Book Two: Branch One Hundred and Forty Seven

"Oh come on say hello, this is Joshua's girlfriend but you probably know her as his assistant" Jessica said sitting beside her husband and acting like she was introducing them to each other for the first time.

"I know her darling," Xavier said brushing Jessica's hair from her face to the back of her ears. "Did you drink a lot? Your cheeks are bright red" Xavier said dropping his glass to the table and rubbing his palms together.

He placed his hands on her face and she shuddered underneath his touch. "You were cold weren't you?" Xavier asked and Jessica nodded.

Aletta did not know if she should give them some privacy or wait till she could say a proper hello to Xavier.

"I told you to take a scarf along" Xavier said taking his hands off her face and rubbing his hands together again to generate heat. It was as if he knew her so well.

He dropped his hands from her face after a while and unwrapped the muffler on his neck. It was not necessarily cold but there was a lot of night breeze th