I didn't feel nervous about this date or anything until I saw Angel's. It was pretty fancy and huge and I knew his family members were in there. Suddenly I felt like I might not belong. Like maybe I was pushing myself into an environment and a family where I wasn't necessarily wanted. I knew they were nice people, but I still felt anxious.

"Oh no... it's fancy, I feel like I'm underdressed." I said, looking down at my black blouse with a pink floral design on it and my black high waisted jeans.

"You look perfect, Ava. Besides at the rate this date is going, we might end up going out back and eating there. Might as well get privately embarrassed right?" He asked me.

"Like... is everyone in the family going to be there?" I asked him.

"No. Not everyone. But quite a few of them." He told me.

"Ok... But maybe I should've gone home and changed into something nicer for your family at least." I said.

"Nah. You look gorgeous. You met Ari already and if she approves, everyone does." Gabe laughed. "They all already love you, Ava, there's nothing to worry about."

"Ok. Fine, let's go." I said, taking his hand and letting him lead me in. I was half hiding behind his arm as we walked in, struggling to keep calm.

"Hey, Coconut, you get the booth by the back door." A sweet woman that looked a lot like Arabella said.

"Alright. Thanks, Soph." Gabe said, leaning forward and planting a kiss on her cheek.

She gave off a cute vibe even though she was old enough to be my mother. I knew that she was Gabe's sister though and I admired how he treated her.

"Hi, Ava." She said with a smile, waving at me.

I waved back and whispered a greeting back to her as Gabriel lead me to our booth.

We sat down and Gabe handed me a menu. There were so many options that I didn't know what to pick.

"Oh my God. There's so much good stuff! You pick for me." I said to Gabriel.

"Alright. Well, I'm going to get the lamb and rice option... it's really good, but don't order the same thing as me, I'll ask for extra plates and we can share it all.... I'm getting salad as well, the burgers are amazing, you get three small ones and you can pick which burger you want exactly.... or you could get the chicken and veggies... or the kebabs or some falafel or shawarma... or we could get a special order and get you a little of everything." Gabe chuckled.

"Uhm... what's your favourite thing to get?" I asked him.

"The rice and lamb, the lamb is just... there are actually no words... but let's get you something else... I personally would get a falafel roll... oh my God, they're.... just amazing." Gabe sighed.

"Can I get two?" I asked him.

"Why don't we just get three. Two for you, one for me and I'll get an extra half a serving of the lamb and rice for you." Gabe said.

"That sounds perfect. This place needs an all you can eat option.. Everything sounds delicious!" I giggled.

"Everything literally is. The Italian stuff is also good... do you want me to get us a serving of some spaghetti?" He asked me.

"No, no.... next time... I'm already unsure if I can finish all this." I laughed.

"And what about drinks? I'm just going to get water... you can get that yoghurt drink... it goes well with the lamb... or with the falafel you can literally get anything." He chuckled.

"You say falafel with an accent." I pointed out.

"Yeah... my dad is half-arab... both Sophie and I have gotten down the pronounciations for everything. We can't speak it like him, even he's a little shaky with his fluency, but he's a natural since our grandmother was very insistent that he learn." Gabe explained.

"That's super cool. Dad never taught me any Hindi, he tried when I was younger, but I didn't pay enough attention. I know some words are similar to Arabic though." I chuckled.

"Yeah, I've heard that. Why don't we try learning some together? I'll even teach you a little Arabic and Italian if you want." He told me.

"That's an amazing idea, actually. It could be fun to learn some languages together." I smiled.

"Yeah, it could be. Ok... we need a backup plan for how we're going to digest all the food before we go jet skiing." He chuckled.

"Uhm... the walk might help a little, but we can always find a spot to sit for a while.... and let's both just lay out the fact that we will be bloated as hell after this meal and we're going to get into wetsuits without any judgement from the other person." I said nervously.

"Of course, no judgement. You always look beautiful, Ava. There's no need to worry, at all." He said to me, taking my hand and planting a kiss on the back of it.

"My God, you're too cute." I said, making him chuckle.

Then a man walked out of the waiter's door and came over to us with a large grin on his face. He looked quite a bit like Dr. Ferrari.

"Hello. My name is Theo, how can I help this lovely couple, today? I hope this man is treating a lovely lady like yourself well." He said.

"Theo. Get over yourself." Gabriel said, his face turning bright red.

I laughed and I watched Theo wiggle his eyebrows.

"Fine, let me introduce myself at least." Theo laughed.

Gabriel sighed and nodded.

"Hi, Ava. I'm Theo, you're future nephew." He laughed, sticking out his right hand for a handshake.

I shook his hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Future Nephew." I laughed.

"It's nice to meet you too, Future Aunt." He laughed. "So, what would you like to eat tonight?"

"Well I'm going to get three falafel sandwich roll thingies. And... I'll just get some water." I said with a laugh.

"A girl that can eat! I love it!" Theo said, holding his left hand up for a high-five. I noticed a wedding band around his ring finger and made a mental note to ask Gabe about it.

