Rina swallowed and looked at the bouquet Zayn was offering, her eyes widening in surprise. She should have gotten used to his random gifting of flowers, but it managed to stun her every single time. She blinked and coughed noisily, stepping away from him. Rina couldn’t think clearly when she was around Zayn, as a few seconds ago, every part of her wanted to stand on her toes, to graze her lips with his. It had taken the last shred of restraint she had around him to pull away.
“Thank you,” she breathed, receiving the flowers. Rina was unable to hide the smile on her face when she realized every color of roses was in the bouquet. She could imagine his cluelessness walking into the florist shop. Rina thought he must have asked the florist which of them a woman would prefer, but unable to come up with something precise, he’d decided to buy them all.
But then again, she might just be overthinking it. Everyone got everyone flowers, right? It wasn’t a big deal.
“Isn’t a big deal,” Rina repeated to herself, her lips moving wordlessly.
“What?” Zayn asked.
She shook her head at once and walked back into the kitchen. “Dinner will be ready in a few minutes,” Rina called over her shoulders.
“Beautiful flowers you’ve got there,” Susan said as she moved to the drawers with an array of spices. “It’s very thoughtful of Zayn, seeing as you are making us dinner tonight.”
“Come on,” Rina drawled. “You cook for us every single time. This is nothing compared to what you do.”
“For me, it is my job. I have always been under the employment of the Grahams to cater to their household. You, on the other hand, could decide to do absolutely nothing and no one would dare fault you for it. You are Zayn’s guest, and it is pertinent I remember that.”
“But I’m inconveniencing you by being here,” Rina argued. “You would have been at Zayn’s mansion tonight but because I’m here, you had to leave your duties over there to come cater for me. Making dinner is the least I could do.”
“I’m grateful.” Susan smiled sweetly at her. “But I think you can go upstairs to have your bath. The table will be all set by the time you return.”
Her feet shuffled out of the kitchen and up the stairs into her bedroom. There was little time for a warm soak so Rina used the shower instead. It was a tad foreign because most of the time, she preferred washing up in a tub. But that was going to have to do for that night.
Done from the bathroom, she strolled into the closet and did her skincare, before standing at her row of perfectly arranged clothes. Rina angled her head as she fiddled with the idea of putting on a dress paired with red lipstick. It was going to look stunning on her, with her hair slicked up in a cute bun.
She shook her head suddenly, getting rid of the thought. “You can’t do that, Rina,” she told herself. “That would actually mean putting too much effort. It is just a dinner. A regular dinner that you could have in your pajamas. That’s probably what he’s going to be wearing as well. You don’t want Zayn to think you actually put in the effort to impress him, do you?”
However, she had to admit to herself that the thought did sound great. She imagined the subtle raise in his eyes as she walked down the stairs in a dress that stopped right in the middle of her thighs, and her endless pair of legs even more defined by a pair of stiletto heels. Rina didn’t want to keep anyone waiting so she would keep the makeup to a minimum. Perhaps, some powder, blush, and lipstick.
“Really, Rina?” She rolled her eyes and moved to the hangers that had her pajamas, taking a black linen tow-piece off it and shrugging it on. Eyeing the lipstick, she sighed exasperatedly and walked out of the closet, closing the door behind her with a loud click. There! She couldn’t turn around to put it on.
But Rina was already at the top of the stairs when she realized she hadn’t brushed her hair after drying it. She definitely didn’t want to appear too much to everyone downstairs but at the same time, she couldn’t let them think she had a bird’s nest for a hair. Wheeling around, Rina was about to take a step back into the hallway when she halted abruptly, hitting a brick wall. He held on to her waist, pulling her flush against his muscular build.
“Intriguing how this is the second time it’s happening today,” Zayn mused, his deep-set voice sending tingles through Rina. She was painstakingly aware of how close she was to him, how his throat bobbed each time he spoke, the masculine scent of his aftershave, and the heady mixture with his wash.
“W-what?” Rina was flustered, and her cheeks reddened from the proximity. She tried to hold on to her train of thought, but it seemed to evade her, leaving her head swirling with thoughts of how great Zayn looked and the million and one possibilities of chances they could take at that moment.
“I didn’t want to hold the first one, so I let her go. But you … Rina Power…what do I do with you?”
“Zayn?” William suddenly called from the foot of the stairs and that was all the snap Rina needed back into reality. She pulled away from him and adjusted the collar of her shirt to keep her hands busy. Her lips parted and closed rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, she turned around and bounded down the stairs, walking past a surprised William who narrowed his eyes and looked up.
Zayn came down in a second, and William was waiting for him at the same spot. “Why does Ms. Power look so flustered, Zayn?”
He shrugged, patted William’s shoulder, and walked into the dining room.