This made tears form in my eyes. How thoughtful of him. I might be overly emotional because of the crazy weekend I had and the long car ride, but I knew in my heart that the right thing to do was go up there and eat the meal that Mike had probably spent all day cooking. I was going to have to face Alexander at work anyway.
I sent a quick message to Mike to tell him that I was headed up. First, I picked out a nice bottle of red wine from my collection and tied a big white bow around it. That way, I wouldn’t show up empty–handed. Then, I left my apartment. In the elevator, I reminded myself to take this opportunity to thank Alexander in person for all the help he gave Ava and me this weekend. And I could try to smooth things over after the awkwardness in the parkst night. If I were the one to bring up the conversation, then I could have more control over how it went.
At the door to Alexander’s apartment, Mike let me in and told me that Alexander was in the shower.
My pulse quickened as I sat at the dining room table, thinking about Alexander in the warm steamy shower. I set the wine in front of me, my stomach grumbling from the mouth–watering scents enveloping me.
When I looked up, the bathroom door opened, and in a cloud of steam, Alexander walked out, naked from the waist up, a fluffy white towel wrapped around his waist. My mouth became dry as I studied the water droplets running down his hard, muscr stomach. A weird urge to kiss my way down his body went through me, and I gripped the bottle of wine in front of me so I wouldn’t do anything rash.
“H–hi,” I said, my cheeks blushing because I stuttered. “I changed my mind about dinner.” I gestured to the bottle of wine. “I wanted to bring
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<b>this </b><b>as </b><b>a </b><b>small </b>token of <b>my appreciation </b>for all of your help this weekend. Ava and I couldn’t have seeded <b>without </b>it
To my shock, Alexander frowned, eyed the wine like it had insulted him, and then walked to his bedroom without a word.
Confusion swirled through me like a tornado, destroying everything <b>in </b>its path. I looked to Mike for help interpreting Alexander’s mood swings.
He merely shrugged.
A few momentster, Alexander came out of his bedroom with wet hair, dressed in gray sweatpants and a ck shirt. His dark eyes locked on to mine, and his somber expression made my stomach stiffen. What the hell had I done that has pissed him off so much?
“Let’s eat before it gets cold,” Mike said, gesturing for Alexander to sit down.
I picked up my silverware, but Alexander didn’t even sit down. He was still standing and staring at me. He looked like an angry statue of a Greek god.
What was up with him? What had I done wrong? I thought that he would appreciate my show of gratitude with a small gift. Was a bottle of wine not enough thanks? Had he expected something more?
After a few minutes of awkwardness where Mike and I tried to exchange small talk—but it was hard to hold a conversation when Alexander was just standing there, staring at us–Alexander finally sat down. But he didn’t participate in the conversation, even when Mike and I tried our best to include him. I barely even tasted my meal because I was too busy wondering why Alexander was so upset. He was the one who had invited me to this dinner.
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Chapter 244.
We finished the meal, and I helped Mike clear the table.
“Olivia?” Alexander said when Mike started to load the dishes into the
washer.
I spun around, thinking that I was hearing things because Alexander hadn’t spoken all throughout dinner. But he was staring at me with expectation.
“Yes?” I asked and swallowed past the lump in my throat.
“Can I talk to you outside on the terrace?” he asked in a formal voice.
I nodded and followed him outside. Anxiety made my heart m against my chest. Why was this feeling simr to being called into the principals office? Outside, the cool, fresh air helped clear my head. I closed my eyes and breathed it in, trying to prolong the moment of when I would need to look at him again.
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