Page 37 of Deadline for Love

I looked at him, but the opportunity to show my gratitude to him had passed. The older ladies next to me started talking louder again, and one of them gave me a sweet smile. “Isn’t he wonderful? Julian is so adorable.”

“Julian?” I asked.

“Yes, Julian Blackwood. He’s been working here part-time for a while now. Since last week, he’s been doing the weekend shift, too! He’s too good to us,” she explained.

The ladies giggled, which made me laugh too. The atmosphere here was really great.

I took a sip of coffee and felt all my senses calm down, gradually chasing the fatigue out of my body. I was slowly getting my appetite back and was happy to have anothersmall piece of cake to sweeten my spirits. I remembered my neighborhood that way; it was so vibrant and joyful. We didn’t know each other by name, but the faces here were all familiar.

By the time I’d finished, I felt better and, above all, more relaxed. The ladies included me in their conversations, giving me other exciting thoughts.

Thanks to them, time passed quicker, and I recharged my energy, which was guaranteed to keep me awake for the day.

“Thank you, the cake was delicious,” I said as I set everything down in the square for the tableware and positioned myself in front of the counter.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it! But I must admit, we get the cakes and small pastries delivered, so it’s not house-made.” Julian spoke loudly at first, but then he pretended to whisper the last sentence loud enough for everyone to hear.

I laughed because of his statement. “Even if that’s the case, it was still delicious.” Then I pretended to whisper, “And I don’t think anyone will notice if you don’t tell them. It tasted homemade.”

He grinned, which looked cute, and then pushed his glasses upright with one finger. “You might be right.”

I held out my hand. “I’m Bella, I actually visit the bakery a fair amount.”

He hesitated momentarily, which made me put my hand down again, a little embarrassed, but then he took it. “I’m Julian. It’s a shame we haven’t met before.” He stared deep into my eyes as if looking directly into my mind, which made me really uncomfortable. But the kind expression on his face made the feeling stop. I released his hand and then placed it on top of the counter.

“Actually, I only do the afternoon shifts, but my two colleagues have asked me to take over the weekend duty for a while.”

“Are Anjali and Rebecca not feeling well?”

“They’re fine, Rebecca should be back soon. She just had to do something. Anjali is off work. Do you want me to leave a message?” He ran his hands over his straight black hair and sighed.

I laughed and answered his question with a smile. “No, but it would be nice if you could say hi to them for me. I’ll drop by again in the next few days.”

“All right! Maybe we’ll see each other again.”

I called an Uber after leaving the store to take me to Enzo’s restaurant. Nia and Nathan hadn't arrived yet. The plan was to be there at one pm, but I arrived a little earlier, so I sat down with Maria.

Enzo usually arrived very early to check on everything and ensure everything ran smoothly when it got busy. However, he was with us right now and proudly patted his grandchild on the shoulder. He, too, was happy that I was writing an article about his family.

He was ready for all the questions and the recording device. We picked the best spot in the store for the picture, and Maria and Enzo followed us happily. They simply wanted to listen to the interview. But I could tell how nervous Fernando was, so I whisked them away and started the interview.

It was lovely to hear him speak, and his responses were so cute that I had to pull myself together to not interrupt him with my commentary.

I already had the article in mind,‘A Family Restaurant’s Generational Legacy: The Story of Casa Santiago.’

Once I finished the interview, I stopped the recording and couldn’t help but leap and hug Fernando.

“It’s a shame school didn’t work out. I remember how much you used to love drawing,” I rumbled. During the interview, he was asked many personal questions, including about other jobs he wanted to do. Fernando had studied in Riverdale and claimed it dulled his passion rather than inspired it.

“Studying wasn’t my style. I’d rather continue drawing as my hobby and do what I enjoy... Hey! I haven’t taken any photos yet. Watch my outfit,” he laughed but wrapped his arms around me, too.

“Yeah, don’t worry, you look fine! The clothes won’t get mucky.”

“Ehem! We’ve just arrived, and you two are cuddling again!”

Nia’s voice sounded behind me, amused, although she actually wanted to sound reprimanding.

I let go of Fernando and turned to see Nia and Nathan, who had probably just entered the store. Nia was wearing casual jeans and a black sweater and was holding her camera. Nathan was standing behind her, but I couldn’t look at him as Nia snapped photos with a flash without warning, forcing me to close my eyes.

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