Pursuing Miss Introvert

Chapter 14. Brunch

The aroma of pan-grilled meat and spices hit her right away. Someone was cooking in the small kitchen just across the open living area. A big sliding door was opened to let the breeze in, she could see the river just a short distance away, as well as buildings and houses from afar.

Her suspicion was right. This was a man's house.

The walls were painted a combination of light gray and white, but the furniture inside was of darker colors, black and a dark shade of gray. The granite floors were in off white color, giving the space a homey feeling. She didn't see any photos on the wall, but there were a couple of abstract geometric pattern wall frames placed behind where the sofa was, and another frame of a famous basketball player on the wall next to the main door.

There wasn't much clutter to see in the living room, just a twenty-four-inch tv and a console table on the side with books on them. Someone was cooking in the kitchen, but whoever it was, was obscured from the view of the bedroom.

Amelia walked slowly, grabbing the baseball bat she saw at the corner by the bedroom door.

Whoever was her host, she felt she needed something to at least protect herself.

Coming into the view of the kitchen, she saw him with his back to her, flipping the meat on the pan, and a bowl of chopped vegetables on the kitchen counter. Amelia raised the baseball bat she was holding just as he turned to face her.

She stood there unmoving, her mouth dropped open at who her host was.

Laurence!

He stood there relaxed and with slight amusement in his eyes.

"Don't you think it's a little too late for that?"

He motioned to the bat she was holding.

Amelia blinked in confusion, the last few moments felt too overwhelming for her to process.

First of all, how did she end up at his house?

Too many questions were running in her head but she was too shocked to get them out one by one.

"Why am I here?"

She finally found her voice and asked.

"How did I end up here?"

With the bat in one hand, Milly racked her brain for any memory of her seeing Laurence last night.

But nothing.

She came up with nothing.

Laurence turned back to the stove and removed the meat he was grilling from the pan, and immediately replaced it with the vegetables. The searing sound of the oil and water brought Amelia back to her present problem. She needed answers, and right now, or she would go crazy.

"Laurence."

When he didn't answer, she stepped closer to the dining table and tried again.

"Laurence, why am I here?"

She was beginning to worry, not just for herself, but the whole situation was a big problem.

"Did Ryan know I was here?"

If she wasn't able to go home and no one informed Ryan or her aunt, they might worry too much about where she was. It was so unlikely of her not to go home at night.

"Laurence!"

She was close to shouting his name if he kept ignoring her like that.

Turning the stove off, Laurence removed the apron from his waist and casually plated the table.

"I called him last night."

He answered, briefly glancing at her before opening the fridge for a carton of milk.

"He knows I'm here, with you?"

Amelia asked, curious about why her ever-strict cousin would allow a guy to take her home all night?

"Would you rather I didn't tell him?"

Laurence countered, he placed two small bowls of rice on the table.

"Let's eat."

That sounded like a command, not an invitation. Amelia thought.

When she didn't move, he tilted his head to the side ever so lightly, then approached her slowly.

Suddenly on alert, Milly raised the baseball bat in defense.

Laurence stopped just a couple of steps in front of her, eyes glinting in amusement, his tongue moving inside his cheek.

He was having a hard time concentrating on his thoughts. Not with her in his house, in his very own space, invading his privacy and causing chaos in his head.

She looked so adorably sexy in his gray sweatshirt, hovering just by her thighs, he nearly gagged when she showed up in his kitchen. Her hair was tousled from rolling in his bed the whole night, while he suffered from sleeplessness and anxiety in the living room sofa.

Typical.

Laurence snorted.

"So you're going to head-bat me?"

He could easily pull her closer now if he wanted to.

But he won't.

Not just yet.

"I assure you I'm much more harmless than that Theo guy."

Laurence wanted to see how much she remembered about last night, and who she was with.

"Theo?"

She seemed surprised hearing the name though.

"Let's eat first, then we can talk."

He figured she must be starving, she hadn't eaten anything since he brought her home last night.

Giving her baseball bat one more glance, Laurence turned and sat in front of the dining table.

It was a little late for breakfast, but it would have to do. He waited for her to wake up earlier but when she didn't, he had no choice but to skip breakfast and just went for a run around the nearby promenade.

Amelia's stomach growled in protest, much to her dismay.

God, she was starving. And thirsty.

Casting Laurence another wary glance, he seemed to be very relaxed and already munching on a mouthful of meat and fried vegetables.

Fine, she thought. She could deal with whatever later once she already had food in her stomach. Milly lowered the bat and placed it aside, before taking her seat at the dining table.

Hmm, the food looked sumptuous! Laurence pushed the bowl of rice in front of her without saying anything.

Milly mumbled her thanks, before gulping half the glass of milk he poured for her. He looked up at her and stared for a few moments but then focused his attention back on his plate. She didn't know eating a meal with him in his house would feel almost natural. Maybe it was because he seemed relaxed too?

Milly had just taken two spoonfuls of rice on her plate when Laurence reached out and sliced the meat in front of her into small pieces, casually putting them on top of her plate. Something tugged at her heart, how could he be so blatant in his actions?

"I can do it myself..."

She mumbled, looking up at him.

"I know."

Laurence quipped but did not say anything more. He just went back to eating like it was the most normal thing to do.

Milly let out a soft sigh, steadying her heart rate that seemed to be always on high alert whenever he was near.