The Devil CEO's Contract Wife novel Chapter 228

Chapter 228: There’s A Hottie In Town

My breath shuddered before I forced myself to look away. I stepped out of my room, suddenly thirsty, but I halted when I caught Esme’s door half open.

"Esme?" I pushed the wood, poking my head to see. "Sweetie?"

Esme wasn’t on her bed, so when I walked in fully, I found her at the window nook, eyeing the house across the street while nibbling on her nails.

She flinched when she heard me and jumped on her bed using the covers to hide.

"You saw nothing!"

My mouth hung open for a while. I’m startled.

I cleared my throat and sat on the bed, pulling the covers to reveal her face.

"Am I in trouble?"

"You were watching that house, weren’t you?"

"Mister King lives there, doesn’t he?"

Mister King?

I couldn’t help it as a smile touched my lips.

"I think so... maybe. But peeking is bad." I pinched her little nose.

"Can I see him tomorrow?"

My heart skipped a beat. "W-Why?"

"Because I have questions for him."

"What kind of questions?"

"Not for you, but Mister King! So I’m not telling." She shook her head.

"Alright," I raised my hand in surrender. "I won’t ask anymore."

"Well? Can I meet him?"

I have never seen her so eager for something before.

I hesitated for a moment, but those big, bright blue eyes were something I couldn’t resist. It had its way of making me do things even though I didn’t want to.

"I’ll ask him."

She smiled broadly, showing me her missing front teeth. I don’t think I have ever seen her more excited.

"But under one condition. No more peeking at that house." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"I will if you don’t."

"What?"

"I saw you..." she whispered. "Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me."

I gasped before tickling her, and her giggles filled the room like a gift.

~☆~

"I heard there’s a new hottie in town."

I paused before facing Maria, who handed me the tray of freshly baked donuts, and I slid them into the glass display case.

"Really?" I stated, hoping I could brush the conversation because I knew which hottie she was talking about.

Ares has only been here yesterday and already created that impression. His presence has always had an immersive effect.

"What do you mean, really? He literally lives across from your house. I’m sure you could have taken a good look at those goods."

I shrugged, hoping she would stop talking, but this was Maria.

"So! Tell me, I hope your nosey neighbour charm is put to good use. We need as much info as possible."

"But this is far better and juicier! I heard he was seen jogging this morning, and the girls who came in kept talking about it, and trust me, I can’t resist a good gossip. They said he’s big..."

"Big..." she added. "Massive...huge—"

I resumed my arrangements, sneaking glances, but it wasn’t exactly sneaking when his icy blues were pinned on me like a hawk, following my every move. I can’t even breathe properly.

I spent an hour or more working my rounds, and it was a miracle I hadn’t broken anything because of how shaky I was.

I threw a look over my shoulder when my waitress, Harper, went to take his order. I had asked her to go to him the moment she came in for work, but Ares didn’t spare her a glance.

Our stare was becoming more intense by the minute, and I only broke the spell when Harper came back to me.

I cleared my throat. "What’s his order?"

"Actually, he wants you to take his order."

My insides shook, but I still managed to conjure a reply. "I’ll get right to it."

I took the notepad from her and rounded the counter. The closer I got to him, the more I wanted to bolt, but I forced myself to act as neutral as possible.

"W-What would you like?"

Shit! I’m stuttering. I didn’t want him to know how affected I was, but it’s too late now.

"The usual."

The usual? He said as if I knew what he meant, and God, I hate it that I do.

In silence, I turned on my heels, took a mug and a coffee pot, and walked back to him.

I set the mug in front of him and poured the black coffee into it.

"You cut your hair..." he murmured, finally looking away from my face.

I had cut it to shoulder-length, but it still had its natural waves.

Disregarding his words, I asked. "Is there anything else you want? We have plenty on the menu."

"You."