In fact, Zachary began to feel that Jessica was starting to like him.
Jessica turned her head and saw Zachary leaning just before her. He was wearing a simple black loungewear set. It was nothing flashy, but it looked sharp and elegant on him.
He stood by the marble dining table, barely half an arm’s length away, casting a faint shadow over her. His deep eyes zeroed in on her.
Jessica’s heart started racing. It felt like a spark had been thrown onto a pile of dry twigs inside her, catching fire out of nowhere. It was spreading fast.
A flush crept from her ears to her cheeks. She gripped her cup a little tighter as if it could steady her. Then came the wave of foreboding.
“Did you send me home last night?”
Zachary crossed his arms and rested against the marble table as he focused intently on her. “I
did.”
“Did you change my clothes as well?”
“I did.”
Jessica looked at him, embarrassed and flustered. She wanted to walk away, but her legs wouldn’t move. So, she bit her lower lip and asked, “Did we…”
The rest of the sentence caught in her throat. She couldn’t bring herself to finish it.
“You’re asking if we did it last night?”
A flush spread across her cheeks.
Zachary leaned close to her ear, his voice low and rough. “Are you hoping we did or didn’t?”
His warm breath brushed against her. She reached up and covered his overly talkative mouth, pushing him away. “I don’t know…”
Damn it. Even his lips were warm and wet.
Zachary smiled and took her hand, planting a soft kiss on the back of it. “Don’t worry. I won’t take advantage of you unless you want me to.”
A warm sensation bloomed across the back of her hand. She quickly pulled it away. Though secretly let down, she didn’t show it one bit.
What made her even more nervous was what she was wearing–a black camisole with built–in padding, the soft fabric hugging her elegant frame.
Chapter 76
Zachary really knew how to pick clothes.
Although it covered more than what she wore that night, it was still enough for him to see right through it. The lingerie was soft and pure, yet undeniably sexy, perfectly matching his black loungewear.
Catching her shy glance, Zachary chuckled and turned away to avoid looking at her. “Mary is off for a week. The fridge is almost empty, so let’s go to the grocery store later and fill it up.”
“Okay,” Jessica mumbled around a bite of sandwich.
Feeling awkward, she grabbed her phone and pretended to look busy, only to see that she’d received a message from Joshua late last night.
“Congratulations. You’re the first person ever to call Mr. Jones up and cuss him out.”
“Did I do something terribly wrong again last night?” she wrote back, biting her lower lip and glancing at Zachary, who seemed perfectly fine.
“Oh, you did great. You always do the right thing, Queen Bee. After two weeks of overtime, we can finally take a break.”
So, Zachary had been cooped up in his office lately because he was genuinely swamped at work and not because he was avoiding… her?
Well, he could’ve at least texted her. Was he not going to care about what his wife did anymore?
“Has work been overwhelming lately?” she asked Zachary, easing the tension.
“We’ve been experiencing some financial issues, and we still haven’t found our designer,” he replied as he pulled a steak out of the freezer to thaw.
The designer he was looking for was none other than Madame Mayhem.
“Will the company go bankrupt? Do you need any help?”
Truthfully, she knew there wasn’t much she could do to help. She wasn’t from an influential family.
Now, she understood why so many successful people chose a marriage of convenience. It was all about stabilizing their careers, having a fallback when things became tough, or just adding extra shine to their achievements.
He laughed. “Bankrupt?”
What was Jessica thinking, assuming bankruptcy after hearing about their financial issues? She must’ve been watching too much TV lately.
Chapter 78
373
“Well, if it does, will you take off?” he asked as he cleaned the stove.
“I will if we do it together,” Jessica answered, then took a final sip of her drink.
Zachary smiled, amused.
After breakfast, she brought her plate to the sink to wash.
“I got it,” Zachary said, taking the plate and cup from her hands.
It was such a simple, natural gesture, yet it made Jessica feel like they had been living together for some time. That seemingly insignificant move was enough to make her heart race.
“Thanks.”
“No problem.”
