Vivienne caught on to the mockery in his tone and lifted her gaze, landing on his pink lips that were moistened by the soup and momentarily daydreaming.
She was reminded of last night and felt her cheeks heat up.
Percival looked up at her and saw her rosy lips sipping the soup. He was reminded of the allure those lips held, stirring something within him.
He quickly recalled her mocking his kissing skills last night and couldn't help but ask, "Vivienne, have you ever had a boyfriend before?"
Vivienne was taken aback. "No, why?"
"Nothing. I just thought you were pretty good at kissing." Percival tried to play it cool, but even he could sense a bit of jealousy in his tone.
He thought that just because his Vivienne never had a boyfriend didn't mean she hadn't been kissed.
Just the thought of other men kissing Vivienne was enough to stir his heart.
Vivienne felt a bit awkward, and her cheeks flushed even more. "It was during college. I was just curious and watched some adult videos with my roommate."
Percival was speechless.
This girl really had no filter.
Vivienne lightly kicked his chair. "How many girls have you kissed before?"
"One." Percival answered with a smile.
Vivienne was stunned. She didn't find it strange for this twenty-eight-year-old man to have only dated once. It wouldn't be strange if he had one or two girlfriends.
But for some reason, even though it was an expected answer, she felt a bit uncomfortable. She lost her appetite after looking at the meat in her bowl.
"It was with you." Percival added, under Vivienne's surprised gaze. "In my dreams."
Vivienne's mood instantly cleared up.
...
After breakfast, Vivienne changed Percival's bandage. The medicine she gave him was really effective. After just one night, Percival's hand was almost back to normal.
And that was because she wanted to intentionally punish Percival for stalking her, so she didn't use the best medicine.
Today was the weekend. Vivienne didn't have to go to school, and Percival didn't have to go to the Ellington Group's Havenwood branch.
With nothing to do, Vivienne had Percival clear out two rooms and had a ton of spices delivered. One room was used for storing spices and the other for mixing them.
Since natural spices could sometimes cause allergies, many previously usable natural spices were now internationally banned and could only be replaced with industrially synthesized ones.
She hadn't touched perfumery in a while. Although she didn't take Elijah, seriously, she did need to familiarize herself with the newly released industrial spices.
Percival went to the study on the lower floor to work remotely. He was dealing with some matters from Ellington Group's Rivenwood headquarters.
Vivienne only then realized that the lower floor was also Percival's. He had even knocked through the ceiling of the floor and built a staircase that led directly downstairs.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The Million-Dollar Heart