"Now... the very best part of the meal. It'll make your breath smell but that's an easy fix, and it's worth it." He said to me, handing me the garlic bread.

"Oh my goodness, it smells divine." I smiled, unwrapping mine.

I took a bite and my eyes widened.

"How?!" I asked.

"It's the most simple thing ever. I'll teach you how to make it." He smiled at me.

"Yes, please!" I laughed, devouring more and more of mine. "My God. Dating you is going to do good things for my diet."

"Why?" Gabe asked with a frown.

"I don't really have much time for food... I usually just grab a muffin at the cafeteria in the hospital." I told him honestly.

"Ava! You're no longer allowed going a day without a good breakfast lunch and date." He said.

"Breakfast, lunch and date?" I laughed, unable to control my laughter anymore.

"Yes. My dinner is reserved every day to have with you." He said, kissing my cheek.

"Aw. You're such a cutie." I smiled.

Once we finished our food, we finished the large drinks we'd both ordered and then Gabriel took all of our paper boxes to the recycling bin nearby.

"That's when I realized that there was no plastic involved in the packaging. It was all paper bags and paper boxes, and the spoons and forks were wooden. I admired the care for the environment. I was sure it was expensive, but it wasn't difficult to see that this family didn't have a single care in the world about the profit they made. It was all about being good people.

The fact that Sophie had a separate kitchen where all the leftovers went out for free every night, was so incredible. I admired that they cared about wasting their food and found a much better way to handle the leftovers. I wanted to do that with them one day. Hopefully when I only had two shifts at the hospital, I'd have more time for that. I could take long shifts at the clinic that Dr. Lee, Rico and I were working on. That way I could have two days at the hospital, and three at the clinic, which would give me weekends off.

I opened the double chocolate brownies box and the beautiful rich chocolatey smell invaded my senses. I took one in my hand and then Gabe sat down beside me.

"Ready for the best brownie you've ever had in your life?" He asked me.

"Yes!" I said.

"Ok, take a bite." He said, watching me carefully as I did.

I started laughing when I tasted it. I took bite after bite and then the brownie was gone. I sighed in contentment, taking another brownie in my hand and feeling a tear fall onto my cheek.

"Are you crying, Ava?" Gabriel chuckled.

"Shut up, this is emotionally destructive." I said to him.

"Ava... it's ok. You can have all the brownies." He said to me.

I brought a brownie to his lips and he bit into it.

"Take that one, the rest are mine." I told him.

"Ok." He laughed as I picked up the box of brownies and slowly devoured them.

"Oh my God." I said, putting the box beside me once they were all gone.

"You ok?" He asked me.

"I am... but those are like actually the best. The best everything. Those are the best things to exist." I said to him.

"You're adorable." He laughed.

"Stop it." I said, hiding my face. I had never cried in front of a man other than my father. And maybe my attending in medical school, but he didn't know, so it's fine.

"Aw. Come here. Give me a hug." Gabe said.

"I don't like crying in front of people." I told him.

"I can tell." He said. "But why are brownies making you cry?"

"I don't know. It's been a rough day and they're actually just that good." I said, wiping away my tears as he hugged me.

"They are pretty amazing. I never expected double chocolate brownies to be your weakness, Dr. Dara." He laughed, kissing my cheek and letting me go.

I shrugged and laughed, wiping away all the remaining tears.

"Feel better?" He asked me.

"Yeah. Much better." I laughed.

"Good. Taste this now. I don't think you'll cry about cheesecake." He said to me.

"You never know with Sophie's cooking." I laughed.

"I know right." He said, laughing and bringing a forkful to my lips.

I took that light and creamy blueberry cheesecake into my mouth and it was the best cheesecake that I'd ever tasted.

"How?! Can you explain to me how she does this?" I asked Gabriel.

"I swear she's actually just a food genius." Gabe told me.

"But she can't be making all of this stuff fresh everyday, can she?" I asked.

"Well... she actually does. But she has two assistant chefs. My grandmother used to work there for a while before she passed away, but now she just has two other chefs that she trusts. She oversees everything and adds all the final touches. But you know how Rico is always in the hospital by like six in the morning. That's because he's woken up with Sophie, taken her to the restaurant and gotten some breakfast before coming into to work. She's there every day by four thirty, putting everything on the stove and in the oven. The lamb goes in really early in the morning and it's ready by dinner time." He explained to me.

"Oh wow... that's really early." I said.

"Yeah. But that means she doesn't have to stay there all day. Because by dinner there's more than enough food, fresh and ready to serve. Angel's is big on dinner mostly. But there are breakfast options of course, and most of those are super easy, like two minute prep stuff, and the lunches are mostly just sandwiches and wraps." Gabriel laughed.

"So, how do they have such a huge variety of foods though?" I asked.

"Well, they don't make everything everyday. You saw how the menu was digital... right? It's built into the tables. So it allows Sophie to change it up on the go. If she doesn't have time for falafel, then she can just remove them... you see what I mean?" Gabe asked.

"That's so smart! What about the desserts?" Ava asked.

