4

"Says the person who associates with liars every day," he replies, crossing his arms as he tilts his head to the side. Kenna and I have been close since we were kids. We went through kindergarten, middle school, and high school together because we were inseparable. If it wasn't for her wanting to go to medical school, we could have been in the same business school. There are many reasons why we are best friends, one of them is because I pushed her down the swing. Well that was just the beginning. "They weren't terrible at it though," I tell the truth and she replies with another laugh, "Being alone waiting for a cab...another statement of going to lunch with your co-workers? Because I don't see anyone—" I add and she rolls her eyes, as expected. She exhales, "You got me. Now what? Are you going to arrest me?" She raises an eyebrow as I take a few steps closer to her, grabbing both of her wrists from hers before pretending to slap her wrists with an imaginary one, leaving us both grinning. "Arrested. Now you're going to have lunch with me," I tell her, starting to walk toward the car after letting go of her wrists. She follows beside me in her heels as we approach the car. Just as Gerald gets out of the car to open the door for us, I grab my hand to stop him. I open the door myself and motion for Kenna to go in first. She smiles at me, shaking her head at my behavior before stepping into the one I'm after. Gerald backs up to the car before glancing in the rearview mirror, waiting for him to give her a location. Hi Flynn. Kenna says as she smiles at him and he smiles back. Since Flynn became my assistant, they're close enough to be considered friends. I have never forbidden them to be friends, anyway, easier for me because he can call her for me. Hi, Kenna. He replies, looking in my direction. "Where to, Mr. Ashton?" Gerard asks. "Coffee Lalo," I answer before turning to look at Kenna, seeing that she is looking at me with a mischievous smile. She has her arms crossed over her chest before leaning back in the seat, "Why are you looking at me like that?" I ask, pretending to ignore him. If she is able to follow the tracks, she would have actually guessed it. I have never liked going to Café Lalo because of how many people there are, but she loves going there, she says that she has always liked empanadas... probably because she likes the people who work there. So with me taking her to one of the places she loves but I don't, she must have guessed I'm hiding something from her. "No reason," she replies after glancing at my phone, seeing that I'm currently holding it out of her sight. As soon as she sees that I'm currently going through the notes on my phone, she leans back in her seat after clearing her throat. With a smile, I keep scrolling. When we arrive at Café Lalo, I quickly leaveout of the car before walking to her side and opening the door for her. She tucks a few strands of hair behind her ear as she looks at the coffee, her eyes sparkling with happiness, I assumed she would be. "I'll be back in an hour," I tell Gerald before turning to Flynn, "Here. Go to lunch," I hand him a hundred dollar bill as I walk into the cafe with Kenna. Then I turn to see that Gerald has left with Flynn. "Kenna, it's been a while since you've been here," says Samuel, one of the waiters here with a smile on his face. He turns to look at me, “You must be Aidan…Kenna's friend,” he adds as he steps in front of us as I turn to see that the cafe is full of people. I shake Samuel's hand, "It's nice to finally meet you. Kenna has told me a lot about her friendly friend…you're different in person." He frowns a bit as she laughs, nodding her head. before avoiding my eye contact. "I'm not surprised," I reply, knowing that Kenna must have lied a few things about me. She does that all the time, finding me to be the source of her enjoyment. As soon as we both turn to look at the tables, one of the customers is already making his exit. 0.00 "Today is your lucky day. I...didn't have to wait long. I'll take your orders in a bit," Samuel says as soon as Kenna and I are sitting near the wall. I run my hand carelessly down my coat as I sit, awkwardly in my seat with her looking at me. "You wanted to come here. At least show that you want to be here," he says, placing the menu in the middle of the table, "That's why we're not having lunch together. Clearly you're not." I don't want to be here," he adds, laughing as he continues to look at the menu. I clear my throat, "Says who?" "Your face," she replies. I'm silent for a few seconds, "Let's order, okay?" I say before taking the menu out of her and she laughs, giving in to me. I instantly remember when we had lunch together... I like to go to expensive places with less people, while Kenna likes the opposite. Preferring to be in affordable restaurants or cafes, any of us would feel uncomfortable. She has always been the most understanding. When we were kids, her father's company almost went bankrupt, but my father brought her back to where she is now. It is now a well-known finance company that is currently expanding as well. However, she saw it when it was worst. Since then, she hated going to expensive places or owning anything outside her salary range. She has never taken a dime from her parents because she knew that the pain they went through... transformed her into who she is now. If I were ever to compare myself to her, I would be labeled as the spoiled rich guy, while she is exactly the independent angel. That's one of our differences, however, it brings the goodness in both of us... putting us back in place, reminding usIt's always that nothing lasts forever. "I'm going to go with a regular sandwich and water," she murmurs, interrupting my thoughts as he looks at me, "What about you?" She asks, waiting for my answer. As she cleared her throat, "I'll have the same." She then calls out to Samuel, who walks toward us with a notepad in his hand, writing down our order before returning to the cashier, entering our orders into the system. "Okay… Aidan, talk to me." Suddenly, which makes me say, raising an eyebrow at her, "You're obviously keeping something from me and I can see right through you. You brought me here to my favorite cafe for lunch, it's not a place for everyone." thing of the day for you," she adds. Our eyes focus on each other as I try to think through the consequences. She might start freaking out over my decision because it's not something a friend would normally ask. Even if it's to help a friend... still, it's crazy to ask. "Kenna, do you want to marry me?" I ask. Both of her blue eyes widened in surprise before she tilted her head back to laugh, making me look at her. Her laugh seems to have gotten everyone's attention, as most of them turn to look at her, but she doesn't bother. When she looks at me, she shows how she thinks this is a joke when I'm actually…deadly serious.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***