The Coldest Man in the Room Melted Only for Me novel Chapter 369

Flashes of blurry memories crashed into Riley's mind. She was slumped over the edge of the bed, wanting to throw up. She had grabbed Sebastian's hand to rub her stomach, whined that it hurt, refused to go to the hospital, called him pretty, and said she wanted to kiss him. And then she actually did!

Oh, God, what had she done?!

Riley's eyes widened in sheer panic, her face turning crimson.

Sebastian knew she remembered. He watched her with a fond, amused smile.

Riley flopped back onto the bed and yanked the blanket entirely over her head. "I don't remember! I don't remember anything!"

Seeing her adorable attempt at self-deception, the smile in Sebastian's eyes deepened. His gaze looked like a galaxy filled with a million stars, completely radiant.

"I made oatmeal. Get up, wash your face, and eat something."

"You go first! I'll get up in a minute," her muffled voice echoed from under the covers.

Sebastian stood up and left the room.

Riley wallowed in self-pity for a few minutes before finally dragging herself out of bed. Even if she was mortified, she still had to face the world—and she had work to get to. After freshening up, she walked into the dining room, pretending she had completely blacked out the night before. Acting as if nothing was wrong, she sat down and took a sip of the oatmeal.

Sebastian watched her, a hint of expectation in his eyes. "How does it taste?"

"It's delicious." Riley suddenly realized she had never seen Sebastian cook before. When he woke her up, hadn't he said he made it? "You made breakfast?"

"Yes."

"You know how to cook?"

"No. I just learned."

Riley took a few more bites. The oatmeal was perfectly soft and creamy, the shredded meat inside tender and flavorful. It tasted absolutely nothing like a first-timer's cooking. She then took a bite of the fried egg next to it—crispy on the edges, soft in the middle, and incredibly savory.

She looked up at Sebastian, her eyes sparkling. Was this the difference between a genius and normal people?

No matter what he did, he could learn it instantly and master it flawlessly?

"It's really good."

Sebastian quietly breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that his entire morning of frantic effort had been completely worth it. Though, when he thought about the mountain of charred, blackened eggs sitting in the kitchen trash can, he gave a faint, imperceptible frown.

Eating her oatmeal, Riley thought back to Sebastian's sudden appearance last night. She couldn't help but ask, "Didn't you say you had a business dinner? Why were you at The Sapphire Bistro?"

Sebastian casually took a bite of his food. "I moved the dinner to The Sapphire Bistro."

So that was it.

"Do you have a history of stomach issues?"

Riley nodded. "Yeah."

Noticing her lingering gaze, Sebastian asked, "What is it? Did you forget something at the restaurant?"

Riley shook her head. Her fingers curled slightly before she mustered the courage to lean in, plant a quick kiss on his cheek, and immediately scramble out of the car.

Sebastian froze for a split second. Looking up at her fleeing figure, a slow smile surfaced in his deep eyes. It wasn't until she completely vanished from sight that he finally told Franklin to drive.

Not long after arriving at her department, Riley received a call from the community center. They informed her that the home visits had all been arranged and she could head over whenever she was ready. Once the 'dinner' was sorted out, their efficiency skyrocketed.

She spent the morning handling her hospital duties and headed to the community center in the afternoon. However, when she walked into the coordinator's office, the man sitting there wasn't Zane Jenson. It was a completely different man in his forties.

Seeing Riley, the man immediately stood up with a beaming smile. "You must be Dr. Vance! Hello, I'm Hugh Dalton, the new coordinator. I'll be personally handling all your project needs from now on. I guarantee everything will go perfectly smoothly."

"Where's Mr. Jenson?"

"He's been transferred. Come on, I'll take you on the home visits right now."

Hugh personally escorted Riley on the visits, and everything was arranged flawlessly. The process was incredibly smooth.

After the afternoon visits concluded, he even assured her that all of tomorrow's visits were already lined up. She could come by anytime. He also told her not to worry about the data processing or sample recruitment—everything would be handled efficiently.

With Zane suddenly transferred and the new coordinator being so highly cooperative, Riley wasn't foolish enough to think a single dinner had accomplished all this.

As soon as she left the community center, she called Sebastian. "Did you arrange what happened at the community center?"