I gave him the high-five he was looking for with a laugh.

"Oh, and just so you're aware, you lucked out, because this man right here can cook." Theo said, winking at me.

I chuckled and looked at a red-faced Gabriel.

"Ok... lamb and rice as usual with water, but double the serving size. And don't forget the salad." Gabriel said to his nephew, handing him the menu and shooing him away.

"So mean." Theo said, pouting at his uncle.

"So annoying." Gabriel glared, making Theo scurry back into the kitchen area.

"He's funny." I laughed.

"He's annoying." Gabe sighed.

"Is he married?" I asked.

"No." Gabe said.

"Oh... but he was wearing a wedding band." I said.

"Yeah. He wears it because his girlfriend from high school gave it to him. He still loves her... never really stopped. They were separated when her family moved... I kind of doubt that she's even over him. From what I've heard, they were deeply in love and Theo's been through hell because of their separation. Poor kid." Gabe sighed.

"Ah, I see. I feel bad. Why aren't they together now? I mean with all the social media, it's definitely not far fetched that he reach out to her or something." I said.

"Yeah, but he's afraid to find her with another boyfriend." Gabe sighed.

"I see... and she hasn't reached out either?" Ava asked.

"Nope." Gabe said.

"I see. He seems like a great guy though, he wouldn't have trouble finding someone else if she never came back into his life." I said.

"You're right. He wouldn't. But it's about whether or not he'll ever agree to move on." Gabe said. "But anyways... back to us... why don't we get to know each other, huh?"

"Mhm... it's embarrassing story time... you go first." I said to him.

"Alright... one time, Theo, Vidal, Evan, and Romeo, all my nephews, took me out for my birthday. I was turning eighteen that day and they were all excited that I was finally an adult. They took me to a big park, and everyone in the family was there, but my Aunt Isabella was late along with Hazel. But then I saw a woman with long red hair like Hazel and a woman beside her with brown, slightly greying hair and I swear to God, they looked so much like Hazel and my aunt from behind." He sighed, his face already red.

"Then....?" I asked.

"Then I went to say hi to my aunt... and... it wasn't my aunt... but I called her auntie and asked for a birthday hug and oh my goodness it was the most embarrassing moment of my entire life." He said to me, rubbing his forehead.

"How did she react?" I laughed wholeheartedly.

"She hugged me anyway and said happy birthday. She called me a cutie and pinched my cheek... oh my God... it was bad, Ava.... Bad!" Gabe said.

"Aw... that's so cute though. And she's right, you are a cutie." I giggled, reaching over and pinching his cheek, making him swat my hand away from his face in embarrassment.

"Ok, your turn." He said, still red as a tomato.

"Hm... mine is in junior high." I said.

"What happened in junior high?" He asked me, looking intrigued before another man came out.

This time I was pretty sure it was Emelia's son. He kind of looked like her and he seemed shy like she'd described him.

"Hello, Dear Uncle." He laughed, looking behind him at the door to the kitchen where Vidal and Theo were chuckling at him.

"You're not smooth, Ev." Gabriel said, his cheeks still burning up.

"Then why are your cheeks red, Dear Uncle?" Evan asked.

"Oh, get lost." Gabe sighed.

"Ok, hi Ava." Evan said, turning a little pink.

"Hi." I chuckled, waving as he put our plates down in front of us.

"Enjoy your meal." He said with a smile.

"Thank you." I chuckled.

I saw Kiara walk out in front of Theo and Vidal and grab them both by their ears pulling them into the kitchen. She waved at me after that and I smiled, waving back at her.

"She's the best." Gabriel laughed.

"She is." I chuckled.

"She's so sweet, and so supportive." Gabe told me.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah. I don't think I've ever seen Vidal so happy. He got the perfect person for him." Gabe said, almost seeming proud.

"Your relationship seems special with these guys." I smiled.

"Yeah. They're kind of more like brothers than nephews. I've been through everything with them. Although I was two years older than Vidal and Theo, we still had that close bond like brothers. They were much closer, and Evan was always with them. I felt like I was the older one, the one that looked after everyone and made sure they were doing well." Gabe smiled, his eyes softening at the mention of his nephews.

I smiled, still listening, I loved how he spoke about them.

"I've had times with all of them. Times where I was the one they turned to, the shoulder they cried on or just leaned on. And I'm pretty damn proud that it was me." He chuckled.

"That's amazing, Gabriel." I smiled.

"What about you? Do you know your cousins and stuff?" He asked me.

"I do know some and that's where the embarrassing story comes in. I have so many male cousins it's not even funny. But I have one male cousin that's around my age and... when we were younger, I went back home with my parents. I think I was twelve. I sat down with her and started blabbering away, in English, of course. She wasn't responding, just sitting there and listening to me. And then I was done and another one of my cousins decided it was time to reveal to me that she doesn't understand a word I'm saying. She didn't know English." I sighed, my face heating up from the embarrassment.

