Her eyes widened. "They say your firm is bound to shut down if it kept going the way it is!"
His mouth parted, but then he chuckled. "When one considers the other a threat, the easiest thing to do is to air rumors," he said, then raised his hands in surrender, "No offense!"
Abby shrugged and sipped her water. "None taken. I don't care about the wench. She's a pain in my tushy." He laughed at her words, and she grinned. "Seriously! I've argued with her this very morning."
"Really? What happened?"
...and the words kept flowing. They talked endlessly about politics, business, and current affairs. Their conversation did turn toward personal topics, like where they were from, what they liked to do in their free time, and what their childhood was like, and the rest revolved around food and weather. Abby insisted on paying, but Chris beat her to it.
She'd taken an Uber to the restaurant, so Chris drove her home after they had lunch. They stopped for some ice cream on the way and laughed about the marketing propagandas done by incompetent brands.
Chris was pleasantly surprised. And by the time he dropped her off, they decided to meet again after two days.
Chapter 6
The key to a successful conversation and having a good time rested in never bringing up the topics that led to an argument, Giselle mused as she stared at Xavier.
Though, she did plan on asking him about Sean today.
Over dinner last night, Abbott had talked about how the crimes were increasing in Petrichor and that there was no order. She'd listened casually, uninterested, until he mentioned Sean. It had taken her a long time to recall where she'd heard that name before.
Then it hit her. The man who'd informed Xavier about a meeting at seven had also mentioned that name, and she was curious about how Xavier knew someone like him.
She watched her boyfriend as he typed away on his phone. He wore black leather as always, and she wondered why he did that if it was something associated with criminals in Petrichor. Her heart hammered for a moment at the possibilities.
He paused typing, looked at her for a while, then smiled a little, and typed again. Her lips pulled up at how younger that made him seem.
He was in a good mood today. They hadn't met yesterday, for all she wanted to do was sit alone in her room and read. Some days, human interactions became a burden for her, and thankfully, it was the same day Xavier had something work-related to do, so it all worked out in her favor.
The pre-dusk glow of the sky illuminated the park in hues of orange and pink. She smiled at how well this day was going. Maybe it was because she was already expecting it not to go well. They'd spent the entire day together in their secret spot, not a single person around, while her father caught up with some of his old friends in the town.
"How long?" she asked, putting her left cheek on her bended knees, her bare feet brushing against the cold grass.
He looked at her and pulled his lower lip between his teeth. "Just writing the last line, beautiful."
She smiled and locked her arms around her legs. "Your eye is healing..."
Xavier paused typing, his shoulders tensing up. She closed her eyes in regret. That was exactly the kind of topic she'd decided not to bring up.
He muttered, "Yeah," and then resumed typing a few more words before saying, "All done." He offered her the phone.
She smiled at him. "Read it to me." A slight tinge of pink crept up to his cheeks, and she melted at the view.
"Okay." He gulped, then cleared his throat, his eyes scanning over the text he'd typed. His brows merged for a second, then he edited something on his phone and said, "Okay. Don't laugh."
She was already grinning. "I won't."
He exhaled, cheeks still flushed. "Okay." He cleared his throat again, scanned the text, and locked his eyes on her face. "If I knew that my made-up fears... Would cause my loved one tears. I would tell you everything. To let your heart soar and sing.
"I'd spill my mind to you. Red, white, black, and blue. But would you love me then? If I strip bare and let you in?
"If I knew that my made-up fears... Would cause my loved one tears. I'd tell you everything this day. To keep your love from fading away."
She stared at him, her lips parted slightly.
He pursed his lips, his chest heaving. "It's not polished at all. I don't like how the lengths are different—"
Her vision blurred as she whispered, "You wrote that for me?"