Xo Novel
Chapter 330
Chapter 330
After Curtis soothed her for a while, Leanne’s sudden surge of emotions gradually subsided.
Curtis kissed her brows, traced her nose, and landed softly on the corner of her lips. Pausing for a moment, he moved slightly and kissed her fully.
Their soft lips met, and after just a brief moment, Leanne made a slight motion to pull away.
Curtis backed off without insisting.
He knew that like the melting of a glacier, it would take time for her to accept him. He was content with even the slightest acceptance.
He was dying to kiss her, but he restrained himself. “I’ll give you all the time you need, okay?”
At that moment, Leanne felt as though she was standing on the edge of a cliff, with Curtis on the other side, reaching out to her.
Jumping could mean reaching a victorious shore or facing another catastrophic fall.
She was a realist, preferring to take steady, controlled steps, keeping things within her grasp.
Risk-taking was not her forte. Yet, there was a fire inside her, a fire that once left her scarred and covered by floods and snow, painstakingly peeled off her heart by he efforts.
But it was a fire that would not die, not completely uprooted. As winter passed ar gentle winds of spring blew, it flickered alive again.
It was her unending love for Curtis.
“What if I still don’t want to?” Leanne looked directly at him, her eyes still damp.
“What if I end up rejecting you?”
Curtis calmly responded, “Don’t get ahead of yourself. How can you be so sure that you won’t change your mind someday?”
“How long will you wait?” Leanne asked, changing her approach.
Curtis raised an eyebrow, pondering. “I’m only twenty-eight now. A troublemaker like me ought to live to ninety-nine. Waiting another seventy years for you wouldn’t be a problem. The slight ache in Leanne’s heart vanished with his words.
“Then go ahead and wait.”
09-14
Curtis laughed again, pulling her head into his chest and ruffling her hair. “Leanne, we have a lifetime ahead. I can wait.”
When Leanne got home, there were no signs of tears on her face.
Joy had set up snacks, pickles, and beer. After washing her hands, Leanne saw Joy pouring beer into the cat’s water bowl and offering a toast to the cat.
“You’ve been here so many days, and we haven’t officially welcomed you. No time like the present, so today we’ll make it official. Welcome to the family, you’re now the fourth diva of Stonebridge!”
Leanne had never seen anyone toast with a cat before, and the absurdity of it left her speechless, wondering if she should remind Joy that Curtis thought of himself as a cat dad.
Selina picked up a spicy crawfish. “Can cats eat this?”
“Are you crazy?” Joy retorted, despite being the one who had just treated a cat to beer. “Believe it or not, it’ll leave you a spicy chocolate treat tomorrow.”
Leanne opened a can of cat food while the others snacked on seeds and recounted the events of the past few days.
Selina patted her chest. “Thank goodness I didn’t offend Curtis!”
“That’s called reaping what you sow,” Joy grudgingly praised, acknowledging Curtis’ good behavior this time.
They tactfully avoided mentioning what they had secretly witnessed, acting as if no had happened.
The three women easily chatted away until late, with Selina being a freelancer, Joy flexible hours at the advertising agency, and only Leanne needing to be up by eight.
When she woke up at seven, still groggy, she nearly stumbled while brushing her tee
Hearing her phone buzz, she checked it with toothbrush in mouth. It was a message Curtis.
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[Are you up yet?]
Leanne replied with one hand: [Yeah]
Curtis then texted, [Open the door]
Startled, Leanne immediately put down her phone to open the door.
Sure enough, there he was.
Leanne opened her mouth to speak, then realized she still had her toothbrush in her mouth and quickly shut it again.
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