May 10 2025

It was the evening as Maria's car was parked outside of Anthony's mansion, The gates were closed as she stood there, looking at his house. She couldn't stop thinking about the gala last night, The rumours, Jessica and most importantly. . . Anthony admitting that he loved her. But she was scared, What if he never meant it? But she also had hope that he did love and care about her. However what was pushing her away from him was the rumours, She just wanted be herself, focus on her job and be independent as always.

But she couldn't stay away from him. . . Not after everything they have shared.

Suddenly the gates opened, Maria's eyes lit up, knowing that Anthony knew she was here. She came uninvited but that didn't matter, Maria wanted to speak to him about everything last night.

She walked towards the door, ringing the bell and just a few seconds later, The door opened, revealing Anthony who was staring at her and had a small smile on his face. Maria walked in as both of them didn't speak a word.

He shut the door as Maria continued staring at him and began having memories of last night, Her heart skipped a beat when she remembered his confession.

Anthony: Maria. . . How are you?

Maria: I'm better, Anthony.

He tilted his head, frowning a little. Was she upset at him? That worried him, Maybe he shouldn't have confessed his true feelings to her. . .

She took off her heels as Anthony kept staring at her before they both made it to the living room and sat down, Maria took a moment to admire his living room again as Crawford sat down, looking at her.

Maria: I. . . kept thinking about you. After last night, I couldn't sleep.

Anthony: Neither could I.

Both of them were silent, The tension in the air was a little awkward.

Maria: I wanted to check on you. After everything.

Anthony: I'm sorry, I really thought it would have been great inviting you to the gala but. . . *Sighs* Not the best night of my life.

Maria frowned, For the first time, He wasn't teasing or joking with her, He was disappointed, In himself, at his people. She felt bad for him.

Anthony: I'm a wealthy businessman, People can make rumours about me, People can say whatever they want about me, But last night. . . seeing you in the middle of it. Seeing you hurt, That's what broke me.

Maria: I-I thought i was causing this. Making your life harder then it should.

Anthony: No, You don't make my life harder, You're the first thing in years that hasn't felt like one.

Maria blinked, her heart skipped a beat as Anthony leaned forward and grabbed her fingers while staring at her.

Maria: Tony. . . Did you really mean what felt right to you?. . .

Anthony: Every word.

Her eyes lit up as she leaned forward to listen to his words carefully

Anthony: Life was just full of noise, Everyday felt the same, Nothing new and never a new feeling, But that day. . . When I walked into Lumerie & Ember. . I saw you. And you know what I'm gonna say next.

Maria: *Chuckles and blushes* I know what it is.

Anthony: Those gorgeous blue eyes of yours.

She giggled again which made him smile as he continued speaking to her.

Anthony: You didn't ask for anything. You didn't want anything from me. And somehow that made me want to give you everything.

Maria: I didn't think someone like you would even notice someone like me. I still don't get it.

Anthony: I never understood either but when i saw you. . . Everything felt different and it just happened to draw me closer to you.

He lifted her hand, pressing a kiss to her knuckles as Maria was blushing.

Anthony: I know your younger and we shouldn't. . . But I'm not letting that stop us, That's exactly what I told my mother that day.

Maria: *Eyes widen* But you said you didn't say anything to her that day

Anthony: *Smiles* Because i didn't deny it, I was in love with you, She knows that.

Maria looked surprised as Anthony continued holding her hand, Maria felt her heart beating faster as her gaze softened.

Maria: I'm worried, Tony. . . This might not work.

Anthony: We'll make it work, Maria. But just answer one question. . . Do we have something real?

And there was silence, Anthony continued holding her hand, waiting for her response. But Maria just stared at him, feeling a flutter in her heart, finding the rights words to say. . .

Anthony: Take your time.

As much as Maria was worried about the rumours, There was a part of her that didn't care, Anthony made her feel special, He was one of the reasons why she motivated herself further into work in case she would see him again. It wasn't only about her beauty and cooking skills, it was her.

