"Amelia, sweetness, can you be quicker making my tea? I'm parched over here." moans Mr.Knox, my rather overbearing boss. "And if you could have those manuscripts proof read and on my desk by the time you break for lunch, that'll be fab." he suggests, although I know better than to assume there is room for compromise.

The fact that it's already 4.30 in the afternoon and I've still yet to eat is proof of that.

"Sure, I'll just grab your tea now and crack on with my pile." I sigh, pushing myself away from my desk to wander through into the communal kitchen.

I soon enter the open plan space and immediately spot Sally making her usual 4.30 coffee in her customary 'I hate Monday's' mug. She doesn't notice me at first and I watch in awe as she gently hums along to the radio, certainly giving Beyoncé a run for her money. Once I'm happy I've got my fill, I edge closer to the kettle and make my presence known, instantly being rewarded with a show stopping smile afterwards.

"Sorry babe, I was miles away. How was the wedding? Meet any gorgeous hunks?" she questions, curious as ever.

"Maybe." I reply, carful not to give much away in my way of explaining. How was your weekend?" I then ask, grabbing a mug from the top cupboard and reaching for a fresh spoon in the drawer.

"Boring, uneventful, mundane." she replies, spooning some coffee granules into her mug. "Have you had lunch yet or has boss man still got a firm wedge up his ass?" she laughs, offering me a side glance daring enough not to be lied to.

I giggle in response and shake my head; mumbling a quick "Nothing I can't handle." before dropping a tea bag in my own mug.

"You're too kind for your own good sometimes. Don't let him walk all over you." she demands, ever the friend in looking out for me.

"I'll eat soon, Sal, I promise." I squeak, whilst adding some water and a dash of milk to my concoction; just how he likes it.

She mutters a bunch of incoherent words in response but I don't hear much as I swiftly make my exit to take Mr Knox his tea.

"Great, I need those manuscripts sharp, Amelia. You can't leave here until I have them." he states when I position the mug in front of his scowling face.

I nod my head in response and leave immediately, ignoring the sharp rumble of hunger that cuts through my stomach in an agonising punch. I return to my desk in no time to find a ham sandwich and an apple waiting for me, along side a note that instantly has my mood brightening.

I chew down on my cheek to suppress the inevitable laughter and make sure to dispose of the note in fear of it reaching wrong hands. I then take to my seat and sink my teeth into the most delicious ham sandwich I've ever experienced and thank Sally a million times over in my head for being the God send she is.

