Just keep breathing

Chapter 11

"For you." He corrects me and begins to lead me to the table. "For the next two hours, Franco and his staff have been kind enough to reserve the restaurant for us."

I stand open-mouthed staring at him. He's reserved an entire restaurant??? Slowly I force my jaw to close and step towards him.

"It's beautiful," I say quietly. "Thank you." I stretch up on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

We've only just settled into our seats when the well dressed Italian, Franco I assume, reappears with a bottle of champagne and proceeds to pour us two glasses.

Harry raises an eyebrow at me questioningly, I presume to confirm whether or not I want to drink tonight, so I nod at him in consent, I've never had champagne before. Franco hands us both a menu and quietly retreats out of sight.

"I can't believe you did this, Harry, it's amazing. And truly a surprise, if you'd given me a hundred guesses I would never have gotten this," I gesture to our surroundings

"I'm glad you like it. But, this is just the start, darling. The night is still young." I feel his hand graze lightly up my bare thigh and have to suppress a shudder from the pleasure.

Franco appears out of nowhere a few moments later and takes our order. Insalata di Avocado e Barbabietola con Caprino Caldo e Misticanza for me to start, which roughly translates as avocado and goats cheese salad according to the small English print on the menu. Harry opts for something with an even longer and more complicated name that he assures me is beef carpaccio, and we both choose pasta for our main courses.

Left alone again, I am suddenly nervous. I don't do things like this... Going out for nice dinners in posh restaurants in London is rare enough, but having that whole restaurant to myself and being the centre of attention for all who work there and the man I am with, well that's a first.

Harry and I chat happily over our starters, mostly about my work which he seems to be very interested in for some unknown reason.

"I never really got to have a 'normal' job " he explains. "I mean, I worked in erm, the bakery, but I was a kid, it was just a Saturday job."

"Do you ever wish things had started a bit later in life for you? That you'd had a little more time to have a normal life before everyone wanted a piece of you?" I ask him, curious.

"Sometimes." He muses. "But when I look back on all the things I've got to do and experience, it's hard to have regrets. We travelled the world, met some amazing people and had the chance to work with some of the best in the industry. I'd sound like a bit of a dick if I said I wished I'd had more opportunities to do other jobs and sit around playing video games with my mates." He smiles.

"Hehe" I giggle, "Yes, I suppose you would. Poor little superstar" I tease and pout at him playfully.

As our main courses arrive, I see Harry glance at his watch. It's six-thirty, and I wonder if we are on a schedule.

"Somewhere we need to be? " I ask him

"Not for another hour, and it's not far from here, so we've got plenty of time. Ready to be brave?" He asks, suddenly catching me off guard.

I glance up at him in confusion "Brave?"

He is twirling pasta on to his fork, seeming to want to make sure he gets a little bit of everything on there. Once he's satisfied, he turns the fork towards me.

"Time to try something new." He nods towards the outstretched fork.

I swallow, he already knows I am a fussy eater. But I don't want to spoil the evening by refusing him after he's gone to so much trouble. I