CHAPTER 103: A FIERY OUTING

I spent the entire morning with Yulia, only returning to my office around lunchtime. As I walked by Christian’s office, I poked my head in to see if he was inside, but the room was empty.

I wonder where he went?

Shrugging, I walked over to my office. As soon as I stepped inside, I noticed something on my desk.

It was a beautiful decorative bag that had the Smith’s logo on it.

It must be the watch and socks I bought yesterday...they sure work quickly.

I took a peek inside and noticed the socks as well as another expertly wrapped box-- most likely the watch.

"Perfect timing!" I said, looking at the bag happily. After the way Christian took care of me this morning, as well as promising to help me out of my situation with Karl, I felt indebted to him. I hoped that he would like the small gesture, though it was technically his money that was spent.

Just as I was about to sit down to do more work on my computer, I heard a small knock on my office door.

"Come in!" I called out, curious to see who was visiting me.

My eyes looked with anticipation, hoping that it was Christian, but as soon as the door opened, Blake stepped inside.

"Miss Moresi, CEO Vittoria is asking for your presence down at the garage. If you’re available, of course," said Blake.

"At the garage?" I asked, finding the location of the meeting a bit surprising.

"Yes, Miss," he replied without explaining further.

I nodded, "Okay, thank you. I’ll head right over."

Since Christian was asking for me, I stood up without hesitation, grabbing the gift bag on the way. Using the elevator, I pressed the button for the parking garage.

I wonder why here, of all places?

Once the elevator doors opened, I noticed an all black luxury car in front of me. One of the windows rolled down, revealing Christian in the driver’s seat.

"Hey, you’re here. Get in!" he smiled, waving at me through the window.

I picked up my pace, skipping over to the car. As soon as I got in, I turned to look at him with a smile on my lips.

"What’s all this about? Where are we going?" I asked curiously.

"It’s a surprise, but I’m sure you’ll like it!" he exclaimed before driving off.

We drove through the city towards the newly developed section. Just a few years ago, this part of the city was filled with old, half-broken buildings. Now, it was brand new with many stores and shops. Many people walked the streets, restoring life to this once desolate place.

I looked around curiously since it was very rare that my family drove through here.

A few minutes later, Christian parked in front of a very cute-looking cafe on the outskirts of town. The amount of greenery surrounding the cafe made it feel like we were in the countryside.

"This place is lovely! I didn’t know we had something like this in the city!" I exclaimed, looking around with awe.

"The city invested a lot of money in the reforestation efforts here. They wanted to bring nature back into the city, thus making a quiet environment like this one," he explained.

We walked up to the cafe, which was larger than it initially looked. Soothing music mixed with the sounds of birds created a very relaxing atmosphere as we walked up to the entrance.

Christian opened the door for me, allowing me to step into what felt like another world. The entire back wall of the cafe was open, allowing fresh air to enter inside.

In the distance, I could see tables outside, surrounded by nature.

It reminded me a little bit of the hotel we stayed at on our recent trip, and I couldn’t believe something this magical was right inside my home city.

"Welcome, will it be a table for two?" the hostess asked as we approached the counter.

"Yes, I have a reservation. Vittoria," Christian answered with a smile.

The hostess looked at her small computer and nodded, "Perfect, please follow me to your table."

She led us outside, where I could see exactly how grand the cafe was. The trees and landscaping were designed with an eastern flair. Beautiful flowering trees and willows were surrounded by small canals of water.

The table that the hostess led us to was at the center of the garden, inside a small pavilion that was surrounded by water on all sides. Even the small bridge we walked on to get there was a novel experience.

"Here we are. Here are your menus, the server will be right over," she said and walked away.

Inside the pavilion were flowing tapestries, similar to curtains. Their soft pastel colors matched the blooming flowers outside, making it feel like I was inside a flower bud.

"Christian, I never knew a place this wonderful existed! This is amazing!"

I couldn’t help but continuously praise the surroundings as I looked around. The entire time, Christian was fixated on me, smiling happily at my joyous remarks.

"The food here is even better...or so I’ve heard. This is also my first time here. As soon as I heard about it, I wanted to take you," he said, pushing a menu towards me.

The menu had an extensive list of different teas and coffees, along with pastries and breads that were said to be baked fresh every few hours.

I felt my mouth water as I read the different dishes. There were so many good things, I had a hard time choosing!

-

The waitress came by a few moments later to take our orders. I was so torn on what to get that I started to feel a little frazzled.

"What can I get for you today?" she asked, smiling at me.

Christian placed his hand on my thigh, "Would you order for both of us? We can share a few dishes between us."

"Really?" I smiled with excitement. His words were music to my ears, and I wasted no time ordering all of the pastries and dishes that I wanted to try.

The waitress left after taking our order, leaving Christian and me alone once more. I continued to look around, admiring the beautiful scenery, until Christian turned to me.

"What’s that? I noticed you brought a bag with you," he asked, bringing my attention to the gift bag that I brought for him.

"Oh! Right!" I turned to place the small bag on the table in front of us. "I bought something for you...Though I used your card to buy it..."

Christian looked at me, surprised to hear that it was for him.

"For me? Now, this is a nice surprise! May I open it now?" he asked with smiling eyes.

I nodded, excited to see his reaction, "Yes! Go right ahead!"

Christian reached inside and pulled out the first gift. The pair of small socks with the embroidery of a cute kitten.

As soon as he noticed the kitten, he broke out into a soft chuckle, "It’s so cute, it reminds me of you. I can confidently say that these are my favorite pair of socks I’ve ever owned!"

He took a few minutes to look them over before turning his attention to the small box.

"I hope this is a matching pair of underwear," he smiled as he opened it.

A few moments later, his laughter suddenly paused as he pulled out the gorgeous watch.

"Leslie, this is amazing! I’ve never seen this model before, even though I’m very familiar with the brand."

He quickly took off his current watch to try this new one on, but before he did, he flipped it over once and noticed the rose engraving on the back.

"Did you do this?" he asked, looking over at me.

I nodded, "I was told this was a limited edition. It was also customizable, so I got to choose the stone in the center of the watch as well as the engraving underneath."

He took a closer look at both the stone and the engraving before breaking out into a big smile.

"Thank you, Leslie. I truly love it. I’m not sure if you know this, but I’m a small-time watch collector. I try to find rare and one-of-a-kind watches. What you gave me is exactly that, one of a kind!"

My eyes widened! I never expected such a coincidence, but I was glad that my gift was so successful.

"I’m very happy that you like it. I was worried that it wouldn’t be to your taste. I just wanted to thank you for everything you’ve done. I hope that next time I gift you something, it will be with my own money."

Just as the waitress came over with a tray of our drinks, Christian pulled me over and kissed me right on the lips.

The kiss was more than a small peck, making my face heat up. We were blatantly kissing right in front of the waitress, making me feel very shy.

When he finally pulled away, I scolded him with my eyes before turning my head to avoid the waitress’s blushing gaze.

"Excuse me," she said quietly, placing down the drinks on our table and scurrying off.

"Christian!" I said with a shy anger, "How could you do that right in front of the waitress?"

His grin widened, "So you’re saying it’s okay to kiss you now? Now that she’s gone?"

He pulled my face in closer, holding my chin. We were so close that I could feel his breath on my skin.

My cheeks flushed as I looked at him, seeing the immense desire in his eyes. My body instantly reacted by igniting into a fiery heat.

We sat like that for a few moments before the tension was so great that I could no longer resist.

"Yes," I finally breathed.