The long walk had been oddly comforting to Sophia. It's been ages since she had a very entertaining conversation with anybody. Aiden was relishing the moment they finally got to spend together outside the office.

He always knew it could happen, but then when would always be up to Sophia. Slowly but surely, he will have his reward.

"Mr. Cooper, thank you… " she started, but Aiden interrupted her.

"Sophia, we've known each other for a while now. Not only are we business partners, but neighbors too. You should stop calling me Mr. Cooper. I prefer Aiden," he replied.

"Oh, okay… Aiden," she tried saying his name. Aiden smiled that on her lips, his name sounded more melodic.

"Aiden, thank you for the groceries. Just give me your bank account, so I can send you the money," she said.

"Sophia, come on, I just explained we are neighbors. Are you trying to block me again?" he sighed.

"But…," Sophia was once again interrupted.

"It's just a small amount, but if you really feel bad, you can invite me for dinner. Tomorrow night would be perfect since I will be free," he pressed.

"Yeah, fine. Come to dinner tomorrow," in a conceding tone.

That night as she was lying on her bed Sophia felt like she had been cheated. Aiden had just persuaded her to cook him dinner in exchange for such a very small favor and had already scheduled it the following night without consulting her.

Aiden, on the other hand, had not expected to make so much progress today. Their chance meeting at the supermarket was not really a coincidence. He had followed her earlier when he saw her walking out of their building. He kept a good distance so she would not spot him. It just so happened that she had no cash, which worked for him. And dinner was a last-minute decision he thought of when she said she wanted to pay for groceries.

He did not have many chances to spend time with her, so he took every opportunity that came his way. Once they become a couple, he would insist they spend as much time together, but that was jumping the gun. He had to be patient.

-=-

The next evening Aiden came knocking on Sophia's door bearing gifts for dinner. He had dressed casually in a brown shirt and blue pants that showed his more relaxed side.

Sophia saw his gifts, "You didn't have to bring anything. Dinner was on me, remember," she said as he let him into her house. He brought a flower bouquet and a bag of pastries and macarons from the most famous bakery in the city.

"You invited me for dinner, so I cannot come empty-handed," he replied.

"Hmmm… Didn't he invite himself to dinner?" Sophia thought?

"Thank you for the gifts then, and please make yourself comfortable. I'm serving dinner in a few minutes," she said.

She was surprised when she came out from the kitchen and saw that the living room lights had been dimmed and there were candles on the dining room table.

"What did you do?" she asked.

"Well, the weather was chilly, so I thought having a candlelit dinner would be ideal," Aiden replied unapologetically.

Sophia did not like people going through her things. It was obviously clear that Aiden had opened the cabinets to find the candles. If he was someone else then she would have definitely scolded him. But Aiden was so friendly and nice that she could not bring herself to be rude to him.

She just let the whole thing slide, it was such a trivial matter that she didn't think she should even mention it. Plus, it would probably have ruined dinner if he got offended.

"This curry is very tasty," he said as he ladled more food on his plate.

"I'll be sure to let him know," Sophia replied.

"Who?" he questioned.

"The person who cooked all this food, of course," Sophia said.

"You did not cook this?" He got disappointed, all this time he had been thinking that all the amazing dishes on the table were made by her own hands.

"Oh no, there's this famous chef from Z restaurant who retired recently because he wanted to spend time with his grandparents. I've known him for a long time, so whenever I want something special cooked for me, all I need to do is request him to do it," Sophia said.

"I thought you did," he said.

"I was in the office until 6pm. Where will I have time? Plus, I don't cook," she stated.

He smirked, "It's fine that you can't, I can cook for you in the future," he was thinking. The evening went by smoothly as they talked more about business and other general topics, nothing too personal to put her off.

Let's have those pastries for desserts, those freshly baked ones are always good," Aiden suggested.

"Oh sure, I forgot about those," she proceeded to get them some pastries.

After they finished a few slices, Aiden noticed that Sophia had cream on her face, but instead of telling her about it, he just smiled.

The romantic ambiance lent by the candles and the dimmed lighting made her look more beautiful than before. Those pink lips had him biting his, to stop from attacking her lips right now. And that whipped cream on her chin gave him ideas on which parts of her body he wanted to spread it on.

"Aide! Aiden! I've been calling you for a while now, you seem to be somewhere else," she said.

"Oh, what were you asking?" he asked.

"Do you want one more piece of cake?" she asked for the nth time.

Aiden shook his head no, "Feel free to have another one if you want to."

"No, I don't think I can take one more bite," she said as she got up to clean the table.

Aiden stood up to block her. As he moved closer, Sophia stepped back until she hit the table. It might have been the darkness or the intensity in his eyes that prevented her from saying anything. She clutched the plates tightly as she waited for his move, nervousness leaked out her pores.

Aiden's hot breath fell on her ear. She could see his hand move, and goosebumps appeared on her arms while waiting for him to touch her waist. But instead, she saw a napkin being waved in front of her face.

"Huh?" she asked, cluelessly as she blinked her eyes.

"Use this to wipe the cream off your chin," he took a step back to see her reaction.

"Oh, okay," she took the napkin hurriedly and walked away, her face crimson red.