Chapter 20
Chapter 20
The last day of the week had always come along with this sense of relief. As the day changed from bright blue sky’s to an orange canvas as the sun set, | was eager to log of until the next week began.
After the longest week, | had finally heard from Adam. He had been rather occupied with his own business meetings on this side and that included international conferences that happened at rediculous times of the night to counter for the time differences.
But today he had finalised it all and tied what ever loose ends that he had left to tie. When he gave me a call, | knew it was to arrange some sort of meet since we haven't dined together in such a long time and Hayley had been asking me about him. What | had envisioned had been a lovely home cooked meal where the three of us just relaxed in the confort of the house but Adam had a different
idea.
He wanted to check out this fancy restaurant that opened a few weeks ago that had been all the rave of late. It was a five star dining experience and Adam wanted to go all out for their seven course meal package. It was a fancy restaurant and a fancy restaurant required a bit more effort when it had come to attire.
| could use a night out after the week that | have had so | welcomed his suggestion with an open mind. The little black dress that | chose was more on the cocktail side. It was a mix between a wrap dress and a very b*dy hugging one at that. The n*eckline was a low cut square but it didn’t show too much. It has stopped just above my knees allowing a pair of glossy black heels to shine through.
“You look pretty, mama.” Hayley said as she watched me apply I*pstick to my parted I*ps. “Thank you, sweetie.” She beamed at me before going back to playing with one of the make up brushes she found in my vanity.
“| won't be out too late. | promise, I’m just going to have dinner with Adam and then I'll be right. back before you know it.” | promised her but she shrugged like it didn’t bother her.
“That’s okay. Nanny Nancy and | are going to watch a movie.” She said in excitement and | realised that | was going to have a harder time going out with out her than she was going to have staying in
with out me.
Each time she surprised me | always looked at her and realised just now much she had grown from being a little needy toddler to now becoming independent for her age. It never failed to make me sentimental and a little sad to know that she will never be a baby again.
Adam arrived at the house and after letting him in with the small bouquet of flowers that he had, Hayley rushed over to him. “Adam! Adam!” She called out to him in sheer joy at seeing him.
Adam crouched down to catch her before picking her up and spinning her and the flowers around. Hayley’s giggles filled the room and Adam stopped but didn’t set her back down yet.
“| missed you so much, Adamy.” She said side eyeing the flowers.
“| did too, little one, but it’s why | got you these.” He handed her the flowers and her entire face lit 4/4
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up like a Christmas tree.
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“Flowers! | love flowers. She grabbed it from him and brought it right to her nose to take a big sniff. “Thank you.” She said with a small blush and | bit back a laugh.
We said a goodbye and Hayley refused to let go of the flowers until | told her that it needed water to survive longer. She immediately dragged Nancy to the kitchen to help her find a vase to place them in and Adam and | had left.
We chatted about work on the way to the restaurant but Adam was not as talkative about work as he usually was which | found a tad bit weird but | let it slide. We approached the restaurant and found a parking spot before heading in where the doors were held open for us by happy faced door men.
The doors open to reveal an elegantly modern lay out. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling, soft music played in the back ground, and tables laid out neatly and well spaced of the next one. The entire space just had this feeling like | was transported to a whole different place.
“This place is beautiful.” | whispered to Adam as | inspected the place.
He agreed before speaking to a waitress about a reservation made and we were immediately directed to a table that had a nice view of the fountain situated dead centre of the restaurant. We took our seats across from each other and glasses filled with champagne were brought to us.
“This is a much fancier place than | thought it was.” | admitted looking around. “But it’s nice.”
“| heard many good things about it and who better to try it out with than you.” He took a sip his champagne and | did the same but just as he was about to set his glass down his eye caught on some thing behind me and his entire expression became sour.
“What is it?” | asked not sure if | wanted to turn around to see what he saw. “It's Dante Crawford and Phoebe.” He muttered and | groaned. This couldn’t be happening again.
New York was a big city. Surely we could enjoy one meal out with out bumping in to each other all the time. | decided not to turn around and ruin my mood by seeing them and | look at Adam
instead. “This is the second time this week that | bumped in to them.” | said to Adam feeling my face pull up in distate.
“| really thought that they’d be broken up by now. They didn’t seem to happy recently but who knows.” Adam grunted but | was not going to let them ruin our night out.
“Leave them be. hopefully they get a table far away from us and we’d barely know they’re here.” | inhaled trying to lighten up the air.
| brought the glass to my I*ps and instead of taking just one lone sl*p, | downed the entire glass. Adam eyed me over the rim of his with a judging look but | waved him off.
“Stop. | needed it. | was about to say some thing else when a waiter walked past us with Dante and Pheobe in tow and motioned for them to sit at the table right behind Adam.
To make matters worse, Dante sat at such a spot that | was in full view of him whilst Pheobe’s back Tue, 5 Mar
5%IE:
was faced to us. If they noticed us, they didnt’ make it known and | wasn’t about to complain about that..
Dinner had gone on splendidly and the meals that we served to us were well balanced and extremely delicious. despite it being a seven course meal it did not leave a person full to the point of feeling sick. the light pana cotta that was served with a pomegranate molasses was your rather refreshing end to the entire meal.
we had been in the middle of sipping on the last of our drinks at which point | would assume that Adam and | would begin to leave, however when Adam had rose from his seat without any warning, | began to stand up but what he did next had my mouth hanging open.
Adam Huxley, my closest friend and companion, had dropped to one knee in front of me. At first | had assumed that he had been trying his laces because that would be a more logical explanation. However, he reached in to his blazer pocket and retrieved a turquoise velvet box.
“Adam, What-”
“Sophia Miller, you have been the light of my life since I-met you four years ago. | have never felt what | feel for you for any other person and | only want to grow what exists between us.” | tried to tell him to stop but | noticed that the entire restaurants eyes were on us including my ex-husband
and Pheobe.
| noticed Dante look mortified at what was happening in front of him. A whirlwind of emotions. washed over his face ranging from shock, anger, to out right objection.
“Will you do me the honour of marrying me, Sophia, and making me the happiest man.” Adam’s low, coaxing tone snapped my head back to him.
| stared blanking at Adam whilst he looked at me with the most hopeful and expectant eyes. Suddenly the entire room became too small and it felt like the flames of the kitchen were surrounding me until my own skin felt heated up. My throat immediately closed up and | gasped for air while shaking my head.
“Adam, I- This is all-” My words failed me and | felt the entire restaurant grow tense as every one already could see my visible rejection.
“| cant, Adam. I- |- need some air.” | shuffled away from the table and kept my head down as | rushed out of the restaurant leaving Adam behind.
The look on his face would haunt me for the rest of my life but | couldn't do it. | couldn’t marry him. Not when my own life was so all over the place at present. Adam was nice and every thing a woman could ever want but | couldn’t do him the disservice by marrying him and not being fully his because a part of me was still torn between what | once knew and what | feared to even
consider.
The second | burst out of the restaurant doors, the cool nights air hit against my skin and | kept walking without any direction or intention. | just needed to walk and catch my breath and forget about the look that Adams face had when | said no.
| couldn’t understand what brought this on. Adam and | were still in between things. We were neither here nor there. We were close friends but not quite a couple officially. We hadn’t discussed
Chapter 20 moving forward, we hadn't discussed any of this and we definitely didn’t plan this at all.
We were both happy with our saperate lives. It was selfish of me to assume that he’d wait he’s whole life but | wasn’t holding him back to moving on. | felt horrible and awful and insane!
Ha
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