Anthony was getting a bit worried when Maria wasn't responding to him, And that's when she moved her hand away from him. He looked at her until Maria got up and slowly straddled on his lap which surprised him, His eyes were widen as she shifted, adjusting herself while he kept staring at her.

Anthony: Maria. . .

Maria: It's real to me too.

Their eyes locked, Unspoken feelings spoken to the air, His eyes sparkled and stared at Maria with love before moving a strand of her hair, Deep down, He felt so relieved as Maria smiled at him which made him smile back.

Anthony: Say it.

Maria: *Blushes* I. . . I love you.

Anthony: *Grins* There we go, You made this old man happy.

Maria: Tony!

They both laughed as Maria wrapped both of her hands around his neck while Anthony finally moved his hands to her waist.

Anthony: Careful, sweetheart. Don't break my leg.

Maria: *Laughs harder* Okay, Now you're making this weird

Anthony: *Laughs* I'm just acting like my age.

Maria: Well your not sixty or older

Anthony: Face it, Maria. You've got a thing for older men with charm, wit. . . And really, really good suits.

Maria: *Rolls her eyes and blushes* I might have to accept that.

Anthony: Good, Now, do me a favor and never get off my lap again.

He kissed her nose as Maria giggled before leaning to kiss his forehead as Anthony continued staring at her, With the same love in his eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anne and Steve were seen at his house as they returned home after watching a movie and along the way, They bought tiramisu. They excitedly ran to the kitchen as Steve placed the box on the counter while Anne reached for the knife.

Anne: Don't tell Benjamin about this.

Steve: Why not?

Anne: Cause he'll say we betrayed him, We always ate the tiramisu he bakes.

Steve: *Laughs* Well, This can be our dirty little secret.

Anne: Mmm, I like the sound of that.

Steve: What? The tiramisu or the secret part?

Anne: Both, But mostly the part where it's just between us.

She giggled, grabbing his arm again and placed the knife next to him as Steve had a smirk on his face, pulling her close.

Steve: I think I like our little secrets. . . especially when they taste like ~you~ and tiramisu.

Anne: Isn't that a dangerous combo?

She giggled as Steve smiled, reaching for the knife as she rested her chin on his shoulder, watching him cut a neat slice of the tiramisu and placed it on the plate

Steve: For the best chef and lady

Anne: How chivalrous of you, Mr. Miller.

Steve: Only for you, sweetheart.

She blushed as Steve cut another slice for himself, Anne leaned in and kissed him on the cheek which made him smile until he accidentally tilted the tiramisu as Anne laughed while his eyes were widen.

Steve: Chef Winters! Look what you've done! My perfect tiramisu slice is ruined!

Anne: *Laughs* Don't be so dramatic, Stevie. It's artistically tilted.

Steve: *Smiles* See? Look at the effect you have on me. At least i didn't faint from a kiss to the cheek.

Anne: Oh come on, Steve. This isn't the first time i kissed you.

Steve: *Smirks* True, but every time you do, I lose my self control.

Anne: *Laughs* Steve!

Steve: Steve!? Sweetheart, You were literally calling me "Daddy" yesterday

Anne: . . . . That was.. . . different. Totally different.

She bit her lip and grabbed her plate, walking away as Steve couldn't help but laugh before he took his plate and followed her to the dining table, They both sat down as Steve smiled at her.

Steve: Tiramisu isn't the only thing getting messy around here.

Anne: *Giggles* Is that so?

Steve: Oh yeah. But I'll forgive you. . . if you feed me the first bite.

Anne laughed before taking her spoon and gave him the first bite, His eyes lit up as he was chewing on the cake while Anne smiled, admiring him.

Steve: Okay, I take it all back. Kiss me anytime you want.

Anne: Yesss!

He laughed again as Anne decided to feed him another bite, At first he refused but Anne convinced him and there was a flutter in his heart when she fed him a bite, As both of them were eating, Steve was quietly staring at her, admiring her when she wasn't looking.

Suddenly the doorbell rang as both of them looked at each other, Steve told her to wait for a moment, He got up and went to check on the door as Winters stopped eating and waited for him to come back.

