Love and history

Scaredy-cat

Watching Gaspar try on his seventeenth suit, Mr. Nashville wondered what was wrong with his son.

“This is your forth blind date. Why are you acting like it’s your first?” Mr. Nashville asked.

“My blind date is at 10:00 a.m., and I’m meeting Summer and her friends by 11:00 a.m. I need to look dashing so her friends will drool over me.”

“Your sixth date is by noon. Make sure you get home before then.”

“I will.”

“Do you need a bodyguard?”

“Why?”

“Everyone says she’s crazy, so I suppose you need a bodyguard.”

“Who?”

“My friend’s daughter.”

Gaspar scoffed.

“How do I look?” he asked after buttoning the jacket, ignoring his father's words about needing a bodyguard.

“Like a handsome prince.”

“You look the same. Get to it already,” Cecily yelled. She was just passing through her father's room and saw both of them

“Why? Do you want me to leave? Do you have plans or something? Checking out my new suits?” Gaspar yelled back. He had noticed that the sneakers she wore was his, her legs had grown bigger.

“I don’t care what you think. I’m just mad at you for giving me a photograph of what… what was it again… whatever it was… as a gift.” Cecily replied. She was expecting a "big gift" she called it from her brother for his return to Texas but got an artwork only.

“Are you still mad at that?”

“Of course.”

“Come on. I’ll get you something on my way back.”

“What’s that?” She demanded.

“A boyfriend.”

“I already have one.”

“I thought you broke up with Silas.” Mr. Nashville said, his head turning quickly to her direction at her words.

“And I moved on.” Cecily scoffed.

“Kids these days. We used to wait till her hearts heal, which might take years before dating,” Mr. Nashville sighed.

“We’re not in the 1970s, Dad.” Cecily rolled her eyes.

“Tell him that,” Gaspar said and walked out of his dad’s room to his.

He walked out of his room a few minutes later, and a very sweet scent filled the air.

He strode elegantly down the stairs.

“Dad, I’m leaving.”

Mr. Nashville left his room too and went down the stairs.

“Oh my God. What is this heavenly smell? Is it coming from you, son?” Mr. Nashville asked while inhaling.

“Yes.”

“Wow. I’m sure she’ll drool at first sight.”

“I know, right? I take after you.”

Both father and son laughed.

“I have to go.”

“Bye.” Mr. Nashville waved and smiled.

“He looks really excited. Does he like Summer?” Mr. Nashville mused and shrugged.

Gaspar arrived on time at the VIP’s restaurant.

He sat down and stared at the lobby.

He smiled when he caught the workers, females precisely, staring at him in awe.

Because he wanted a quiet place, he’d booked the whole place for an hour.

He ignored the workers and concentrated on his phone.

The sound of heels hitting the ground echoed, and Gaspar looked up from his phone.

Gaspar’s eyes lingered on the red stilettos, tracing the shimmery skinned legs up to the curves hidden beneath—

Here’s your page corrected — kept your banter and voice, fixed grammar + flow so it reads like a real author’s draft:

The red stilettos grew closer, and his face lost all color. He was taken aback, not just by her beauty but also by her unexpected presence. Amber walked toward Gaspar, frozen. Her face, which had been blank, transformed into shock and then burst into laughter.

“Is Mr. Nashville that busy to have sent his scaredy-cat assistant to his blind date?” Amber asked, emphasizing the word _scaredy-cat_.

Gaspar scoffed. “Good gracious. You’re my forth blind date. There’s no way I’m yours, because you’re definitely not my type. In case you’re about to beg me to date you—”

Amber’s response was laced with sarcasm. “Wouldn’t dream of it. You’re so charming.”

Gaspar smiled, but his expression faltered when he realized she was mocking him.

“Scaredy-cat, I have no intention of dating you, that's if you’re truly Mr. Gaspar Nashville. I’m off and free. Tell your father you don’t like me, everything’s perfect. Got it?” Amber said, turning to leave.

“Wait! Amber Brown, right?” Gaspar called out.

“Yes.” She turned to him

“I’m starting to think that you’re not as smart as you think you are. Can’t you read the situation? Our fathers are friends and want us to date to continue their friendship.”

“You’re right, but I’m smarter than you. And if our fathers want their friendship to continue, they could always marry each other.”

His eyes widened. “What?! You’re kidding, right?”

Amber smirked. “No, I’m not. But wait… is that…cologne? God… that’s the best cologne ever. I never knew you were smart enough to wear that…” Amber inhaled.

Gaspar’s expression transformed from annoyance to surprise. "You can recognize Elysium’s Breath?”

Amber’s eyes sparkled. “Of course! It’s one of the rarest and most expensive colognes in the world. Only a few bottles were produced, and each bottle costs a whopping $100,000.”

