Love the Second Time Around

Chapter 123

Chapter 123 Another Coincidence

I felt it was a familiar voice. As I turned my head, I saw Royce, who had just gotten out of his car. He was just a few steps behind us.

“Ms. Zanetti, what a coincidence again. Are you here for the banquet too?”

I had no idea what he was talking about, and I could barely care. Nevertheless, it was such a coincidence to run into him again.

When we were departing in the morning, Shannon asked me to invite Royce, but I rejected. Who would have thought he would be here?

As I was still hesitating how to reply to him, Shannon had opened her mouth. Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

“We’re invited by our friends, the one who asked us out last time. Mr. Horton, if you are not busy tonight, you can come over and have fun with us.”

I immediately cut Shannon a glare. How could you invite others if you have not figured out the situation?

With that, Royce flashed back a courteous smile. “Sure, I’ll stop by if I have time.”

Upon hearing that, Shannon’s grin grew wider. She pointed at me and told Royce to find me if he arrived later.

I was rendered speechless by her gesture, as I knew what she was planning. It looked like she had forgotten what I told her in the morning.

At that moment, my mind was trying hard to find an excuse to leave with her. But before I could open my mouth, Royce answered a call and left abruptly after that.

As soon as Royce left the scene, I started observing Shannon’s expression closely. I suspected if she was the one who invited Royce over secretly.

Noticing my suspicious expression, she immediately shook her head innocently.

“Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t invite him.”

I leaned close to her face sternly. “Are you sure it wasn’t you?”

With that, Shannon lifted her right hand firmly. “I swear it wasn’t me.”

Standing up, I scoffed indifferently and gave her a warning. It’s impossible between Royce and me.

Grabbing my arms tightly, Shannon did not seem to take my words seriously. “How will you know if you don’t try? We did not invite him, yet you guys bump into each other. Who knows, maybe the two of you are meant to be together? Sometimes we have to believe in destiny…”

Listening to her talking such nonsense, I could not help but stop her abruptly.

“Shannon, I thought you wanted me to be with Nicholas, as you kept mentioning him to me. And now there’s Royce. Have you changed your mind?”

Shannon’s following words pissed me off. “It’s like this, Liliana. Even though we are good friends, after I gave it a good thought, I figure it’s such a waste to give Nicholas to you. After all, one should never stick a flower into cow dung.”

I patted her back vigorously and yelled, “What’re you saying now? Who’s the flower, and who’s the cow dung?”

“Ouch! Please have mercy on me. It’s painful!” Shannon let out a cry.

I feigned her an angry look. “You’re the one who insults me first. Shannon, how could you neglect your friend when smitten with a new love?”

She was not at all embarrassed by my statement, yet she spoke confidently, “It’s not that I neglect our friendship, but I know how to appreciate real beauty.”

I almost vomit, disgusted by how narcissistic she was.

After taking a short walk around the resort, I started to feel sleepy. Right at that moment, the man who invited Shannon called.

Judging by her speaking tone on the phone, it seemed like she was genuinely interested in the other party.

After hanging up the phone, Shannon signaled me to go back to the resort’s entrance; seemingly, he was waiting for us there.

While we were still ten feet away from the entrance, I spotted a man standing there.

I pushed Shannon slightly and asked her if he was the one. She nodded with a shy smile.

By that time, that man saw us too and he started walking towards us.

His gesture added merit to my heart, as he did not look like a prideful domineering man.

After he came near us, I finally recognized his face from the last date. His name was Quinn, but I could not remember what his occupation was.

The first word that came out of his mouth was an apology, as he did not fetch us here.

Nonetheless, Shannon was not the type of woman that would mind such details. With that, she smiled casually and started introducing him to me.

I remembered the name correctly, and it turned out he owned a company doing landscape design.

In fact, part of the natural landscape inside this resort was done by his company.

Later, Quinn sent us to a room. He told us that he had a brief company meeting to catch, and he would come to find us again after that.

After closing the door, Shannon eagerly turned to me and inquired about my impression of him.

Honestly, I felt he was alright. He had this gentleman’s kind of look, and the way he talked was polite and humorous at the same time. In conclusion, my impression was much better compared to the last date.

Right then, both of us lay down on the bed as I yawned. “Shannon, it looks like both of you are getting along well. Later, when he comes, you go out with him alone. I’m sleepy now. So you can leave me out.”

Shannon did not seem to agree. “Don’t tell me you come all the way here to sleep. You rest now, and I’ll wake you up later.”

With that, I dozed off in a matter of seconds, as I was really exhausted.

Nonetheless, I felt I got woken up in the blink of an eye.

I opened my eyes reluctantly and saw a blurred figure wandering slowly in front of me.

“Liliana, are you up? Quinn has just called.”

I tossed my body, still feeling dizzy. “Please go without me. I’ll join you later.”

Upon saying that, I went on to sleep again. I was not sure what Shannon’s response was, and I could barely remember.

However, a moment later, my sleep was interrupted by a call. Taking a glance at my phone, I was frustrated to see it was Dominic.

Utterly displeased, I sounded agitated. “What is it? I’m sleeping.”

On the other end, Dominic spoke in a composed manner. “Why are you sleeping at such an hour? Where are you?”