His Hope [Zayn][Completed]

Chapter 18-Lost & Found

"So you two are an item now?"  Sammy asks nosey as ever, lifting a fine eyebrow and watching their eyes for confirmation.

Nothing gets past Sammy's watchful eye when they return from work.  His eyes lit up like a Christmas tree at the hand Zayn placed at the small of her back as they returned that evening from the office.

The gesture wasn't that intimate in Hope's eyes.  How he knew by one look surprised her.  Perhaps it was the way their bodies were closer to one another.  There no longer was this invisible wall that separated them and he didn't just see it but he must have sensed it.

Hope blushed, glancing in Zayn's direction from beneath her eyelashes. 

Zayn kept his expression unreadable.

"I knew it! The blush says it all!  The compass finally found its destination.  This is fucktacular!" He exclaimed with a fist pump. 

Since the heated exchange they shared in his office, they'd been taking things very slow sharing intimate kisses and glances.  Evenings were spent dining in the penthouse and watching a movie afterwards cuddled on the sofa.  Several times, the movie would often be forgotten and their lips would find one another. 

Hope had never felt so comfortable with another human being.  All this time she was fighting her feelings, the attraction brewing between them that it felt like she carried the world's problems on her shoulders.  But the weight lifted, the gloom hovering above her vanished. 

She felt free of so many constraints and given more than she deserved.

She had a job.  She had a roof over her head.  She had a companion.  She had a friend. 

Hope was beyond grateful for fate giving her a second chance.  Even more importantly, hope.  An emotion she never felt before. 

However, the only missing part of her happiness was a family.  That was the only thing that kept nagging her in the back of her mind. 

She believed in fate. When things are meant to happen, they will happen when the time is right.  Hope was convinced things would unfold when least expected.

Look where it brought her so far.  She met a man she could never have dreamt of.  She found and made a lifelong friend in Sammy. 

To add more to the ever growing surprises, Sammy met someone and introduced them to the other reason he decided to stay in England for a while longer. 

Chris. 

Hope found Chris very handsome when they were first introduced and Sammy appeared enamored by him.  She couldn't be happier for him.

In celebration of his new found lover, Sammy suggested they all go on a double date.  Another first for Hope.

It was an exciting chapter in her life and she agreed with Sammy it was time they celebrated love.

They decided to have dinner at one of the restaurants in the St. James hotel.  Zayn took hold of her hand as they walked to dinner which Hope found endearing. 

Is this what it felt like to be in love?

A slender, well-dressed maître d' stood at a podium just inside the restaurant.

"We'd like a table for four by the window." Zayn said, squeezing her hand and sending her a wink. 

Hope blushed.

The maître d' didn't bother looking up from his reservation page. 

"That particular table is booked. . .for months.  There's nothing available for tonight, you should have made a reservation."  He replied, sounding bored.