Chapter 178
Shermaine thought to herself, “There he goes again, openly pushing to define our relationship. If I’m giving him the official title, then he’d better put out that cigarette. Besides, this was Jean residence. If Shermaine said no smoking, then Joshua had to obey.”
In this way, she was being quite adorably bossy. Of course, if it were anyone else, she wouldn’t have bothered. Let them smoke themselves silly—if they wrecked their health, that was a problem for the doctors to handle.
Shermaine paused for a moment, then stubbed out the cigarette herself. She glanced at Joshua and teased, “You’re not getting any younger, you know. Maybe it’s time to start taking better care of yourself.”
Joshua let out a quiet sigh of relief—at least Shermaine didn’t shove the cigarette back into his hand after what he’d just said.
But when she mentioned his age, he couldn’t help feeling a little down. ‘I’m eleven years older than her. Back when I didn’t care about her, it never bothered me. But now that I’m in love, it’s all I can think about.’
Especially about physical condition….
Joshua pursed his thin lips, giving Shermaine a teasing look. “I’m in excellent condition. Care to put me to the test?”
Shermaine raised an eyebrow. ‘Test what? How?’
Shermaine instantly caught his innuendo—far from being the type to blush at risqué talk, she curved her lips in a sultry, breathtakingly alluring smile. “Dare you?”
“If you agree, I’m game.” If a succubus drained a man’s vitality, then Shermaine was downright lethal… Those days in the Xenhall had taught him that firsthand.
But if he could, he’d gladly lose himself in Shermaine.
“Not a chance,” Shermaine shot back.
Joshua said, “I’ll wait for you to say yes.”
Shermaine snapped, “Shut it!”
Joshua replied, “Alright.”
Standing behind them with paper and pen, Summer overheard their conversation, her eyes widening in surprise. ‘So this is how Shermaine and Mr. York usually interact? So spicy!’ she thought, her cheeks flushing and her heart pounding.
Joshua hadn’t smiled once since arriving at Jean residence, but now, with Shermaine before him, the gloom in his eyes melted into tenderness. He took her hand, his thumb tracing slow circles on her palm. He murmured, “Save some time for me before midnight.”
Shermaine raised an eyebrow at him, playful. “What for?”
“I’ll take you somewhere special.”
Today was supposed to be packed, with hardly any time to spare. But since Joshua asked, she had to indulge this almost-boyfriend. Besides, it was the perfect chance to bring up making him official. “Got it,” she said after checking the time. “Will an hour be enough?”
He said, “Yes.”
Chapter 178
By helicopter, it was about twenty minutes to get there.
Summer waited until their conversation wound down, then cleared her throat softly and said, “Sheary, I’ve got my pen and paper ready?”
Shermaine looked back. “Got it.”
As Shermaine brought Summer back to Trance, Joshua resembled a wolf that had been pacified—now obedient, with none of that earlier possessiveness.
Shermaine said, “Let me introduce my classmate Summer—she’s a huge fan of yours.”
‘Classmate?’ Trance raised an eyebrow.
Trance looked surprised. “You’re back in school?”
“Yep,” Shermaine replied.
“What’s your major?”
At this moment, Summer was equally bewildered. Her Ustranasian was excellent—in fact, her spoken skills were second only to Shermaine’s in the class. That was precisely why her classmates had chosen her to approach Trance for his autograph.
“Wait, what major? One can choose a major only in college!’ Summer thought in bewilderment.
“High school,” Shermaine answered nonchalantly.
Trance asked, “Why?”
“Just going with the flow.” But now, she realized Ruth was most likely not her real mother. From Shermaine’s last probe, the woman was tight-lipped but clearly nervous—she only acted bold because Shermaine had no evidence.
That woman and her son had vanished without a trace since last year. In this digital age, their ability to hide so thoroughly showed just how much they feared her investigation.
