His phone rang — Leo ignored it.
— Maybe you should answer it? — I finally said.
— Later, I’m busy.
— Who is it?
Leo wiped his hands and picked up the phone.
— Nick.
— Pick up the phone.
— Nah, he won’t relax anyway.
— We’re with Adele, and you’re on speaker, — Leo placed the phone on the table.
— Do you know who’s with him, Lilibet? — Nick laughed, addressing not us.
— Adele is with Leonardo? You must be joking, — I recognized Ella’s voice with surprise.
— So, what are your plans for the evening? — and then it dawned on me:
— Wait a minute… “Lilibet”? You didn’t even allow me to call you that anymore.
Leo smirked traitorously.
— We’ll talk about this later, Elizabeth. You’ll bring her to me afterwards, Nicolai, — by the tone of my voice, even the guy sitting opposite me, who had nothing to do with it, stopped smiling.
— As you say, Adelina Svyatoslavivna, — what a cheek.
— So what did you want? — Leo quickly changed the subject.
— We were just thinking that if you’re not busy and are bored, you could join us, but God knows, you’re clearly not bored, — Nick snorted.
— I’m still here, dear Nicholas, — and I was still mad.
— Happy to hear that, — Nick said, mimicking the tone of my cheerful voice. — Leo, call back when you’re free.
— Definitely. Bye, — he hung up. — Is everything alright?
— Yes, — no, but I still squeezed out a hint of a smile; after all, Leo had nothing to do with it.
— Good, — he was quiet for a bit. — Tell me something about yourself.
— What? — I was surprised.
— Anything, I just love listening to you with your strangely wonderful accent.
— Well, I have lived in US for almost my entire life, — ignoring his remark about the accent, I started, — for about ten years, I wanted to work in the fashion industry. US has many opportunities for that, but for some reason, I was drawn to Italy... You know: Mama Mia and all that... — Leo’s lips curled into a barely noticeable smile.
— And your parents? — although he asked very cautiously, I still felt awkward.
— You mean the fight story? — he nodded, and I took a sip of wine.
— Well, they wanted me to do something else. Be a lawyer or an architect. Well, as far as I'm concerned, it was difficult for me; I set off here without their consent and support.
For a few minutes, there was only the clinking of dishes and glasses.
— Now my question.
— I’m listening, — Leo turned to me, and our eyes met.
— Only honestly.
— Of course, Cinderella, — I held back as hard as I could not to kick him under the table.
— Why are you so focused on me?
— It’s very simple, ma reine, because when you’re around, I feel utterly helpless.
I thanked Merlin that it was already dark outside, and he couldn’t see how much I blushed. However, I continued to look him in the eyes, and he finally looked away. He spoke to me in French for the second time, and I pretended not to understand the meaning of his words for the second time.
After that, we hardly spoke anymore, just enjoying the evening. We had probably been sitting there a while because I felt cold, and my nose was starting to run.
— Hey, where’s your restroom?
— The door on the left from the entrance hallway, — he finally broke his gaze away from the city view.
— Thanks, I’ll be back soon.
I washed my face and looked at myself in the mirror. I had lost some weight lately. Stress was taking its toll... I wondered how much I had shed? Luckily, Leo had a scale, perfect! The number that flashed on the screen confirmed my suspicions. As I stepped off the scale, I heard a message coming in on Leo’s phone. For a second or two, I considered it, and then it hit me...
— Hey, are you seriously not eating anything? — Leo shouted to me from the veranda. — Now I’m definitely going to make the portions twice as large!
"Unfortunately, Leo has scales," I corrected myself mentally.
Stepping out of the restroom, I cast Leo a glance:
— What’s it to you about my weight?
Typically, such scales send the owner a notification on their phone with information about the person who stepped on them.
I couldn’t say anything more because a dog came rushing out from the neighboring room, the same one I had seen on Leo’s Instagram page. And oh, Holy Merlin, he was running straight at me. I probably woke him up with my shouts.
— Why didn’t you tell me you had a dog?! — I screamed at Leo, literally trembling with fear, but the dog seemed to consider it some sort of game.
— How was I supposed to know you were afraid of them? — he too was startled, but because of my reaction.
— Then why do I have a cat instead of a dog? God, could you please take him away from here, because right now, I’m not ready to fight my fears.
— I don’t mind, but first, you need to let go of me, — he replied, smiling satisfied.
Only now did I realize I had almost climbed on top of Leo. My arms were wrapped around his shoulders in a way that I could have just hung from him.
— Sorry, — I quickly released him and slowly moved away from the big fluffy monster.
— Anthony, this is Adele, she’s nice, but today she’s not in the mood to play with you, — he led him back to another room - into his bedroom. After a moment, he returned to me.
— Are you alright?
To be honest, I couldn’t say a word. It felt as if I had been struck by lightning, and my head was spinning. I had been swirling with too many emotions over the last two days.
— Hey, are you okay? — His hand was already on my forehead. — Adele, you’re burning up; you likely have a fever.
I knew that the shock and cold air, combined with my weakened body, would take their toll. Leo sat me down on the couch and ran to the other room, probably for a thermometer.
— You need to go to the hospital, — he already measured my temperature — you have a fever!
— No, please, not there, — it seems that the “Louis Vuitton” event would have to manage without me. My number two fear since childhood has always been hospitals. The number one fear is sitting in the neighboring room right now.
— Alright, then it’d be better if you stayed with me, — I looked at him questioningly, and he quickly added. — There’s a guest room here, and it locks from the inside.