pay much attention to the things I'm buying; my mind is too distracted. So, I decided to call Ana for help.

"Did you get the candles?" Ana asks from the other end of the phone.

"Candles? What candles?" I reply, hearing Ana's heavy sigh in my ear.

"For the table, Ali, for the damn table," Ana's tone is annoyed and frustrated as she realizes I'm not paying much attention to what she's saying. So, I focus before she leaves me to do this alone.

About an hour later, I have everything I need for dinner, and I'm in the car with Luck heading back to the apartment.

I arrive and start arranging things. I decided to set up the space first and then prepare the dinner.

The apartment has a beautiful terrace with a small round table, and I decide that it will be the perfect place. I start arranging the candles, some roses, the plates, and so on. The maid who helps us with the cleaning assists me in creating a path of petals and candles from the door to the terrace and helps me finish the decoration.

After finishing all of that, I start making dinner, which will be creamy parmesan chicken with spinach, Harry's favorite dish. All I want is for it to turn out delicious.

"Ma'am, you should go take a shower. Mr. arrives in an hour," Valentina, the cleaning lady, says, looking at the clock and then at me.

"You're right. Could you watch the food until it's ready?"

"Yes, ma'am, don't worry," she replies, and I simply nod before rushing to my room.

Thirty minutes later, I'm dressed, and I just need to do a little bit of makeup. I'm wearing a red dress, not too tight but with a slightly pronounced neckline. Ana helped me choose this dress. I put on black heels, tie up my hair, and apply a somewhat natural makeup look.

I descend the stairs, and Valentina informs me that dinner is ready before bidding farewell. I turn off the lights and sit in the living room to wait for Harry.

Fifteen minutes after Valentina leaves, I hear someone starting to enter the door code, and I stand up. Harry enters and tries to turn on the light, but I quickly walk towards him to prevent him from doing so. However, I slip and magically Harry catches me, preventing me from hitting the ground.

"What's this?" he says, stopping to look at me and then at the path of petals and candles.

"It's dinner for two," I say, taking his hand. "Surprise!"

Harry looks at me and furrows his brow. I don't know if he didn't like all of this or if he simply had a bad day, but his reaction wasn't what I expected.

"Why are you doing this?" he questions, walking towards the terrace and then turning to look at me.

"I want us to be okay. We're supposed to be a married couple, and I'd at least like to get along with you."

"Is this like a dinner with friends?" he asks, raising an eyebrow.

"It's like a dinner for spouses," I say and walk towards him. "Come on, I made your favorite dish," I say, taking his hand and intertwining our fingers.

We arrive at the table, and he pulls out a chair for me to sit on before taking a seat himself. Harry starts looking at everything, glancing at the food, then at me, and gets lost for a few seconds staring at my cleavage, which makes me a bit nervous.

"Thank you, Allison," he says, looking into my eyes.

"Tell me thanks after you taste the food," I say, and he just laughs and then tries the food. I can only look at him expectantly and pray to the kitchen gods that it tastes delicious.

"It's delicious," he says, smiling and eating more. "Thank you, Ali," he says in a slightly sweeter manner, sending shivers down my spine.

We continue eating and talking about this and that until he invites me to see the view from the terrace, a truly beautiful sight with the whole city visible—buildings, the pier, the sea, the parks, everything.

"Allison," I turn to look at him, and he's very close to me. "I've had a lot of wine. Will you help me inside?" he asks, slurring his words a bit. He's had a few too many, so I do as he asks.

"Come on, put your arm around my shoulder," I say, and he does.

We start going inside and then up the stairs. We enter his room, and I try to toss him onto the bed, but he falls on top of me and starts touching my face.

"You're a girl," he says, hiccuping. "And I like you." After saying that, I freeze, immobile, not knowing what to do.

"Harry, you're crushing me," I say, trying to move him and make him stop talking.

"I'll do everything I can to make you happy by my side, I swear it, I really swear it," he says, taking my face in his hands and looking into my eyes.

I start feeling a tingling sensation throughout my body, and my heart stops. I keep trying to move him until I succeed, and he falls into a deep sleep.

His words keep echoing in my head, and at the same time, the memory of what happened this afternoon with Imanol appears.

"He said it because he's drunk, yes, that's it," I say as I walk to my room.

"But children and drunk people always tell the truth," my damn brain says.