Secretly Mine-Chapter 169: Chocolate Covered Almonds

The rest of the afternoon went by in a flash. There were still no signs of Christian, outside of the flower and snack deliveries that seemed to come in regular intervals.

I popped a handful of chocolate-covered almonds into my mouth as I finished my last report of the day. The closer it got to the end of the day, the happier I got. After yesterday’s painting lesson with Lucas, I really began to look forward to our future lessons.

"I wonder if we’ll finish the apple painting today," I mumbled, picking up another handful of almonds.

Instead of picking them up, like I had anticipated, my hand grazed against the bottom of the crystal jar they were delivered in.

"Aw," I pouted, looking at the empty jar. It was my first time trying chocolate-covered almonds, and needless to say, they were so good that I finished the whole jar in the matter of a few hours.

When Blake came by to pick up the dishes from lunch, he gave me the jar, saying they were from Christian.

At first, I ignored them, but as I became more involved with my report, my hand subconsciously gravitated towards them, introducing me to my new addiction.

The clock on my desk made a soft chime, letting me know that it was already five.

"Oh! I should hurry and make my way down," I said as I gathered my belongings. Lucas was supposed to send someone to pick me up.

I skipped down the hall with a joyous expression on my face. Internally, I was replaying all of the techniques that Lucas taught me yesterday, painting the strokes in my mind.

The moment I stepped outside, I was greeted with another surprise. Lucas was standing outside, leaning against his white car.

"Lucas! Weren’t you supposed to send a driver? Why are you here?" I asked with wide eyes.

"I’m here to pick you up, of course," he smiled. He walked over to my side and gently took the tote bag out of my hands before leading me over to the passenger side.

"Thank you," I smiled as I got into the car.

Lucas closed the door behind me and walked over to get into the driver’s seat. He waited for me to get my seatbelt on before driving off.

"Are you excited for today’s lesson?" he asked warmly.

I quickly nodded, "Yes, I’ve been reviewing everything you taught me yesterday. I’m looking forward to finishing the painting!"

"I admire your diligence. Not only are you naturally talented, you’re also very hardworking."

My heart raced and my cheeks flushed from his compliment. Lucas was so kind that I couldn’t imagine him ever making enemies.

Except for Christian...

"I’m not that talented. It’s your teaching that makes it easy to understand," I replied, not letting him pivot all of his hard work as my talent.

The car turned oddly quiet. I turned to glance over at Lucas, making sure that I didn’t offend him somehow.

Instead, I was greeted with the sight of Lucas’s bright red ears and overly focused gaze that never left the road in front of him.

I burst out into laughter. "Lucas, are you blushing?" I asked, trying to commit his adorable face to my memory.

"Blushing? Who’s blushing? I’m not blushing," he replied without looking at me.

His words only caused me to giggle even harder.

It only took a few moments for his cheeks to match the same shade of red as the tips of his ears. I couldn’t help myself and reached out with my hand and patted him on his head.

Immediately, his entire body stiffened. His hands gripped the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles turned white.

"I’m just not used to compliments," he said softly.

My eyes widened, "Not used to compliments? How can that be? You give them out so often, surely you get many! Plus, you’re so talented!"

"I won’t say that I never get them. Just not often. So they mean a lot, especially when they’re from you.." his voice trailed off. The car turned silent as we were both lost in thought.

Thankfully, we were already pulling up to his house, so the strange tension in the air around us dissipated as we got out of the car.

-

"Go get changed, I’ll meet you in the painting room," Lucas said as we made it up the stairs.

I nodded and walked into the guest room he brought me to yesterday. For some reason, I felt very comfortable in his house and had no problem walking around on my own.

Today, I made sure to pack a shirt and quickly changed into my ’painting’ outfit.

I should also put my hair up. Yesterday, it got all in my face when I painted.

After fishing out a hair tie, I bent over and tied my hair into a messy bun. fгeewebnovёl.com

We’re friends, right? Hopefully, he won’t mind my messy appearance.

Just as I thought that, Christian’s comment from when he first saw me in casual clothing rang through my mind.

"You look so hot. I’m not even being silly, you’re smoking hot right now."

It was the morning of our ’business trip’ to the island nation. After the first time I showered at Christian’s house, and the morning I discovered the closet full of clothing that was meant....for me.

There’s no point in thinking about that now.

I shook the thoughts out of my head and walked out of the guest room.

Lucas was already in the painting room by the time I arrived. He was setting everything up for us.

I noticed how our stools were once again positioned very close to one another, causing a small flutter in my chest.

"Oh wow, you look great with your hair up like that," Lucas said as soon as he saw me. His eyes lingered on my hair before quickly jumping to something else.

My cheeks warmed slightly from his compliment.

"Thank you," was all I managed to peep out.

He walked over and pulled me over to his side so that I was standing directly in front of my canvas. The sudden movement caught me by surprise, causing me to fall into his arms.

"Shall we begin?" he asked softly, directly into my ear.

The next moment, I felt myself sink to the stool. Lucas sat behind me as if nothing had happened and handed me my paintbrush.

I glanced at it for a moment before accepting it. My heart was beating so violently that I needed a minute to calm down.

What’s gotten into me? I just got so worked up over nothing.

Visit freewe𝑏(n)ovel.co(m) for the b𝘦st novel reading experience