While Alia wasn’t sure what she expected, whatever it was, it certainly wasn’t a humble little corner store located on a fairly deserted street. There couldn’t be even five people in the restaurant at the ti, and when Aiden led them in, Alia gulped.
To call it a restaurant might even be high praise. It looked more like an old-school retro diner, with checkered floors and vibrant red-white cushioned booths. The tables were white and so was the matching counter, while the walls were painted in a ghastly bright aquamarine shade.
Everything looked so familiar. Nothing had changed.
"You look disappointed," Aiden comnted, bumping shoulders with Alia slightly as he walked to a booth and sat down. "Upset that I didn’t bring you to a high-end restaurant? I am sure my brother has brought you to plenty."
"No, it’s not that," Alia said. She tore her eyes away from the vinyl records that were hung on the wall as decoration. "I just didn’t realize that a rich boy like yourself would want to eat at soplace like this."
"My friends and I were racing in the area a while back," Aiden confessed. "This diner was the only place open past midnight. We needed quick food, and this place turned out better than we thought."
He raised a hand and flashed the waitress a dastardly handso smile.
"The usual," he said. He then turned to Alia. "Would you like to look at the nu?"
Alia shook her head. "I’ll just have whatever you’re having."
Aiden nodded before turning to the waitress again. "Make that two."
The waitress gave him a thumbs up before turning to the small kitchen window, speaking with the cook inside.
"So," Alia said, crossing her legs and intertwining her fingers on the tabletop. "Is there a reason why you’re so kind as to ask out to lunch?"
Charles Montgory surely had his reasons. After all, there was no need to bring Aiden if he had work to discuss with Matteo, and Alia could’ve just gone back to handling her work. If Aiden had been sent to ’keep her company’, then surely this company would co at a price.
"Ever so sharp, aren’t you, Alia," Aiden said, laughing good-naturedly under his breath. Then he murmured softly in a voice she could barely catch, "You’ve really not changed one bit."
Alia frowned, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. She couldn’t really hear what Aiden had said, but she had a guess. Either way, she didn’t question it but made a ntal note to ask Matteo when she returned.
"My family is simply curious about the woman my brother intends to marry," Aiden said, leaning back against the vinyl flitter cushions. "You were nobody. And all of a sudden, you beca sobody. The Hawthornes are a powerful people, and now that Emline is no longer Matteo’s fiancée, they wish to know who is."
"Two chicken and waffles combo," the waitress suddenly said, cutting into their conversation. She placed the plates down, and when she turned to look at Alia, her eyes suddenly widened. "Alia?"
Alia smiled, nodding once. "Lou," she greeted. "I’m surprised you still recognize after all these years."
"We’ve all missed you," Lou said. "The diner hasn’t really been the sa ever since you quit. Oh! I saw you on the news recently, and―" She then turned to glance at Aiden, cutting herself short. "Never mind. Let’s catch up one day?"
Alia nodded and watched as Lou practically escaped the scene, her tray in hand. When she glanced back at the table, she was t with Aiden’s knowing smile.
"I used to work here," Alia said before he asked anything. "Nobodys still need to eat, and diners give decent pay to college students back then."
"What a coincidence," Aiden said, his eyes sparkling. "If only I had visited this diner sooner. Perhaps I would’ve known you before my brother did."
Alia did not reply, simply smiling before picking up her fork and knife.
"Is there a reason for it?" Alia asked as she sliced into the crispy fried chicken. The sll of maple syrup wafted into her nose and she inhaled deeply, the scent oddly comforting. "To know earlier?"
"Of course!" Aiden replied with a laugh. "The Hawthornes are powerful, like I said. Knowing you and bringing you back to Horace Hawthorne could’ve set my career on a starlit path ahead of ti."
"I wasn’t recognized until recently," Alia pointed out. "I didn’t know I was a Hawthorne."
"Horace is a smart man. His old age has only made him sharper, despite how he wishes to act in front of his daft family mbers," Aiden said, rolling his eyes.
His words reminded Alia of what Caleb had told her as well. It seed like to more than one youthful outsider in the sa aristocratic circle, Horace Hawthorne still had a notorious reputation.
"That’s what my brother did, isn’t it?" Aiden finally picked up his utensils, slicing himself a portion of food before placing it in his mouth. Only after he had chewed and swallowed did he continue to speak. "He made sure Horace Hawthorne would et you and planted the seed in his head that you might be related to Elaine Hawthorne. Everything else is history."
"If your family wanted to et , I am sure a eting could be arranged," Alia said. She tried to keep her voice even, but inside, she was a trembling ss.
Aiden laughed, shaking his head. "Oh, we’ve tried. But my brother has guarded you like a dragon would its sacred treasure. No one would have been allowed anywhere near you if it weren’t for the fact that we can find you in the office."
Alia’s grip on her utensils tightened. If Matteo hadn’t wanted her to et his family, it would’ve been for a good reason. They weren’t really engaged, after all, and even though he had made his fair share of jokes that had struck too close to ho, an act was still an act. If she had t Matteo’s family, they could potentially see through the cracks and find out the truth.
This was indeed a bad idea. She should’ve never agreed to lunch with Aiden.
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