To Love A Maiden: An Enemies To Friends To Lovers Romance ✓

Chapter 14 - Pursuit

By the time Cristiano got to where Angel was with Taylor, Celeste was already shooting daggers at the younger woman.

When Angel noticed the duo that had walked up to her and Taylor, she stopped and turned fully to face them, her eyes doing a brief scan of Cristiano who had his hands in his pockets and a look on his face she didn't recognize.

"Angel, is it?" Celeste began. And Angel nodded, pushing back tendrils of hair away from her face. She noticed Cristiano's gaze now resting on her.

Before Celeste could say anything else, he spoke up. "Celeste just wanted to say hello."

Angel nodded again, trying not to think too much about how it had stung to hear him say that. At this point, she was pretty sure that the two were together. How else would she explain them coming out of the house together? 

"Why, yes, of course. I realized I met the other maids except for you. Nice to finally put a clear face to the name." Celeste said, extending her hand. Angel cleared her throat and met Celeste's gaze before accepting the handshake. And she could have sworn that the handshake felt hard. She withdrew her hand and said, "Good to meet you, Celeste. Have a great day." 

Celeste made an inaudible sound as she watched Angel leave with Taylor. She then turned to Cristiano who still had his eyes in the direction Angel had gone through.

"Cris."

Cristiano's gaze was fixed as he watched Angel sit with Taylor on the patio and began opening a textbook as Taylor opened the laptop.

"Cris!"

Cristiano tore his gaze away from Angel and stared at Celeste. 

"Yes?" He cleared his throat, combing his fingers through his hair. 

"Is there something you're not telling me?"

Cristiano narrowed his gaze. "What do you mean?"

Celeste's eyes narrowed as she stared down at him. "Hmm. Nevermind. Let's go. I'm hungry."

Cristiano nodded. "Sure. I'll drop you at home. I'm not hungry." He said, and began walking away towards his car. When he got there, he stopped after noticing that Celeste had stopped walking.

He turned around. "What's wrong?"

Celeste crossed her arms in front of her.

"What's the rush, Cris?"

Cristiano felt the frown appear briefly on his face. "What do you mean?"

"You're done here, right?" She asked, taking a few steps closer to him and holding his gaze.

Without waiting for him to answer, she continued, "Why don't we hang out at your place, maybe grab brunch together?" She asked, closing the remaining space between them with a hug. 

"I really missed you." She said as she rested her head on his shoulders. Cristiano felt helpless. He closed his eyes briefly as his mind wandered away to where they'd been close friends. And what happened after that. For him, it had been a mistake, and he'd told her that. But knowing Celeste, she'd been trying to make him believe that there was more to it.

He released a deep breath and gently pushed her away.

"I'll take you home." He said, to her disappointment, as he held open the passenger door for her.

~~

As Cristiano continued to stare along the hallway he was walking through with his brother, he couldn't for the life of him keep his mind from wandering about a certain maid.