Chapter 164: Wrong Destination
"Come on," Luca said with a smile. "I’m starting to get hungry."
Cecelia hesitated, glancing back at the stack of paperwork on her desk.
"I still have a little work left. Just... give me a few more minutes."
Luca looked at the document she’d been staring at and couldn’t help laughing.
"If you hadn’t spent the last twenty minutes reading the exact same page, I might’ve believed you."
"..."
Her cheeks instantly turned pink.
"I-I’m done reading it!"
She hurriedly closed the folder, stuffed it onto the corner of her desk, grabbed her handbag, and stood up.
"Let’s go."
As she stepped around the desk, the strap of her handbag accidentally caught the water glass sitting near the edge.
"Oh!"
Instinctively, she reached for the glass.
Instead of catching it, she lost her balance and stumbled forward.
In the next second...
She crashed straight into Luca.
One of his hands caught the falling glass before it hit the floor.
The other naturally wrapped around her waist, steadying her before she could fall.
For a brief moment, neither of them moved.
When Cecelia finally realized what had happened, she discovered she was pressed against Luca’s chest.
Her face was practically buried against him.
’...’
’He’s... surprisingly fit.’
’Definitely has pecs...’
’And those abs...’
She didn’t need to check to know they were there.
A teasing voice sounded above her head.
"Secretary Cecelia."
"I know I’m reasonably handsome..."
"But are you already throwing yourself into my arms?"
"I wasn’t!"
She immediately pushed lightly against his chest and stepped back.
The moment their eyes met, embarrassment rushed over her again.
Her ears turned red.
Unable to look at him any longer, she spun around and practically fled toward the office door.
Behind her...
A tiny smile appeared on her lips.
She even puffed her cheeks slightly in quiet satisfaction.
Thankfully...
Luca couldn’t see it.
Truthfully, she’d spent almost the entire day thinking about him.
How could she not?
He was handsome.
Confident.
Exceptionally capable.
And unimaginably wealthy.
Any woman would find someone like him attractive.
Besides...
She’d been alone for years.
If she truly had no standards, she could’ve easily sought comfort elsewhere.
Bars.
Short-term relationships.
Casual flings.
There had been opportunities.
She simply wasn’t interested.
She hated promiscuity.
She wanted something genuine.
And somehow...
This man had quietly rekindled feelings she’d believed had long disappeared.
If someone asked whether she loved him...
She honestly couldn’t answer yet.
Maybe.
Maybe not.
She truly didn’t know.
But if someone asked whether she wanted to explore where this relationship could lead...
Her answer would be immediate.
’Yes.’
Part of that answer came from desires she’d buried for years.
The other part...
Simply came from Luca himself.
Who wouldn’t be drawn to a man who was rich, handsome, mature, reliable, and still carried the energy of someone much younger?
The two rode the elevator down to the underground parking garage.
Cecelia unlocked the door of her little white Mini Cooper.
Before she could even say anything, Luca casually walked around the front of the car and settled into the passenger seat.
She blinked.
"Um..."
"Luca..."
"You didn’t drive today?"
He gave her an amused look.
"I’m the chairman of a conglomerate."
"Do I have to drive myself everywhere?"
She laughed awkwardly.
"We could take one of the company cars instead."
In her opinion, someone like Luca probably spent his days riding around in luxury sedans worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Her little Mini suddenly felt embarrassingly ordinary.
To her surprise, he simply leaned back in the passenger seat.
"I’m comfortable here."
"Let’s go."
"I’m starving."
He really was hungry.
Well...
Hungry in more than one sense.
The brief moment earlier in the office kept replaying in his mind.
The warmth of her body.
The softness of her waist.
The subtle fragrance she carried.
It wasn’t an overpowering perfume.
Instead, it reminded him of fresh clivia blossoms after a spring rain.
Elegant.
Refreshing.
Easy to become addicted to.
Seeing he had no intention of changing cars, Cecelia quietly started the engine.
The little Mini smoothly rolled out of the parking garage and onto the evening streets.
After driving for several minutes, she glanced toward him.
"So..."
"President Hale... Where are we eating?"
Without opening his eyes, Luca replied,
"We’ve already left the office."
"You don’t have to call me ’President Hale’ anymore."
"Just call me Luca."
Her hands tightened slightly on the steering wheel.
"Then..."
"You shouldn’t call me Secretary Cecelia anymore either."
Luca smiled.
"Alright."
"I’ll call you Celia."
That single sentence nearly made her heart skip a beat.
"Celia..."
No one had ever called her that before.
It sounded...
Unexpectedly intimate.
She cleared her throat to hide her emotions.
"Ahem..."
"Okay."
"I... like that."
She stole another glance toward him.
His eyes remained closed as though he were resting.
Unable to stop herself, she smiled brightly.
At the exact same moment...
The corners of Luca’s lips quietly lifted too.
Neither of them noticed the other’s smile.
About twenty minutes later...
Cecelia suddenly froze.
"Oh no!"
"Luca!"
"I completely forgot to ask where you wanted to eat!"
She looked out the windshield.
Without realizing it, she’d driven almost all the way home.
Luca slowly opened his eyes and looked around.
"Where are we?"
She pointed toward a group of apartment buildings ahead.
"Silverbrook Residences."
"I live there."
She looked slightly embarrassed.
"I was distracted."
He thought for a second before smiling.
"Perfect."
"Let’s eat at your place."
She blinked.
"My place?"
"I’ve seen the lunches you occasionally bring to work."
"They’re pretty good."
"So tonight..."
"I’ll let Chef Celia cook for me."
She looked at him in surprise.
’How does he even know I sometimes bring homemade food?’
She had no idea Captain Rico’s investigation had already documented practically everything about her daily routine.
"Come to my apartment?"
She hesitated.
"Wouldn’t that be..."
"A little inappropriate?"
"A man and a woman alone together..."
He nodded seriously.
"You’re right."
Then, with a completely straight face, he continued,
"In that case..."
"We should stop somewhere and buy protection first."
Her eyes widened.
"W-What?"
He looked at her innocently.
"Otherwise..."
"What if something happens?"
She stared at him, completely speechless.
"That’s not what I meant!"
He blinked again.
"Oh."
"So..."
"You were planning to have my baby?"
Before he could continue, Cecelia immediately covered his mouth with both hands.
"Stop talking!"
"No more!"
Her face was so red it looked ready to catch fire.
After glaring at him for another second, she finally withdrew her hands.
"Come on."
"We’re going upstairs."
"I’ll cook."
She quickly got out of the car before he could tease her again.
As she walked ahead, the clicking of her high heels echoed through the parking garage.
A mischievous smile quietly spread across her face.
’He has no idea...’
’I intentionally drove us home.’
’And I definitely wasn’t going to remind him.’
Behind her, Luca followed at an unhurried pace.
His eyes drifted toward the graceful sway of her hips and the long legs carrying her toward the elevator.
He yawned lazily.
’I spent the whole drive pretending to sleep...’
’Now I’m actually getting sleepy.’