Following the legs up, Lue''s eyes traveled over narrow hips and a slim waist.


    Not a bad build!


    Chewing her gum, she continued her appraisal until her gazended on the man''s face.


    Holy! Lue squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them again. And again. Her chewing slowed to a stop as a cold smirk spread across her face.


    Well, well, well. If it wasn''t Juniper''s brother, the pretty boy-Jimmie. Which meant the person she''d flipped off on the road was him. What a twisted coincidence.


    "Mr. Langley, is it?" Jimmie stopped in front of Lue, his height advantage forcing him to look down slightly. From a distance, he had only gotten a rough impression. Up close, he could see every detail, even the fine pores on her skin. He''d seen plenty of pretty boys, but none as delicate-featured as this one.


    “That''s me. What about it?” Lue raised an eyebrow, her expression growing even more defiant. She had no intention of being polite. She''d heard that when Juniper went to find him, he''d told her to get lost. Not even she had ever said something so harsh to Juniper.


    "First, the other day, I only honked because you were blocking my way. Maybe my driving isn''t the best, but giving me the finger was uncalled for, don''t you think?” Jimmie stared at Lue, his voice cold.


    “Huh?” Lue almostughed out loud. Was Jimmie trying to lecture her like a schoolchild?


    "Second, I stopped just now because I saw the girl crying and was worried she was being bullied. I was about to help. As for eavesdropping..." Jimmie shrugged, gesturing around them. "This is a public space, is it not?"


    "Third, you will apologize to me."


    Lue blew a bubble with her gum and popped it. She looked at Jimmie with amusement. "Such a huge difference."


    Juniper was so adorable, but her brother was... insufferable.


    "What?" Jimmie didn''t catch that and frowned.


    "Your hearing is bad, too, huh?" Lue gave him a dirty look and retorted, her words sharp as needles.


    "First, you honked and scared me, so I gave you the finger. We''re even."


    “Second, this is a public space. Don''t tell me you stopped here in the middle of the night to admire the scenery, Mr. Tate you were eaveshopping So what? It''s not like


    I''m going to eat you."


    “Third, an apology? Thest person who asked me for an apology... well, the grass on their grave is about as tall as you are."


    "You—” Jimmie was rendered speechless. He never expected a grown man to be so sharp-tongued.


    "Anything else to add, Mr. Tate?" For Juniper''s sake, Lue decided to show some mercy. "If not, I''ll be on my way. We''ll... be seeing each other."


    With that, Lue hopped on her motorcycle and sped off.


    Be seeing each other? Jimmie''s face was grim. He took deep breaths of the empty air, trying to calm himself. He had absolutely no desire to see that rude punk ever again


    ...


    The next day, the weather was beautiful. Warm sunlight streamed through the


    window, illuminating the white marble dining table.


    "Sir, breakfast is ready." Dana set


    down a bowl of soup, stealing a nce at the man who had been silent and sullen sinceing


    downstairs. The master''s mood was


    awfult


    today. He hadn''t even stayed


    up fate doing homeworkst night. Could it be... that Ms. Payne had


    given him a hard time again?