"Well, what she does is she makes the desserts in mass amounts, the cheesecake can last her days, and the brownies, she bakes a fraction of the batter everyday and the rest can stay in storage for whenever she needs it. That way everyone gets fresh brownies. It's a lot of work. But she has all the help she needs and I've been trained to help her. Even take whole days for her if she's sick. Theo is as well. He takes over some days." Gabe explained

"Kiara said she liked to cook." I mentioned.

"Yeah. Sophie's training her. She's really good at just following the recipe and getting near perfect results, so it won't be long before she can take some days. But Vidal would probably take some convincing if it came down to letting her take a day." Gabe said.

"Oh... why does he get to make a decision like that for her?" I asked, feeling a little annoyed.

"Oh... he's her legal caregiver... she's still in her recovery process after some pretty messed up stuff in her past. He would be right to worry about it, but she seems to be getting to a state where she can handle it." Gabe explained.

"Do you think she'll be ok with explaining what happened to me? I just want to understand. She seems like an amazing girl and I'd love to get to know her more, but I don't want to push anything." I said.

"She'll explain. You just have to ask her. She's doing really well these days." Gabe told me.

"That's great. Her and I will have to arrange a get together or something." I smiled.

"Oh yeah, you definitely should, we're planning her birthday party. It's coming up really soon!"

"When?" I asked.

"It's in like two weeks." I said.

"Oh man... that's right around the time I need to take the licensing exam." I sighed.

"It's alright. You can miss the party and just send her a happy birthday text." Gabe smiled.

"But that makes me a bad friend." I sighed.

"No it doesn't." He laughed. "You're a busy girl."

"I know. But I want to get her a gift. And I will. I'll just send it with you after my exams." I insisted.

"Alright. That works." He smiled at me.

We shared the rest of the cheesecake and then we were off to the first destination.

"I found a place that's open all night, and we get to compete!" I told him.

"And what is this place?" He asked me with a chuckle.

"An arcade!" I cheered.

"Oh, this will definitely be fun!" He chuckled.

"Yeah, if fun means getting beaten at everything." I said, winking at him as I ran towards the car.

"Do you mean win, Dr. Dara?" He asked me.

"In your dreams, Mr. Morelli." I laughed.

"Come here, I need some medicine, Doc." He said to me.

"Do you? I can't give you any medicine if I don't know what you've got." I said to him, letting him wrap his arms around me.

"You're the doctor, you've got to diagnose me." He said to me.

"I can't give a diagnosis if I don't know your symptoms." I told him.

"My symptoms are that, my heart is beating so fast that it's starting to skip beats. I feel nervous and shaky, I have the urge to plant my lips on yours." He listed. "So? What's your diagnosis, Doc?"

"My diagnosis...? Well, this one is hard. I think it's one of two things... do you feel lightheaded?" I asked him, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him a little closer, making his breath hitch.

"Yes. How did you know." He asked, his voice strained as if he was out of breath.

I let my fingers find the hair at the back of his head and I played with them, letting a few of my fingers tickle the back of his neck.

"What about shortness of breath?" I chuckled.

"Yes." He breathed out.

"Tachycardia it is..." I sighed, patting his cheek.

"You're actually freaking me out with that stuff, stop it." He said, sighing and forgetting the kiss.

"Don't you want your treatment?" I asked him.

"I do." He said.

"Too bad. This doctor can't help you. She can only make it worse. Come here." I said, planting my lips on his and letting him suck my bottom lip between his teeth, biting it gently and releasing it. This was the best, most intimate kiss I'd ever had in my life.

I let my jaw light up from the tingles that spread through it and I pulled him in closer to deepen the kiss. His hand rubbed my back gently, but not in a sexual way at all. I loved how safe everything felt with Gabe. I wasn't walking on eggshells with him, wondering when everything would fall apart.

And I was finally ready to make this official. I made rules, but maybe rules really are meant to be broken. I had made him wait two whole years, that was enough.

I pulled away from the kiss and looked him in his eyes.

"I have a question, Gabe." I said to him.

"What is it?" He asked me.

"Will you be my boyfriend?" I asked him.

"You said after three dates, this is the second and it's barely started." He said to me.

"It doesn't matter, will you?" I asked again.

"Yes! Ava, of course I will!" He said, his eyes lighting up and his smile widening.

"Then I'm your girl now. And I can't see anything changing that anytime soon." I told him.

"You win, Girlfriend." He said to me, planting a peck on my lips.

"I win? At what?" I asked him.

"This is better than yesterday's date. You win." He told me.

"But you always have the chance to try and beat me." I laughed.

"Nothing will beat this. Not until you marry me." He said to me.

I smiled and hugged him tightly. This amazing man was mine, and no one could ever take him away from me. Not unless something bad happened between us. But I really couldn't see anything getting between us.

"Ready to get beaten at some games, boyfriend?" I asked him.

"No, but I am ready to beat you." He told me, kissing my cheek and opening the car door for me.

I smiled and climbed in, ready to start this new chapter of my life with a fun night.