Crushed Affections (Dominic and Bella)

Chapter 367 Wait for Me

Leonard shrugged, conceding. "Almost 30... Yeah, close enough."

After a few rounds of drinks, they were both a little tipsy. Lia, munching on a rib, asked, "So, now that your career's set, when are you planning to settle down?"

Leonard deflected with his own question, "What about you? When are you planning to settle down?"

Lia waved him off. "I'm just a regular person. I'm already 25 and haven't even been in a relationship. Guess I can thank you for that. You rich folks like to marry late. Who knows, by the time I've got kids running around, you'll probably still be single." Leonard felt an unexpected pang he couldn't quite place. "No way. If you're getting married, I'm getting married. If you've got kids running around, then I'll have kids running around too."

Lia rolled her eyes. "Copycat. Our lives started in completely different places. Why would you want to sync up with me?"

Leonard didn't reply. He glanced at his watch and saw that it was already 1:00 am, but he wasn't ready to end this last taste of freedom. By the time it was nearing 2:00 am, Lia finally gave in, saying she needed to head home and get some sleep. Even though her apartment was only a few hundred feet from the food stall, Leonard insisted on walking her to her door.

Even Lia, as oblivious as she could be, sensed something different in him tonight. She seemed more reserved than usual. When she unlocked her door, she asked, almost as a formality, "Do you want to come in for a bit?"

Leonard shook his head. "No, it's late. You should get some rest."

and stepped inside to take off her shoes, but when

just stood there, facing each other across the doorframe like a pair of

gaze was intense, like a dormant volcano on the verge of eruption. However, he seemed to be holding back

long pause, he said,

just nodded quickly, eager to end the awkward

away. She listened to the sound of the elevator descending in the quiet of the night before she

...

Bella was heading out for work when she encountered a new face-a

that matched. A

one hand, had a Bluetooth earbud in one ear, and a small, shining earring that added

out of a magazine. It was hard not to be impressed

before moving on, thinking to herself how many girls

inside the

lad openly stared at her not in a sleazy way but with an intensity that still made her a little

days to grow so tall. This guy looked like he was still growing, yet he