Appropriate facial gestures in answer to each fired question with a little dramatic effort. Knowing she needed to let the steam out first. Cuddling her in, with her propped to sit on his arm, facing him and her arms around his neck, he stopped to open Meilei’s door and stepped back, trying to answer each of her questions.
“Ever the gentleman.” Ling tutted, still not quite at the point of laying down the gauntlet with this man, as she figured he deserved a few more months, maybe years, of someone busting his ass for past mistakes. Meilei was too soft at heart, and if she chose to forgive, it meant she would lay it all down and leave it in the past. That’s just who she was. Grudge was not in her vocabulary. When someone made amends, she accepted them.
Ling assumed that was mature, but getting off scot-free felt too easy. Five years of pain was a little too much for an easy forgiveness.
“Enjoy your day with Tian, Miss Huo. I’ll take extra good care of our girls and deposit them home in a timely manner for dinner.” Kai nodded towards Ling, catching her eye with a deliberately over-charmed smile and head tilt. Knowing she was the fire dragon to shield his duo and accepting the harsh nature that came with it. He no longer saw her as a pain in the ass but as a secure and stable guard dog, always thinking of them above all. He had found genuine affection for her because of it.
“You better. I bite.” Ling waved him away, blowing kisses to her princess, and fired her car into gear to signal him to get out of her window. He moved out of the way as she reversed back out, waving to them as she slid off, and Meilei took a long, deep breath to calm her weird nerves.
“You look pretty today. You both do.” Kai replied in a smooth low manner that had Meilei glancing away unsurely. She didn’t like straying into the weird territory of Kai acting sweet. It made her afraid of falling back into the heartache he could cause her.
Every week, he took them somewhere like this, and Yue never tired of it.
“You don’t want to stay here all day?” Meilei was shocked that he wanted to take them to a movie. She had never tried to take Yue to it as she was still young. It was not an activity that ever crossed her mind.
“Oh.” Meilei had no objections and was touched by the thought. More than – by his considering her feelings, should he experience that with their daughter and not let Meilei be there. It gave her weird butterflies churning in the pit of her stomach, and she swallowed hard, unable to meet the softness of his gaze. Lately, he always felt so intense to interact with, and it was too easy to be pulled back into memories of the boy she had been so in love with so long ago.
Yuelin had never initiated any kisses, and he had never tried to shower with that kind of affection, knowing it was more intimate than a hug and required trust. It was a single moment of joy and achy pain in his chest as emotion filled his throat, and he could only smile at her with watery eyes and a huge lump choking him.
Kai nodded, squeezed her tight, and followed Meilei into the park. He was unable to formulate words as he pulled himself back together.
“I have never been here. How do you even know about it?” Ling pushed ahead of Tian as he leaned in to open the door to the diner and smirked to himself and her constant need never to let him lead. She pushed aside all gentlemanly gestures like opening doors for her even though the good manners in him refused to let it go. He wouldn’t dare try to hold her hand for fear she would probably break his wrist.
The diner was a small, pretty average place tucked out of sight on a side street near the gym they sometimes frequented. It was not a popular hang-out, so it was pretty quiet, but it was family-run, clean, and had homely food. He wanted to bring her somewhere that he loved. He considered it part of his life and routine and hoped she liked it too, as going outside together on a proper date felt like a step forward.
“Kai, Qian, and I come here often for breakfast on the weekend. I like the food and the cozy atmosphere, and it’s never too busy.” Tian followed his sassy queen eyeing up the curvy ass he had become so addicted to as she wiggled ahead in stilettos and a tight skirt. Dressing not too dissimilar to her work attire, he realized that Ling dressed that way daily. She never had a casual sweat day or a pair of jeans. It was weirdly attractive to him that she was a little bit high-maintenance.
However, he seriously questioned his choice to go out for food when they could have been in his apartment with that skirt on his bedroom floor.
“Not scared someone sees us out together, Mr. Wang?” Ling threw him back a shoulder shrug and a cheeky wink, aware of his watching her ass, curving her spine to give him an extra eyeful before spotting a free table in the corner. So far, all their dates had been indoors, usually in his apartment or the hookups they had at work, in his office, in the bathroom on the boardroom floor, and twice in his car at lunch. Tian was insatiable as a lover, and since they started, the need to haul her to a dark corner to get it on had become increasingly frequent. Not that Ling was complaining. Tian was a very addictive kind of man, with a good body, great stamina, a penis made to give orgasms easily, and the skill to use it. Her icy CEO had turned out to be scorching hot and passionate when it came to sex.
“Why should I be? If they do, it’s none of their business.” Lately, Tian has been thinking about keeping them less secret at work. Given how many men in his building tried to flirt with his woman, he saw the perks in staking a claim nowadays. In such a short time, he had fallen under Ling’s spell despite their agreement to be casual until they saw where this went.
Tian was in trouble, and he knew it, yet he had no intention of running from it. He could never focus on anything when she was wandering around, like his idea of a wet dream, and he missed her in his bed whenever she had to go home. Tian wanted more every time he saw her. Spending time together that was not work-related had shown him they were more compatible than he ever thought they would be. Pushing Ling’s hostility and sass aside and becoming someone she wanted to spend time with had shown him a whole other side to her. Sexy, smart-mouthed, intelligent, passionate and fierce. She was ambitious yet still warm-hearted and direct. She played no games and loved people wholeheartedly when she let them in. He knew he was still on the outside, but he had no fears he would not be able to get past her outer prickly walls in time. Ling had a tale in there that he wanted to know. She wasn’t ready to share at all, although he never pushed.
Weirdly yet, he didn’t know why there were times when Ling reminded him of his own mother. Not in looks or manners, as they were nothing alike in any of those ways, especially not how they dressed. But the underlying fierce strength of a woman who became resourceful and tough because of something deeper. He could sense it, and he respected waiting until she told him why.
“Tian? What are you doing here?” A familiar male voice drifted his way and pulled his attention to his far right, at the side entrance to the diner where Qian was walking hand in hand with the esteemed Doctor of his life. Looking like the golden couple from every gooey romance show. Tian paused, knowing Ling heard them too, and waved rather than responded. Gesturing for Qian to come over to him.
“Is this some kind of setup?” Ling turned and jested at Tian before beaming at Suying, who seemed shocked and excited to see her. “Some sad double date because you two bros miss one another?” Ling sassed, jutting out her hip to lean on the nearest booth seat and slid her hand to her waist.
Given the absence of this little stop out the past hours, she wasn’t mad about this encounter at all. Suying had been off with Qian since after dinner the day before. She missed her cheeky face. It felt lately like her whole family was deserting her.
“You guys want to be alone, or do you want company?” Qian asked as they closed the gap between the four of them. He, too, seemed happy to see them and was open to eating together. The diner was decently vacant, given the time of day on a Saturday morning, and they grouped in the aisle to chat quietly.