Chapter 182 - Awful Timing

Zaria returned the hug with a chuckle at how easy it was for her friend to be pleased. "I didn't do much."

"Don't be too polite! You have no idea how relieved I am." Ximena sat back down, and this time, she could finally find the food appealing before her. "I don't feel confused anymore."

Zaria knew that she must be scolding herself for being dim-witted, so she patted her hand. "It's alright to be confused once in a while. You have a lot going on after all, you will feel mentally exhausted when it's too much. Don't overwork yourself. You are doing great already."

"You think so?" Ximena was a little surprised.

"I know you are." Zaria smiled. For a startup, she had progressed quite fast.

Since that was out of the way, the women finally enjoyed their food in peace. "We should come here again. Jeez, I didn't know that the food here was so delicious. If I knew, I wouldn't keep ignoring this place in the past." Commented Ximena.

Zaria agreed with a nod. "You can't always judge a book by its cover—though we do that many times." For some reason, this situation reminded her of the hotel she had acquired from the Su family to pacify Desmond a few months ago. At first, business had been challenging and Desmond made a loss. However, the ratings had soon improved and he had recovered the loss and gained more profit on top of it. She should go and check on it later.

"Do you have plans this afternoon?" Ximena asked, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"A date with Desmond." She responded. "He will burst into tears if I miss it."

Ximena chuckled. "I can imagine that."

Zaria laughed lightly. "If you are free, could you help me select an outfit?"

"Of course! Leave it to your fairy godmother who is also your best friend." She winked as she exaggerated. "What kind of style do you want? A fiery seductive style to charm the hell out of him?"

She would love to try that, but she couldn't this time. "I don't know where we are going so it's best to be simple."

"Got it." Ximena gladly took the task.

Once they finished their food, Ximena led her to the nearest store to select a dress, then went to her villa to apply her makeup and style her hair.

By the time they were done, they heard a car pull up into the compound.

"Your man is here. Have fun!" Ximena hugged her and quickly led her downstairs.

Desmond had got down the car and was about to give her a call when he saw them walking towards him. He couldn't take his eyes off his girlfriend.

She was wearing a short long sleeve dress and had no accessories except a purse. It was simple yet captivating and it made his heart accelerate as though he was seeing her for the first time.

Seeing the kind of look that Desmond was giving her friend, Ximena knew that she should no longer be a third wheel. "I'll be on my way too."

Desmond didn't fail to notice her subtle warning and it made him laugh. "Don't worry, your best friend is the most important person in my life. I will treat her well."

Ximena let out a low harrumph. "You know what's good for you. I'll be on my way. See you soon, Zaria. I'll take care of Des when Uncle Theo is busy."

"See you soon." Zaria waved at her and smiled at Desmond when they were on their own.

"Where are we going?"

"Why don't you let it be a surprise?" He held a palm out to her, in which she placed her small hand.

"You look breathtaking." He pulled her close to him.

She pecked his lips and entered the car. When they reached his private airstrip and she saw a helicopter waiting for them to board, she blinked in surprise. "We are taking a helicopter?"

"It's much faster." He explained. "It's been awhile since we spent time on our own. I wanted to be alone with you for the rest of the weekend. Do you mind?"

"Can I possibly say no?" She joked as she willingly let him lead her to the helicopter.

"Of course not. I will kiss you into agreeing." From his tone, she was certain that he would do just that.

Their destination was Libre Town and they arrived in half an hour. They landed at a large garden and when she saw the name, she was speechless.

It was the most beautiful garden she had ever seen with a variety of flowers in the compound and a magnificent cottage at the centre—but who the hell actually named a garden "Fleur Garden?"

Ignoring the name, she looked around as she felt the fresh air brought about by nature, and the silence that was magically calming. "It's beautiful. Is this another hideaway of yours?"

"You guessed so. But this one is different. I bought it recently for us." He took her hand to lead her into the cottage and waved the pilot off so he could leave.

She clung onto his arm as she took in his words. Did this mean that he had bought an entire garden with a cottage just so he would bring her here for a date?

"Do you have to be so sweet?"

"I can be even sweeter. Would you like to have a taste?" He presented his lips with a double meaning.

"I wouldn't say no to that." She kissed him for a bit longer.

The interior of the cottage was even cooler with white and gray as the major colors. It was so comfortable that as soon as she sat on the couch, she gave in to the fatigue she had been feeling all week.

"You actually fell asleep." He teasingly pinched her nose before carrying her to the bedroom and putting her in bed.

When she woke up, the first thing she saw was him with a towel draped around his waist, having just had a shower. He was facing away from her so all she saw was his back whose muscles bulged and relaxed with his movements—what a feast for her eyes.

Sensing her gaze that was filled with desire, he looked over at her with a smile. "You are awake. The weather is perfect for a grill."

"You are definitely one of my brain cells. I was thinking of the same thing." She smiled excitedly. She had thought about it earlier when she saw the beautiful garden.

"That makes it more fun." He got dressed in front of her without flinching and when he was done, led her to the backyard.

"You got it all prepared." She was amazed.

She didn't realize she had slept for so long until she saw the moon in the sky. Just how long had she slept?

He didn't ask anything about it and brought the meat for them to grill.

"Let's sit for a while." He pulled her to the cup couch and held her on his lap, looking up at the sky.

"Does the moon remind you of anything?" He asked beside her ear.

A hint of red crept up her ears when she realized what he was talking about but she denied it. "Definitely not. What would it remind me of?"

He raised an eyebrow in amusement. "You really forgot? It seems like I need to remind you." He kissed her earlobe as he gently traced his forefinger at the side of her face.

"You are so beautiful." He pressed pecks on her cheek before moving to her lips, which he kissed gently. It had not been long since they were together but he had missed this feeling so badly. Being able to hold her in his arms and kiss her.

She hugged his neck and hummed lightly in response to his kiss, which he deepened slowly. His long fingers traced her neck as his other hand supported her waist, his lips moving in rhythm with hers.

His phone rang, interrupting them.

He so badly wanted to kick the caller in their guts. She didn't want him to ignore it in case it was important so he broke the kiss and fished for his phone from his trousers pockets.

"It's Skeleton." He cursed.

"Has he always had such awful timing?" She chuckled. Even so, she wondered what the call was about.