Barbara stood by and watched until Helios finished the call. She then asked, “Did he agree to come along?”Helios placed his phone on the desk, stretched out, and hugged her. “He’s agreed to it, but I’m putting my bet on the fact that he’ll be livid when he finds out that we intend to arrange a blind date for him.”Barbara smoothed his collar. “Zee claimed that the chances of this girl getting together with Francisco are as high as 90%.”“Is she that certain?” Helios narrowed his eyes slightly, and he seemed to be a little curious about who the girl that Maisie mentioned was.Barbara lifted his head, made him look at her, and chuckled softly. “You’ll know by then, won’t you?”…On the day of the outing, Maisie and Nolan took the two kids to the outskirts of the town to pick a spot before anyone’s arrival. They finally chose a place with beautiful scenery that was very suitable for camping.The water in the lake was very shallow and looked clear, so crystal clear that one could s
Barbara introduced Francisco to the two of them. “This handsome man is your godfather’s cousin.”“Oh!” The two little rugrats nodded in a daze and greeted him politely. “Hello, uncle, it’s nice to see you.”Francisco glanced at the two of them.‘They should be Maisie and Nolan’s kids, shouldn’t they? They look alike.’Barbara looked at Helios. “I’ll go over and help them out first.”Helios nodded. “Okay.”Barbara walked toward the campsite with the two children while Francisco stared at the site and crossed his arms. “Why do I have a feeling that I’ve been tricked here by you guys?”Helios lowered his gaze, smiled, and placed his hand on Francisco’s shoulder. “Since you’re already here, it’s dumb not to make the trip worth it, isn’t it?”Francisco clicked his tongue and looked at the camp again. Ηe was slightly startled as he saw someone.Naomi squatted beside Maisie and set up the barbecue with her. She added charcoal to the grill and set it on fire in a matter of minutes.M
Helios poured himself a glass of red wine. “Barbara is right. You’re pregnant, and your husband has to take care of all your needs already. So just leave Ms. Topaz to the others. Someone else will take care of her for you.”Ryleigh frowned.‘What just happened? So what if I’m a pregnant woman? I’m worried that Naomi would feel awkward and embarrassed. That’s why I asked her to sit by my side.’Louis seemed to have sensed what Helios and Barbara meant, so he took a glance at Francisco and Naomi, and then wrapped his arm around Ryleigh, who was sitting next to him. “Helios is right.”Ryleigh elbowed his waist sullenly.Maisie took the wine bottle and poured some wine slowly. “Do you need someone to take care of Naomi? Naomi is the only designer that Soul Jewelry has, so I’ll definitely take good care of her.”Ryleigh thought what Maisie said made sense and stopped worrying immediately. Naomi pursed her lips.‘I have to sit right next to Francisco, so how can I not feel nervous?’
Louis completed 50 one-handed push-ups. In the next few rounds, Louis pulled the Joker another three times, Maisie drew it twice, and Helios got it once.Barbara gnashed her teeth. “I refuse to believe that you’ll always be so lucky, Francisco.”Francisco crossed his arms and said calmly, “Jeez, this game is so boring. I haven’t even gotten the chance to experience the game at all.”It was Nolan’s turn to deal the cards next. And when the cards were revealed, Francisco’s smile froze because the Joker was in Naomi’s hand.Naomi did not expect that she would get the card at all, so she was even more flustered. “I’m sorry, I...”‘Karma’s really a b*tch.’Barbara glanced at Francisco, who was still sneering just minutes ago—his arrogance was indeed very disagreeable to her eyes. “Sure enough, God is still fair to everyone. Didn’t you say you haven’t gotten the chance to experience the game? How does it feel now?”Francisco took a deep breath and smiled. “It’s fine. I’ll just take it
Naomi smiled, “Alright, I’ll wait for you.” She stood in the woods and looked around. A rustling sound could be heard every now and then. “I’m done, Aunt Naomi,” Daisie walked out from behind the tree and tidied up her clothes.Naomi looked at this beautiful and well-behaved girl and couldn’t help but pinch her cheeks. Daisie suddenly saw something and pointed. “Aunt Naomi, there are a lot of wildflowers there. Let’s go take a look.”She then hopped over, with Naomi following close behind. “Take it slow.”At the campsite, Maisie walked to the lake and saw Ryleigh and Colton picking up seashells. She looked around. “Where are Daisie and Naomi?”“They’re over there…” Ryleigh looked over but didn’t see them. “Eh?”Louis walked over, “Are you looking for Naomi and Daisie? They went into the woods.”Maisie paused. “Why are they in the woods?”Colton stood up straight and answered, “I heard Daisie say that she needed to go to the toilet, and Aunt Naomi went with her.”“It’s been
The first time was at the cafe when she hadn’t brought any money, the second time she had been arguing with someone about the price of fixing a car, the third time she had been stuck in the rain while walking around, and the fourth time she had fallen off the stairs and he had had to carry her… Naomi was even more embarrassed because he was right.He put a hand in front of her, and she froze before looking up at Francisco. Francisco looked at her. “Do you expect me to carry you back instead?”She was frantic. “No, of course not!” She grabbed his elbow and slowly stood up, but the pain in her ankle made her take a sharp breath. Francisco looked at her right foot. “Twisted your ankle?”She nodded.Francisco helped her walk to a tree so that she could sit under it and knelt to remove the shoe on her right foot.Naomi put out her hand. “Let me do it.”“Does it make a difference if I do it?” Francisco removed her sock too and looked at her. “It’s still removing.”Naomi pressed
Francisco sat near the fire and added wood to it, then looked back at Naomi, who was leaning against the stonewall. She was curled up, hugging her legs as if she was freezing.He stood up, walked over, squatted down in front of her, and touched her forehead. It wasn’t burning, so she probably had a low fever. He stood back up, took the dried jacket, wrapped it around her, and pulled her into his arms.Naomi was surprised. Maybe she was feeling very cold, but the moment when she was in his arms, she felt warm and comfortable.“You’ll feel better after you sleep.” He gently pressed her head toward his chest. Naomi listened to his voice and felt his heartbeat, then suddenly smiled. “Just like a dream.”Francisco looked down. “What dream?”Naomi felt like she was floating, put her arms around his waist, and snuggled. “I like…”Francisco heard her mumble the rest of the sentence and beamed. After a moment, he whispered, “What do you like?”Naomi’s breath slowed, and he smiled aft
Maisie walked over and put her hand on Ryleigh’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about Naomi. Francisco won’t do anything to her.”“Zee, you and Barbara are acting so weird today.” Ryleigh moved her hand away as she realized something. “Why does it feel like you know something that I don’t?”Louis coughed. “You’re just not thinking far enough.”Ryleigh stomped on his foot which made him take a sharp breath. He had to endure that because she was his wife. Nolan hugged Maisie by her shoulders. “Alright, it’s getting late. We should all get some rest. They’ll come back tomorrow morning.”The two of them went back into their tent, followed by Barbara and Helios.Ryleigh held onto Louis. “Tell me what is happening.”Louis hugged her. “Little lady, I’ll tell you when we’re back in the tent.”Ryleigh frowned. “Don’t lie to me.”Louis helplessly said, “I won’t.”The night grew darker, and the moon peeked out from behind the dark clouds.Morning broke, and the fire was out.Naomi slowly ope