The Italian's Fake Fiancée

39

If he had heard, was that why he was like this, or was there something else wrong.

Paige swallowed and smiled nervously at him.

"Can we go now, am done with my call." As soon as she finished saying that, she lowered her head. Leonardo's stare was making her nervous. It was direct and pained. 

Standing there the way he was without saying a word and with that complicated expression on his face Paige didn't know what to do.

"Leonardo," she called again. 

That seems to break him out of his trance and he walked over to her and hesitated before he grabbed her hand and directed her towards the garden.

He wasn't even talking to her, yet Paige felt anxiety from how cold he seemed, so much that the fact they were holding hands offered her no thrill like it did before and she did not feel any tiny sparks from their hands touching. All she felt was anticipation.

Anticipation for what? She did not know. All she knew was that there was this air around him that won't let her relax.

Just what was it he had heard that made him feel this way.

Paige looked up at his aristocratic face and as circumstances would have it, he chose that moment to look down and their eyes met in a parry of conflicting emotions. 

Whilst Paige's eyes held confusion, his was pained and filled with self-mockery directed at himself. Paige averted her gaze. Her heart beating wildly. 

Ten seconds later they arrived at the garden and he released her hand. Paige went to the long wooden chair there and sat down while Leo went to sit by the fountain and stared at her, still yet to talk to her. 

"I didn't know you brought food." Paige stared at the tray filled with covered dishes and tried to make small talk. "Why don't you come over here let's dig in."

Lifting a plate, she flashed it at him, hoping to tempt him however he stared from the plate to her still without saying a word.

Disappointed, Paige lowered her head and ate her food in silence until she felt movement at her side and looked up to see Leonardo sit opposite her. 

Under her watchful gaze, he discarded his bow tie and unbuttoned the first three buttons of his shirt. Paige stared at the skin revealed and swallowed. Then she looked him in the eyes and found he was also looking at her, infact, he was trying to read her expression.

Paige's eyes dropped instantly, and she stared at the food laid on her lap, forgotten. Leo whipped out a handkerchief, leaned forward and cleaned the corner of her mouth. And in that same smooth way collected her plate from her and feed her. 

His actions had been so unexpected, Paige hadn't been prepared for them. And because of how surprised she was, Paige couldn't react on time. Her body froze, and she didn't realize she had been opening her mouth and accepting his food until she felt him pushing a glass of wine into her mouth. Paige's eyes flickered to his. 

When he finished giving her wine, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Do you care to explain what that was about now?" Paige felt he hadn't been talking to her in the past few minutes. So why suddenly out of the blue was he feeding her.

Without removing his gaze from her, Leo leaned forward and curled a strand of her hair in his finger and then letting his hand fall, sighed. "Do you regret coming here, Ms. Compton?"

Ms. Compton? Paige's eyes flew to his. He hadn't called her that in a while. Why was he calling her that now? And what sort of tricky question was that?

Lowering her head, Paige averted her gaze. "I don't know if I can answer that question, and why are you asking me something like this?"

"Just answer the question as it is? Will you?"

"In a way yes in a way no."

As soon as she finished saying that. He turned his head away without saying a word. And Paige wondered if her answer signified anything to him. Was he regretting bringing her here? Was that why he was asking for her own opinion. To know if she regretted it as well. So he won't feel guilty. It better not be.

"I'm sorry for bringing you here."

"What?" Paige was suddenly tired of his behavior tonight and wanted to tell him what she thought of it, but the glimpse of regret she saw in his eyes hushed her.

"I said am sorry for bringing you here without considering all odds," Leo paused. "I didn't think you will have a boyfriend waiting for you back home." 

"A boyfriend?" Paige murmured in surprise. What was he on about? "I have no boyfriend?"

"You don't have a boyfriend?" His voice went an octave, and he seems to sit up a little.

Paige narrowed her eyes. Was that hope she heard in his voice but that can't be? No way. Her Boss can't be happy she didn't have a boyfriend.

He cleared his throat. "You sure about that because I heard you tell him you missed him. What was that his name again? Ah... Finn. Yes, Finn."

So that was the root of all this problem. Finn? Paige threw her head back and laughed, feeling herself relax once more. "Finn is not my boyfriend. He is just my friend." 

"He is?" Leo murmured, looking so confused, then he smiled. "Well, that's his loss."

"What did you say?" 

"Nothing."

Paige stared. She could feel curiosity seeping into Leo's brown eyes and his mood was changing gradually. She wondered what the abrupt change was about. Could he have been jealous? 

No way, Paige ruled that thought out in her head. For him to have been jealous, he had to have cared. He had to have liked her to some certain extent for him to feel jealous she was missing another man.

From what she can deduce, there have been no signs to show Leo liked her. However his behavior this night had been so peculiar,
especially when he asked her if Finn was her boyfriend Paige couldn't help wondering if she had been wrong and he was indeed jealous.

Paige sucked in a breath and looked up at Leo, only to see him unbuttoning his suit. Her heartbeat sped up as she watched him complete that process and removed it from his body and draped it on the back of the long chair.

Revealing a white T-shirt that
accentuated his broad shoulders. He felt her eyes on him and smiled. Revealing a cheeky smile. "You are such a lovely woman Paige, why don't you have a boyfriend? Are you still pinning after your ex?"

"Of course not." Paige's eyes flew to his face, and his look softened.

"Then what's the reason?"