Brave Enough To Love Again

Chapter 12

I forced myself to stop thinking about him. There was nothing I could do about it. Trying to find out who my father was after my mother's death, was much worse than looking for a needle in a haystack because I had no needle to find. I had absolutely nothing to go on, no clues. Even the best private investigators in the city couldn't find anything. How could they? I couldn't give them any information about my father they could work with.

Frustration was beginning to fill my body and I tensed at the feeling of helplessness. I felt her squeeze my hand she had been holding the whole time. After looking into her eyes I started to feel better. Calmness spread in me and my whole system began to relax.

She was good for me. I needed her presence. I needed her.

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Eden

When we arrived at the restaurant the sun was almost setting and I was starving. The eatery was beautiful. The exoticism and the exuberant nature surrounding the place contributed to the unique ambiance of the whole setup. The decorations and wooden furnishings were colorful and inviting, and the Cuban live music in the background enhanced the enchantingly romantic atmosphere.

The most alluring thing about the place, however, was the smell. I was sure it didn't just smell as intoxicating as it did because of my empty stomach, but simply because the mixture of those different spices that blended so well were a cacophony of delicious aromas. The numerous diverse flavored dishes were cooked for the sole purpose of creating pleasurable almost orgasmic sensations in one's mouth.

My stomach growled. Not so quietly as I would have wished because Keane heard it and looked at me with a grin.

"Let's get that empty stomach of yours something to work on before it scares away the other guests here."

I was embarrassed by his dig at my hungry tummy, but it still made me laugh at the same time.

We were seated at a table on the roofed terrace which had the magnificent view of the ocean and the sun which was already on the horizon. I loved the restaurant, Keane could not have chosen a better place for our first dinner together.

I had to remind myself that it wasn't a date. We were just friends who were eating together in a restaurant. Nothing more, nothing less. Much like my dinner dates with Megan, I tried to convince myself. That was of course total bull, because it sure as hell didn't feel like a normal friendly dinner.

He knew the staff very well, asked them about their health and their other family members. We were waited by a plump, motherly woman, Maria, in a maroon dress and a vibrant smile. She embraced him with an exuberance that made him light up like a Christmas tree. I enjoyed watching them exchange pleasantries and talk about the past and the last time he went there.

Then we ordered food, a lot of food, almost every dish on the menu. He wanted me to try everything he liked and in the end there were only two dishes left we didn't ask for. I couldn't stop looking at him and his boyish grin while he was talking about the restaurant and how many times he had eaten there with his mother.

I loved the happy glint in his eyes whenever he talked about his mother, it made him even more handsome if that was even possible.

While we waited we talked about our childhood escapades, him with Jimmy the son of his mother's employers and me with Megan. We both leaned closer over the table to hear each other, so we wouldn't have to raise our voice because of the music. We laughed heartily and loudly at our memorable experiences, we didn't even see the glances that were thrown in our direction by the other guests because of the racket we made.