Gaspar’s eyes narrowed. “You’re a connoisseur, but do you know the history behind Elysium’s Breath?” Gaspar asked.

Amber’s smile was radiant. “It was created by the infamous perfumer, Aurelian Lefleur, who spent 10 years perfecting the blend. The heavenly fragrance is said to capture the very essence of the Elysian field — a paradise in Greek mythology.”

Gaspar was impressed. “You’re absolutely right. I didn’t expect you to know that. Most people would appreciate the scent and move on, but you appreciate the story behind it.”

“Exactly. But how did you know about it?" Amber asked, still in shock.

“I’m an explorer.” Gaspar replied, his eyes lit.

“Wow.”

“You?”

“I’m an antiquarian.”

“Cool. We have something in common.”

“Hey! Don’t think that just because we share a common interest, I’ll start dating you. Our fathers can keep their end of a contract, but you’re just a movie producer.”

“I am, but if you check my movie content, it’s neither sci-fi nor mystery-fantasy. It’s historical stuff,” Gaspar paused. “But if you know I’m a movie producer, you must like me to know that.”

“I bet you’re better at dreaming than our fathers. Any tourist who came in today can tell you’re a movie producer because your photos are all over the place — the airport, the bridges, everywhere. And what I kept thinking whenever I saw your face was, ‘That’s the i***t who wanted to hurt my Evelyn.’”

Gaspar scoffed in disappointment.

“I have to leave now.” Amber turned.

“Why?”

Amber kept walking to the exit but raised her voice so he could hear her. “I have to be somewhere by 11:00 a.m.”

“Same here, but there’s still time to spare.” Gaspar walked toward her.

“Spare? If you find pleasure in wasting time, I don’t.”

“Just listen. You talk too much. Between your beauty and the way you talk carelessly, I wonder which is more inexplicable,” Gaspar said, and Amber stopped in her tracks.

This was the first time his words hit her like a bomb. She folded her hand into a fist.

Gaspar, noticing it, moved back slowly and quickly changed the topic. He was even considering his father’s idea to bring a bodyguard whenever he had to see Amber Brown.

“I was thinking—”

Amber interrupted him, now facing him. “You’re so annoying and stupidly consistent.”

Gaspar, not wanting to anger her more, just said, “Thanks. It’s my talent. And I’m sure you wish you had a boyfriend like me.”

“Even if I was struck with leprosy and told my cure was you, I’d rather die. You’re NOT MY TYPE!”

Gaspar instinctively moved back. He wasn’t sure why he moved, but he thought his brain had remembered the spit she gave him after saying the same words at the airport, and instinctively made him retreat.

“You’re brutally blunt and witty.” Those were the only words that could come out of him.

“I’ll take that as a compliment because the synonym of witty is intelligent.” Amber said and walked away from him.

Gaspar chuckled and went after her. “I’m Gaspar Nashville, you know,” he started. “I have the looks, I’m good at everything, I’m smart, and I own 70% of my father’s shares. Why don’t you like me?” Gaspar found himself asking. He couldn’t understand why he found himself attracted to such a crazy woman. Was it her beauty or her— he didn’t know.

“I have a type. Looks, brains—”

Gaspar interrupted. “I’ve got all that.”

“And strength,” Amber continued, ignoring his words. “Just yesterday, you were scared of a puppy. A cute puppy, not a ferocious one. How can you protect me when you can’t stand a cute puppy?” she asked, and Gaspar looked down in shame.

“You’re a scaredy-cat, and nothing can change that. If you heard my family story, you’d run. You can’t protect me.”

Gaspar stood there, her words continuously hitting him like a bomb. _“You’re a scaredy-cat and nothing can change that… you can’t protect me.”_

A look of determination appeared on his face as he watched her walk out of the restaurant. Then he went after her. “Give me a chance to learn to protect you. I’ll do anything you want.”

“I thought you said you had somewhere to be,” Amber said, changing the topic. She was desperate to send him away and rush to meet Summer’s friend, who’d introduce her to his uncle — a victim of Marcucifer.

“I’ll cancel it.” Gaspar reached for his phone and made a call.

“I can’t make it, Sum. Just cancel it,” he said and hung up.

He turned to Amber. “See? I’ll cancel meetings for you because I want to know more about you, my fourth date.”

“I didn’t ask you, so just keep quiet.”

Amber received a call and hit the green button.

“WHAT?!” she exclaimed as soon as the call ended.

Gaspar jumped up in fear and quickly grabbed her shoulders. “What happened?” he asked Amber.

“The person I was about to meet said something came up and the meeting was cancelled.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Obviously because you’re bad luck!” She turned to him, her eyes red with anger. She felt like strangling him, like the reason she couldn’t meet the person was because of him.

“I’m NOT!”

"Yeah, right!" She held him by the neck and tightened her grip on it.