Owen lowered his gaze, his voice cool and measured. “Mr. Hartley, heading to Torrenia as well?”
19
“Exactly. Looks like Ms. Saxon and I are on the same flight.” Flynt smiled, his eyes glinting with challenge. “So, Mr. Shaw, just here to see her off?”
Aria tightened her grip on Owen’s hand. “No. We’re going together.”
Flynt’s eyes flickered. Beside him, his assistant clutched the luggage tightly, his fingertips trembling uncontrobly.
The assistant thought, ‘Owen wasn’t supposed to go, so why the sudden change of ns? Mr. Hartley won’t let me off the hook’
When Owen heard “We’re going together”, sparks seemed to explode in his ears. His heart fluttered as if brushed by a feather, a jolt of electricity shooting through his whole body as excitement flooded every nerve.
Almost instinctively, Owen squeezed her hand back, holding on desperately, afraid she might change her mind.
Owen thought, ‘Gosh, I so want to kiss her right now. But it’s the wrong ce.
Flynt’s gaze lingered on their sped hands, raising an eyebrow. “But Mr. Shaw, you don’t seem to have any luggage with you?”
Owen’s lips curved into a smirk. “Mr. Hartley, we’re a couple. We live together, so of course our luggage is together.”
Flynt wasn’t foolish, and he could tell Aria had changed her mind on the spot.
Flynt wondered, ‘Why did she suddenly let Owen tag along? Was it because of my provocation? Had she seen through me?’
Ignoring Flyntpletely, Aria grabbed Owen’s hand and led him away. Pulling out her phone, she said, “Let me check if there are still any tickets left.”
Owen gently ced his hand over her phone, turning off the screen. “Actually…
“I booked the ticketsst night and packed our clothes. I slipped them into your suitcase while you were in the shower.
“Honestly, I was going to talk you into it first, and only then admit I’d already booked the flight tickets.”
He stood before her, his eyes softly crinkled, wearing a vulnerable, almost puppy-dog expression.
Aria’s gaze turned serious. “If you wanted toe, why didn’t you just say so?”
Owen pressed his lips together. “I thought you didn’t want me toe.”
Aria said, “I didn’t want my situation to disrupt your ns. My return date is uncertain, and if you have an important caseing up, it could jeopardize your clients’ interests.”
Owen said, “Actually, there’s a major case, but it’s been postponed for three months because of the intiff.”
Owen wanted to go with her, but he would never gamble with his clients’ futures. “Even if a casees up,” he assured her, “I can always fly back early.” He was truly set on going.
When Aria told Flynt that she and Owen were together, she could sense Owen’s sheer delight even without looking at him.
A pang of regret hit her. She should have asked if he wanted toe along first, instead of just telling him to stay in
Torrenia as her backup.
But because of this, Aria seemed to discover a whole new side of Owen. It seemed that he had grown quite attached to her.
‘But could I really live without him?’ Aria thought to herself, ‘If I imagined life without Owen, there’d be no one insisting on cooking for me every day, no one looking at me so tenderly, and no one warming my side of the bed anymore…
Had she never been with Owen, she’d have sworn that solitary life was just right for her. Aria thought to herself, ‘But now it seems I can’t live without him either.’
Aria rose on her toes, looping her arms around Owen’s neck as her lips gently met his,
She ignored the crowd, not caring who saw her. At that moment, all she wanted was to kiss him.
Aria said, “Owen, no matter who you truly are, I’ll never leave you. You don’t have to hold back with me.”
Owen desperately wanted to return her kiss, but he knew they were being watched. He didn’t want anyone else to see that vulnerable, passionate side of Madelyn, the side that was for him alone.
He gave a slight nod, his face breaking into a warm smile. “Okay.”
Though he said “okay,” Owen still wouldn’t reveal that side, the part of himself he saw as unworthy.