Chapter 3

They arrived at the restaurant quickly where their table is waiting for them. The hostess offered to take their coats. Daniel couldn't help but to immediately reach over and help Betty take hers off, and while neither would say it, the brush of his fingertips on her neck and shoulders as he pulled the coat down caused a bit of a jolt between the two, and the quickly shared soft but questioning look was not lost on the hostess as she smiled to herself as she checked their coats, then lead the newly fidgeting couple towards their table. She took them towards a half table booth combo in the back corner, the last available window seat. The booth side wrapped along the backing brick wall as more tables lined the wall leading towards a bar, while larger tables filled the dining area where a stage was set up opposite on the other side of the bar. It even provided space where the center tables could be removed to open up space for a dance floor in the evenings.

Tonight a small jazz quartet was playing, and the room as a whole was inviting and relaxing. It seemed perfect for almost any occasion, and even offered a more family friendly section and atmosphere during the day, but at night it turned into a more adult catered restaurant, easily transferred to a romantic setting, or for business dinners alike. Betty had never been here in the evening before and didn't realize how much the place transformed for its dinner service. She decided to not let it bother her. She'd eaten plenty of meals in a similar type of venue for meetings and meet ups with friends, why would it be any different with Daniel?

Daniel found himself sincerely impressed by the venue and could easily tell why Betty had recommended it, and it gave him something else to focus on instead of her but failed miserably as he watched her following politely behind the hostess.

"Daniel! Come on!" Betty appeared by his side and tugged his arm as he had stopped at the top of the stairs that led down into the main dining room, following along as they walked to their table. Daniel would have pulled her chair out for her but she kept moving towards the booth seat, and he simply pulled the chair out for himself before smirking at her as she settled herself in and set her purse on the seat beside her just beneath the window. The hostess informed them that their server would be with them shortly. Daniel thought he saw the hostess smirking as she headed back to her post, but shook it off.

They remained silent as they settled in and were greeted by their server with menus. Daniel was surprised when Betty ordered wine for the both of them, usually she let him choose the wine. He was impressed. They were given breadsticks and he couldn't help but to fidget with them as started to nervously much on a few pieces and Betty seemed to be following suit. Daniel was the first to break the silence by clearing his throat, this time fidgeting with the salt and pepper shakers. Betty smiled at him trying to be encouraging, but she had to admit she was more nervous in this moment than she had ever been around Daniel before. She couldn't figure it out, what was so different about this time? Aside from the obvious, she could think of a million reasons that might be the answer, but none seemed to fit the bill.

"Betty… I"

"Here you are miss." The server appeared again with glasses and a bottle and poured a small amount for Betty to try. She swirled it in her glass and sniffed before taking a small sip, and her small smile and subtle nod showed her approval to him so he poured the glasses. He took their orders, Betty sticking to her word and ordering the lasagna, and Daniel chose the same, adding that they would both have starter salads. Betty nodded her agreement. The server left taking their menus with him, and left the two to sip their wine, silence still permeating the air between them.

"Daniel?"

"Hmm?"

"It sounded like you were about to say something before the wine came?"

"Oh, yeah… uh…"

"It's okay Daniel, it's just me." She smiled at him, and suddenly he felt a little bit of weight fall off his shoulders at seeing that signature feature of hers. He smiled back genuinely, but he felt very much like a shy teenager. If he hadn't already drank half his glass he wouldn't be entirely sure if the rush of blood to his cheeks was from the alcohol or from her, in fact he still wasn't sure.

"I was just going to ask how you like your new job?" he sat up a little straighter in his seat.

"Oh, um, yeah I really love it. It wasn't easy at first, but I think I've proved myself. I like the people I'm working with, for the most part at least. Things seem to be going well now, and we're working on our first issue. Mr. Dunne seems to trust me, so that helps."

"Betty, that's great! I knew you'd be amazing at this. I always told you that you'd be the boss someday!"

"Thank you Daniel. I mean, like I said at first it wasn't so great. Not too many people were thrilled to be working with this young American novice, but once I was able to show them what I can do they started to come around. Most of the people I work with are young writers like me, but there are so many talented people who have been working with Dunne a lot longer than me, so I had to navigate that. It took a few weeks, but in just a couple months I think we'll be ready to launch." Betty couldn't control how animated she was becoming at talking about her upcoming projects, and Daniel was content to listen to her even as she talked through their salad course. He was relaxing more and more, if he dared he would even say it was suddenly starting to feel like old times again. Their main course arrived and she took a break to start eating her meal. He took the opportunity to try it for himself and once he took that first bite his eyes went wide as he stared back and forth between his plate and Betty. A smile formed on her lips as she saw the look on his face. It was absolutely delicious and she knew he liked it, because he suddenly took a large second bite and practically moaned at how good it tasted.

