Treating Mr. Billionaire

~ 59 ~

The night breeze rustled against her hair, tickling its way through the strands delicately, and inhaling a long breath, she turned her gaze upward to meet the pair of brown orbs peering down at her.

Her steps halted, and she turned her body fully around to face him, while his hand remained resting against hers, the fingertips lightly grazing across her skin in the process.

"Look at the stars, so many of them tonight," Maria said breathily as her gaze found the multitude of twinkling stars above them, with a hint of wonder seeped through her expression. "Imagine how fascinating it would be watching them up close..." She added, and her eyes shifted back to his.

She was expecting his response but was surprised to notice the change in his expression, morphing from its tasteful calmness to a more serious look.

Jayden took in the sight of her, his gaze lingering briefly on her face, and her expression shifted with curiosity.  "Is something wrong?" She asked, and didn't fail to notice a slight tremor in her tone, a sign of uncertainty.

He took a few steps closer to her, the distance between them shrinking rapidly, and she watched his eyes descend to her palm still resting firm against his. "You held hands with him." His gaze then rose again, focusing solely on hers, making sure to give her all of his attention at that exact moment. "And I don't like that." There was a distinct edge to his tone, one that didn't seem angry or hostile, but still made it plain that she couldn't deny the claim.

A flicker of guilt had her lashes lowering almost instantly as she glanced to the side. Her lips parted to reply, but no words came out.  After a few moments of silence and hesitation, she finally managed an answer. "It's not like that." She shook her head in the negative, and her eyes returned to him again. "It happened unintentionally..." Her voice lowered even more than before.

Maria watched his eyebrows pull together slightly, and holding an observing gaze at his face made her realize it wasn't an excuse he needed, but words of affirmation. "It won't happen again..." she promised quietly, and his features relaxed visibly at those words.

With a small smile breaking out across his lips, he stepped toward her, enveloping her completely in his protective embrace, a tight grip encircling her slim shoulders, and a warm hand caressing the back of her neck.

"Good," he buried his nose into the pleasant scent of her hair, letting himself indulge in what felt like a rare moment of peace that had been snatched from his grasp during the past few days.

On the other side, Maria found an unsatisfied feeling stirring within her, distracting her from leaning comfortably against his solid figure. "Was that why you acted that way?" And before she knew it, her thoughts slipped out sooner than she had intended them to.

His hold loosened just a tiny bit against her shoulders, and he pulled away merely enough so they could properly see each other, with his gaze filled with pure confusion. "What do you mean?" His tone was quiet, a question laced within it, and he could sense the tenseness that formed on her features.

"Earlier...with Ted." She clarified, meeting his gaze, and she saw the momentary tightening of his brows, almost imperceptible but visible nonetheless, and her eyes fell to the ground before continuing. "It would be nice if you two were friends," she muttered lowly.

"Friends?" His voice betrayed none of his surprises, his tone conveying nothing more than incredulity at her words, and his hands dropped to rest in the pockets of his dress pants.

"Is that too much to ask for?" Her blue eyes searched his face earnestly for the slightest sign of understanding, and he stared at her silently for a while, thinking over his options carefully.