Kate had never liked Summer in the first place. Now seeing what happened in front of her, she strode up to them.
Meanwhile, Summer could hear the click-clack of Kate’s high heels approaching and wanted to pull away. But Leonardo had gotten hold of her lips while he mumbled to her, “I dare you to push me away.”
She dared not. Leonardo was good at threatening her. He was arrogant and presumptuous.
Leonardo quietly took a glance and saw that Kate had come in front of them. He suddenly pushed Summer away. He did that with just a force nice enough to force Summer to stumble a couple of steps back. After that, he sorted his shirt with a stony face, his voice devoid of emotion.
“Summer, how long are you going to harass me?”
It sounded as if Leonardo despised Summer, but Summer could hear a hint of triumph in his voice. He must have felt triumphant by pushing her away. But she played along.
“I will stick with you for the rest of your life!”
Summer could almost see the smile in his eyes because she knew him too well.
On one side, Kate heard what Summer said and could not hold back her anger. “Summer, I couldn’t imagine how shameless you could become as a woman.”
Summer turned to look at Kate with a smile.
“Leonardo and I might have been separated, but I would still call you my sister out of respect. This is between Leonardo and me, and he is twenty-seven now. Are you trying to interfere with his personal life, sister? Don’t you think you are a little too overbearing?”
The more Kate looked at Summer, the more she found Summer an eyesore.
“Do you still see yourself as his wife? This is between Leonardo and I. How dare you stick your nose around!”
“You must have made a mistake. It is exactly because I know I am no longer his wife, that’s why I want to win him back.” Summer turned to look at Leonardo with her eyes narrowed. “I think my ex-husband is feeling how eager I am to win him back.”
She knew that Leonardo liked her eyes, especially when she was smiling and gazing at him. She stared at Leonardo for a few seconds. He sorted out his tie and looked down, hiding the expression in the eyes as he spoke casually.
“For old times’ sake, I will not pursue this matter,” he said.
The corner of Summer’s mouth twitched involuntarily. That was so nice of him, she thought. She glanced at Kate, then said slowly, “Well, it is late now. I’ve got to go.” After that, she turned to look at him. “Leonardo, I will see you around.”
Leonardo glanced at her indifferently but said nothing.
After Summer left, Kate could not wait to lecture Leonardo. But because of the presence of Amber, she fought back the urge.
“Leonardo, would you please help me send Amber home?”
It was more of an order than a request. Kate was pushy. She always had the tendency of controlling this younger brother of hers.
“Have I not said that Tim will send her home? My time is too precious for this.” Leonardo gave Kate a sideways glance, then walked away toward his car.
Getting subbed by Leonardo made Kate’s expression turn from bad to worse. She could not help but glance at the direction where Summer had gone. She felt something strange in Leonardo’s attitude toward Summer, but she could not tell what. After calming herself down, she looked at Amber.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have let you see this.”
Amber let out a smile and comforted her. “I am starting to like your brother. I have never met a man like him; so supercilious and extremely arrogant.”
“He has only become like this after the death of our mom. He wasn’t like this when he was small.” Kate could not help sighing when she talked about the past.
Just like Kate, Amber had a solid family background and a ton of admirers. She had seen enough wussies who would wag their tails just to win her smile. Seeing someone as different as Leonardo quickly aroused her interest. Women with a good taste of men would want to make a man like Leonardo their own. So Amber was looking forward to the day when she finally won over him; the sense of achievement would be priceless.
…
Summer was cursing Leonardo in her mind as she drove home. All he knew was to threaten her. How childish!
However, thinking back on what Leonardo had said, she finally got what he meant: he felt neglected. Since back in Hoover City, and agreeing to the temporary separation, she would never call him unless she wanted something from him. She had almost forgotten that the separation was just a ruse. They had agreed to the agreement, yet he now turned around to blame her for neglecting him. He was so unpredictable that he was even harder to please than women.
The moment she stepped into her house, Leonardo called her, as if he already knew she had arrived. She had thought of ignoring him for a while. But she had been worried about him when he did not answer her call, so she decided to answer.
“Have you arrived home?” Leonardo asked.
“Just arrived.” She thought of how he coerced her to join his ruse to bluff his sister and said sulkily, “Mr. Leonardo, I think you are extremely talented in acting.”
Leonardo was silent for two seconds as if he was thinking about her words. “Director? No, I’m not interested.” He apparently did not get her sarcasm.
“Well, if nothing else, I’ve got to go take a shower. Please remember the DNA test. You have to act quickly.” Her voice suddenly sounded depressed. “I heard that babies grow quickly. Their faces change every day.”
If she could find Rosie, could she still recognize her? She had a lump in her throat whenever she thought of this.
“I’m not sure, but no matter how much she has changed, she is still my daughter,” Leonardo said faintly.
Summer heard that and just gave a smile.
…
The next day, Leonardo made a trip back to the old house. Michael had gone to his apartment and not managed to see him, but he did not look particularly angry. After all, their relationship had always been lukewarm. It was Michael who was surprised when Leonardo came back to the old house.
“What made you want to come home today, eh?” Michael asked.
“You came to my apartment yesterday?” While speaking, Leonardo quietly studied him.