Where would I be with her? Starving, no doubt.

~~~~

By the time 5.30 comes around, I have all manuscripts filed and finished, ready for Mr Knox to asses, per his request. I hastily plonk the heavy load down on his desk with a professional smile that I have become so very accustomed to and voice out my polite goodbyes before the infuriating man can land any more work on me. After that, I exit the building with a determined jog and a slight spring to my step, making sure to grab my purse on the way out and mentally preparing myself for my customary fifteen minute walk home. It's not long before I find myself soaking up the evenings sun and its while I'm enjoying the golden rays that I become aware of something rather unexpected in the office parking lot.

Aidan, leaning against his old red and black Motorcycle with a helmet I recognise as the one I used to wear, has the most adorable smirk playing on his lips, instantly making me forget about my shitty day at work.

"Who the hell is that hottie and what do I have to do to get my own?" asks Sally, startling me with her sudden appearance behind me.

I laugh at her sheer bluntness and raise an amused eyebrow at her ogling expression.

"You already have your own hottie." I reminded her, returning my longing gaze to Aidan. "Or have you forgotten about Ben?" I add, regretting doing so as I seemingly trigger a sour expression.

"Don't ever mention that name again if you want me to keep supplying you with nutritious lunches." she replies, sounding venomous in her statement.

Ouch, there's no doubting something went horribly wrong in that relationship.

"Amelia, darling, are you just going stand there admiring me all night or are you going to get your ass over here and kiss me?" shouts Aidan, ever the gentleman in his request.

Sally's jaw drops to the floor within seconds of him opening his mouth and with a smirk that is unmistakably suggestive, she widens her greens on me.

"Shit, he's your hottie?" she asks, or rather begs, desperate for more information.

"Looks like it." I wink, leaving her on the steps as I saunter my way over to an increasingly impatient looking Aidan. "See you tomorrow, Sal and thanks for the sandwich!" I shout, reaching him in record time and landing the sloppiest of kisses on his lips.

"Don't mention it, babe and I expect all the dirty details tomorrow." she responds, offering us both an approving smile whist entering her red mini.

I giggle at her words and place a hand over my mouth to stop more laughter from pouring out, noticing Aidan's smile at my doing so.

"Hey." I shyly squeak, enjoying the feel of his hands around my waist. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey yourself," he smiles, landing a kiss to my temple. "and I'm here to pick you up. Good day at work?" he adds, looking worried when he's met with nothing but a tired smile.

"I'm just glad it's over. Are you taking me for a ride?" I question, pointing towards the beast with an eager smile.

I used to love riding on that thing with my arms wrapped around his waist. It's one of the many things I miss about Aidan.

"Why are you glad it's over?" he asks, completely ignoring my original question.

"Oh nothing, just my boss being a dick as per." I breath, unaffected by his sudden tensed up jaw.

"Is he nasty with you? Because if he's nasty to you I'll kick his ass, Amelia. No one messes with my girl and upsets her." he presses, clearly outraged by Mr Knox' behaviour, which is interesting considering he's never actually met the man.

I quickly dismiss his assumptions and desperately try to ignore the jolt of hurt that pulses through me at the mention of me being his girl. I may be living in my own Aidan-Amelia bubble at the moment but I'm certainly not delusional enough to actually believe we belong to one another. It's best I don't kid myself with things that will simply never happen.

"Please, Aidan. I'd rather not talk about work. He isn't nasty, just demanding is all." I ensure, reaching up on my tiptoes to land a big kiss on his cheek. "Thank you for looking out for me, though." I acknowledge, genuinely grateful for his concern.

"Of course, darling, I worry about you." he admits, looking past me and at the office doors, as if weighing up his options.

Thankfully, his hard expression drops and is replaced with a soft, playful glint as he positions the helmet on my head, careful not to trap my hair.

"You ready, beautiful?" he asks, taking off his leather jacket to wrap the thick material around my small frame.

His smell immediately invades my senses, knocking my giddiness up a level and I swear if I weren't currently restrained by a helmet, I'd attack his mouth in the most inappropriate way possible.

"Ready for what?" I question, readying myself for the ride of my life as I mount the leather seat and eagerly anticipate the familiar vibrations that signal the start of our journey.

"Who knows, let's see where we end up. Hold on tight, darling and remember don't let go." states Aidan over his shoulder as he, too, positions himself on the drivers seat.

I wrap my hands tightly around his stomach and rest my chin on his broad shoulder, enjoying the terrifyingly exciting roar that sounds as he brings the engine to life.

"I'll never let go, Aidan."

And I truly mean that; in more ways than one.

~~~~

Approximately ten minutes later we pull up to a small Italian themed restutant with fairy lights hanging from every square inch, the entire building emulating a very mysterious aura. It's white, pebble dashed exterior provides its customers with a sense of authentic Italian culture and the cute red, white and green flags are a nice touch to the buildings sense of fun.

"What's this? A date?" I ask, unable to hide my delight as Aidan kills the engine.

"Of course, I figured you could use a distraction from work." answers Aidan, taking my helmet from my head as I sit staring at the hustle and bustle of a relatively young couple attempting to control their three small children.

The boy can't be much older than four years old and with a smirk that undeniably screams 'mischief' I find myself smiling at his boyish ways, enjoying his carefree nature. The other two look slightly younger and are girls, twins perhaps, and I watch in horror as the shoelaces on both their feet loosen. I tense my entire body top to bottom as I anticipate the inevitable and sure enough, seconds later both girls trip over their feet, followed by an earth shattering scream that penetrates the air throughout the entire parking lot. The Dad quickly rushes to their aid but before he even gets close, the young boy is next to his two sisters in no time, offing the pair a reassuring hug to comfort their cries. Aidan bares witness to the scene playing out before us and I know exactly what is going on in his head as a deep sigh falls from his lips and a frown line appears on his forehead.

"Hey, you okay?" I ask, reaching up to caress his slightly stubbled jaw, the action immediately grabbing his attention.

"Yeah, it's just-"

"I know." I assure, placing my lips softly against his own to capture some of the pain. "In another life, maybe?" I whisper, hating the deep chill that appears to run between us both as the reality of the situation sets in.

That will never be us.

