To Love in Full

Chapter 2: Appetence

"Men," I scoffed under my breath. I had grumbled a few words of bitterness to myself, but calmed as I now stood alone with a statue who had a more peaceful presence than him, although, the silence was soon stolen from me.

"Arabella!" A cheery voice called out my name. I looked over my shoulder and smiled, seeing that the expression of joy had belonged to a familiar face: Alexander.

"Would you like to grab some coffee with me? There is a café just down the street," he offered.

"Sure, that would be nice," I replied with hesitance as I was unsure of going out with someone that I had just met, but my starving stomach had suppressed my worries.

"Great! It's a place that I frequent often, I'm sure you'll enjoy it," he said, giving me a toothy grin.

As we were walking towards the front entrance of the museum, the sound of disgruntled voices, muffled through the walls, had caught our attention. I glanced through the window of the office door and noticed Mr. Baglioni and the ill-mannered man arguing in Italian. My brows furrowed, seeing that my new boss looked scared out of his mind. What did you do?

"Is everything alright?" I asked Alexander, seeing that instead of curiosity, his face was veiled with displeasure.

"Yes, I apologize, everything's fine. We should get going," he answered and immediately displaced his glower with a slight smile.

I was relieved once we reached the café, finally getting the chance to catch my breath as my five-foot-seven height struggled to keep up with Alexander's long and hurried strides.

"Order anything you'd like, I'll pay," he insisted.

"Are you sure?" I asked, completely out of breath and feeling embarrassed that my hatred for being active has now been revealed.

"Of course," he grinned and nodded his head.

"I will just have the caffè freddo," I replied while eyeing the delicious refreshment on the menu.

"Would you like to have a seat? I saw an open table in the corner of the café, you can rest while I handle our order," he said with a light chuckle, eyeing my body that was practically leaning on the counter for support.

"Good idea, I'll go do that, but not because I'm winded, I just want to make sure that no one steals those seats," I jested while glancing at the only other customer as she left through the door.

I smiled at him and turned to walk towards the area that he suggested. Although, I had found it to be quite odd that he would choose this lonely corner, as it was a lovely day to sit outside, but I suppose this will do.

I happily sat down at the table and became at ease while I watched him place our order. Alexander's benevolence was a breath of fresh air compared to my encounter with that unpleasant man from earlier. I had wanted to forget about that moment, but the image of him continued to plague my mind, I even feared that I was finding that man to be enticing.

After some time, Alexander slowly walked over to the table, attempting to balance the plate and cups that he held in his hands, and denying my help once I saw him struggling. What a silly man, I thought in amusement as I watched him concentrate on the swaying liquid that threatened to spill with one wrong move.

"You made it," I teased once he successfully reached the table.

"I wasn't sure if you ate breakfast yet, so I bought you some cornetti." He sighed in relief as he took a seat.

A gentleman as well, I noted to myself.

"Thank you," I said gratefully and wasted no time to indulge in these delights.