First Date (2)

Once they are seated at the table. Thea turned her head and her eyes grew wide. They got a fantastic view of the field of oriental red poppies from the spot Erick picked out for them, which was one of the nicest views in the restaurant.

She looked at him with excitement in her eyes. "Erick, you have no idea how happy I feel right now."

"Glad you like what you see."

"Thank you, Erick. It's not just like, I absolutely love it."

She was beaming from ear to ear as the waiter came to their table and surprised her by bringing her favorite dish for every course.

"Oh! Erick! How did you know," she gasped.

She questioned herself, 'Is this the reason why he spoke to the management before we entered the restaurant?' She was appreciative of Erick's efforts in making this day special for her.

She got up, walked over to Erick, and once more embraced him in her cozy arms. Every time she felt it, she was accustomed to giving him a firm hug since, while she was unconscious, one of her dreams was to be able to embrace Erick and feel his warm touch.

She has always anticipated hugging Erick and smothering herself in his masculine woody mint aroma since she emerged from her coma.

She vowed that she would do all in her power to embrace Erick when she eventually awoke. Thea believed that every time they saw each other was a chance for an embrace, which she never passed up, not even in this situation.

She laughed at her own thoughts, 'Why do I feel that I always took advantage of his naivety.'

Being accustomed to her actions, Erick could only chuckle as he placed his arms in Thea's back reflexively, losing himself in her delicious vanilla aroma, which has since become his favorite scent.

"It was Anne who told me."

She smiled as she sat down again.

She laughed just remembering how Anne would nag her these last few days to make herself more gorgeous then she realized something and glanced at Erick. "She did! I should treat Anne on vacation. That woman is a bit stubborn but she was nice, gentle, and has little of a nagging side too."

"..."

"Sorry, I guess I didn't get a chance to fully introduce her to you, maybe next time."

Thea praised Anne with gratitude and adoration while Erick watched her.

He inquired thoughtfully as they finished their lunch, "You truly like Anne?"

"She is the only person in the mansion who has the patience to handle me, so she took care of me when my mother passed away, " she said with a smile.

"..."

"She's like a mother to me, she's honest, and she likes me for who I am, just like grandpa," she said, "and of course, you are in addition to my most loving person."

Her remarks made Erick wince as he was once more reminded of the engagement clause his attorney had set up for him. As she let out the word "Honest," he experienced a stab of shame. Does he tell her the truth?

He clenched his fist and quickly shifted the subject, saying that he wasn't yet brave enough to tell her why they were engaged.

"Are you alright, Erick?"

"Well, I'm alright. I almost overlooked the chef's mention that they have a surprise for us."

Thea's spoon surprised her and froze in mid-air, forming an 'O' shape in her mouth. Erick laughed at Thea's cute behavior. He motions for the waiter to bring the gift in.

"Erick, it's a box of chocolates."

"Yeah, it is; open it now."

Thea joyfully opened the box of chocolates on the table as he gazed at her in awe. He was now appreciative that Thea is his fiancée. He can only picture himself with Thea, and no other lady.

Thea was overjoyed to crack open the chocolate box. It has a little, coin-sized heart shape with gold accents on top.

She takes up a piece and shows it to Erick, like a young girl displaying her prized possession, saying, "It's small and looks luxurious, Erick."

"I didn't entirely understand the chef, but he claimed that the chocolate was only for couples. Try it, the chef said it offers delight to people who taste it."

When Thea heard Erick say the word "couple," she chuckled.

"We are a couple, yes we are."

Erick only gave her a simple nod. Thea quickly put both of her hands on her cheeks and smiled brightly as she took a piece and tasted it.

"Erick, do you want to try it? It's really good."

"No, I'm fine. It's enough for me to see you enjoy the chocolate," the speaker said.

He was indeed amused by her response as she ate. She chews the chocolate on her gorgeous red lips while her cheeks puff.

"Are you sure you don't want a piece of it? I can finish all of them in a minute. Don't second-guess yourself. It's incredibly good."

"I'm confident I would not regret my decision, I'm already satisfied with what I've seen," he said as he fixed her with his most attractive smile and gave her an intense look.

Thea quickly flushed when she heard what he said. He relished observing her scarlet cheeks. "Do you want more? I can ask them to make another one," he asked.

"Can you really do that, Erick?"

"Of course, wait here while I ask them to prepare some."

She looked at him with hungry eyes, "Thank you Erick and please make it two. I want to bring some to Anne."

'Who in the world could ever reject that gorgeous face of yours, Thea,' he thought.

As he got to his feet and approached the store manager to get another box of chocolate, Erick smiled at her. Thea was left alone to eat.

She was enjoying her chocolate when she suddenly noticed a large shadow appear near her. A woman, whose name she couldn't recall, was smiling menacingly at her from her side when she turned to look.

She said loudly as though trying to grab the other customers' attention, "Who would have guessed that I would bump into the legendary Evil Heiress of Central City."

Thea's eyebrow reflexively raised as she gave the woman a full body inspection. She had no memory of the woman at all. She just knew that, like her sister Elizabeth, she was also an actress.

"I'm sorry, but do we know each other?"

She responds in a sluggish manner as she continues to eat chocolate. demonstrating that she is unconcerned by the woman's presence.

The woman said with displeasure, "Excuse me.!!!"