LOGIN“Am I the first person to ride in this car?”Winter buckled her seat belt and pulled a strand of hair free from underneath it.She almost laughed.“Yes, yes. You’re the first. Want me to put up a little sign that says ‘William Only’?”William nodded as if she had made a perfectly reasonable suggestion.“I like that idea.”Winter ignored him and started the car.They were heading to Spring Garden. She had been away from Liono City for more than six months and had really missed the food there.“Who were you talking to earlier?” William asked, absently fiddling with his watch. “You looked worried.”Winter merged onto the main road.“Mr. White. He’s been coughing pretty badly. It took me forever to convince him to see a doctor. He said it’s just a seasonal cough, and they gave him some medicine.”William knew how close Winter was to Mr. White.She had grown up around the Xander family, and Mr. White had always taken care of her and treated her well.As far as William knew, Mr.
The call rang several times before Mr. White finally answered.Before he could say anything, Winter asked, “Did you go to the hospital?”“I did.”His voice sounded slightly hollow over the phone, as if he had stepped into a stairwell or somewhere quiet to take the call.“Don’t worry. The doctor said it’s just a seasonal cold and cough. He gave me some medicine.”His calm, gentle voice was reassuring enough that the knot in Winter’s chest finally loosened.“If you’d gone sooner and started the medicine earlier, you probably wouldn’t have been coughing so badly.”Mr. White chuckled softly.“Well, you only just came back. If you hadn’t insisted, I probably wouldn’t have come at all.”Winter immediately turned serious.“Then stop doing that. If you’re sick, don’t just tough it out.”“All right, all right. I’ll listen to you.”Winter smiled, satisfied.“That’s better. And Mr. White, you really need to take care of yourself. I’m counting on you to help me with Richie for many mo
Winter had no idea why William had suddenly decided to compete with Chris over who was better-looking.But if she was being fair, she honestly could not choose between them.They were handsome in completely different ways.Chris had a cool, refined look.William was more striking, with the kind of presence that naturally drew attention.There was no point comparing them.Still, Winter could not resist teasing him.“If I really had to choose, Richie wins.”William immediately looked offended.Winter laughed.“You’re seriously competing over who’s better-looking? How old are you?”Then she noticed his tie was slightly crooked.She set down the interview notes, reached up, and straightened it for him.William lowered his gaze to watch her.Her movements were completely natural.She was not thinking about anything at all.If anything, she was still treating him like a kid.But his throat moved slightly.He said quietly, “Fine. I’ll let it go this time.”Winter retied his
It reminded her of the sapphire brooch Chris had bought back at auction.She had refused that too, yet somehow, no matter how many times she rejected it, the brooch always seemed to find its way back to her when she least expected it.A thought suddenly occurred to Winter.Chris had cut the sapphire for that brooch himself.He had designed the brooch too.Which meant the ring in this box...Winter pressed her lips together.She slipped her phone into her bag, and when her fingers brushed the velvet box, she pushed it all the way to the bottom.Out of sight, out of mind.Once the main part of the press conference was over, the Q&A became more relaxed.William had come out publicly on social media years ago, so the reporters knew better than to pry into his love life or ask about marriage.Everyone already knew he was gay.Winter left the room a little early.William had reserved an exclusive interview for her, and she needed to help her coworkers get the equipment ready and
Early the next morning, Chris stepped out of the master bedroom.He had already been awake for a while, ever since he heard movement coming from Richie’s room next door.When he went downstairs, Richie was sitting in his high chair, waiting for his steamed eggs.He held his favorite little spoon in one hand and had the other clenched into a fist.The little boy stared down at his fist with a serious frown, making small grunting noises under his breath.“What are you doing?” Chris asked as he walked over.Richie immediately stopped.He looked up at Chris, then back down at his fist.He opened his hand, clenched it again, and repeated the motion twice before finally looking up.“Mommy. Exercise.”Chris had no idea that the day before, Winter had earnestly told Richie that clenching her fists counted as resistance training.All he heard was Mommy.“Where is she?”He was asking Mr. White.Mr. White walked over with a bowl of steamed eggs that had already cooled enough for Ric
Winter had thrown the ring away.At the thought, Gavin lowered his eyes and wisely avoided looking at Chris’s face.He was just about to give Chris his report when two cars pulled into the courtyard through the falling snow.Zion climbed out of the first car.Before he had even fully straightened up, he felt someone staring at him.A chill ran down his spine.He looked over and immediately spotted Chris and Gavin standing by the greenhouse.Chris’s expression was unreadable, but there was something in his gaze that made Zion tense up.He shivered.That was terrifying.He quickly looked to Gavin for help.“Gavin, William sent me over with a gift for Ms. Scott.”He hurried toward the greenhouse without wasting another second.He was on Chris’s turf now, and while people usually did not shoot the messenger, Zion was not about to take his chances.He valued his life too much.“William figured Ms. Scott would be busy with Richie’s birthday all day and would want some time to







