Chapter 232: Candlelight Dinner
By the beach.
The bonfire, candlelight dinner, barbecue, and seafood were all ready. By the time Vivian Lowell returned, Eleanor Rhodes was already feasting at the next table.
"Vivian, you’re back! I was starving, so I started eating first! The food is amazing—you have to try these grilled scallops. They’re incredibly fresh!"
After saying this, Eleanor mumbled around a mouthful of food as she continued to eat.
Vivian smiled. As she turned to take her seat, she realized that Julian Faulkner had already stepped up behind her, thoughtfully pulling her chair out for her.
"Thank you."
Vivian thanked him politely. Once she was comfortably seated, a chef came over to serve the food.
It was baked Boston lobster.
The freshly prepared lobster still radiated heat the moment the lid was lifted. Breathing in the tantalizing aroma, Vivian couldn’t help but feel a wave of sheer delight. She could tell just by looking at it that the dish would be absolutely delicious, a true testament to the chef’s skill.
"This is wonderful." Vivian’s eyes crinkled in a smile as she gazed at the dinner spread, her mood lifting significantly.
Picking up her chopsticks, Vivian glanced at Vance Wyatt, who was still standing nearby on standby. She couldn’t help but say, "You don’t need to keep standing here. Isn’t there an empty seat at Eleanor and Finn’s table? Go ahead and eat with them!"
𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺
Vance was thoroughly tempted, but he still cast a hesitant glance at Julian. Truth be told, without Julian’s explicit permission, Vance didn’t dare make a move!
"Mhm." Thankfully, Julian gave a soft hum of approval. Finally liberated, Vance scurried off to find Finn.
By this time, the sun had completely set, and the entire beach was bathed in the warm glow of the bonfires. Perhaps thanks to the occasional ocean breeze, the air didn’t feel overly hot.
Vivian thoroughly enjoyed the meal. Not only did she get to eat her favorite dishes, but more importantly, she got to share such a romantic seaside dinner with Julian. It was truly wonderful!
After dinner, Eleanor suggested going for a walk, proposing either a stroll along the beach or a wander through the gardens.
"The beach," Julian decided directly, which was a rare instance of him not asking for Vivian’s opinion first. Vivian glanced at him, and he even took the initiative to explain, "The gardens tend to have a lot of mosquitoes at night."
Vivian paused, completely taken aback that Julian would use such a reason. After all, he was a grown man wearing a long-sleeved shirt and trousers. Logically speaking, he shouldn’t be afraid of mosquito bites, right?
As she pondered this, Eleanor came over and affectionately linked arms with Vivian. With a cheeky laugh, she said, "President Faulkner is so considerate!
"He knows our Vivian is a magnet for mosquitoes, so he suggested walking along the beach together. But I won’t be joining you two for your walk tonight! Vance, could you drive me to the duty-free shop?"
The hotel they were staying at wasn’t far from the duty-free shop; it was only about a twenty-minute drive. More importantly, Eleanor had no intention of being a third wheel in Vivian and Julian’s private world! A trip to the duty-free shop was a perfect excuse, and she could buy some souvenirs for her parents while she was at it.
Hearing the mention of the duty-free shop, Finn also became interested. She hurriedly leaned in and asked, "What do they sell at the duty-free shop? I’m almost out of facial masks! Miss Rhodes, may I go with you?"
"Of course!" Eleanor agreed with a radiant smile, adding, "If we go together, we might even be able to combine our purchases for a discount! Let’s go, let’s go. No time to lose!"
"Okay," Finn agreed, immediately calling for Vance to hurry over and drive.
"Coming!" Vance replied, eagerly trotting off after Eleanor.
Watching the trio make a swift departure, Vivian couldn’t help but laugh softly. She turned to look at Julian and asked, "Should we go to the duty-free shop too?
"I know they sell jewelry and health supplements there besides just skincare products. We’re here on vacation this time, and we’ll be staying for about a week. Since Grandma couldn’t come with us, we should definitely bring some things back for her, shouldn’t we?"
Vivian herself actually wanted to go to the duty-free shop to buy some skincare products and small gifts to bring back for Leo and the others.
For this trip to Cyrina, Vivian had only brought Finn along. Originally, she had planned to bring Leo as well, but the company had been particularly busy lately, so Leo had to stay behind in Aethelburg. Vivian found it quite a pity.
Hearing this, Julian furrowed his brows and said, "It’s too crowded."
And too noisy. He had rarely managed to squeeze out a few days to spend with Vivian, so he absolutely refused to waste them in a crowd.
Vivian blinked, easily seeing through Julian’s intentions. Not pressing the issue, she said, "That works too. Since you have to visit a local boss tomorrow anyway, I can just go with Eleanor and the others then.
"As for right now... this time belongs strictly to the two of us. We can take a walk here, chat, enjoy the sea breeze, and look at the stars. How does that sound?"
"Sounds perfect," Julian agreed immediately, his mood improving drastically.
The gentle night breeze blew past them as Vivian and Julian walked along the beach toward a more populated area. After a short distance, they spotted a coconut stand up ahead.
They were selling freshly opened coconuts of several different varieties. Vivian walked over and picked out a king coconut, then asked the vendor to open another one for Julian.
"I’ll take two. Open them both, please!" Vivian turned to Julian with a grand, generous flair and declared, "My treat."
"Okay," Julian agreed tenderly. As his gaze swept past the coconut stand, an elderly man suddenly began walking toward them from up ahead.
The elderly man looked incredibly familiar. It was none other than Mr. Drake, the neighbor who lived right next door to Julian and Vivian’s home.
"Julian, Vivian." Mr. Drake stopped in front of the coconut stand. Spotting the two of them, he greeted them with a hearty chuckle and casually asked the vendor to open a coconut for him as well.
"Mr. Drake?" Vivian was surprised to run into him here. She distinctly remembered that right before they left for their trip, the house next door had been completely quiet. It hadn’t looked like Mr. Drake was home at all.
Furthermore, she had heard that Mr. Drake had gone to pay his respects to his late daughter and son-in-law. She hadn’t expected him to arrive in Cyrina so quickly.
But on second thought, Vivian realized it made sense. The last time the Drake family returned to the country to host a gala, Mr. Drake hadn’t attended. Many of the investors and industry moguls had actually shown up primarily because of Mr. Drake’s formidable reputation.
Since he missed the last one, Mr. Drake absolutely had to make an appearance at this upcoming gala organized by the Drake family. Otherwise, relying solely on people like Joy and Hazel Drake simply wouldn’t be enough to hold down the fort.
"It’s me," Mr. Drake said, taking his coconut. Pointing to a cooler spot nearby, he asked, "Since we’re all here, why don’t we sit down together, enjoy our coconuts, and take a breather?"
Meeting Mr. Drake’s sincere gaze, Vivian nodded in agreement and pulled Julian along to sit down with him.