Trance nodded, then finally turned his gaze to Summer—a fresh-faced, rather cute girl. With a slight curl of his lips, he smiled and said, “Hello there, Summer.”
Summer was still puzzling over their conversation, but the moment Trance spoke to her, her mind went completely blank.
It took her a moment to snap back to reality. “H–hi, Trance,” she stammered. “Your football skills are amazing! M–my classmates and I were wondering if we could get your autograph?”
Trance was charmed by her flustered rambling—what an adorable little girl! With a smile, he gave her hair a light tousle and said, “Sure.”
Summer was completely swept away, her mind drifting even farther in ecstasy.
‘Holy crap!’ Summer thought, her mind reeling.
‘Trance just ruffled my hair! Did that really just happen?’
‘Are foreign guys always this smooth?’
Summer’s face turned even redder, her heart pounding wildly. A little flustered, she awkwardly handed over the pen and paper.
Trance took the pen and paper and, with care, began signing autographs for all of Shermaine’s classmates.
A few minutes later, clutching the autograph, Summer excitedly threw her arms around Shermaine and spun her in a circle. “Thank you, Sheary! You're the absolute best!”
Chapter 178
Shermaine smiled. “My pleasure.”
As Shermaine’s senior sister, Danielle was genuinely pleased to see her getting along well with the other girls.
Back when they were abroad, Shermaine had virtually no female friends besides her; she never took the initiative, and others naturally assumed she was unapproachable. Seeing Shermaine open up now, Danielle couldn’t help but feel relieved and happy for her.
Only a radiant girl like Summer—a veritable ray of sunshine—could look past Shermaine’s intimidating aura and break through to her.
After some thought, Trance moved closer and asked in a hushed tone, “Danielle, how far along are Sheary and her fiancé?”
At this, Danielle beckoned with a finger, motioning for him to lean in.
At eight o’clock that evening, surrounded by cheers and blessings, Shermaine made the first cut into the towering five-tier cake.
Cake distributed, the mingling was winding down.
Around nine o’clock, Shermaine rounded up Summer and the others and took them to the club they’d all been dying to visit for some singing.
Roy and Henry enthusiastically took charge of escorting everyone to the Galaxy Club.
The entire Galaxy Club was booked out, meaning they had free rein over all the facilities—the billiards room, swimming pool, tennis courts, and even the spa area—to enjoy as they pleased.
Of course, Trance was there—wherever Shermaine went, he’d be right there with her.
Ross had been swamped with work lately and hadn’t had a chance to catch up with Henry and the others in ages. With Jason keeping a close eye on things, he ended up bringing Danielle along too.
Danielle sidled up next to Ross as they sat down. But with Janice and Jason absent, he inched away slightly. Sensing this, Danielle followed, one hand reaching out to toy with his tie, her face perfectly icy. “Aren’t you afraid of eavesdroppers?” she said coolly.
Ross reassured her, “They’re all trustworthy.”
Danielle narrowed her eyes slightly. “Oh,” she said flatly, finally letting go of him and moving to sit a noticeable distance away. ‘Stubborn man,’ she thought irritably. ‘So hard to charm.’
Summer thought, ‘Wait, are Ross and Danielle just pretending to be a couple?’
In the restroom, Joshua pumped soap into his hands and began washing.
Having been following Shermaine, Trance came in from outside. He leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, and said, “I hear you’re after Sheary now too.”
Danielle said that although the two were technically engaged, there hadn’t been any real feelings between them before. It was only recently that Joshua began trying to win her heart.
‘We’re basically in the same situation,’ Trance thought. ‘The only difference is, I’ve been after Shermaine for nearly two years now.’
Joshua finished washing his hands, pulled a paper towel from the dispenser, and dried them methodically. In a deliberately measured tone, he asked, “And?”
Trance lifted his chin slightly, giving Joshua a once-over. “Sheary is the most extraordinary and beautiful woman I’ve ever met. Frankly, you’re not worthy of her.”