019 Dangerously Warm

Lana

Ethan didn't stop talking, but I tuned him out. Whatever he was spouting from that damn mouth of his didn’t get to my head.

Karl slowly stood up from his seat, and Ethan turned towards him.

“Mr. Moretti, I advise you to stay away from her. She's nothing but a gold digger and a slu-” Karl didn't wait for Ethan to complete his statement before punching him hard on his nose.

I stood up in surprise as Ethan staggered to the floor. He held his nose with one hand.

Blood rushed out of the already broken nose, and I turned to Karl, who had a cold glare on his face as he stared at Ethan.

“Don't you dare speak about her in such a manner” Karl warned, and I felt a shiver run down my spine.

I have never heard him speak that way.

“Sorry for the inconvenience, love, let's leave.” He turned to me, his cold glare completely turning warm.

I nodded in response, and we walked out of the restaurant, leaving a groaning Ethan on the floor as he tried to stop his bleeding nose.

The punch Karl gave to Ethan is the highlight of my evening. Satisfying is a word barely able to describe what I feel right now.

“Thank you” I said, as Karl started the engine and drove out of the parking lot.

“For?” Karl asked.

“hitting him” I answered, and Karl smiled.

“You don't need to thank me for that, love,” Karl responded. “I'm sorry we ran into him there. That restaurant would be getting a bad review from me for letting a parasite ruin our dinner,”

“you don't need to give the restaurant a bad review. No one expected Ethan to be there” I contradicted

“Sure” Karl replied calmly, his eyes focused on the road.

“Too bad the food is wasted” I sighed, and Karl chuckled but didn't reply.

The car fell into a comfortable silence and I brought out my phone from my bag.

Beatrice’s text popped in. She was only informing me that Lily would be spending the night at our place.

My mind wondered about the text I got this morning, and I sighed.

“Is something wrong?” Karl asked.

“No” I replied, and he didn't seem like he believed me, but he nodded.

I stared at his perfectly sculpted face, my heart raced at how handsome he looked from this angle.

He is no doubt the most handsome man I have ever seen, and I have seen my share of handsome men, even on TV.

I smiled a little. “Can't take your eyes off me, love?” I heard Karl say, and I blinked.

“I don’t know what you mean,” I quickly returned my eyes to my phone, and Karl smirked.

Oh Lana, what are you doing?

Haven't you learned your lesson yet? You're still recovering from Ethan.

I kept reprimanding myself as the car stopped in front of my apartment building.

“I would make sure our dinner isn't interrupted next time,” Karl said to me.

“There won't be a next time,” I muttered, but Karl smiled.

“Oh really?” he raised an eyebrow, and I opened the door and got down without answering him.

“Thank you for the ride,” I said and hurried into my apartment building.

When I got into the living room, I didn’t see Beatrice nor Lily. “I'm back” I yelled.

“In the kitchen” Beatrice replied loudly, and I walked towards the kitchen to meet them making…. What the hell were they making?

Lily is literally covered in flour while Beatrice was half covered in flour.

“What's going on here?” I asked curiously.

“We are making donuts” Lily squealed happily.

“It's almost 9pm” I blinked at Beatrice.

“She wanted homemade donuts” Beatrice pulled a face, and I rubbed my temples.

“You both should go take a shower, I would make the donuts” I said, stepping into the kitchen.

“You should take a shower first,” Beatrice said to me. “I would handle it” she added.

“I'd rather not have a burnt kitchen, Trixie,” I said and turned to Lily. “Aunt Beatrice would give you a bubble bath”

“Yaayy!” Lily jumped excitedly, and I smiled.

Beatrice took Lily to the bathroom to have a shower while I tried to salvage the damage done in the kitchen.

-

Beatrice walked back into the kitchen with Lily, both looking refreshed and definitely not covered in flour anymore.

“I believe you can take it from here” I said to Beatrice, and she nodded.

“Don't forget to keep it at a low heat” I said as I walked out of the kitchen.

I took a warm bath and wore comfortable clothes, then walked back into the leaving room.

Beatrice was already done, and she brought the donuts to the living room while Lily hopped repeatedly.

“Donuts, donuts, donuts” she sang like a hymn.

“Seat quietly if you want to eat” Beatrice said, and Lily quickly sat down quietly.

“When you're done eating, we would call it a night” I said, and Lily nodded.

She could barely hear me. Her entire focus was on the donut in front of her, and I chuckled.

I wish I was like Lily. Not having anything to worry about would be heaven.

“Aunt Lana, when would I get to see your handsome boyfriend again?” Lily asked, and Beatrice choked on her donut.

“Boyfriend?” She turned to me.

“Yes, haven't you seen him? He is really handsome” Lily answered, smiling.

“Oh wow,” Beatrice smiled too as she blinked at me.

“Lily doesn't know what she's talking about,” I clarified, and Beatrice scoffed.

"How did she get the idea of a 'boyfriend' then?" Beatrice asked.

"she's right in front of you. Ask her yourself," I responded, and Beatrice rolled her eyes.

"They were standing so close. It was romantic," Lily chuckled.

"Who is teaching you these things?" Beatrice complained.

"I wonder when you're the one with her most of the time," I said.

"Slander," Beatrice retorted, and I laughed.