Aidan rests his forehead against mine for a little while, simply absorbing my every feature whist remaining silent in his thoughts. I don't press for information and instead, share his grief as we both undoubtedly think about our unborn child, who ironically would've been four by now.

"I love you." he whispers, eventually breaking the silence. "Are you ready to go in?" he then asks, plastering on a big smile, no doubt for my benefit.

Before I even reply, he takes my hand and pulls me off of the vehicle, wrapping a protective arm around my shoulders whilst doing so. Durning all this, I have no choice but to follow his lead as he practically drags me through the doors of the resteraunt and I soon find myself uncontrollably laughing at his eager attitude. We reach the entrance in record breaking time and are greeted by a rather cute looking fellow who oozes all things Italian.

"Ciao, how-may-help-you-both, today?" he asks, his broken English only adding to the experience.

"Hi, table for two under Aidan." comes Aidan's cool reply, the excitement in his tone certainly hard to miss.

The realisation that he made a reservation and therefore had the evening planned this entire time has my heart jumping for joy and my smile increasing tenfold.

"Ah, sì, follow me." marvels out waiter, far too enthusiastic for a man merely partaking in his day job.

He happily seats us at a corner table, looking out over what appears to be a hidden garden and with the sun slowly setting over the magnificent scenery, I can't help but think he's positioned us here on purpose. It's very romantic.

"Drinks for you and your wife, sir?" questions the close to combusting waiter, whose name I notice is Marco, courtesy of his name tag.

I snap my head up immediately at the mention of being Aidan's wife and recoil in horror as Aidan simply nods his head.

"Please. Do you want wine, darling?" he asks, shooting me a warm smile, reassuring enough to have me sinking back into my chair.

"Yes please, red." I confirm, eyeing him suspiciously.

"And a coke for me." adds Aidan, winking at me as Marco saunters away to fulfil our drinks order. "I'm driving."

"What the hell was that?" I ask, slightly surprised by his lack of acknowledgement.

"What? He assumed." he laughs, making a grab for my hand, to which I let him.

"And you didn't correct him." I scorn, only half serious in my telling off.

His face immediately breaks out into a look resembling amusement and as he brings up my hand to kiss every knuckle, I melt further into my chair.

"No, I didn't." he smirks, dropping my hand as Marco returns with our drinks, the overly optimistic man certainly not sensing mine and Aidan's desires to be left alone.

He begins making suggestions regarding tonight specials and when Aidan rejects the garlic mushrooms for starters, all hell breaks loose as Marco dives head first into a full blown historical account of the dish and its heritage, explaining in great detail why passing up on it would be a huge mistake. I laugh at his over the top speech and proceed to order both myself and Aidan the garlic mushrooms to start and the lasagne for mains, to which Aidan shoots me a thankful look for. The chirpy Italian then rushes away to make our order known to the chefs and we both share an amusing glance as the man in question can be heard through the kitchen wall.

"I like it here. Have you been before?" I ask, taking a sip of my wine; its rich taste gliding past my tastebuds with great ease.

"Kind of. It used to be a diner. My dad always brought me and Kyle here when we were kids." explains Aidan, seemingly reminiscing on the happy memory. "There used to be a park out back that we'd play on." he adds, pointing towards the garden that shows no sign of holding a park for kids now.

"That's cute. I like the garden, maybe we can have a look around after our food?" I suggest, slightly mesmerised by the beautifully decorated landscape.

"Sure, I'd like that." smiles Aidan. "You look beautiful tonight, by the way. I like that colour on you." he adds, pointing towards my red blouse with an awfully suggestive glint playing in his eyes. "You look sexy in red."

His knee brushes against mine underneath the table and I watch in shock as his hands begins to travel up my skirt, threatening to breach inappropriate places.

"Aidan." I warn, desperately trying to shoo his hand away before Marco comes back with our starters.

"Yes?" he simply responds, knowing full well what he's doing to my mind and body.

"Your starters!" exclaims Marco, physically jumping out at us from nowhere, two steaming hot plates in hand.

Aidan loses all grip on my upper thigh as a direct result of our interruption and offers me a wink before taking hold of both his knife and fork.

"Later, darling." he promises, making me question my ability to hold on for that long.

I'd have him now if it were up to me.

"Later." I repeat, matching his smirk, with my own slightly suggestive one.

Later indeed.

~~~~