"Good choice?" she asked gently.

"Oh my god Betty, this is amazing. I never knew lasagna was this good."

"You mean you've never had lasagna before?"

"Not that I can remember, no."

"Oh that's right, I forgot I was talking to the guy who actually likes to eat snails." She made a disgusted face and Daniel nearly choked as he began laughing at her expression. She couldn't help but laugh along with him. She was feeling much more relaxed now. This was starting to feel a lot better, like them again.

"So, aside from work, how do you like London?" he asked as they calmed down from their burst of laughter. They didn't notice the wait staff watching them from afar, smiling as they saw the couple relax and open up before their boss came by to break it up and send them back to work.

"I haven't actually had much of a chance to enjoy it. I mean I do get to walk by some really great sites but I'm always on my way to and from meetings, I've only really spent time getting my apartment set up and doing some shopping here and there."

"You mean you're just now getting an apartment?"

"Oh yeah, no it's fine. It wasn't ready like they said it would be when I first got here so I spent a couple weeks in the hotel while they finished it up, but it's good now, except for some of the boxes I'm still unpacking." She smiled as she took another bite.

"That's great. Do you like it?"

"Yeah! I mean it's a different type of living than New York, and by that I mean there's a washing machine in my kitchen, but other than that it's just an average place. It suits me though and I got them to paint the walls yellow so it feels more like home."

"Wow. I'm happy for you. It sounds like things are starting to come together for you."

"They are. I feel like I'm where I'm supposed to be right now. I miss everyone, but this is something I've always wanted. I couldn't pass it up." She looked at him, searching his eyes for something. He stared back seeing the uneasiness in her features.

"Betty…" Daniel reached over the table and squeezed her hand, "I know you couldn't. I owe you a real apology. I should have never made it so hard for you to leave. I should have signed the paper right away, I definitely shouldn't have burned it. Once I realized how stupid I was being, I knew I had to let you go. I would never stop you from following your dreams, I hope you know that. I am so proud of you, Betty. I'm truly happy for you. I'm sorry I wasn't a better friend. I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye. I'm sorry Betty."

Betty tried to hold back her tears. She didn't know how much she needed to hear those words until she had heard them. She had begun this new life intent on forgetting about New York and Mode and focus on the future, but leaving was the hardest thing she ever had to do, and for reasons still unbeknownst to her not being able to say goodbye to Daniel was the hardest part of all. Maybe it was the unresolved way they left things, or maybe there was more at work here, but she couldn't go there. For now she was just happy that her friend was here, in London, with her. She would focus on the moment. She rested her free hand on top of his that was still holding hers.

"I know Daniel. I know. I'm sorry too. I should have talked to you about it, but it all happened so fast. I just didn't want to have to say goodbye yet. I couldn't face that, so I tried to keep it a secret. That morning was the first time I told anyone at Mode, and it spread like wildfire before I could come to you. It's not an excuse, but I really did want to talk to you first. I just didn't want anything to change between us. You're my best friend."

"You're mine too, and I'm here now. That's all that matters for now right?" He smiled at her, leaning down to catch her gaze and they seemed to have an unspoken conversation, both feeling the other forgive them and understanding their meanings without having to say a word. He didn't want to admit how much holding her hands was making his heart flutter, but even he knew that telling her about his newfound feelings would be too much too fast. He needed to earn her trust back first. The first step of that would be exactly what he said, being there in London with her. It would have to be enough for now. They were still on shaky ground in a lot of ways. Just being friends again would be enough if meant that Betty could still be in his life, and if she would have him, let him back into hers. She squeezed his hands again and smiled at him.

"Yes." They let their hands linger for a few moments just reassuring each other before returning to their meals.

Short chapter I know. I'm so sorry for the delay, but I needed to take some time to take care of family business and get my head back on straight. I've just had a birthday recently and it threw me for a loop, your classic "another year gone" existential crisis sort of thing. Anyway, I'm going to try to keep writing more and continue this story for all you lovely readers out there. I'm not sure how close I will be keeping everything to my original story, but I am going to slow some parts down in order to achieve my writing goals better and really focus on building the story and characters and hopefully have less mistakes. So please, leave a review, let me know your thoughts, and feel free to send ideas or requests for things you may like to see as this story progresses. Much love! xXxXx