Bitterly Sweetly (Completed)

Chapter Fifty-five : The Peculiar Distance

She snuck him out of the house like he had said—a secret lover and sent him away, but not before he made her mind dazed with a scorching kiss. And then she stood at the doorway with her back pressed against the closed door and heart beating fast in her chest. 

His taste stayed on her tongue, his memories played on her mind.

It was funny how she'd acquired the needed space between them and yet he was still with her.

Rest of the Hayden house awakened soon after with obvious frenzy to investigate last night's dramatics. Sofia dodged the onslaught of questions declaring that it was just a fight of theirs that had gone a little out of hand. That was all she was willing to reveal and no more. Her aunt seemed unsatisfied that they couldn't dig out more information but Sofia was determined to not let anyone else inside Max and her bubble of privacy. She was not a woman who would whine about her marital troubles to her parents or relatives or friends. She would rather try her best to solve things by herself before including any third wheel.

It's not like sharing problems with someone is bad, it's just that some people are simply not carved that way. Sofia was one of them. It was a blessing and a curse at the same time.

When she sat down at the table for breakfast with her chattering family, she found the sandwich she made for herself bland in her mouth. With great difficulty she chewed and swallowed what felt like a pile of brick crumbs. She blamed her loss of appetite on the sleepless night.

After several attempts, her darling white car started with a guttural noise. She didn't know how a dying cat's cry while being brutally murdered sounded like, but she was certain it would be something similar to how her car protested against her commands to start nowadays.

"Only because you're one of my mother's memories that I still put up with you, sweetheart," she grumbled, warning the car while speeding out of the driveway. The car made a pinging noise from somewhere and she scoffed in return. It was like the car and her were having a crazy-sweet dispute, which was not something new.

As Sofia drove through the city, she could see the damages the storm had done. She passed by two cars at two different roads stuck under humongous broken tree brunches. Police, fire truck and ambulance surrounded another area where a car crash took place. Traffic was crazy as well because of of the condition of the roads. She reached the diner extraordinarily late.

And the moment she stepped out of her car, her jaw dropped at the sight that greeted her.

Outside her diner, there was Joe, the Ramsey junior, behind a counter facing the tables of the outdoor extension of her diner. He was shirtless, wearing a flimsy white apron that read "kiss the cook" in bright wine red at the front. A traditional chef's hat was fashionably in a tilted position on top of his head. A panful of pasta was in the process of being cooked, which Joe made a show of flipping expertly, his muscles flexing as his hands moved. Out under the open sky, sun glared over his bronze skin.

Joe looked sleek with seduction.

A cheer erupted, and that was when Sofia noticed the crowd of fangirls sitting at the tables.

Her eyes narrowed.

All the girls—some young and some not so much, looked star-struck at her new cook. People were spell-bounded at Joe's every move. She was sure, it was more because of the face and abs and muscles, and not much because of the food getting cooked to be served.

From the sidelines she watched with her arms crossed, as plates after plates of meal were being served by the running servers.

When all the tables were done taken care of, Joe's pleased eyes raked through the women who were still drooling and definitely not for food. Some of them winked at him and some smiled shyly.