Blair's voice gradually trailed off under Hartwell's sharp gaze. How could she tell a lie in front of her cousin? He was a man of power and influence, and young at that. Besides that, he was her family.
Indeed, Hartwell had figured it out, and saw into the young girl's heart. Joslyn had already told him Blair was heartbroken after being turned down by the man she loved. He had been wondering who it was. Imagine his surprise—it was Wesley!
Hartwell just thought Blair merely admired Wesley, just like any other girl worshiping a star. He never imagined her feelings for him were something more than that.
Now he finally pieced everything together. Wesley was a hot-blooded young man, ambitious, and driven. As far as love went, he was clueless, so it wasn't surprising that he turned Blair down.
"Got an explanation, Wesley?" Hartwell asked coldly.
Blair knew her cousin was trying to protect her. She ran up to him and took his arm. As she tried to pull him into the room, she said in a hushed voice, "Just let it go. I'm engaged now. Don't embarrass me, please?"
Hartwell silently turned his head to shoot Wesley a look before following Blair into the VIP room.
The room was filled with laughter. You could hear it all over the restaurant. After everyone came in, there were four young men there as well as the elders, and they were loud and noisy. The Li and Ji families got on quite well. Keith's and Gilbert's wives had passed away long ago. So including Blair, only three women were in the room.
As soon as Blair came into the room, Niles called out excitedly, "Hi Blair. I saved a seat for you." He stood up and gallantly pulled out the chair next to his own.
Blair couldn't turn him down. She glanced at Adalson and then walked around the table to Niles' side. She managed to keep her smile steady.
Wesley walked in just as she sat down.
The first thing he saw was Blair sitting next to Niles. Wesley was a little surprised and then heard Niles say, "Hey Wesley. Have a seat next to Mom."
'Have a seat next to Mom.' It sounded innocent, but he knew it was a trick from his younger brother. If he took the seat arranged by Niles, then he'd have Cecelia on his right and Blair on his left.
Niles sat next to Blair and Wacian sat on the other side of Niles. Normally, Niles should exchange seats with Blair and sit next to his own brother.
However, the young doctor pretended he knew nothing about it. He quickly sat in between Blair and Wacian after gesturing to his brother.
Wesley was baffled. He sat next to his mom earlier, so he had no other choice now. Making a fuss would be uncalled for.
Hartwell wasn't fooled, either. He angrily looked between Blair and Wesley. When he was about to ask Blair to change seats, Adalson cut in to urge the baffled man, "Sit down, Wesley. Everyone's here. Your grandfather must be pooped after that plane ride. Let's finish up early so that the old guy can get some rest. We can talk later if we need to."
Wesley nodded, pulled out the chair and sat down. After the waiters placed the dishes on the table, they all took their chopsticks and dug in.
In the middle of dinner, Adalson invited the Li family to stay at his villa, but Baldwin nixed that idea. "We'll stay with Wesley. He has enough room for us, I think. Please don't put yourself out."
Adalson stared at his old friend. "C'mon, we're friends. Why so formal? Mi casa es su casa."
Baldwin laughed. "Of course we're friends. But I'm sure Wesley wouldn't mind. Maybe next time we'll storm your three-story villa."
"Bwahaha..." They broke into a fit of laughter.
Blair silently lowered her head to eat her food. Niles moved his chair a bit closer to her and whispered, "Blair."
She took a second to chew the food in her mouth and swallow it. "Yeah?"
"That true? You're engaged?"
"Well... yes."
Confusion was written all over his face. "Why? I thought you were crushing on my brother," he asked.
Blair almost choked on her saliva. 'Cut it out! Your brother can hear us, ' she thought helplessly in her mind.
She was right. Wesley did hear their conversation and shot a warning glance at Niles.
His reaction made Blair a little sad. She kept her voice as low as possible as she replied to Niles, "We were just neighbors. 'Were' being the operative word."
What Blair didn't know was that Cecelia had been watching them the whole time. The happy mother pinched her husband, tilting her head in their direction.
Baldwin followed her gaze and saw Blair and Niles whispering to each other, while Wesley gulped down his food. However, he could see how Niles reacted around Blair. His younger son was friendly and animated, but he saw no deep abiding love in the young man's eyes.
It could be because he considered Blair a friend, or maybe because he had an axe to grind. Either way, Baldwin was sure that Niles wasn't in love with Blair.
However on the other hand, Wesley was acting strange. He seemed to deliberately avoid eye contact with Blair. But when he occasionally took a quick glance at her, the look in his eyes was complicated. Baldwin thought that Wesley might have a thing for Blair.
Niles wasn't buying it, either. Blair picked up her glass, starting in on the lemonade. He suddenly drew closer to her and whispered again, "You can't fool me, I know what I saw. Last time..."
"Ugh..." Shocked by what Niles had told her, Blair awkwardly choked on the lemonade and coughed a few times.
Luckily, she didn't spit out the drink in her mouth. Otherwise, she would be even more embarrassed.
Her coughing fit drew everyone's eyes toward her.
Adalson looked at her and asked, "Blair, what's wrong?"
With everyone's eyes on her, Blair felt nervous and embarrassed. She wished she could hide under the table now. She waved a hand at her uncle as she patted her chest with her other hand. When she was able to breathe more easily, she apologized. "I'm okay. Sorry... Ugh..." She was cut off by another coughing fit.
Niles pulled out a few tissues and handed them to Blair. She took them and covered her mouth to stifle the coughs.
"Have some water," a voice said. She recognized the voice. She took the glass of water handed to her by the man on her right, and drank a mouthful.
Niles had told her a big secret about Wesley. She guessed Wesley heard nothing. If he had, he wouldn't have been so calm, handing her a glass of water.
After taking a few sips, Blair stopped coughing. Seeing this, Niles patted her back and said, "Hey, why are you so shocked? I was telling the truth." Cecelia saw how considerate Niles was in taking care of Blair. She believed even more that her younger son was in love now.
'She might be engaged, but she's not married yet. Anything is possible!' the mother thought happily.
Niles kept talking, and Blair couldn't help but drink two more mouthfuls of water to control her emotions.
She put the glass on the table and shot to her feet. "If you'll pardon me, I'll make my way to the ladies room."
Keith nodded, "Was it something Niles said? I should show that young man some manners..."
Niles shook his head. "No, no. Grandpa, I didn't..."
"Shut up!" The old man's authoritative voice silenced the guilty man at once.