Joshua thought Xylia was about to call him out. He nced away, then took a tactical sip of water, trying to y it cool.


    When she saw his evasive moves, Xylia immediately got the picture. She let out a softugh, her porcin face bathed in sunlight, giving off a yful, girlish vibe.


    Joshua’s eyes flickered, and his Adam’s apple bobbed. For a second, his heart skipped a beat.


    Then he snapped back to reality and asked, “You’re not mad?”


    “Mad about what?” Xylia flopped back on the couch, finally letting herself rx after such a long day.


    “The Schultz Group has nothing to do with me. You’re obviously going after them because of me, so why would I be upset with you?”


    Seeing that Xylia really wasn’t upset, Joshua finally let out a sigh of relief.


    Xylia walked over to Joshua’s single sofa and squeezed herself in right next to him.


    “Why do you have to squish me like this?” Xylia grumbled yfully.


    Joshua ignored her protest, sticking close to her and pulling her tightly into his arms, refusing to let go.


    “It’s been so long since west saw each other. Don’t you miss me?” Joshua asked, his voice soft and teasing.


    Xylia let out a helpless sigh. “We literally left the house together this morning.” ‘It’s not even close to evening, we’ve only been apart for like half a day,’ she thought, a bit exasperated.


    “But it feels like forever. Don’t you feel the same way? Don’t you miss me?” Joshua pressed, dialing up the puppy–dog eyes.


    ‘Here we go again,‘ Xylia thought with an inward eye roll, watching Joshua slip right into his puppy mode- soft, clingy<i>, </i>impossible to resist. He wasying it on extra thick, and honestly, what else could she do but just go with it and indulge him a little?


    She reached out from Joshua’s embrace, gently wrapping her arms around his waist, and leaned into him, letting herself rx.


    “Of course I miss you. How could I not? I think about you all the time,” Xylia said, her voice soft and sweet.


    After spending so much time with Joshua, Xylia had gotten every bit as thick–skinned as he was.


    Her words were dusted in sugar, slipping straight into Joshua’s heart and curling sweetness into his smile.


    Instinctively, he tightened his arms around her, pulling her even closer.


    Their embrace on that sweltering afternoon was warmer than the zing sun outside,


    ed, Sep


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    On the day of Grace’s stage performance, Xylia brought Joshua along with her.


    I’ve got to introduce you to my teacher, Grace,” Xylia said.


    That perked Joshua right up.


    Joshua got up at the crack of dawn and began fussing over himself—a rare sight, considering he hardly ever cared about his appearance. Today, though, he was digging through Xylia’s makeup table, holding up a light lipstick, and asked, “Should I put on makeup too?”


    Xylia was still half–asleep, the early morning sunshine barely peeking through the curtains.


    But Joshua was making such a racket that there was no way she could get any rest.


    She sat up at the edge of the bed, giving him a long–suffering look as he paraded back and forth. When he came over waving that lipstick and asked his question, she couldn’t help but burst outughing, caught somewhere between exasperation and amusement.


    Xylia reached out and snatched the bright red lipstick from Joshua’s hand, giving him a look that was equal parts exasperated and amused.


    “Seriously? Does this color even suit you? You were really going to wear it?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.


    Joshua, totally lost when it came to makeup, shot her a hopeful look. “Can you help me out? Please?” he said, trying his best puppy–dog eyes.


    Xylia set the lipstick down and tugged softly on his sleeve. “The show isn’t until tonight. We won’t leave until this afternoon. It’s only six in the morning–can I sleep a bit longer, please?”


    Joshua looked out at the sky, still dark beyond the window, then at Xylia’s sleepy blue eyelids.


    Sunday, atst–a rare weekend.


    She deserved to sleep in for once.


    Especially since they’d stayed up way tootest night. Joshua was bursting with energy, sure, but his girl? She was t–out exhausted.


    A twinge of guilt crept in.


    Joshua changed out of his clothes, slipped back into his pajamas, and crawled back under the covers, cuddling Xylia close.


    “Let’s sleep a bit longer,” he murmured.


    Atst, Xylia could finally rx.


    She nestled into Joshua’s arms, found afy spot, and soon drifted off to sleep.


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    Xylia’s gentle, even breathing filled the room, but Joshua couldn’t sleep a wink–he was simply too wound up.


    He hadn’t even felt this nervous when facing the Sadler Brothers.


    Grace had truly raised and looked after Xylia for years, like family–almost like a second mother to her.


