Chapter Thirty-One

Five minutes later, their meals came, and the heavenly scent of the food made Sharlene's stomach rumble. She patted her stomach and mumbled incoherently. Lifting her head, she blushed when Nick smiled at her reaction.

"Are you famished?"

"Very."

Admitting, with a shy smile, she watched as the waiter placed their meals on the table. When everything was right, he politely spoke.

"Two garlic butter medium steak and potatoes, one glass of homemade sweet grape juice, and a bottle of chilled red wine."

"Thank you."

Assertively, Sharlene spoke as she gazed at the food with wonder. Everything looked perfectly organized and neat.

"You are most welcome, Miss."

The waiter was thankful the customers were not stuck-up or rude.

"Have you decided on the order of our special dishes, Mr. Ross?"

Glancing at Sharlene, who was dying to dig into her appetizing lunch, Nick did not linger.

"Yes."

Stretching the menu card for him to take, Nick glanced at Sharlene once again.

"We will have the Apple Tart as dessert."

Sharlene lifted her head with a frown when she heard this because he hated sweets.

"Thank you, sir. Then please enjoy your meals."

Taking the menu, the waiter left the room with the door closing shut behind him.

"I thought you said you hated sweets."

Moved that she had remembered that fact, Nick shrugged.

"Only today. This is your first time tasting one, right?"

"Yes."

"That answers that."

"I suppose."

Murmuring, she dismissed the topic and dug into the meal.

Smiling at her dismissal, Nick mimicked her actions.

Soon, the only thing heard in the room was the clattering of knives and forks with the occasional light conversation.

Fifteen minutes later, they were eating their dessert.

Her eyes gleamed, and she moaned when she took her first bite.

"It sounds like you like it."

Smiling, Nick was pleased with her reaction.

Rapidly nodding with a beautiful rosy blush on her cheeks, she took another bite before sitting back in her chair with a soft sigh.

"Are you not going to eat more?"

Sheepishly, she shook her head.

Lightly, she tapped her stomach.

"No. I am full."

Understandably nodding, Nick leaned onto the table on his elbow.

"Do you want me to tell them to pack it for you?"

"You can?"

"Of course."

Grinning, Sharlene was thankful.

"Then I will like that."

Nodding, Nick leaned back in his chair.

Today's lunch was satisfying, especially with the right person eating with him. One thing he noticed about Sharlene, she was a neat and organized individual; even the way she ate was precise and careful. He also loved how she had an exploring sweet tooth.

He had yet to learn her real character since she was always shy in his presence.

"So, can you tell me more about yourself?"

Liking that Nick had a genuine interest in her, Sharlene's blush turned redder.

"Well, what more do you want to know?"

Tapping a finger on his chin as he contemplated her question, Nick asked.

"Since we already discussed our likes and dislikes, what about your family? Your background?"

"Will you also tell me about yours?"

"Of course."

Pleased, Sharlene proceeded.

"Hmm. Where should I start? I am the second child of two."

As she spoke, she unintentionally performed the gestures. That made Nick hide his laugh behind a soft cough.

"I have a younger brother and an older sister."

"And their names?"

Her eyes gleamed with love as she continued.

"My brother's name is AJ, the most annoying little brother that I cannot stand most of the time, and my sister's name is Clarice; she was the one who was with my mother the day we met in the hospital."

"Yes, I remember her."

"What about you?"

Nick's smile grew broader.

"I am the oldest of two children. I have a younger brother and sister."

"And their names?"

Chuckling, for she had repeated what he had asked before, Nick was happy to oblige.

"My brother's name is Cline, and Riana is my little sister's name. She is more of a half-gothic and girly girl."

Astonished, Sharlene giggled.

"Really? Like she wears black all the time?"

"Yes, and it irritates my mother to death."

"She sounds like a handful."

Chuckling once more, Nick passed a hand through his hair.

"She is."

"Any cousins?"

"Just one. Jade Ross. The complete opposite of Riana. She is a ball of sunshine."

Smiling, Sharlene leaned on the table with a hand underneath her chin.

"I am looking forward to meeting both of them."

"And they would love to meet you too."

Her smile broadened.

"What about you? How many cousins do you have?"

Nick inquired further, for he enjoyed hearing her soothing and beautiful voice.

"Three: Lydia, Nadia, and Jaoquin. Two girls and one boy. Joaquin is a ladies' man. Lydia is a pain in the behind, and I won't speak any further about that, and Nadia is a sweet and precious girl."

"What about your parents? Your father?"

A fleeting sadness passed through her eyes that Nick had detected.

"If you do not want to speak about it. It is fine."

Rubbing her arm, she shook her head.

"No, no. It's okay. It happened seven years ago."

Sighing, she averted her eyes onto her lap.

"My father was a dynamic man. Very helpful and loving. He passed away when I was sixteen, leaving my mother, sister, and brother devastated. My mother and father met in College, married one year later, and another year later had Clarice. The first six years of their lives were in Britain since my father was British. I was two and a half years old, and AJ was almost full-term when we left Britain. We went to live with my entire family in Scotland. Life was durably well. Our family was not wealthy, but we experienced the good things in life. He died in an accident on a rainy and snowy day. He had left work to come to AJ's elementary graduation when he collided with a drunk truck driver.'

Breathing heavily, she resumed.

'The doctors said he died on impact. It was that same day AJ stopped worrying about going to school. He took my father's death the hardest. He soon became a delinquent, always getting involved in fistfights and mischievousness, and we were thankful it was nothing dangerous. We never pressured him but realized the happy little boy from seven years ago was no longer the same. My mother also took his death hard. Even today, she never got over his death; and that is why she is so overprotective of us."

Standing up, when he saw the tears falling down her cheeks, Nick rushed over and gently wiped them away.

"I am sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

"No. No. As I said before, it is okay. As the years went by, I slowly forgot about the pain his death caused, but I will always love him."

Nodding but not liking the position he had put her in, Nick suddenly snooped and pulled her into an empathetic and warm hug. It took her off guard, but slowly she returned the hug.

"I am sorry for your loss. I cannot imagine the pain you must have felt during that time."

Whispering in her ears, he gently rubbed her back.

For a little while, he held her before gently pulling away.

"Are you okay?"

Rapidly nodding, Sharlene allowed him to brush the rest of her tears from her eyes.

"Thank you."

Gently gliding the back of his hands on her cheeks, he smiled.

"Anytime. Do you still want to talk about him?"

"Of course. I am sure he would have liked to meet you."

Nick stood and lifted the chair; he placed it near her.

He wanted to be ever close to her.

"Why?"

Blushing, she placed a strand of her hair behind her ears.

"Because you are a great guy."

Happy that her blushing was back, Nick further teased.

"Just a great guy? There must be something else about me that will make him like me."

"Hard-working? Sweet? Honest?"

Smiling and liking how she described him, Nick gently held her hands in his.

"What about being handsome? Chivalric? Prince Charming?"

His words made Sharlene laugh until her ears turned pink. She looked cute as she tried to hide her laughter behind her hand.

"Why do you laugh? Is it not true?"

His gullible questions made her laugh a bit louder, her ears turning pinker and her cheeks flushing.

At seeing this, a small smile appeared on Nick's.

"I like seeing you laugh."

"What?"

Asking in between laughter, Sharlene suddenly gasped when he pulled her into another hug. As her laughter died down, she buried her head in his chest, his steady heartbeat not matching her fastly beating one.

Pulling away, Nick placed his hands back on her small ones.

"So, tell me more about your father."

Blushing, Sharlene nodded.