While Amelia 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 time, and when Aiden led them in, Amelia 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 commented, bumping shoulders with Amelia 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," Amelia 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 someplace 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 handsome smile.
"The usual," he said. He then turned to Amelia. "Would you like to look at the menu?"
Amelia 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," Amelia said, crossing her legs and intertwining her fingers on the tabletop. "Is there a reason why you’re so kind as to ask me out to lunch?"
Charles Montgomery surely had his reasons. After all, there was no need to bring Aiden if he had work to discuss with Matteo, and Amelia could’ve just gone back to handling her work. If Aiden had been sent to ’keep her company’, then surely this company would come at a price.
"Ever so sharp, aren’t you, Amelia," 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."
Amelia 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 mental 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 became somebody. The Hawthornes are a powerful people, and now that Emmeline 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 Amelia, her eyes suddenly widened. "Amelia?"
Amelia smiled, nodding once. "Lou," she greeted. "I’m surprised you still recognize me after all these years."
"We’ve all missed you," Lou said. "The diner hasn’t really been the same 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?"
Amelia nodded and watched as Lou practically escaped the scene, her tray in hand. When she glanced back at the table, she was met with Aiden’s knowing smile.
"I used to work here," Amelia 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."
Amelia did not reply, simply smiling before picking up her fork and knife.
"Is there a reason for it?" Amelia asked as she sliced into the crispy fried chicken. The smell of maple syrup wafted into her nose and she inhaled deeply, the scent oddly comforting. "To know me 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 time."
"I wasn’t recognized until recently," Amelia 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 members," Aiden said, rolling his eyes.
His words reminded Amelia of what Caleb had told her as well. It seemed like to more than one youthful outsider in the same 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 meet 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 meet me, I am sure a meeting could be arranged," Amelia said. She tried to keep her voice even, but inside, she was a trembling mess.
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."
Amelia’s grip on her utensils tightened. If Matteo hadn’t wanted her to meet 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 home, an act was still an act. If she had met 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.