    Joshua knew just how important Grace was in Xylia’s life, and he was determined not to slip up–not even a little–in front of someone Xylia held in such high regard.


    All he wanted was to reassure Grace that she could hand Xylia over to him and not worry for a moment.


    When Xylia woke up again, it was almost ten o’clock.


    As she opened her eyes, she found herself staring right into Joshua’s dark, soulful eyespletely overflowing with affection.


    She blinked, momentarily stunned, her fingers unconsciously curling against Joshua’s abs. “You haven’t slept at all, have you?” she asked.


    Joshua leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, his low, sultry “Mm” sending tingles straight into Xylia’s ear.


    Her heart melted, and she tilted her head up to give him a gentle kiss on the lips.


    “I’m up now, Joshua. Come here–let me do your makeup,” Xylia said, with a yful wink.


    They finally rolled out of bed and went to wash up together.


    Joshua started making lunch in the kitchen while Xylia poked around his wardrobe, picking out an outfit for


    him.


    After lunch, Xylia started fussing over Joshua’s look, getting ready to do his makeup.


    “Wow, I didn’t expect you to care this much about your appearance,” Xylia teased, grinning as she chatted with him.


    She kept up the yful banter while she dabbed a gentleyer of foundation onto his face, her motions smooth and practiced.


    Joshua couldn’t take his eyes off her as she worked.


    “What I care about is the impression I make on your teacher,” he said quietly, his gaze soft and earnest.


    Xylia paused, ncing up to meet his genuinely clear and honest eyes.


    A soft smile yed at her lips.


    Her heart went all soft and gooey inside.


    ‘So this is what it feels like, being fully treasured in someone’s heart,‘ she thought, warmth bubbling up inside. ‘Man, it’s really nice.’


    Before the show started, they stopped by backstage to visit Grace.


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    When Grace spotted Xylia and Joshua, she rushed over to greet them, taking a moment out of all the backstage hustle.


    “And this <b>is</b>…” Grace began, looking straight at Joshua.


    Grace gave Joshua a quick once–over, sizing him up with curious eyes.


    Joshua, a guy who’d spent years navigating the fame game, was actually so shaken up meeting Xylia’s teacher that he broke out in a cold sweat.


    Xylia jumped in proudly, “Grace, this is my boyfriend, Joshua.”


    Joshua quickly stammered, “Hi, Grace, it’s really nice to meet you.”


    Grace nced Joshua up and down with a kind smile. “You’re a handsome one, but just remember–be good to our Xylia, alright?”


    “I know, Grace. Since you’re in Norhill, why don’t Xylia and I show you around after the show? It’ll be a nice way to unwind,” Joshua said, trying to sound casual but still a bit nervous.


    Grace’s smile became even more genuine and warm.


    “You two really are a perfect match–you think alike,” Grace said with a chuckle.


    Xylia and Grace bothughed, while Joshua just blinked, a little dazed by their


    easy


    camaraderie.


    Just then, someone called Grace away, and she had to hurry off.


    As Xylia and Joshua headed to their seats, Xylia exined, “I actually told Grace about our sightseeing ns in Norhill a while ago.”


    Joshua finally pieced it together. He let go of Xylia’s hand, slipped an arm around her waist, and whispered, “Seriously, could we be any more in sync?”


    Xylia couldn’t help butugh, feeling a mix of affection and helpless amusement at his smug little act.


    Joshua suddenly snorted in yful surprise. “Well, would you look at that–never pegged Cyrus as the artsy type. Guess he’s here for the dance performance!”


    Xylia followed Joshua’s gaze and spotted Cyrus in the crowd, clutching his ticket and scanning around for his


    seat.


    The two of them made their way over, and Xylia called out cheerily, “Hey, Cyrus!”


    Cyrus nced back, and his eyes widened just a touch when he saw Xylia and Joshuaing over together.


    He didn’t oppose their rtionship nearly as much as he used to; with Xylia staying over at Joshua’s cetely, Cyrus had quietlye to ept it.


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    “Hey, you guys came too! Xylia, can you help me find my seat? I can’t figure it out,” Cyrus called, sounding a bit lost but not too bothered.


    His ticket was a VIP pass, and the seat numbers were different from the regr ones.


    Cyrus had been looking around for quite a while but still hadn’t found his seat.


    Xylia grinned and pulled out her and Joshua’s tickets. “We’ve got special tickets too. Our seats are up front. Come on, follow us.”


    Xylia shed her VIP ticket and beckoned Cyrus with a grin. “We’ve got special seats up fronte with me!”