Chapter 701
Our skin touched, and his warmth seeped into me. The cool sea breeze made me instinctively snuggle even closer into his arms.
Edward let out a soft chuckle–he seemed to really like how much I needed him.
“Edward, what made you decide to donate a building to my old school?” The charity dinner tonight had stirred up some feelings.
I tilted my head back, letting the wind play with my hair as it brushed against my cheek. I asked him softly.
Edward replied honestly, “Because I was afraid fate would keep us apart.”
I paused, “If I hadn’t come to the United Kingdom, if we hadn’t met again… we might never have seen each other again in this lifetime.”
“Maybe,” Edward said, looking down at me. He gently tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “But I’m a bit rebellious. I might have secretly watched you.”
“Really?” I smiled. “What if I caught you?”
For once, Edward looked a little embarrassed. “It’s fine. I’ve got thick skin. If you caught me, I’d just come up with all sorts of excuses. You wouldn’t mind anyway, so even a lame excuse would work.”
“How do you know I don’t care?” I blurted out before I could stop myself, and instantly wished I hadn’t.
Letting my feelings slip like that—I was one step away from turning into a hopeless lovesick fool. I ducked my head, unable to meet his eyes.
Edward’s voice softened with a smile. “Do you care?”
I turned away–my go–to move whenever I wanted to dodge something. If I kept quiet, he’d never figure out what was on my mind.
But this time, Edward tightened his grip on my wrist, not letting me slip away.
His voice was husky as he pressed, “Do you care?”
I had no choice but to look into his deep eyes and nodded. “I’m not made of stone. It’s obvious how you feel about me.”
Edward was over the moon. He swept me back into his arms and pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead. “Alright, I get it now.”
Seriously, I never gave him a straight answer, but he acts like he’s got it all figured out. What does he think he knows, anyway?
After we took a short break in the room, Edward led me down to the banquet hall on the first floor. That was when he finally introduced me to his circle of friends.
Among them were a few potential business contacts, and we traded business cards.
They all acted genuinely enthusiastic about working together, but I knew it was all thanks to Edward’s reputation.
In the small hours, the cruise ship finally docked and the last guests had all gone home.
On the ride back, I was already fast asleep, snuggled up against Edward. He stayed awake, holding me close with one arm, watching the night slip by outside the window.
A sudden crack of thunder snapped me out of my sleep. I blinked, still groggy, and realized we were speeding down the road while lightning split the sky into jagged shards. The whole scene looked straight out of the apocalypse, and I couldn’t help but feel a shiver of fear.
“Is it about to rain cats and dogs?” I whispered.
As the next thunder rolled in, Edward gently cupped his hands over my ears. “Storms like this happen all the time near the coast. Don’t be scared.”
Any trace of sleepiness was gone, so I just stayed curled up with him, watching the stormy night swirl outside as thunder crashed again and again.
I couldn’t help but feel that the storm raging outside was mirroring the anxiety churning inside me. Would going back to the Jennings family mean stepping right into another storm–thunder crashing, lightning flashing, and nothing but dark clouds hanging over us?
After the charity dinner, I treasured the jewelry Edward gave me, putting it away with care.
Over the next few days, I was busy wrapping up my graduation stuff, and Edward seemed even more swamped with work than usual. Still, he always found time in the evenings to take me out to dinner.