Garden of Whitney

Chapter 5.

"Ann, don't give her that dehumanising look. People will begin to believe that you have a personal grudge against her, Jane said softly into my ear as she broke my fixed gaze. I had been preoccupied with gazing at the woman who was brazenly making out with an unidentified man. "Jane, I despise her!" I breathed quietly as I moaned.

"Yeah, me too, but you know your dad couldn't just leave this one b***h off the list because he had to invite all of his coworkers." Anyway, disregard her and take pleasure in the celebration, she sighed. There are many handsome boys in this area. Her tone changed to one of mischief.

I grinned, "I don't need just any boy, Jane. I require a true dude.

Her stunned gaze widened. Thank god your dad wasn't around when you said that. He would definitely confine you for several days while completely forgetting about your wedding plans.

"As if I care," said the speaker. I rolled my eyes and moved in the direction of the corner bar. "Just one cocktail," The barman smiled and started making my drink.

Well, he was adorable. My gaze, though, strayed around the gathering and naturally found Festus. But this time, what I saw made my skin crawl in a brand-new way: Gloria, that f*****g b***h, was now making overt overtures towards Festus, obviously attempting to get into his trousers.

She had her witch-like nails following up and down Festus's arms, and I saw this as my jaw clinched uncontrollably and my teeth grinded together. She had easy access because his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and she was obviously making an effort to appear attractive or perhaps to get into bed.

Festus, on the other hand, didn't appear happy at all. She kept reaching out despite my ability to perceive his uneasy laughter and how he was edging away from her touch with his body language.

Why the heck was I even listening to this? He was a grown guy who was more than capable of taking care of himself and handling women like her.

I made an effort to maintain my attention on the beverage, but after only one sip, nothing tasted good.

oh my, Whitney! He is neither your boyfriend nor your husband. Shut the f**k up!

I drank more while continuing to look at Gloria with my eyes like daggers, her blatant flirtation still going strong. Although he was obviously agitated, Festus remained cool and patiently answered her inquiries, which seemed to have no purpose.

I found myself asking the barman for 'one Negroni, please', ordering the particular beverage that also happened to be Festus's favourite.

I unfastened my robe, leaving it open but still covering me, and held the Negroni in one hand and my half-finished cocktail in the other as the barman made it.

I was being pushed by an illogical force towards Festus before I even realised it. Unexpectedly quickly, his eyes landed on me and stayed, examining my form. Gloria noticed me approaching them after noticing that Festus's eyes had turned away from her.

I grinned at Festus and leaned against the bar next to him, completely ignoring her. I pointed to the beverage in my palm and said, "Here's your favourite."

As he took the drink in my hand, his brows furrowed slightly in astonishment. Our fingertips came into contact, and the sensation of it made me shudder.

I turned to her and said, "Oh, Gloria," noticing the odd look on her face. It's a pleasure to meet you. How is your spouse doing? Are things in order?

My carefully chosen words struck their target, filling her face with shame. She stumbled over her words and glanced at Festus, who seemed startled by this unexpected finding.

She cautiously answered, "Yeah, he's fine," adding, "Excuse me, I'll get a drink for myself and be back." Despite another bar being conveniently close by, she hurriedly moved towards the one I had previously occupied, using a lame pretext to conceal her discomfort.

As Gloria left, I noticed Festus letting out a sigh of relief that also affected me.

His new intensity in his green eyes as he turned to face me caused a flurry of mixed feelings and ideas inside of me. I felt a rush of courage come over me at that precise moment, enabling me to move boldly.

Just as he was ready to speak, I noticed myself hunching over to his ear and whispering, "Thank me later, Festus."

After leaving those comments hanging in the air, I moved in the direction of Jane while dumping my open robe upon the chaise couch where Festus had just been sitting.

The entire time, I could feel his concentrated focus on me; it was so intense that it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up, but I tried not to let it show to him.

Jane and a few other women were currently discussing the wedding plans when I joined them in the pool. I couldn't help but keep returning to Festus Adriano's penetrating green eyes, which never seemed to avert their attention, despite the dull discussion.

As I turned to face him, I caught sight of him slowly bringing the beverage to his mouth and taking a sip while he fixed his gaze solely on me, perhaps savouring my presence more than the drink itself.

Oh my, it was not going to be simple to stop me from being dragged in his direction.