My Heart Is Yours

Chapter 49

When they left the restaurant, Richard once again was beside Maine and they were once more lagging behind. He noticed that Maine was silent that it worried him.

"Hey," he said as he led her to step away from the door of a souvenir shop that their team entered. "Are you okay? Do you feel tired?"

Maine smiled timidly and Richard noticed that she wasn't looking at him again.

"I'm fine," she answered. "I was just thinking. That's all."

"What did Martin tell you?" He asked, worriedly. Whatever they were talking about during lunch must have upset her somewhat.

"Nothing really," she replied. "It's really none of my business."

"I'm making it your business," he insisted.

Maine looked at Richard and saw sincerity in his eyes. She tried to gather her thoughts and weighed down what she could ask him. It would have been a perfect opportunity to ask him about the notebook, but she thought better against it. But he did say they can talk about anything, right?

"Do you have a girlfriend here somewhere that nobody knows about?" Was the first thought that came into her mind that she voiced out.

Richard was taken aback by the sudden question. It took him by surprise but he hid the smile that suddenly started to form in his lips.

"If I did have a girlfriend," he said softly. "Why would I hide it? If I'm ashamed to be seen in public with her, why keep her to begin with? Besides, mom would disown me if she found out I was in a relationship and she doesn't know it. You know how mom is."

Maine let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding and she laughed at the thought of her Tita Rio disowning her now only child because of something so trivial.

"What brought this on?" Richard suddenly asked, brows furrowed with curiosity that Maine abruptly stopped laughing.

"Sorry," she replied. "I saw you texting someone and the smile you had a while ago was different. There was a different sparkle in your eyes when you were reading the text. Sorry. I'm just being too nosy."

"Oh, you saw that," he answered reluctantly, a frown formed on his lips. "I'm sorry. I can't tell you right now what that was about. But I hope to share it with you soon. But it's not a girl. That I can guarantee. I've only just reconnected with the only girl I really liked for so long. So, come on. Let's check this souvenir shop before Martin buys everything shiny that he sees."

He started for the door and stopped midway opening it when Maine asked, "who's the girl? That girl that you liked for so long?"

Her curiosity was clearly etched on her face. Martin and the girls did say that he rarely dated. Had he dated someone when he was back in New York? Was she the one he reconnected with?

She saw Richard sigh before turning to face her again.

"Isn't it pretty obvious to you yet?" Richard looked at her straight in the eyes when he replied and smiled. He turned abruptly, entering the shop, but Maine saw how red his ears had become when he said those words while he looked at her. Was he talking about her?

Maine's heart thudded in her chest. She had never felt like this before. It was a different kind of palpitations and she felt the blood rush to her face. She felt like floating.

'What is your heart telling me, Alden?' She thought as she followed inside.

-oo-

The group went their separate ways when it was time for the girls to watch the movie. But before they left, Richard once again pulled Maine aside and said, "stay with Martin and the group. I won't be joining you guys for dinner later."

Maine frowned but remembered their talk earlier. There was something he wasn't ready to share with her yet. She wondered about it, but felt that she trusted him enough to wait until that moment. Still frowning, she just nodded and was about to turn when Richard held her arm to stop her.

"I'll make it up to you," he said. "There's a bookshop that I actually wanted to show you. I'll bring you there tomorrow. We'll make a day out of it."

At the mention of a bookstore, Maine's face lit up and she smiled. When her face brightened Richard couldn't help but smile as well showing the dimple on his left cheek. Without thought he pulled her to him gently, cupped her cheeks with both hands, and kissed her softly on the forehead.

"Have fun," he whispered as he let go of her face but they still kept close proximity. "I'll see you later."

They just stood there staring into each others eyes until Martin called their attention. Both of them jumped, as they heard their team teasing them. They smiled at each other once more before Maine turned to join her group. Once they were inside the theatre, Richard turned and waved to his other companions.

"I'm off too," Richard called out. "Don't wait up!"

And he started walking to the other direction leaving his two co-pilots and the two male FAs on the sidewalk.

"Does anyone else here, aside from me, curious as to where our dear Captain goes to everytime we're in Milan?" Jerald asked his companions, one arm raised high to emphasize this question.

Everyone else raised their hand in support.

"Well," said Jerald. "Let's go see what our Captain is hiding, shall we?"

The others murmured an agreement as they all chuckled and followed the footsteps of their Captain at a distance.

-oo-

Richard entered a quaint little pub near the city center. Once he was inside, someone cried out in greeting.

"Ricardo!" A man from behind the bar called out and waved him over.

Richard smiled and waved back at him. When he arrived, the man behind the bar went out and gave him a tight hug which Richard returned with equal intensity.

"It's good to see you again, Gian Carlo," he said after the man called Gian Carlo let him go.

"It's been months," Gian Carlo replied. "Your airlines don't keep a regular rotation on their crew. Everybody misses you. I was so happy you texted this morning."

"Thanks for texting back," Richard said. "Is it really okay to squeeze me in tonight?"

"You know you can come here anytime," he said. "Like I said, everybody misses you. When you said yes, I sent word that you would be here. So I know they will come."

"You shouldn't have, Gian Carlo."

"Well," Gian Carlo remarked. "I want to. Besides, you bring in good business. My pub will be full tonight."

Richard smiled at the big jolly man and he just let him be. He looked around at the small but flourishing establishment and noted that Gian Carlo's regulars were still not there. He could imagine the crowd later, if word of mouth got to the pub's customers that he was there. It would be another full evening.

"Is the guitar I'll be using later, ready?" He asked, already excited for the evening.

"It's over there," Gian Carlo answered pointing to a corner. "Your favorite corner. You can start practicing too. You'll come second after Lucida. She always wanted to go first all the time anyway."

"Not a problem," Richard replied. "Thanks for this, Gian Carlo. You really don't know how much this means for me."

"You're an amazing talent, Ricardo," he answered. "Such gifts should not go to waste. Do you have a new song in your repertoire?"

"I have one," he said. "The other song isn't ready yet. And I had hoped I'll let her hear it first before I share it with everybody else."

"You've found her then?"

"Yes," Richard smiled again as he turned and headed to his favorite corner, where a guitar was waiting for him on a stand.