Chapter 222 - 211: Honeymoon Trip
Whew!
The camera had been in Elliot Sheridan’s hands the whole time; she had no idea when he’d taken that picture.
After putting the camera away, Georgia Thorne gave them the gifts she had bought in Elysia.
They were all just inexpensive little trinkets.
That evening, Selena Sheridan didn’t want to go back to the Sheridan estate. Clutching a pillow, she looked at the newly-married Georgia Thorne. "Georgia, I want to stay for dinner tonight!"
Nancy Hughes agreed. "Yeah! It’s been so long since I’ve had Georgia’s cooking. I miss it so much!"
Georgia said it was no problem. It was just two more people, which would make things livelier.
The three of them went to the supermarket. Georgia considered their different tastes, unsure of what ingredients to buy.
Nancy, standing to the side, suggested, "Let’s just have hot pot!"
"Huh? But hot pot makes the whole place smell!" Selena Sheridan cried out.
"Then you don’t have to eat," Nancy said, smiling at her. "You can go home for dinner."
Going home was the last thing Selena wanted to do right now; she was a hundred, a thousand percent against it.
She grabbed two boxes of beef from a nearby freezer case. "I want to eat this!"
Hot pot was a free-for-all; you could put anything in it.
Selena and Nancy picked out a huge pile of things they liked to eat, while Georgia just grabbed some vegetables.
A text came in from Elliot, asking if she wanted to go out to eat that night.
’Eating out is probably impossible now,’ she thought, glancing at the two women ahead of her.
She replied, telling him that she was already at the supermarket and that Selena and Nancy were with her tonight.
Elliot must have still been busy with work, as his reply didn’t come for another ten minutes. "Don’t let them stay for dinner next time!"
Georgia snorted with laughter, easily imagining the look on Elliot’s face on the other end of the line.
Seeing that they had bought just about enough—there were only four of them, after all, so they couldn’t eat that much.
As they were about to pay, Nancy whispered in her ear, "Can I bring someone along?"
"Who?"
Nancy said bashfully, "Dylan Heston!"
Uh...
When Elliot got home from work, he saw several extra pairs of shoes by the door and frowned.
Then he heard Liam Sheffield’s voice coming from the living room.
Liam was pestering Georgia. "Hey, Miss Georgia, you’re so biased! Why can you stay the night at my brother’s place, but not at mine?"
"Miss Georgia, Miss Georgia, come stay at my place, won’t you? I promise my apartment is way nicer than my brother’s house!"
His pestering made Georgia’s face turn beet red. "Um, could you give me some space?"
"Miss Georgia, just come to my place! I guarantee I’ll give you a beautiful and unforgettable night!" Liam declared, his voice rising theatrically.
’This kid is trying to poach someone right under my roof? He’s got a lot of nerve!’ Elliot’s face was completely black.
Hearing him talk about some "beautiful night," Georgia started to think Liam might have a few screws loose. She turned to dodge his "attack."
"Elliot, you’re back!" Dylan Heston said from the couch, a look of pure amusement on his face as he waited for the show to start.
’Liam is probably in for it this time,’ he thought.
Liam, who had been circling behind Georgia, immediately ran out when he heard Elliot was back. "Bro, you’re home!"
Liam was so excited to see Elliot that he dashed over, about to leap on him.
But before he could get close enough for a hug, Elliot’s hand shot out and grabbed him by the collar. "Come with me."
"Hey, bro, be gentle! These clothes are new! If they get wrinkled, I can’t wear them!" Liam pleaded as Elliot dragged him out onto the balcony.
Georgia glanced over and breathed a sigh of relief. She was finally free from Liam’s incessant chatter.
Nancy snickered. "Liam’s definitely going to get an earful this time!"
Georgia had no problem with Nancy’s boyfriend coming over, but she hadn’t expected Dylan to bring Liam Sheffield and Ethan Fletcher along as well.
The party had suddenly grown, but thankfully, it seemed like they had bought enough ingredients.
Among everyone who came today, Liam was probably the only one who didn’t know that Georgia and Elliot were legally married. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have kept calling her "Miss Georgia."
After getting a harsh lecture from Elliot on the balcony, Liam was much quieter when he returned to the living room.
He had also changed how he addressed Georgia, now calling her the same thing Dylan and the others did.
The group was eating hot pot boisterously, with the sole exception of Liam, who sat with his head hanging, silent and lacking his usual enthusiasm.
Georgia nudged Elliot beside her and asked in a low voice, "What did you say to him?"
’It’s like Liam has lost all hope for the world,’ she thought.
Elliot replied expressionlessly, "Just teaching him a lesson."
Georgia was speechless.
Liam had a childish temperament and loved a lively atmosphere.
For some reason, Georgia’s heart softened.
She placed a piece of meat in his bowl. "Don’t take his words to heart."
Liam didn’t cheer up; in fact, he grew even more depressed.
He wasn’t depressed because of Elliot’s lecture, but because he was utterly devastated that the two of them were married.
Liam muttered under his breath, "Sister-in-law, do you think my brother is better-looking than me?"
His voice was so low that only Georgia heard him.
Afraid of hurting Liam’s fragile ego, Georgia patted his shoulder and said, "You’re still young. By the time you’re his age, you’ll definitely be better-looking than him!"
