When Hearts Heal

Chapter 22

"You can do this. There's no pressure. You've talked to him multiple times and it has always went well. Just be yourself." I affirmed myself in the review mirror before grabbing my purse and getting out of the car.

Taking one last deep breath in, I turn the reception corner to see him standing at the restaurant door dressed in a suit making him instantly more attractive.

Although, his attire should've been a given as this was a very high class restaurant with a dress code. But I payed it no mind and only smiled as I approached him.

"You look breathtaking," he complimented making a small blush rise to my cheeks as I smiled.

"And you look very dashing yourself."

"Shall we ?" He asked extending his arm, as I locked my arm with his while he lead us to a private table in the back of the restaurant. "Here, allow me." He stated as he pulled out my chair and handed our jackets to the server.

"Thank you." I replied as I couldn't help but smile at this small gesture of chivalry and the joy it brought me.

"I'm so glad you said yes." He admitted sounding almost surprised at my attendance.

"How could I turn down an opportunity to dine at the finest restaurant in the city? I heard the owner is quite attractive."

"Oh? So we're going straight to flirting then huh? I see." He commented making me second guess my word choice and whether or not it was too early on to have made a comment like that. Seeing my face he added "Relax Adeline, I'm only teasing. I actually found your confidence the thing that attracted me to you the most."

I smiled a small smile before dropping it as I couldn't help but be reminded of my first date with Jaden and how we barely spoke a word. It made me realise that I've been shy the whole time before and during my relationship with Jaden and somehow, after our breakup I developed this new sense of confidence I didn't even realised I possessed.

I quite liked being confident. It was nice seeing myself in a different light.

Bringing my attention back to the conversation I said "oh is that so? Now who's flirting?" Making Dominic display a charming smile as he waved over the waiter.

"We'll have the chicken tagine with apricots and almonds and two glasses of our finest white wine." Dominic spoke with authority as he handed back the menu's before turning his attention back to me. "I hope that's okay with you ? "

"Of course. It's nice not having to think about something ahead of time." I replied making him furrow his brows together in confusion for a split second before shrugging it off.

"So, tell me about yourself." He said making me smile. "What? Was it something I said?"

"No, no, " I tried to reassure. "It's just such a first date kind of question." I added with a laugh.

"Alright then, how about you tell me why you broke up with your ex. I bet you've never heard that on a first date." He stated so confidently as I nearly choked on my water, not expecting him to suggest that as a topic.

"Excuse me ?"

"Yeah, I remember you mentioned outside the pizza place that it was complicated. Why don't you elaborate."

I thought about it for a minute, thinking about all of the things I could tell him about Jaden and I's relationship. From the good parts, to the fights , to even the time we almost got married. But I decided against it as I didn't feel it being an appropriate topic of conversation when trying to get to know someone new.

"He's a really nice person. We dated for a couple of years , then we realised that we wanted different things in the future. So, we broke up." I answered trying my best to sound unfazed and hiding my discomfort behind drinking more water.

"I respect a person who doesn't talk negatively about their ex. These days you hear a lot of 'he was such a jerk, I hate him, worst mistake of my life ' type of talk. And it's refreshing to find someone that can walk away from a relationship without slandering the other person. It shows real character." He stated making me smile a small smile.

I never thought about it like that. I knew that even though we went through a rough break up and there were moments that I really disliked him and blamed him for so many things, I never hated him. I've always thought it to be so eerie when a person can go from loving someone to hating them the next day. I mean sure, my feelings towards Jaden has changed. I see a lot of red flags , narcissism and manipulation now that I never saw before. But that didn't mean I hated him and wanted to talk bad about him to anyone that would listen.

"Thank you. But that's only because I'm not without fault either." I kindly replied as I could feel the atmosphere grow awkward after that. "So, now that we've been unconventional, how about we go back to the pleasurities and you tell me about you. "

I watched as his face lit up while he sat up straighter, thoughtfully adjusting the table setting before saying ; "Oh, it's a great story."