That's when Anne heard a notification on Steve's phone, She looked at it, deciding if she should check it or not. Steve was talking to someone at the door as Winters shrugged and grabbed his phone.

And that's when she saw who messaged, Her eyes were widen in anger, It was Kelly. She's still not leaving Steve alone.

Kelly: [Steve, Please talk to me. I'm sorry about what happened at the restaurant.]

[I broke up with him, I promise i won't do it again, Steve. I realised you were truly the one]

Anne: *Mutters* Is she stupid?

She sighed heavily and noticed Steve was still talking to the person, That's when Anne had a devious idea and opened the message, She noticed he has been ignoring her messages for a long time.

Steve(Anne): [You really think you can just pop back in with a sad little paragraph and he'll forget the fact that you invited a guy to your house, dry-humped him while you thought Steve was still at work?]

[He's been busy anyway. . . mostly with me. 😏]

Kelly: [Excuse me!?]

[Anne!? Why do you have Steve's phone!? And why are you texting me?]

Steve(Anne); [ None of your business but like what i was saying, I'm been bent over to the kitchen counter, On the bed, Even his desk, Multiple times. But hey, I'm sure your sorry means a lot]

Kelly: [WHY ARE YOU TELLING ME THIS!?!?!?]

Steve(Anne): [Just so you know you can't have him back anyway, You made one bad mistake. He's never coming back to you. . . At least he will, For me 😌]

Kelly: [OH MY GOD, YOUR DISGUSTING!]

Steve(Anne): Disgusting? Honey, please. What's disgusting is you begging for a man you cheated on like he's some free sample at Costco. Calm down, Kelly.]

Kelly: [You're such a snake, Anne! I can't believe you're this desperate! He loved me once!]

Steve(Anne): Loved you once.... Now he just loves when I ride his stress away and he flips me around the way he wants.

[And right after that, He cooks the most delicious meals or buys ice cream for me. 😇]

Kelly: [STOP! I HATE YOU!!!]

Steve(Anne): [Ooooh, Someone's fuming. Anyways, Me and Steve need to enjoy our tiramisu, Best of luck finding another man who'll tolerate your emotional damage and fake tears. 😊]

Anne was giggling through the messages before blocking her number, Winters quickly pulled her phone out, saving Kelly's number before deleting the conversation and placed the phone aside, The front door was finally shut as Steve walked in while she smiled, As if she didn't do anything.

Steve: Sorry, It was just my neighbour. He needed help with something.

Anne: *Smiles* Don't worry about it, I was waiting for you.

Steve: You didn't have too, Also what made you so smiley?

Anne: The tiramisu is delicious.

She giggled as He had a smile on his face, nodding.

Steve: Guess I'll buy this more often, Just to see that smile of yours.

She blushed and smiled harder as both of them continued talking to each other, Deep down, Anne felt so satisfied that she called Kelly out once again, And now that she saved her number on her phone, She was planning on doing it again. . . Only if Kelly does something again.

Later on, Both of them were done with the dessert as Steve was cleaning the plates while Anne was watching him, She had a smile on her face and asked him a question.

Anne: Hey Steve, Do you think I'm a snake?

Steve: *Confused* Wait what? Why would you say that?

Anne: *Shrugs* Curious, Because of the way i act.

Steve dried his hands with the towel before he walked towards her, grabbing both of her hands, His eyes softened.

Steve: Not at all, I think you're the only one who's ever had my back without asking for anything in return.

Anne's face softened, The teasing look on her face faded into something more honest, Steve smiled before gently placing a hand on her cheek.

Steve: You're just protective and a little unhinged. But in the best way.

Anne blushed and laughed at his response before he placed a kiss on her forehead which made her heart skip a beat again.

Anne: You're adorable.

Steve: Just being honest.

They both stared at each other as everything was silent for a moment. When Steve continued looking into her eyes.

He felt a flutter in his heart and he didn't want to look away.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading and stay strong!!! :)