"Oh, come on, that's not that embarrassing." Gabe laughed.

"Gabe, I was there for a whole twenty minutes telling her the most random things and wondering why she was so silent and then they told me she couldn't understand anything I said, and it wasn't just a few of them. It was like a bunch of cousins." I sighed.

"Ok that's pretty embarrassing." Gabe laughed.

"Yeah it really was." I chuckled. "But to answer your question, I don't have any cousins that I'm that close with. I wish I did, but I just don't spend enough time with them to really get that close. We rarely ever got to go back to India, and so it was just a few summers here and there."

"That's a shame, what about your mother's side of the family?" He asked me.

"Oh, no cousins." I chuckled.

"Wow. None at all?" I asked her.

"Nope. Mom was an only child." I laughed.

"Oh wow." Gabe said.

"Yeah. Kinda like me." I said with a laugh.

"Do you wish you had a sibling?" Gabe asked me.

"I guess sometimes I think how cool it would be, but other times I like that I'm the only one. I know siblings can be annoying... so that's something I don't really have to deal with." I chuckled.

"Well... if you pick me as your lifelong partner, which you hopefully will, then you're going to have to get used to the huge family thing." He told me.

"Of course. I love family and hanging out with them. It's like one big friend group that you don't have to be embarrassed with at all." I smiled.

"Exactly. It's a beautiful thing. Ari is going to claim you as a sister. She's very excited about having more girls around. The poor thing grew up around all five of us boys and we were rough, loud and inattentive. So, little soft spoken Ari fell behind. I still feel back about it." He sighed.

"Aw. You're such a softie... always looking after everyone, huh?" I asked him, making him laugh and turn red.

"I guess so. That's just in my nature though." He chuckled.

"You're a really good guy, Gabe. I'm glad I met you that day and that I did the honour of stitching up the hero's arm." I smiled.

"I'm happy I was your first ER patient. You're special, Ava. And I'm the luckiest man ever to be sitting here in front of you." He smiled.

"Ok, ok.... stop being so sappy and eat." I laughed, pointing to our food with a smile.

The food was absolutely delicious. The lamb was incredible, I mean how is it possible for meat to legitimately melt in your mouth.

The falafel sandwiches were amazing as well. They quickly became my favourite sandwiches in the world. Gabriel ate one of them of course, and although I would've loved to eat more from his lamb dish, I couldn't eat much after those falafel wraps.

"You ready to get going?" Gabe asked me after we were done.

"Uhm, no.... give a girl a second to breath, Gabe." I said, laying back against the comfortable seat I was in. "Goodness me, I'm stuffed."

Suddenly, a new completely different man popped out of the kitchen and walked over, making Gabe facepalm and turn red before anything happened.

"Well, hello there, lovely lady." He said, taking my hand and kissing the back of it.

"Leave her alone, Remi." Gabe said.

"Tell me, how did such an odd man convince such a smart, beautiful, kind woman like yourself to go on a date with him?" He asked me.

I chuckled at him, glancing at a very embarrassed Gabriel.

"Another nephew?"

"Of course. But I'm much cuter and smoother than my uncle." Remi said to me, winking for effect.

"Oh my God, go away, Remi." Gabe said.

"He loves me, I promise. All that lamb is getting to his head though." Remi said.

I chuckled and then sat up straighter, watching both the guys bicker a little before Remi took my hand.

"Well, it was nice to meet you, Ava. I'm Romeo Ferrari... the best lawyer in the city besides my grandfather and soon I'll also be your favourite nephew. Now, I may be his nephew, but we all know he looks up to me, not the other way around." Remi said to me.

"Oh my Goodness." I chuckled, watching Gabe lightly smack his head against the table in front of him.

"He gets embarrassed too easily. But between me and you, he secretly loves it." Remi laughed.

"Are you Dr. Ferrari's son? Theo is like a dumbed down version of you." I chuckled.

"Theo is my cousin. Believe it or not. My brother is Vidal. He's very boring, but I make up for that, don't you worry." He chuckled.

"This one's cute, Gabe." I laughed.

"See. What did I tell you, Uncle... I'm a cutie! Get used to me!" Remi joked enthusiastically. "Now. Why don't we take Ava out back, and she can meet the family properly? Only if you're comfortable, of course."

"Uhm... what do you think, Gabe?" I asked him.

"Let's go. We can lounge around and just let ourselves recover from this meal for a while." He chuckled.

"Alright... but, I just want them to like me..." I said softly.

"Don't worry, Ava. Gabe is like everyone's favourite, so if he's picked you, everyone likes you." Remi chuckled.

"Is he really everyone's favourite?" I asked.

"No. I actually am... but that's besides the point. I like you, so they'll like you too." Remi said.

I nodded and I took Gabe's hand, following him into the back room or kitchen or wherever they were all coming from. My heart was thumping loudly in my chest. There were no thoughts of whether I was taking this too far and getting too comfortable too early. All that was going through my head was wanting them to like me, to be different from all the other mean people I'd met in my life, because they already felt like my family.