Chapter 88
Elena nodded gently. “Yes, I’ve made arrangements with Camila.”
Zachary pushed the strawberry tiramisu toward her and said with a smile, “I don’t mind you laughing at me, Ms. Miller, but I gave Ms. Smith two tickets because I knew she was your good friend. I was holding on to a glimmer of hope that she would take you with her.”
“You could have actually just asked me directly.” Elena smiled helplessly. “I would’ve said yes.”
“I didn’t have the courage at that time.” Zachary’s fingers were shaking, yet he still did his best to make a
joke. “Don’t tell Ms. Smith about this. Otherwise, she’ll get mad at me.”
Elena thought to herself that Camila had long figured it out. After all, Camila was quite sharp about these
things.
“Do you like the painting I gave you?” Zachary asked.
“I like it very much,” Elena replied, gently running her finger along the edge of the cup. When she looked
up, she met Zachary’s eyes that were twinkling with delight.
For a moment, she didn’t know what else to say, so she said jokingly, “If your fans were to find out, they’d
probably envy me.”
Zachary let out a soft chuckle as he tapped on the table subconsciously with his finger, as if he were
outlining an invisible shape. “The person my fans should be envious of is me and not you.”
His gaze was burning as he stared deeply into Elena’s eyes. “Giving a painting to a person who truly
understands it makes me happier than holding ten exhibitions.”
“That makes me feel embarrassed,” Elena said truthfully. “It’s true that I like that painting a lot, but honestly, I don’t quite know much about painting.”
“It’s fine,” Zachary replied gently. “It’s good enough as long as you like it.”
He gave Elena a ride home after dinner. He wanted to take the chance to suggest going to another place
for a date. But he thought he shouldn’t jump the gun. Besides, he was already very happy that he had been
able to share a meal with her.
After they arrived at the gates to the Miller residence, Elena bid Zachary farewell and went in. Only after
the door slowly closed behind her did her tense nerves finally relax.
She didn’t feel at ease with Zachary, and she didn’t have any feelings for him either.
She told herself that it was just the start. How could she fall in love with him after sharing just one meal,
right? Feelings had to be developed slowly.
? = ? 3
Jane was sitting on the couch in the living room, sipping on her tea as Elena walked in. Seeing that Elena was back, she asked caringly, “Were you out with a friend for dinner?”
“Yes.” Elena ran to Jane and sat down next to her, resting her head on the latter’s shoulder. “I had dinner
with Mr. Golden.”
“Mr. Golden?” Jane looked confused. “Didn’t he go abroad for some business?”
“Abroad? Who?” Elena looked up.
“Alexander, of course. I just spoke to his mother, Rachel, on the phone today. She said he went abroad for something urgent, but not many people know about it. She said we have to keep it under wraps. Judging by Rachel’s tone, it didn’t seem like it was something trivial.”
Elena thought of how Alexander had rushed off after he had received a call the previous night. As
expected, something serious had happened.
She clenched her fists, and a wave of uneasiness surged within her. Alexander would be fine, right? She
still owed him a huge favor. Nothing could happen to him.
“Grandma, do you know which country he went to?” Elena asked.
Jane shook her head. “Rachel didn’t say.”
Looking at how nervous Elena looked, she smiled and continued, “Don’t worry. Alexander is incredibly
capable. Since he dared to head over, that meant he was confident that he would be fine.”
Then, she asked with confusion, “Which Mr. Golden were you having dinner with, then?”
“Zachary,” Elena answered absentmindedly as she was still thinking about Alexander’s safety.
Enjoy Ad-Free Reading>>
Go
