--Aurora POV--
"Thank you for the meal, it was delicious," I smiled at the waitress as we left the restaurant.
"You didn't even eat the food you ordered," Gio muttered under his breath, following me out the door, but we paused a second later as someone called after us.
"Excuse me!?" I turned to see the familiar blonde man from before stepping out of the restaurant with a hopeful look on his face, and it didn't take more than a single guess to know what he wanted.
I was really regretting winking at him back then, where did I even get that random burst of confidence from? I can guarantee it's because Giovanni was there, and I needed to prove a point to him, I hated losing to this man.
"Yes?" Despite my thoughts, I greeted him with a smile, it's the least I could do after leading him on like that.
"I kept catching your eyes in there, can I get your number?" He asked, pulling his phone out of his pocket while the smile on my lips wavered.
"Um... I'm sorry, but-"
"-She's taken. Put that phone back in your pocket, and get back inside that building," Gio beat me to saying anything. Whether I should appreciate him or not is something that I'll have to debate at a later time though.
"Oh, I didn't know. I thought you were just friends or... siblings or... something..." His words drifted off as I quickly covered my mouth to hide the snort that broke through, turning my head away to quickly compose myself before turning back.
"I'm sorry about leading you on like that, it was really disrespectful of me. But I'll be staying single for the next year. If you want, I'd love to go out with you after that year is over," I explained, ignoring the glare that Gio was directing towards me.
"I'm sorry, I don't think I'm following,"
"Yeah, I'd be surprised if you did... Let's just call it a day, and carry on with our separate lives, yes?" I suggested as he slowly nodded his head along to my words, confused, but I didn't pay it any mind as I grabbed Gio's hand, waved the stranger goodbye, and continued to walk off.
"I don't understand why you're like this..." Gio sighed as we walked down the street.
"Trust me, you're not the only one," I chuckled as we fell into a calm silence, simply walking down the pavement as we made our way to the park that wasn't far from here, the street lights slowly beginning to flicker on one by one.
"So, exactly how do you plan to woo me?" I eventually asked, diminishing the silence, and realising that I was still holding his hand, I let go, awkwardly patting my hair down as my gaze shifted to look ahead of me.
"Woo you?" He echoed as I nodded.
"You have a year. The start date is today, the 25th of January, and the end date is the same. Note it down somewhere," I suggested as he rolled his eyes.
"I've always hated games," He stated.
"Because you're terrible at them?" I jokingly guessed.
"Don't be ridiculous," He scoffed, offended.
"What? Am I wrong? I am 85% sure that you're going to lose this game, and if not lose, then you're going to concede, which I will also take as you losing," I stated as a matter-of-fact.
"You sound certain of yourself," He grumbled.
"Yes, I am."
"And why is that?"
"Because I don't believe you can handle me, Gio."
"Are you a woman that needs to be handled?" That's a valid question, but living in a world that belonged to men, I can't say it was easy.
YOU ARE READING
The Reverence of a Man on Fire (BOOK II)
RomanceBOOK 2 OF THE ROMANO SERIES. She was a flaming ball of sunshine that didn't know how to sit still. He was a cold and composed man that thought smiling was a waste of time. Aurora and Giovanni are complete opposites, and have been from the moment the...
