Chapter 221

“I’m not hungry.” I press, and she looks at me all sad and teary-eyed, and I relent. “Fine.” I let her drag me to the dining table. She’s made my favourite pasta dish, and my stomach defies me and groans at the delicious smell of her cooking. I take my jacket off, and we sit at the table rather awkwardly, just looking at one another. I break the eye contact first, pick up the fork, and start to eat. I lift my gaze and catch her watching me. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Shayla smiles sadly and shakes her head. “Nothing, just an old memory is all.”

“What memory?” I inquire, taking a sip of the white wine she poured for us both. Shayla takes a sip of her own wine and bites her bottom lip.

“I just remembered the first time we cooked this dish together at your old apartment. I was teaching you how to cook, and we sat out on the terrace, eating and talking...”

I frown, listening to her as she speaks, and my mind recalls the moment she was talking abou