Not waiting for Leonardo to speak further, Carl smiled like a Cheshire cat as he tried to smooth things over. “I was the one who bumped into Leonardo while I was there on some business. When I learned that Jessica and you were having lunch here, I forced him to come with me.”
“Mhm.” Leonardo could not have agreed with Carl’s explanation more.
Summer glanced at Carl with a half-smile on her face as Carl returned a don’t-expose-him look.
There was no way he would go over to Emerson Group for no reason. It was Leonardo who had called Carl on the pretext of having lunch with him. It turned out that Leonardo was bringing him to this place.
However, how did Leonardo know that Summer and Jessica were there? Well, Carl could not be bothered to ask since he could not be happier to dine with Jessica.
Rosie raised a wooden doll in front of Leonardo in excitement. “Daddy, doll!”
It was the toy that Jessica had bought her—a singing wooden doll that worked on very simple technology. It would not attract the interest of an adult but it was something novel for a child.
“Who gave you this?” Leonardo asked.
“Ms. Jessica.” Rosie pointed at Jessica, all smiles, and Jessica patted Rosie on the head in turn.
“Would all of you like to order something now?” a waitstaff asked after pouring each of them a glass of water.
“Sure,” Summer replied.
She had arrived early with Rosie and lost track of time while she chatted with Jessica. It was close to lunchtime now. Since Carl and Leonardo were there, it was only natural for her to order the food first.
The waitstaff brought a menu, and Leonardo pushed it up to Summer, who then pushed it back to him. “I’ll leave it to you to decide.”
Jessica was sitting across from her and watching everything unfold. When she and Summer were talking about the mudslides in the mountains earlier, she never once mentioned Leonardo.
Looking at the way they were kicking the menu around, it seemed like things were not that simple.
Jessica quietly gave Carl a kick under the table. He looked over at Jessica in puzzlement, and she pointed her chin at Leonardo. Carl shook his head, indicating that he had no idea what was going on between Leonardo and Summer.
Leonardo glanced at Summer. He no longer shoved the menu around, instead, he opened it up and started browsing. After he ordered some dishes, he handed the menu to Carl.
When the food was served, Summer discovered that over half of the dishes were her favorite.
She had no doubt that it was Leonardo who ordered them for her.
Leonardo had regained more memories, but remembering Summer’s favorite dishes no longer seemed incredible.
During lunch, Jessica’s eyes occasionally darted between the two of them. She sensed that Leonardo and Summer had become closer, but at the same time, things seemed a little odd.
After lunch, Leonardo offered to send Summer and Rosie home.
“Let me send you two back.”
“I’m driving.”
Leonardo did not push his luck. He just reminded her to drive safe and went back to his office. Naturally, Carl left with him.
“After you guys went through all of that, the big boss and you…” Jessica gave her that you-know-what-I-mean wink.
“What?” Summer was confused.
Jessica touched her fingers together, but Summer was still none the wiser. “Closing the distance, growing mutual feelings… No, that’s not right. Long story short, do you feel like he’s closer to you and stuff like that?”
Summer thought for a moment, then nodded. “Uh-huh, we’re staying together now.”
“You guys are staying together? So, let me get this, he’s moved into your house, is that correct?”
Jessica was truly an actress; her reading and comprehension were outstanding.
“Correct.”
Getting an affirmative reply, Jessica’s jaw almost dropped to the ground. “Have you guys reconciled?”
Reconciled? Not really.
“No.” Summer shook her head.
“I heard from Carl that the big boss went into the mountains and risked his life to search for you. Don’t you feel anything about that? Even though he hasn’t been able to recover his memories, he knows about the past and cares about you. Even if he can’t remember, you guys can still create more memories…”
While Jessica continued to babble, Summer’s mind drifted off somewhere else.
She knew that Jessica had a point, and she had been mulling over those things for the past two days. If Leonardo was still himself, why did something feel different, though?
Summer had been hoping for Leonardo’s amnesia to be resolved. They could then return to the past, so was it not good news now that Leonardo had regained more memories?
“Tell me frankly, what’s on your mind and why are you hesitating?” Jessica asked when Summer did not respond to what she said.
“I don’t know. I just feel that Leonardo is himself and not himself at the same time. I can’t go back to the way things were for now—”
Without waiting for Summer to finish, Jessica threw her a sideways glance. “You’re being greedy! Think of what happened three years ago, and look at things now. You two are still alive and kicking with an adorable daughter like Rosie. What more do you want?”
Summer pursed her lips and came to a realization after she heard Jessica’s words. The more things a person owned, the more worries a person had.
At first, when Leonardo saw her as a stranger, she only thought about going back to the way things were.
Now that Leonardo’s condition was slowly improving, she was starting to think of more things.
Sitting on the side, Rosie had been listening in on their conversation. “Greedy,” she chimed in all of a sudden.
Summer and Jessica turned to look at her while she moved her fingers, appearing confused. She just said that to Jessica without knowing what “greedy” meant.
“Who’s greedy?” Jessica teased her.
Rosie looked at Jessica and then at Summer. “Daddy.”
Jessica burst into laughter and bent forward, slapping the table as tears flowed out of her eyes. “You and Rosie have the same character, Summer; so quick to duck. Her survival instincts are off the charts!”
Summer’s mouth twitched. “What about your idol baggage, Jessica? Aren’t you afraid of being photographed by the paparazzi?”
“No fear…” Jessica kept laughing.
Summer turned to look at Rosie. “Do you understand what ‘greedy’ means?”
“I don’t know.” Rosie shook her head with utmost honesty. Of course, she had no idea what it meant.
“Don’t use that word on your dad again.” Summer stroked Rosie’s hair.
Children were able to learn super-quickly. They would instantly capture what adults say, and Summer was worried that Rosie would say it in front of Leonardo once he got home at night.