“Have you eaten, Dad?”Hank replied warmly, “Not yet. I’m not hungry yet, so I’ll only eat after I’ve taken two more customers. You’ve eaten, right?”Sonny replied, “Yeah. Aunt Ser and Jazz took me out to eat and we ran into Aunt Chel and the rest. Lucas said hi to me but, I don’t why, Aunt Chel covered his mouth. Lucas’s granddad and grandmom were there too, there were so many of them eating together. Only Aunt Ser and Jazz and Jen were with me, just the four of us.”Hank did not pay much attention to this at first and laughed. “Oh, you ran into Aunt Chel? Did you say hi to her?”“No,” Sonny answered honestly. “Lucas called out to me but Aunt Chel covered his mouth. Dad, what does Aunt Chel mean by that?”Hank was silent for a moment. “Your Aunt Chel… You don’t have to mind her.”He finally realized it. Had Chelsea been afraid that Sonny and the rest would try to join their table if she said hi and did not let Lucas talk to Sonny because of that?Being her brother, Hank did und
George’s business was doing fairly well and Chelsea was definitely not short of money. Hank could forgive her for not inviting their parents out to dinner with her family but she even asked their mother to foot the bill once they were done eating. It was no wonder Hank was angry.“Got it, Sonny. The next time I’m free, I’ll take you out to eat too, okay? I have to go now. You have to listen to your Aunt Ser, okay?”“I’ll be good, Dad. Take care.” Done tattling, Sonny happily ended the call.Serenity heard it all. After Sonny returned her the phone, she tapped him on the forehead. “You’ve even learned how to snitch, huh, kiddo?”Chelsea had really gone too far this time though. This had nothing to do with Serenity, so she would not interfere. If Sonny wanted to complain, it was the Browns’ issue. If she had been the one to tell Hank about it, Hank might suspect she was deliberately making things up about Chelsea, but he did not have the same reservations with Sonny.Sonny blinked a
Imogen retorted, “We just hit it off right away, alright? Why do you have to call it kissing ass?”Dylan paused and said, “Since you’re back and we bumped into each other, why don’t we go on a walk? It’ll help with your digestion and we can talk while we’re at it. I won’t be coming here tomorrow. I’m busy too, you know.”After a moment of thought, Imogen also felt that it was better to talk it out that night, though she knew Dylan’s answer even without doing so. He had made himself very clear last night. She just had not said that she was going to give up on him, which gave him no choice but to talk to her.“Alright, I’ll have to trouble you to walk with me so I can digest, then. But what if I get hungry again after we get back? You know that exercising and using up energy will make one hungry.”Dylan was speechless for a moment. “I finally understand why you, Jasmine, and Serenity managed to hit it off right away.”They were all foodies! Why did he not know she liked eating that
“Is there a park nearby? Take me to a park.”After a moment of silence, Dylan said, “There’s a park about a ten-minute walk. It’s not especially big, but it’s a good walk. The scenery’s pretty nice. If you don’t think it’ll be too tiring, we can go there.”“I don’t think it’ll be too tiring. And if I can’t walk anymore, you can carry me back.”“Can’t I just get a taxi? Carry you home? Don’t you think I’d get tired?” Dylan asked.Imogen remarked, “You’re so ungentlemanly. I’m your grandmother’s choice of bride for you, you know. If you hadn’t cheated, I’d be your future wife. I’ve heard that York men are all particularly doting on their wives. You aren’t thinking of flouting the tradition and being an uncaring husband, are you? If their wife is a sensible person, a doting husband will make a fortune, you know.”Dylan smiled and remarked, “That’s some absurd reasoning.”“Also, I never cheated. You might be my nana’s choice, but we’re not officially in a relationship, so we’re both
Dylan grumbled to himself. Why did Grandma May and Imogen both say he had better not regret it? What did he have to regret? Could he not know who he really liked, what he really wanted? He was no longer a three-year-old kid. He was almost thirty and very much had a mature mind. He would not do anything he would regret. Imogen said something so similar to what Grandma May said, it was no wonder that she picked Imogen.“Ms. Doyle, I’ve never done anything I’ve come to regret. Even if I didn’t make the right choice, I would face it openly without regrets.”Imogen laughed. “Alright, I know. Since there’s no way you’ll fall for me, I won’t force it. It’s not like I’m unmarriageable. Why should I cling to you? I’d end up lowering my worth instead.”She had also been pampered and raised as the apple of her family’s eye. It was not like no one wanted her. The Doyles were a distinguished family in Huntington too. She had both pedigree and status. As long as she wanted to get married, there
Imogen said, “We’ve known each other for more than three months. You know I work out every day. I rarely go out for walks like this to appreciate the nighttime city scenery and watch the hustle and bustle of everyone going about their own lives. I worked overtime for two weeks to squeeze out a few days to visit Wiltspoon.”She stopped there.Dylan said apologetically, “I’ll take you out for supper later.”“Sure.”They walked for another ten minutes or so and finally reached the park Dylan mentioned earlier. By the time they walked a lap around it and came back out, more than an hour had gone by.Dylan asked Imogen, “Shall we go for supper now?”“There’s no need. My stomach doesn’t feel as bloated as it did earlier and I feel better now. If I eat more, I’ll feel uncomfortable again. Forget it. We’ll postpone supper. If I feel like eating supper one of these days, I’ll ask you to treat me then.”Dylan was speechless. She said they would not have any more interactions, so why was h
A few minutes later, Dylan’s driver, Leo, arrived and parked by the roadside. Dylan stopped him from getting out and got into the car by himself.The driver turned to look and asked instinctively, “Didn’t you leave with a beautiful young lady, sir?”Dylan settled in and said, “You can stop looking. I called a taxi for her and sent her back to the hotel. Let’s go. I want to go back to my place.”He had his own place in the city and was not planning to go back to Wildridge Manor. He had only just gone back there in the daytime.Leo said as he drove, “I thought that lady was your girlfriend.”“No, she’s Serenity’s friend. I’ve known her for only a few months myself. I still don’t know where my future wife is, Leo.” Dylan really had no clue. He did not know where Chameleon Fox lived. She had come to the York Corporation headquarters in Wiltspoon to look for him before, but when she heard he did not work there, she left.He lied back when Zachary called him because he did not dare adm
“Mr. Zachary is busier than you are, but he still finds the time to go on dates with the missus, so why can’t you find the time?”Dylan was struck speechless by Leo’s urging. After a pause, he huffed a laugh and said, “I really don’t know where she is. What can I do if I can’t find her? All I can do is wait for our next encounter.”Leo often drove for Dylan and had seen Chameleon Fox once before. He had quite a deep impression of the girl dressed in red too and had heard Dylan begging for Josh’s help to look into her.He guessed, “Is that girl dressed in red the lady you like?”“Girl dressed in red? Oh, yeah. She has worn red before. Every time I see her, she’s wearing a different color.”“I’ve only seen her once. At the time, you got out as soon as I stopped to run toward her. Later on, I heard you asking Mr. Josh for help and guessed it was that girl in red.”That was why they had to be very close-lipped when driving for these rich young masters. They often saw or heard things