Dance with me
Dance with me
"You made all these?" She asked, looking from the steak to fried chicken to salad to sausage to rice to the beef and vegetable sauce. There were more on the table. Merely the sight of it made her full.
"I did. Although it was very tricky since the last time I cooked something nice was a really long time. I had to watch a lot of YouTube videos." He admitted as he pulled a chair out for her to sit on.
He was treating her like a princess. Was she Cinderella? Because she liked this feeling.
"What are you thinking?" He asked, looking at her face which looked like she was lost in thought.
"I think I can understand a bit of how Cinderella felt." She said while still looking around the table and at the expensive bottle of wine which she wasn't sure she would ever be able to afford.
Leo chuckled. "I thought about calling you Miara before since you and Tara behaved alike, but I can just call you Miaderella then." He went to sit across her and gave her a smile.
Mia wasn't even listening to him. "Isn't this... expensive? Why did you have to go an extra mile just to do this?" She asked, still in awe.
Never would she have imagined that there would come a time where she would be seated in a table like this and being served by a man who liked her.
"We are celebrating. So of course, it's very necessary." He answered with a shrug.
"And... what exactly are we celebrating?" She asked curiously.
Leo poured wine only to a quarter of her glass before pouring himself wine then he raised his glass in a toast.
"To Mia, may your life be filled with sweetness from now on."
A forced laugh which almost sounded like she was about to cry left her lips.
She raised her glass high also "And to Leo, may all your dreams come true."
"I already have one right in front of me." He said as his eyes locked with hers over their wine glasses, making her almost choke on her wine while he sipped his like he didn't notice how startled he just made her.
She grimaced a bit at the sour taste of the wine but gulped a bit of it before dropping it back on the table.
"Let's eat. We don't want it getting cold again." He ushered and they began to eat while making small talks in between.
"I realized you haven't really asked much about my family." Leo said. Other girls who recognized him as one of the twins from the King's family usually didn't waste time before badgering him with questions about his family.
"I think I already know a bit from all you've told me. But yea, I would like to know more since I would be meeting them tomorrow." She said and tensed up. She didn't like remembering this.
"Well, there's nothing really much actually. My parents run the hospital together. It was only a small hospital back then which belonged to my grandfather, but when my parents got married, my mother's family contributed greatly in making the King's hospital what it is today."
"They don't own just the hospital right?" Owning only a hospital wouldn't make their family so well known in the country.
"Yea. They also have other businesses they run side by side but people handle it for them."
"Oh.. just like your brother partners with you to run that beauty house, when he is also a doctor while you're a photographer?"
"Exactly! And even if Chloe wants to become a doctor, which is never going to happen by the way, she would still run the mall but then, she would have a director who would handle it all on her behalf." He explained.
Mia would have been jealous had she not already heard from Leo about how his family dictated what they were suppsoed to do and not do. A lot of people were envying them, not knowing they would give anything to live freely just like them without their parents telling them what they were supposed to do.
"What about your extended family?" She asked.
"Ah! They are much. I have a lot of uncles, aunts and cousins both maternal and paternal but we aren't really close to each other. My parents like to keep to themselves so naturally, we also kept to ourselves and didn't associate much with the others. But there's this person you should know... Aunt Debby. She's my father's older sister. She's sick kind of sick..." He touched his temple with his index finger so she would know he was talking about her head.
"I dislike her!" He exclaimed with a loud sigh, remembering all she had said to him at the festival, thinking he was Louis and how she had asked him to save 'Mickey mouse' who turned out to be Mia. Well, he wouldn't hold that against her now.
By the time they finished talking about his family, they were done eating so he cleared the table, without letting Mia lift a finger and went to do the dishes by himself.
"What about you?" He suddenly asked without turning his back to look at her.
"Your father... what happened?" He had been really curious but didn't know how to ask her so now that they were talking about families, he thought it was the best time to ask.
Mia was still sitting at the dining chair which wasn't far from where he was standing.
"Well, I don't know much and my moth.... Linda refused to say anything to me."
"But I just know that my father was a good businessman and politician even though he led a quiet life. I do not know what happened but his business collapsed. He was always moving around, always getting angry and throwing things everywhere while he quarrelled with Linda often. Then one day, he left home."
"And he didn't return." She concluded in a tight voice.
"We were all so worried. We searched everywhere, asked everyone. When I checked the net, I didn't see anything important. Even the police was serious with the search at first but no longer took it seriously after a while. I don't know what my father did for everything to just turn against him. We realised he had used all the money he had to help the dying company. He also used everything Linda had saved up, hoping things would work out but nothing happened and he disappeared. We had to leave our big house for a tiny apartment, we had to sell our properties to pay up debts...."
Debts again! Was her family bound to remain in debt forever? Leo wondered sadly.
"It wasn't easy at all. Suddenly living in the slums after living in the palace... it was hard. Everyone of us was depressed, especially Linda. Those days were terrible." Mia concluded with a deep sigh.
"You are going to find your father okay?" Leo returned to her side and squatted beside her.
Mia turned to look at his face and smiled.
"I have this feeling that... I can always believe everything you say." She confessed.
"Then believe me again." He returned her smile.
"This one is also going to happen." He took her hand in his and kissed the back of her hand making goosebumps rise on her skin.
"Are you ready to be my model Miss Lucas?" He asked as he stood up, still holding her hand in his.
Mia stood up and looked at him with uncertainty.
"What do I have to do?" She asked.
Leo led her towards the couch before going to get his camera and other equipments he would be needing for the shoot.
"Just be yourself. You can give me something... wild and... sexy" He said with a wink which made her cheeks colour but surprisingly, she didn't protest.
A few minutes later, Leo looked at Mia in horror. "What are you doing?" He asked, putting down the camera.
"Giving you... something wild...?" She said and looked at him in confusion.
Leo looked at her again. She actually looked like a cat about descending on its prey. Even the look in her eyes was scary.
"This won't do!" He said, trying his best not to laugh.
"You know what? I think I have an even better idea." He said with bright eyes that made Mia wary. Whenever he had that look in his eyes, she knew it wasn't something she would like.
Before she knew it, a soft music began to play which filled the room.
"Dance for me." He said to her with a grin. He believed with dance, she would do wonders!
"Just dance, and I'll take your photos." He said before picking up his camera.
"No!" She protested with her hands covering her face.
"Why?" He asked. He didn't sound compelling or disappointed. He wanted her to do this willingly. He wanted her to be happy and relaxed.
"I'm... I'm shy." She said biting her lips.
He put down his camera and moved over to where she was then he wrapped his hands around her waist, making her head shoot up to look at his face.
"It's cute that you're still shy around me, ya know." He grinned at her while she looked away from him but he quickly used a hand to hold her chin and bring her eyes back to his.
"If you want me to dance with you, I can, and we can video this whole thing. But..." He paused to look deeply into her eyes.
"It's dangerous." He said in a deep but quiet voice.
They were alone in a cottage, with wine, soft music, a bed and no interruption. Of course, Mia understood what he was saying.
But.....
"Dance with me." She said boldly.