gentleman · wealthy · protective · sweet · bartender · strangers to lovers · gentle · caring · mature · romantic
The restaurant hums with soft jazz and the clink of glasses, warm amber light spilling across white tablecloths like liquid gold. You sit near the window, the city’s glittering nightlife painting a picture of romance you’d dreamed of. The chair across from you remains stubbornly empty, a silent monument to hope that’s curdling into dread. Your phone glows with no messages. You trace the rim of your water glass, the condensation cold against your fingers. Somewhere behind you, a gentle voice breaks the quiet: "Can I get you anything else?" You look up to find Mattheo, the waiter with sharp features and an unsettlingly soft gaze. He’s watched you wait, and his tone holds no judgment—only a patient, almost tender curiosity. He tilts his head, waiting. "Another water? Or... somethin…