He grinned at her reaction and then, couldn't help himself and leaned in . As soon as his lips touched hers, she gasped and leaned back . Tempted to follow her, he resisted the urge and settled back into his side .
"Hi… long time no see," he said, softly .
Jia Li couldn't believe her eyes . Coming out of the office, she had been cursing him with a vengeance . And suddenly, he was right there, in front of her . She had initially thought that he was an illusion, conjured up by her mind . Her mind couldn't react, didn't believe… and before she knew it, she was in the car and his lips were millimetres away from hers .
"Wh-what are you doing here? How did you reach here . . . ?" she was still struggling for coherency .
"Umm, let's see if I can answer those two questions properly . I am here because a friend needs my help . And I came here via a flight . Is there anything else that you would like to ask me," his voice held a teasing note .
He was enjoying her nonplussed, dazed look .
"Uh, where are we going?" she asked suddenly .
"I assume that you would be hungry after a long day at work, so we could go grab some dinner . If not, I am happy to drop you at your residence . As of now, the driver is simply driving around, awaiting your instructions," he said with a smile .
She stared at him .
"Aren't you being too accommodating? What am I missing? Why are you here, Tang?" she asked him, suspicion lacing her words .
"Wait a minute . You said your friend needed your help . Which friend?" she asked further, without giving him a chance to respond .
He laughed softly and extended his hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear .
"You look lovely, albeit a little tired . Can you recommend a place where we can go, sit and relax for a while . I promise to let you interrogate me without any distraction or interruption there," he said gently .
Her ear was still tingling after his fingers had brushed it . He looked dapper in a pair of fitted, grey corduroy pants and a pale pink shirt . The customary tie was missing and the top buttons of the shirt were open to expose the prominent Adam's apple on his neck . A hint of crisp curling hair was visible just before the buttons hid the rest . The car was already inundated with his particular brand of cologne . All these facts registered dimly at the back of her mind .
She didn't say anything to him but rattled off an address to the driver . Tang sat back and didn't attempt to make any conversation with her . He looked relaxed and Jia Li resented him for it . She could feel heat creeping upon her face despite the air conditioner doing a fairly good job at keeping the car temperature pleasantly cold .
"How can he sit back and act as if this is a normal occurrence? Why is it that I am the only one palpitating? I don't even want to imagine what a fright I must be looking after that long, stressful day at work," she thought mournfully .
While one part of her tried to check herself surreptitiously for bad odour, the other part urged her to act as nonchalant as he was being . After all, two could play that game .
Tang saw the play of emotions on her transparent face with the corner of his eye . Suppressing his urge to laugh at her cuteness, he maintained a neutral façade . If she even got a whiff of his current thoughts, she would kill him!
"So where are we headed?" he asked her, striving to keep the environment normal .
"We have arrived," she replied and got off from the car .
She had brought him to the famous South Bank area of the river Thames which boasted of the London Eye and various open air eateries around it . A family from Italy had opened an authentic restaurant here and were hugely famous for their wood fire pizzas and hand rolled pastas .
Heading towards the place, Jia Li's heels got stuck on the way . His strong arm came swiftly around her waist and put a brake to her stumble, else she would have landed on the ground, face first . Helping her straighten up, he took her fingers and interwove his own with them . She tried to pull her hand out but he paid no heed and tightened his hold on it .
"Just until we reach the place," he said quietly, his hazel eyes burning with intensity .
Chapter end
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