Of course, Georgia said this quietly too, not daring to let Elliot hear.
Hearing Georgia’s comforting words, Liam instantly brightened up.
He grinned. "Then, Sister-in-law, when I’m my brother’s age, will you fall for me?"
The words had barely left his mouth when a heavy blow landed on his head.
The culprit was none other than Elliot.
"Bro, how can you be so mean!" Liam whined, clutching his head with a pained expression.
Elliot offered a sinister smile. "Want to see what ’meaner’ looks like?"
Liam frantically shook his head. He wasn’t that brave.
After the hot pot, everyone who was supposed to leave left, except for a drunk Selena Sheridan.
She was sprawled on the sofa, fast asleep.
Georgia came out of the kitchen with a glass of warm water and saw Elliot kicking Selena. "Get up!"
Selena just whimpered, rolled over, and hugged a pillow to go back to sleep.
No matter how many times Elliot called her, she wouldn’t wake up.
"Just let her stay the night here," Georgia said, crouching down to rescue Selena’s face from being smothered by the pillow.
Tonight, who knows what had gotten into the girl; she had been drinking happily by herself, and no one could stop her.
There was only one bedroom. If Selena was going to stay the night, she would have to sleep on the sofa.
Georgia naturally couldn’t bear that. She looked up at the man towering over her with wide, watery, pleading eyes.
"Hubby!" she called out coquettishly. "Could you sleep out here tonight?"
’Give up his bed for Selena to sleep in?’
’In the past, the probability of that happening would have been zero.’
But Elliot couldn’t withstand Georgia’s combination of pleading and pestering, so he agreed.
He carried Selena to the bed and, with a THUMP, unceremoniously dumped her on it.
"Be gentler! You’ll make her uncomfortable, tossing her like that."
’Why should I care!’
Elliot wished Selena would wake up so he could kick this inconvenient third wheel out.
But Selena was sleeping too deeply. She found a comfortable position under the covers and was dead to the world again.
The living room was cooler, so Georgia specifically got a thick blanket for him.
Elliot was sitting on the other sofa, working. With a laptop on his legs, his ten fingers were flying across the keyboard.
Georgia finished making his makeshift bed. "Hubby, I’m sorry to put you through this tonight."
Elliot closed his laptop and set it on the coffee table.
He pulled Georgia’s hand, making her sit on his lap. "Just words? I’m not seeing much sincerity."
’Sincerity? That’s easy!’
Georgia’s eyes lit up. She cupped Elliot’s face with both hands and planted a kiss on the corner of his lips.
But Elliot wasn’t so easily placated. He immediately cupped the back of her head, and just as she was about to pull away, he pressed his lips to hers again, kissing her fiercely.
In the end, Georgia, face flushed, scurried back into the bedroom.
’Thank goodness Selena was already asleep,’ she thought.
Georgia got under the covers and lay down beside Selena. She was on the side where Elliot usually slept, and the blankets were filled with his scent.
It was clean but distinct, rich but not overwhelming.
The two in the room slept soundly until dawn, while Elliot in the living room worked through the night.
Sleeping on a sofa would only make a person more exhausted.
The next morning, when Georgia woke up, Elliot had already left for the office.
Georgia felt a pang of disappointment when she got up and didn’t see him.
Selena didn’t wake up until high noon.
Feeling she had nothing to do at home, she lingered at Georgia’s place until evening, when a phone call from Sharon Ennis finally summoned her back.
Elliot came home from work on time, as usual. Hearing him arrive, Georgia hurried out of the kitchen. "You’re back."
Elliot grunted in response, then scooped Georgia into his arms and carried her into the bedroom.
Georgia yelped, "Hey, what are you doing?"
"Going to bed!"
"But the soup is still on the stove!"
"Let the housekeeper handle it. I didn’t sleep a wink last night. You’re going to sleep with me now."
Her heart ached when she heard he hadn’t slept all night.
After seeing his bloodshot eyes, she stopped struggling. She thought about how someone as pampered as him must have been miserable sleeping on the sofa.
「Another week passed, bringing them to mid-September.」
The weather was mild, and the sun was warm but not scorching.
On this day, the media in Portmire was in an uproar.
That day’s newspapers in Portmire were all reporting on the engagement of the new president of the Sullivan Family and Isla Sinclair, the daughter of the Sinclair Family’s old commander in Portmire.
Although Justin Sullivan had mentioned to her before that he was getting engaged, she never imagined his fiancée would come from such a powerful background.
The Sinclair Family had a long line of military men; her father, grandfather, and great-grandfather had all been brilliant commanders. Isla Sinclair could be said to come from a military and political dynasty.
Isla’s father was a general, while her mother worked in the government, holding a position on par with Quincy Rhodes.
If Justin Sullivan really married this young lady of the Sinclair family, his future would be truly limitless.
Georgia sat on the sofa, her eyes glued to the television screen.
On the screen, Isla Sinclair and Justin Sullivan stood side by side—a handsome man and a beautiful woman, a match made in heaven.
Justin was a thoughtful and considerate person, keeping Isla protectively in his arms the entire time, demonstrating his gentlemanly conduct.
Isla Sinclair blushed in Justin’s arms, smiling shyly for the reporters’ cameras.