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“Seriously?” She stepped back and raised a brow. “You sure I don’t look like I belong in a nursing home?”
He burst out in laughter. “Not at all. I think you look stunning.”
“Aw, darling! Look at you! Beautiful as the day you were born!” Aunt Evelyne stood up from where she was sitting and stumbled over to hug her niece.
“No, no, Aunt Evelyne. You stay there,” Amelia called back. She rushed over to her aunt and slowly sat her back down onto the couch. “You’re in no condition to be walking around unnecessarily like this.”
“Oh, don’t mind me,” her aunt replied. “I’m just so happy that my little Amelia is finally going on a date with a decent man. Besides, I should be heading out soon for my trip.”
“And they better get going if they don’t want to be late.” Amelia’s father stepped into the living room to cut himself a slice of coffee cake. He took a bite and closed his eyes. “Mm, your mother truly makes the best.”
Alistair took Amelia’s hand and smiled down at her, his pearly whites shining beneath the warm living room light. “Shall we?” he asked.
“Wait! Before you go,” her mother called out, running into the living room, “let me just grab a picture of you two. Something to remember this night by.”
“Come on, Mom—” Amelia began.
“I’m sure the restaurant won’t mind if we’re a few minutes late,” Alistair assured her.
Seven pictures later, Amelia finally found herself walking to Alistair’s car, a sleek black Porsche, definitely a gem in the eyes of her parents.
“Sorry about all that, by the way,” Amelia apologized. “My family can be a bit… much.”
Alistair laughed. “No worries. I get it. Mine are pretty much the same. The difference is, you haven’t met them yet.”
“So, where are we going, anyway?”
“Your aunt made us a reservation at this swanky French restaurant in town. Honestly, I didn’t even know it existed until she gave me the address. But it’s right by the school on Main. I must’ve passed it hundreds of times before and just never noticed.”
“Let me guess, it’s looks like a hole in the wall on the outside, but once you walk in, you magically get transformed into a new world of luxury and royalty?” Amelia asked snidely.
“Something like that.” He pulled out his phone. “Here, look. If I zoom in, see that tiny white building?” He was leaning in so close that Amelia could smell the scent of cologne on him. Old spice with a hint of vanilla. He smelled so good that she didn’t want to pull away, even when he closed his phone and started the ignition.
A thirty-minute drive later, Alistair pulled into a cramped parking lot behind the same tiny white building she’d seen on his phone. It wasn’t much, barely enough to fit three cars, but he managed to make it work.
“Ready?” he asked, and Amelia nodded, reaching her hand out to open the door. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Stay there.” He quickly got out from the driver’s seat and jogged over to the passenger side, where he gracefully opened the door and bowed as he said, “A gentlemanalwaysopens the door for his lady.”
Amelia smiled, unsure of whether it’s a smile of adoration or cringe. Even so, it was the nicest thing anyone had done for her in a long time. The most gentleman-like thing David had ever done for her was not call her fat when she’d asked.
Just like in the picture, Maison Blanc looked like nothing more than a run-down block on the outside.
“Are you sure we’re at the right place?” Amelia asked Alistair, who looked down at her with a smile and grabbed her hand.
“Positive,” he said.
His warm touch made her heart skip a beat and her body shiver. She didn’t know what she was feeling. Alistair was the complete opposite of the type of men she’d normally fall for. She liked bad boys, like Lucas and David. Alistair’s demeanor, his kind and gentle personality, odd for Amelia to start fawning over. But she didn’t pull her hand away. She couldn’t. She had to at least try and enjoy the date, for her Aunt Evelyne’s sake, anyway.
And when they walked inside, she felt like she’d been transformed into an entirely new world. Shiny chandeliers strung along the ceiling. Velvet curtains lined the walls and windows. And every waiter and waitress inside the restaurant were dressed in black tie attire, looking even better than Alistair and herself.
“Wow, this is fancy,” Amelia whispered.
“Yeah, really is. Your aunt really knows how to go all out,” Alistair whispered back.
“Good evening, sir, madam,” the maître d’ walked up to them and greeted. “Dinner for two tonight?”
Alistair nodded, grasping onto her hand a little harder. “Correct. Reservation under Ainsworth?”
The maître d’ paused to flip through the thick book that laid in front of him. Seconds later, his head popped back up, and he said, “Ah, here it is. You’re here for the lover’s special!”
