Damian took Irene to a posh French restaurant at Sunshine Ballroom. It was one of the most famous entertainment venues in Varmount. Almost too lavish for lunch with someone he only met once before.
Irene had a feeling that Damian was trying to impress her when he ordered his food in fluent French. Nevertheless, she enjoyed hearing his thick German accent when he spoke. It added a certain flavor to the language of love.
"Do you want me to help you order, Leah?" he shot Irene a charming smile.
The waiter turned to look at Irene, but he was clearly expecting to hear the order through Damian's mouth.
"No need," Irene responded in perfect French. "I would like to have a serving of Quiche Lorraine and a glass of iced sparkling water, please."
The waiter was impressed, but not as impressed as Damian.
"You speak well," he praised Irene. "Have you lived in France before?"
Irene shook her long, wavy, blond hair coquettishly. "No, Monsieur, I have not. I guess I have been a little too diligent at school."
"Ah."
The waiter came back with their drinks a while later.
While Irene sipped on her water, her eyes met with Damian's, who was still smiling at her. His eyes, on the other hand, were not smiling at all. On the contrary, they seemed to drill deep into Irene's soul, trying to dig out her secrets and exposed them to the world.
"Mr. Henderson, you are staring at me so intently," she teased the man opposite her. "I am going to blush from misunderstanding soon."
Damian chuckled.
"Is it wrong to stare at a beautiful lady?" he asked while fingering his glass of wine.
Irene tossed out trained but polite laughter.
"Oh, no need to compliment me," she said. "Primavera is full of beautiful people. I am sure that beauty is an unwavering constant in your life."
Damian took out the red rose from the slender vase that stood on the table as decoration and held it in front of him.
"Do you like flowers, Leah?"
"I love them."
"Have you ever stopped admiring their beauty even after you saw a lot of flowers in your life?"
Heh.
"No, of course not."
"Beauty is like that," Damian said while he handed the rose in Irene's direction. "A beautiful lady is beautiful, there is no need to diminish her beauty just because others are also beautiful."
God.
The man was so sweet that it was almost sickening.
Smiling shyly to herself, Irene took the red rose and inhaled its sweet scent.
Their food came a while later.
"Well, dig in while it's hot," Damian said.
Irene half-expected Damian to interrogate him with penetrating questions about her private life, but the man did no such thing.
If Irene did not know better, she might even say that Damian was so engrossed with eating his lamb chop that he did not realize he was dining with someone else.
Either that, or the man simply did not speak during a meal.
At the end of the main course, they both got a plate of chocolate lava cake with a serving of vanilla ice cream.
Damian refused his and asked for a cocktail, instead.
Irene ate her dessert in silence, trying her best to eat quickly without being too obvious.
She had dined with a lot of men before, but she was always able to read them. Not so with Damian. By the end of the lunch, she started to think that she overestimated Damian.
Maybe the man just wanted to treat her to lunch out of courtesy. This was naturally very good. Fewer complications allowed Irene to focus on the task at hand.
"Thank you for the delicious lunch," Irene said, beaming at Damian with gratitude. "I shall not interrupt your busy schedule any longer."
"Why the rush?" Damian asked.
"No rush," Irene quickly said.
She just could not wait to get him out of her hair.
Damian pointed at the corner of his lips.
"You have something there."
"Oh?"
Oh, Lord, the lava cake.
How embarrassing.
Irene took a napkin and dabbed at the left corner of her lips.
Damian chuckled. He took his napkin and reached out to dab the chocolate sauce off the right corner of Irene's lips.
The gesture was sweet and thoughtful, but again, a little too intimate for a man and woman who only met once before.
But so what.
"Thank you," Irene smiled sweetly.
"Say, Miss Leah Mitchell, are you currently dating anyone?"
Irene's smile froze on her face.
"No?"
"In that case, are you willing to be my girlfriend?"