Dear sweetheart novel (Rayna and Julian) novel Chapter 114

Dear Sweetheart Chapter 114 Sorry For Bothering You
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The crowd saw that Curtis had endured for 260 seconds and counting. Excitement bubbled up all around. Curtis, however, looked perfectly at ease as he kept his eyes trained on Rayna.
…400… …410… …419…
At the 420th second, Curtis was still hanging on. Whispers of amazement and admiration sounded all around. Curtis glanced at the timer and casually let himself drop to the ground, landing gracefully on his feet.
Rayna hurried over to him and reached for his hands. Flipping them around, she saw that his palms were red and tender. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. It was easy.”
The game operator approached Curtis with the huge whale plush toy in tow. “Wow, good job, young man! I’ve been running this game for years, and after the couple about four years ago, you are the second person to hang on for that long!”
Curtis took the plush toy from the man and said with a smile, “My sweetheart took a liking to this whale, so I thought I’d give it a shot.”
Rayna’s ears turned pink at his words.
The blue whale plush toy was huge, almost three meters in length. Curtis was afraid that Rayna might have trouble carrying it, so he tossed it over his shoulder and held it with one hand, his other one holding onto Rayna’s. Passersby could not help but stare at the beautiful-looking couple wherever they went.
“Sweetheart, are there any other games that you would like to play?”
“No. Let’s head back.”
Although it was Curtis’ birthday, it seemed that Rayna was the one who had been enjoying the amusement park, and she was rather embarrassed at the realization. After the two of them got into the car, Rayna drove toward her mother’s house with the big blue whale taking up the entire backseat.
Linda was about to go to bed when the two guests arrived. She was surprised to see Rayna when she pulled open the door and exclaimed, “Why are you here again?” As she glanced past her daughter, Linda saw Curtis standing behind the latter. She was doubly surprised at the sight of the striking man.
“It’s his birthday today. I brought him over for a special birthday meal,” Rayna explained. She turned to Curtis and introduced Linda by saying, “Mr. Faymon, this is my mom, Linda.”
Curtis nodded politely at Linda and said apologetically, “Ah, my mother-in-law! Sorry for bothering you this late.”
Rayna blushed at the way Curtis had addressed her mother.
For a brief second, Linda stared back at Curtis, dumbstruck. Then, she quickly returned his greeting and pulled the door open to admit Rayna and Curtis. “This man is so much more handsome than Julian. I like him better,” whispered Linda to Rayna as the latter walked past her into the house.
“Mom, he’s my boss. Don’t be silly,” Rayna hissed at her mother.
“Then why did he address me like that?”
Rayna could not say that Curtis was drunk because her mother would never believe her. Instead, she ignored the question and quickly changed the topic. She dragged Linda into the kitchen and said a bit too loudly, “Mom, you’re the best cook I know! Let me help you!”
Curtis, on the other hand, sat politely in the living room as he waited.
Right then, his phone vibrated in his pocket as someone was video-calling him on WhatsApp. After a brief moment of thought, he answered the call, and a young man wearing a ponytail appeared on the screen.
“Happy birthday, Curtis!” Wyatt said with a smile. He raised an eyebrow questioningly as he took in Curtis’ background. “Where are you, Curtis? It looks like an old house.”
“My mother-in-law’s house,” Curtis replied with a faint smile.
“Huh! Who’s your mother-in-law?” Wyatt asked with his eyes wide open in surprise.
Curtis wore a strange expression on his face. Seeing the look on Curtis’ face, mischief crossed Wyatt’s mind, and he wanted to tease the former.
“Jeremy, I think something’s wrong with Curtis over here,” he called out to Jeremy.
Soon, Jeremy’s face appeared on the screen. He squinted at Curtis and asked, “Did you have something to drink earlier, Curtis?”
“I had some brandy.”
“Ah, brandy has a high alcohol content. No wonder Curtis looks a little out of it,” Jeremy said to Wyatt. Then, he turned back to Curtis and asked curiously, “Curtis, where are you exactly?”
“Haven’t I already said that I’m at my mother-in-law’s?” Curtis repeated rather impatiently. However, nothing could spoil his good mood that night. He continued in a rather smug tone, “My sweetheart and her mother are making a special birthday meal for me.”
