"You and your boss seem close, are you friends?" Finn said as soon as he sat down in his seat. They were in a restaurant which Paige learned had opened recently.
"I'm sure that's not why you brought me here." Paige smiled as she sat down.
It has gotten darker since when they left Leo in the parking lot, but the chandeliers in the restaurant made everywhere seem bright. Paige looked around her. Most of the people in the restaurant were beautifully dressed in casual wear. She must admit she was the only one dressed in work clothes. It made her a little uneasy, but that was all.
"You are right, that's not why I brought you here." She heard Finn say, and as soon as he finished saying that, he lifted a hand and signaled a waiter to come. When he turned, he smiled at Paige and reached for her hand. Paige withdrew her hand under the table. He stared at her but said nothing. "I have missed you. You left for Italy without informing me. I had wanted to see you."
<Leo whooshed out a breath, his hand curling and uncurling around his sterling. Leo was in Paige's neighborhood. His Maybach S600 parked a little further down the street from Paige’s apartment. The color of his car blended in with the night. His windows reflected off light from the street lamps and occasionally from passing vehicles. "You can do this," Leo muttered to himself for the second time that evening. Pulling down the mirror in his car, he checked his tongue and then ran his hand across his hair. He was going to ask Paige out this evening, that was why he was so nervous. He had fixed his appearance thrice since he arrived here. Stepping out of his car, Leo inhaled deeply. Holding a bouquet of red tulips. Some younger girls who were hailing a taxi saw him. One of them pointed at his hand and then whispered to her friend. It was obvious they were gossiping about him, but Leo didn't care, as he walked purposefully towards Paige's apartment.
"What was that about?" "What was what about?" “I don’t know.” Paige threw her hands up in the air. "How about, how all of a sudden you said I should hug you back that it’s the least I can do since I promised you four dates? I hadn't realized you would be requesting for things like that. If I had known…" "You would have declined," Finn said with certainty and calmness that paused Paige. "Yes… maybe that." "That was why I didn’t tell you,"Finn muttered. "Look Paige, I know I shouldn't have made you hug me. It just sorts of happened." By now he was looking so hopeless, Paige didn't want to look at him. "Haven’t you ever loved someone that you so wished, even if for one second they could reciprocate your feelings? Even if it’s just to hug you back. You told me you love your boss. Surely you know whatam talking about.” “I know, but if I let you hug me now, next thing you will be requesting to kiss me. It sort of makes me
Ready to greet Leo, Paige dashed outside but to her surprise, saw no one. Paige's brows puckered in a frown and she turned around in confusion. That was when she spotted the bouquet of red tulips lying on the front door. How had she missed it? With hesitant steps, Paige walked to the front door and picked it up. Her heart beating wildly against her chest. And searched around for a note, but found none. Again, she turned around in confusion, tulips in hand as though she expected Leo to materialize before her. Once again, she was disappointed. Her baby blue eyes became bright, and she felt like cursing out in frustration. And in that moment of desperation and weakness, and longing, she fished out her phone and dialed Leo's number. He picked up on the first ring. Oblivious to the torment going on within Paige "Hello." His voice low and throaty, and filled with surprise at getting a call from her.
"Oh, my baby." Naomi spread her arms, and Paige rushed into it, sobbing. “Naomi, what am I going to do?" Her friend was gentle with her. "What do you mean? You tell the man, of course." Paige drew away from her friend’s shoulder, wiping her eyes. "I can't do that." "Why not? Aren't you in love with him?" Paige refused to speak. "Paige?" “I’m, but if he finds out am with child, he is going to insist on marrying me." "Why do I get the feeling you don't want that?" Naomi's eyes narrowed. Paige gave a humorless laugh. Trust her friend to read her emotions correctly. "Yes, I don't want that," Paige said, wiping her eyes fiercely. Like a woman whose determination had suddenly been born. "Don't you see it? He feels obligated to marry me. We had one reckless night of passion and I got pregnant. Like the gentleman he is, he feels obligated to take responsibility by offering marriage. I don't begrudge him for want
Neatly dressed in a champagne-colored three-piece suit, his brown hair sleeked back and away from his face revealing the harsh lines of his face and that out-thrust jaw. Four to five balloons with the inscription ‘get well soon’ held together with the flowers. Paige's mouth dropped open as she recalled she had told him she couldn’t make it to the office because she was sick. Was that why he was here? Because he thought she was sick?" He must have bought those balloons off the street on impulse. It didn’t seem his style. “Are you going to let me in?” His mouth curved to the side with a gentle smile. His voice, low and thick with his accent. “Ah… yes,” Paige blushed and stepped away from the door. Forgetting Finn was inside her apartment. It wasn’t until Leo paused a little farther from the living room with a haunted expression on his face that Paige realized what she had done. She hurried over to Leo immediately, and he turned his head to h
Few hours later, in the high rise office building. Leonardo stared unseeingly at his laptop screen for the umpteenth time that day. He couldn’t get past the look on Paige's face when he had left. He was convinced he had said something to ruin her mood. If not, how then does someone suddenly go from a good mood to close to crying? He can’t seem to figure it out, no matter how hard he had tried to look at it from every angle. Glancing at the adjacent office, where Paige should have been occupying now had she not been sick, Leo allowed his gaze to linger there, conjuring her image. He wanted to call Paige and find out how she was fairing but he couldn’t. That was his problem, and the reason he couldn't say or do so many things he wanted to do. He always felt like he was smoldering her. Drumming his fingers on his desk, Leo sighed as he remembered the man he had seen at her apartment today. He Couldn’t believe he had been tricked by Finn, or that he d
Finn, who was talking with his friends, tried to call her, but she ignored him and dashed out of the door. "Paige!" Finn called and hurried after her. Immediately she stepped out of the reception which was held in the halls of a fancy hotel. Paige hurried to the nearest hallway. On getting there, she rested her back on the wall, and closed her eyes, clenching her purse tight. Paige was trying to gather herself before Finn reached her. However, she was not successful. Because in the next second Finn's hands were on her shoulders and he was turning her around. "Hey, what's wrong? Look at me," Finn said when Paige wouldn't look at him. Tipping her chin, he looked into her eyes. "Are you crying? Don't cry." Finn cooed. There was something about trying to hold back tears and then someone offering sympathy that suddenly made the tears come faster. That was the case with Paige because immediately Finn cooed that word 'Don't cry.' Not minding sh
Finn stood up from theground,looking so lost. “Does he know? Your boss?" He gestured with his hand. "Does he know you are pregnant?"His green eyes rested on her stomach, and then back to her face. Paige shook her head. “He doesn’t know.” "He doesn’t know?" Finn repeated, his face serious. Paige could feel the wheels turning in his head. He seemed to be thinking hard. Then he ran a hand over his face and planted it on his waist as if coming to a sudden conclusion. "Don't tell him." “What?” “I said don’t tell him.” "You can't be serious!" Paige cried. “Hear me out before you say anything," Finn said, stepping closer to her. Paige knew she hadn’t told Leonardo anything about her pregnancy, she knew she was delaying, but she was going to tell him, eventually. However, what Finn was suggesting was the opposite. He was insinuating she shouldn’t tell Leo at all. He grabbed her hand, and Paige trie