What Happens Next

Kismet

"Em J, don't look now. Your love bug just walked in..." Lizzie said to her friend with a naughty grin on her face.

Emily Jane gave her friend a smirk and stuck out her tongue. "Haha, very funny," she replied dryly.

"Amanda, tell her..." Lizzie continued.

"Yes, he's really here," Amanda smiled also.

"You guys, this is not funny. Shut up!"

"Why don't you turn around and take a look for yourself then?" Lizzie nodded towards the table in the back corner.

Emily Jane finally turned around and saw him just as he was about to sit down. There he was. In the flesh. She put a hand over her mouth and kept herself from squealing.

"Oh my gosh! I die!!!!" she squealed, acting more like a love sick teenager than the self-employed small business owner she was. She hid her face by putting a hand over her brows like her dream man was staring at her, but he wasn't. "What is he doing here?"

"I don't know, eating?" Lizzie retorted sarcastically. "I mean, you gotta hand it to our dads, this place is still popping, many years later. And the food is to die for! I heard that this is actually one of Owen and Ava Carter's favorite places to eat at."

"Really?" Emily Jane asked.

"Yes."

Emily Jane Miller stole another quick glance at the handsome man wearing a baseball tee and a baseball cap. Aiden Carter. She couldn't believe it. Out of all the places and time to see him, it's when she was wearing gym clothes and no make up. Ever since her parents moved back to the Philippines, she would pop in every now and then and make sure the place is running smoothly, always reporting back to her dad that MNL Kitchen + Bar was still a well oiled machine. She lived in her parents old beach house in Malibu with her younger brother, Jared Ethan. He was still in college, his final year, studying business management. She, her dad's business partner's daughter Lizzie, and Lizzie's step sister Amanda were having dinner after their work out at the gym, hence why she thought she looked like a hot mess. She didn't think she would run into anybody. Big mistake. Not only somebody...but a big time actor and his lookalike son.

"Let's get out of here," Emily Jane said.

"What? No! I'm not done with my food yet. I know we just worked out and all, but that's why I feel free to eat this yummy sisig," Lizzie took another bite of the sizzling crispy chopped pork pieces with ginger, onions, and vinegar.

"Em J, relax! He didn't even see you. And who cares if he does? Then it can be your chance to finally meet your future husband," Amanda winked at her and giggled.

"Ugh, you guys are the worst. If you're not ready to leave, I am," she grabbed a $20 from her wallet and put it down on the table. She slung her purse over her shoulder, took one last glance at Aiden, and walked out of the restaurant.

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" she berated herself as she got to the sidewalk. "Missed opportunity? Ugh, but I can't...he's so hot...and I'm the crazy lady talking to herself in the middle of the sidewalk!" she waved at the passersby who were looking at her quizzically. "Hi, carry on, nothing to see here..."

She fished in her purse for her car keys but remembered she rode with Lizzie and Amanda to the gym and left her keys at their apartment. She let out a sigh and begrudgingly walked back inside MNL. She walked back to their table, but found it empty. Her eyes roamed the restaurant and gasped when she noticed the two women sitting in the table with Owen and Aiden.

"What are they doing there?" she asked herself.

Lizzie spotted her and waved for her to come over to their table. She was shaking her head vehemently when her eyes met Aiden's eyes for the first time. He smiled lazily at her and time stood still as she looked at those mesmerizing baby blues. She found her feet moving of their own accord towards the man she was secretly fawning over.