“Curtis, you’ve been single for the longest time! What’s going on—” Wyatt countered.
Jeremy smacked him before he could finish his sentence.
He shoved Wyatt out of the screen and flashed Curtis a bright smile. “You’re always saying how busy your lady is. It’s so sweet of her to make time to celebrate your birthday with you. Can I say hello to her?”
Curtis nodded and told him to wait before he stood up and walked toward the kitchen.
“Sweetheart.”
“Huh? What do you want?” Rayna was unnerved to hear him call her so intimately. It was fine with her if there was no one else around, but with her mother within earshot, Rayna felt embarrassed and uncomfortable.
Curtis handed her his phone and said, “Jeremy wants to say hi to you.”
Jeremy?
Rayna was still wondering who that was when she caught sight of the young man wearing a white jacket on the video call. He looked polished and refined.
Jeremy did a double-take when his eyes landed on Rayna. “Hello! I’m Jeremy,” he introduced himself in a friendly voice.
Rayna nodded at him and explained, “Er, Mr. Faymon had a bit too much to drink, so…”
“Oh, I know!” Jeremy replied with a smile. There was no trace of anger or hostility in his tone. “I just wanted to thank you for taking care of Curtis and for celebrating his birthday with him.”
“Oh, you’re welcome.” Jeremy’s friendly tone put Rayna at ease.
After some small talk, Jeremy ended the call.
When Wyatt got up from the carpet where Jeremy had pushed him down, he saw the latter putting away his phone. “Hey! Did you hang up already? I wasn’t done speaking to Curtis!” he yelled in an annoyed tone. But almost immediately, he sounded curious as he asked, “Who was that woman on the call just now? Does Curtis really have a girlfriend?”
“Maybe she’s someone who works for Curtis,” Jeremy guessed. “I have a good impression of her. She’s easy to get along with.”
“You shouldn’t have ended the call so quickly! I could’ve taken a look as well!”
“We’ll be flying back next Friday. Wouldn’t it be better to meet her in person?” Jeremy tossed the phone at Wyatt and turned to leave. “Just hurry up and finish what you’re supposed to do. I’m not going to help you.”
“Come on! Don’t do this. Aren’t we the best of friends?” Wyatt coaxed him in a wheedling voice. “We can have fun once we get home. Ah, I’m excited just thinking about it! After two more years in Norham, I’ll be ready to retire!”
“Do you want to bet on it?”
“Okay! What shall we bet?”
After a short while, a bowl of steaming hot mac-and-cheese was served.
Rayna had stuck a candle right in the middle of the bowl and lit it up. She then asked Curtis to make a wish.
The old Curtis would never have entertained such a childish notion. However, the man closed his eyes at that moment, whispered a wish in his heart, and blew out the candle.
Curtis scooped a spoonful of the mac-and-cheese into his mouth. It was dripping with three kinds of melted cheese and aromatic herbs. The dish was truly one-of-a-kind. “Linda, you really are an amazing cook! This is the best mac-and-cheese I’ve ever had! No other can top it!” he praised.
Linda smiled from ear to ear, bursting with pride. “Come over anytime! I’ll make it for you again!”
Rayna just smiled as she watched their interaction.
There won’t be a second time!
By the time Rayna drove Curtis back to his home, it was already past eleven o’clock and fast approaching midnight.
Curtis lingered in the car for a long time. “Sweetheart, you really won’t move in here?”
“We’ve already agreed before that we will live separately. Go on in. Take a shower and go to bed,” Rayna coaxed Curtis with ease.
The latter unbuckled his seatbelt and swung open the car door. Suddenly, he turned back toward Rayna, leaned over, and pressed a kiss onto her lips. Rayna was caught off guard.
“Be careful on the road, Sweetheart.”
While Curtis’ voice was still ringing in Rayna’s ear, he had already shut the car door behind him. Rayna quickly composed herself and drove off. In the rearview mirror, she watched Curtis walk up the steps to his front door and enter his house.
On the way back to her own home, Rayna brought her finger to her lips and touched them lightly. Her heart had been beating wildly since she had driven off from Curtis’ house.
Why did he kiss me again?