“Don’t you think we should wear matching outfits like a couple?” Liam whispered right onto Isabelle’s neck, making her shiver from his hot breath. “It makes our date more interesting”
“O.. okay, we can try that” Isabelle stuttered, already weak in the knees. She had no chance to argue with him or the result might be unexpected. “What’s the color code?”
“Blue” Liam responded without a rethought. He already had it in mind as he walked over to his closet and brought out a set of twinning T-shirts. “I got them a long time ago on my way back from work. I thought it might be useful someday”
A beautiful smile brightened Isabelle’s face as she stared tearfully at the blue T-shirts, happiness was an understatement to describe how she felt at that moment. “This is so thoughtful of you, thank you… We could pair this up with blue jeans and white sneakers”
She suddenly thought of something and added. “You do wear outfits like that, right?”
“Of course, I do” Liam snorted. “Why do you think I bought it in the first place? Maybe, I should have just gotten a pair of matching suit jackets.. that would have been nicer”
“Hahahaha….” Isabelle laughed heartily at his serious expression when cracking a joke. “It’s.. it’s fine. I prefer this one… Thank you” she uttered in between laughter.
Their continuous bantering caused them to take extra hours to get ready.
“Let’s go, Isabelle. You can stare at me all you want when we get into the car”Liam teased Isabelle who was staring at him in a dazed state. It was her first time seeing him in casual wear which made him look younger.
“There’s a drool on your cheek, right here” Liam teased further as he made to wipe her cheek, right in time for Isabelle to hit his hand away. He had teased her in that manner before and she wasn’t falling for it twice.
“I’m leaving” Isabelle scoffed and walked ahead of him, irritated by his laughter.
“Take it easy, will you?” He uttered in a soothing tone as he opened the car door for her, like the perfect gentleman that he was.
Isabelle found it hard not to admire how handsome he was as he drove the car. Her heart warmed at the kind gesture he had displayed that morning. Something in him had changed, it was a huge contrast to the cold demeanor he had always shown.
“Where are we heading to?” Isabelle asked in a soft tone. “Should we go shopping first?”
“Whatever you want” Liam readily agreed, pulling the car in front of a huge shopping mall that had the Callahan name constructed boldly on it. “This is one of the many projects I have launched. I’m quite sure you’ll like it”
“Woah…”Isabelle pouted her lips in surprise. “It’s huge”
“I know” Liam replied. “Let’s go in. They’re waiting for us”
True to Liam’s words, a group of workers were already waiting patiently at the reception for him.
“Welcome, Mr. Callahan. it’s been a while” A man who looked more immaculate than the rest, walked forward and shook hands with Liam. “All services have been made ready for you”
“Thank you” Liam uttered in a flat tone and shifted his gaze to Isabelle. “My fiancee here wants a tour of the place”
“Oh! Madame. It’s nice to see you in person”The man smiled at Isabelle who reciprocated his actions. “Allow me the honor of showing you the excellence and elegance of the Callahan shopping mall”
Liam and Isabelle trailed behind the man who showed them around and focused mainly on the jewelry section.
“This is a collection from the royal dynasty in China,” the man said with an exquisite tone as he pointed towards a show glass with ancient jewelry in it. “It is said to have been worn by the queen dowager herself in 890AD”
“Wow! I’m impressed”Isabelle complemented him. “You do have great knowledge about these things”
“You flatter me, ma’am… Has the general manager of this mall, it is my job to keep tabs on all the items in my care” the manager replied nervously. “I hope you’re enjoying the tour?”
Isabelle’s gaze was fixed on a particular show glass that she didn’t hear the question from the manager.
“Do you want it?” Liam who walked quietly by her side, asked the moment he noticed what she was staring at, a simple necklace with a diamond pendant attached to it. He turned to the manager and ordered” Get that necklace out of that glass and pack it up for me”
“Alright, boss”the manager bowed then looked at Isabelle with admiration in his gaze. “You have a good eye for things of worth. That necklace was severally rejected by customers because of its simplicity but those people never knew thought to examine it closer. It contains Ten thousand carats of diamonds. But, it can never be detected with the ordinary eye”
“What???”Isabelle exclaimed in shock. If she knew it was that expensive, she would have even dared to stare at it. “Liam I don’t think there’s need for it. I mean I don’t fancy it like that”
“Either way, I’m still going to get it for you. You can get rid of it later on” Liam replied with a nonchalant expression, like the money wasn’t coming from him.
Isabelle was stunned once more by Liam’s words. “Isn’t that a lot of money?”
“It’s nothing compared to what you’ll get to own in the future” Liam’s lips curved into a soft smile as he patted her head. “Don’t worry too much about it. Things like this cause no dent in my bank account. Besides, the mall is mine”
“Okay,” Isabelle agreed, rubbing her sweaty palms together. The manager later presented the necklaces to her, but this time, in a smaller box that made it easier to move around.
“We still have one more place to go” Liam announced as soon as they stepped out of the mall, amidst the goodbyes from the workers.
“We aren’t done yet?” Isabelle queried. “Does that mean more money to spend?”
“Of course, yes. But it’s quite different this time… I’m pretty sure you’ll like it”Liam assured her as soon as they got back into the car. “We should be home before midnight” Liam added, the shopping had already taken half of the day.