130 Summer by The Fire

"I'm a writer after all…" she muttered softly before leaning away and meeting his now burning gaze. 

The wicked woman had a haughty smile on her face as if she was confident that she had caught him under her spell and was so proud of it. He chuckled in his head for actually agreeing with what she just said. Her creative and imaginative mind was beautiful—at the same time, dangerous.

Angela could create a world in her book and make one believe that the world she created actually exists and that you live in it with the characters she developed. She could write 'hate' and her readers would hate with her. She could write a joyous occasion and make her readers smile or cry. And she could kill anyone poetically—and her words would be immortalized. 

What a beautifully dangerous woman.

Her hands slowly slid off from him, but he quickly caught her by the wrist. His grip was neither too tight nor too loose. But Gael was sure of the effect he had on her—what with the way her smile slipped from her face once he held her hand. And this time, it was his turn to show a devilishly handsome smirk. 

"I'd love to see what's in that pretty head of yours," he said.

The words that left his mouth sent shivers down her spine. He lowered his gaze to her lips, and she gulped as he leaned towards her.

Just when their lips were about to touch, a knock on the glass window of the kitchen caught their attention. Gael swiftly turned his head to the left to look—only to find a branch of the huge tree outside hitting the window repeatedly. He scoffed at the interruption and backed away from her.

"If you aren't sleeping yet, join me in the living room." He walked out of the kitchen, leaving her in a daze.

Angela only snapped out of it when she was all alone in the room. She looked at the window and her brows slightly knitted together, seeing the branch that was still hitting the glass.

Then, she pushed herself off the counter and pocketed the pills before she followed him. When she got to the living room, Gael was already starting a fire at the fireplace. He threw a match at the bottom of the pyramid of woods, and once the papers caught fire, the flame slowly began getting bigger.

She wordlessly sat on the rug in front of the fireplace, her back leaning against the edge of the couch that was positioned diagonally. Though the fire had only started, she was already feeling warmer than earlier. The subtle fragrance from the burnt wood and its crackling gave out a cozy vibe, making her feel oddly at home in a place she had only been for the first time.

"How did you end up going on dates every weekend?" Gael wondered as he sat on the space next to her, noticing the way she was in deep thoughts just now.

Snapping out of her trance, she took a deep breath and softly laughed. "It was the only way I could get my father off my back. I compromised with him so that I can stay out of the company—else I'd be forced to work there every day."

"Is it that bad? It's a family company, after all. Don't you want to be part of it?" he asked. They had a similar conversation in the past, but the situation she was in now made him curious.

"I don't like it there. The competition is fierce, and I hate how they look at me—judging me because I'm the chairman's daughter. I can't make mistakes because that would make my father look bad. And I can't be too good either because I'd only end up receiving eye-rolls for 'showing off'. It's honestly exhausting. Despite having shares from the company, I have no desire —whatsoever—to run it or work in it." 

Taking a deep breath, she added, "So I made a deal… As long as he stops making me go to work, he'd arrange dates for me to meet a potential husband."

She subtly rolled her eyes as she leaned the back of her head against the couch. Then he probed in a gentle tone, "Have you?"

"Hm?"

"Have you found your 'soulmate'?" His last word was said in a sarcastic tone, making her laugh.

"I'm only meeting those guys just for the sake of it. I'm not really looking for a relationship at the moment. Besides... I'm too busy with my writing to think about them. Apart from the fact that the ones I met were mostly weirdos, jackasses, or just plain boring, I'm just not interested." She shrugged.

Feeling slightly relieved, Gael nodded—until he remembered the Rock. "What about that… man from yesterday?" He almost slipped, saying 'Rock'.

"Who—Oh… Vincent..." Angela muttered.

"You two seem… close, calling each other on a first-name basis." He glanced at her briefly before facing the fire again.

"He's…" she hesitated, unsure of what to tell Gael about Vincent Stone—the only man among the others she went on a date recently whom she could say stood a chance. He was undeniably an attractive gentleman who came from a humble background yet succeeded because of hard work. However, was she attracted to him enough to be interested in giving him her attention? She brushed off her thoughts and continued, "He's okay… I guess. Decent."

Gael didn't like her hesitation at all. It bothered him that she looked as though she was considering that Rock. He kept his irritation at bay and ignored the burgeoning demand in his heart because he didn't want to be selfish.

Shifting in his place, he turned his back on her and laid his head on her lap without hesitation.

"Hey!" she protested, but he ignored her cry as he grabbed something from the couch and held it in his hands. It was her book: Chasing Summer.

"What are you doing?" she muttered, but he continued to ignore her as he flipped the book to read the synopsis at the back. Angela hadn't even noticed that he brought her book downstairs. Then she caught sight of the discolored area on the back part of the book.

"You know… if you want a copy, I'll give you another one. It's embarrassing to give you this when it's all ruined…" She attempted to take the book from his hands, but he quickly moved it away from her grasp.

"It's okay. I like this one better," Gael responded.

Her brows furrowed at his answer. Why would he like that?

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[ "I know I am but summer to your heart, and not the full four seasons of the year." – Edna St. Vincent Mallay ]

[ "You can like a lot of things, but you can't love everything about me," I murmured in almost a whisper as Geoff looked at me with much curiosity. ]

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