Written In The Stars: Book Two

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE: OUR BEGINNING

Elijah picked one of the hidden gems in their city. It was longer of a drive, but one of his favorite spots to go to for a great meal and a relaxed atmosphere. An Italian joint run by an elderly couple, and their son.

"Elijah!" the old man greeted. "We were beginning to worry about you. And I see you've brought a guest with you."

It was true. Never once did Elijah bring a person with him to this restaurant. He supposed that's what made him stand out from the other regulars. There were places he normally went to with Jack and Jay, and there were restaurants he frequented with Mitch. But this was his quiet place. When his former neighbors played music too loud, or he felt like he was crawling out of his skin being alone, Elijah came here.

"Table for two, Piero."

His usual table wouldn't work for Madeline, as it was too tucked away in the corner. But Piero was on his side tonight, and seated them near the fireplace. "I'll bring you some water and give her a few minutes to look at the menu. Your usual to drink?" Elijah nodded before Piero turned to Madeline. "And for you?"

"I'll have the same," Madeline responded, not knowing what his usual was. She waited for Piero to walk away before she spoke again. "My mom kept dropping little comments while she was helping me get ready for tonight. I hope my dad wasn't too hard on you."

Mitch wasn't taking this as easily as he had when they first entered a relationship four years prior, but a lot had happened since then, and Elijah was fully aware of Why Mitch was concerned, and respected it. He'd been the one to pick them both off the ground last time. In Elijah's case literally, and dozens of times.

But this wasn't last time, and Mitch would see that soon enough. "He's worried, and I get that. I know they both want us together, but with all the risks that come with us, I get why they're leery about all this."

Madeline smiled up at the owner when he placed two cans of blood orange side on the table, followed by two empty glasses with straws. Piero seemed to notice Madeline had barely glanced down at her menu, and stepped away to give her more time.

"Your post is getting a lot of attention," Madeline told him then, her eyes finally falling on the menu in front of her. "With all Eva's friends in the industry, it's spreading like wildfire."

Elijah just nodded at that, uncertain of what to really say.

"Come on, you have to be a little excited about it. Nervous? Something?"

He ran his fingers through his hair and rubbed the back of his neck, something he was now very much aware of since he'd noticed Kevin do it so frequently. Madeline said they behaved like identical twins separated at birth. "I'm like your parents, and being cautious," Elijah admitted. "If he showed that day, he deserves to know why she didn't. I get how that would follow you, even after you've emotionally moved on.

"But as far as who he is to me? He isn't anything. The guy's just a stranger in a photograph. When I look at it, it's just some guy with his arm around my mom. I've seen similar photographs of her and Harrison. Photos are just a single second captured on film. They don't give you the bigger picture, and I don't I know what this guy's bigger picture is. I don't even know if I want to meet him yet, or if I'm just going to have Kevin fill him in on what happened. Honestly, right now, we don't even know if we're going to find the guy. Hell, we don't know if he's alive. But if we find him, and he is alive, I promise I'll consider it."

It was the only promise Elijah could make her regarding this subject. He would promise her the world when it came to the two of them, but this was completely on Elijah, and something he needed to figure out for himself.

There was the genuine fear that if Elijah went to see this man personally, he'd feel the connection. He'd look into the man's eyes and feel that familiarity. And at the moment Elijah allowed himself to be vulnerable, he'd be turned away. And given how Elijah reacted to just an uncle initially, he wouldn't blame the guy for that.