Chapter 30:

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We arrive at the restaurant in his car, hand in hand. He helps me out and slips his arm around my waist as we walk inside.

"This way sir." The waiter says and he spots is walking inside. He leads Dylan to a large table. Not only are there two chairs, but there are seven around the table. My eyebrows skyrocket.

"More company?" I ask, sighing.  I wanted an evening with Dylan all to myself. Call me selfish, but he is my boyfriend. Man, that sounds weird. Boyfriend. It makes me smile.

He nods sadly. "I'm sorry for not telling you. It's just I would love to spend an evening alone with my girl, but my parents," he gestures to the table, "had other plans."

"Did you know this afternoon when you invited me?" I ask, and he nods. I whack him over the head.

"You have to stop doing that! Man alive princess, you are killing off my brains cells!" He whimpers.

"Man up cupcake! You didn't even have brain cells, to begin with!" I tease and he narrows his eyes at me.

"Hey!" He mocks hurt, "You are terrible to me Alex. You wound me so!"

"Yeah. Grow a pair." I scoff and he pinches me in my side, tickling me so I give a loud shout of laughter. I see a few of the people at the other tables glare at me.

"Stop it!" I smile, but he continues, but his parents arrive, and he stops, slinking his arm around my waist once again, acting as if nothing is wrong.

"Hello, Dylan. Alex." Arnold smiles at us.

"Dad." Dylan nods, imitating his father. "Mom."

"It's lovely to see you again Alex." Natalie says, "You look absolutely beautiful. It's no wonder why my son is so taken with you." I'm taken aback, but she laughs as she sees my facial expressions. "A mother knows everything." She whispers and gives me a slight squeeze on my shoulder.

"Shall we sit dear?" Arnold asks his wife and she nods. They sit, and Dylan and I sit too, following their example.

I eye the extra three seats. Weird. The conversation around the table starts at the gala, and it's a great success, but then it shifts to Paris and the best touristy places.

"Hi!" I hear, and my eyes shoot to Annabelle and Jason, who are both dressed smartly. They sit down and give us all a greeting. My eyes then shift to another woman, who is standing next to Jason. She eyes me suspiciously and I smile in return. She doesn't smile back. She is beautiful though. She has deep chestnut eyes, and raven black hair. She is tanned and is wearing a dress which hugs her features. All her features.

"Ah, lovely to see you, Delilah!" I hear Natalie say, smiling to her. Delilah smiles back and sits on the opposite side of Dylan. She puts a hand on his arm.

"How lovely it is to see you again Dylan." She coos, and I raise an eyebrow. She's flirting with my man. In front of me.

My eyes shift over to Dylan. He smiles lightly and nods. "Yes. You too Lilah."

Lilah. Lilah? Oh my goodness. They have nicknames! They are just friends Alex. Think rationally about this. Dylan loves- no likes you, a lot. Think rational, be rational. Who the hell is she anyway? I feel a tap on my arm. I look up at Annabelle.

"His ex." She mouths. His ex. Oh. His EX? Oh come on Alex. You are being an idiot. A complete moron. Who invites their ex to a fancy dinner? I shake my head, and I see all eyes on me.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear what you said." I smile apologetically, and the whole table bursts out laughing. Well, the whole table except for 'Lilah'.

"We asked about your job." Natalie smiles. I nod.

"It's going well. I already have a count of 73 recoveries of children with serious injuries. It really is my passion, and I love what I do. I love the kids." I smile, thinking about my funny hospital scrubs, and the brave little faces I see coming in and out those hospital doors. Delilah's eyebrows skyrocket, but I ignore her and turn back to Dylan. He smiles widely at me, and intertwines our hands once more.

My eyes glide over the occupants around the table. As I look at Annabelle, however, she looks as if she is about to burst. I narrow my eyes at her.

"Annabelle?" I ask, and her eyes flicker into mine, and I can see she is bursting with excitement.

"I-" She pauses, "No, we," She places her hand on Jason's on the table, "have an announcement to make!" She smiles widely.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Annabelle's pov

I stuff the square box underneath the food in the takeaway bag and drive off to Jason's office. I'm in my McLaren again, and it sounds wonderful. As I shift through the traffic, my eyes catch the glittering ring around my hand.

It's been almost two years. Two years, and I still feel like a kid in love. It seems that my love for Jason grows bigger and bigger each and everyday, and when I think I know him, he surprises me with something new, and something positively wonderful. Sometimes, however, we fight, as all couples do. We've had fights were I haven't spoken to him for a week, and he goes off on a 'business trip' to recover. I don't believe him though. He goes to escape my wrath and he knows I know it. However, even though we fight, we get past it, and we move on. We often fight about the stupidest things.

I pull up to the office building, and walk into the reception. The receptionist nods me though to the elevator. I press the correct floor and land on one of the top floors.

Jason's office is in the centre, and it's huge. The door is closed, so I knock.

"I'm a bit busy right now!" His voice sounds from the opposite end of the door. I disguise my voice.

"Take out delivery for a Mr Montage?" I smile.

"I didn't order any take out!" He shouts back.

"That's not what my receipt says Sir!" I shout back. I hear a sigh.

"Come in then!" He groans. I open the door, and he doesn't even look up at me. I walk over to his desk and place the take away bag onto his desk.

"How much do I owe-" he starts, still not looking up, but as he does, he stops mid sentence.

"Annie!" He shakes his head. "You little twit!" He smiles.

"Oh yeah. Your little twit!" I respond back, which earns me a smile. He laughs and pulls me into his lap.

"Lunch eh?" He asks, and digs into the take away packet. "Chinese!" He squeals and pulls out the boxes. I help him, but I make sure I leave the square box in the bag.

We both dig in, slurping as we eat in silence. It's not an awkward silence. It's the type of silence when we don't need to speak. We are perfectly happy, together.

"I love you." He whispers, "Too damn much."

"And I love you." I put my forehead against his and he kisses me gently, and softly, and as the kiss deepens, he kisses me with the passion of the love between husband and wife. I pull away and take another bite of my Chinese food.

"How many boxes are there?" I ask, looking at the boxes which were full of Chinese food, now empty piled on Jason's desk.

"Three." He responds.

"I bought one more!" I explain happily and dig into the bag. This is it. This is the moment.

I pull out the square box and place it into his hands.

"This isn't Chinese food Annie." He chuckles, but holds the box in his hands.

"Open it." I urge, and he grins, slipping off the lid.

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