AROUND THE HEART IN 80 DAYS

Thirty-Eight

7 Mirrors was as close to the grandest place she knew she could ever be found in. Good thing she went with elegance because the huge lobby alone screamed extravagant. Fine polished wood and stone and marble made most of the furnishing. The ceilings had intricately carved mouldings in the P.O.P, there were traces of Doric style columns, amazing marble statues strategically placed at corners. It appeared gothic but still cool and modern. The interior architects must have ground their minds for it. And how much were they paying those Sales people in Copper Rivet? He had spent three nights here already.

She called Edrei to ask for the direction to the restaurant. He had her give the phone to the receptionist at the lobby, who in turn kindly instructed her to take a wing to the left, she took it of course then had to give the phone to the restaurant's own receptionist. After taking Edrei's call and fingering through the large book before him, the man smiled at her and led her in. He also told her her seat number.

This was it.

Dinner with Edrei.

No biggie. They were with each other all the time. Be your natural self. Be quirky with it. Normal, right.

She stepped into the surprisingly crowded hall --surprising because it was a family affair time of the year yet people were here-- and automatically wore on the ambience of pride. Like she was actually meant to be in this exquisite hall with the richly dressed.
Did a few eyes turn to her? Maybe. She wouldn't know because her gaze hit Edrei almost immediately she entered, where he'd sat three tables away from the large aquarium on the left.

God. Damn.

Now, Edrei was a neat man, this she knew. But what had he done tonight? He looked extra... extra something. His dark blazer and jeans getup was one of the most beautiful things she had seen on a man. And it was just a basic navy jacket and white turtle neck. His eyes seemed to turn fiery under the warm lights, or was it just her?
His hair, for God's sake, was combed to perfection... PERFECTION. Edrei Rideau was a man who played his cards right, he must have guessed being organized and clean and well dressed was a turn because, was she turned on? Hell yes! He was such a man blessed with good looks and an incredibly good body, and she undoubtedly knew female heads would concentrate on him from time to time.

How many times had she thanked God for this moment? That Edrei Rideau noticed her. That Rebecca Rideau chose a simple and desperate baker to live with this gift to women. She put his whole mood swing thing aside and just thanked God. For her friends. For her life.

Edrei made her feel over exposed and underdressed. And he was wearing just JEANS.

He stood up at once, indicating he had indeed seen her. And just to prove to him that she wasn't stuck on drooling for him, she thought fast. Comically smiling at him, she slowly turned her back to him, showcasing the back of the dress so he could get a damn good view that she also went all the way for the dinner. Exactly like she remembered Adie doing to Ben in that movie, 'How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days'.

When she'd gone round three-sixty, her eyes met his again and she saw a grin widening on his lips. Ah! So he understood the reference. She owed Lola a whole lot for responding to that first message.

"You," he took her one hand when she sashayed to him, "are breathtaking."

You 'are' breathtaking, not you 'look' breathtaking. She took note of that. And her heart fluttered with so much life when he brought her knuckles up to his lips.

"You are marvellous as well, Rideau."

"You did say I should look sharp." He released her hand and moved to pull out the chair for her. He was such a drama queen. God, so was she!