Page 189 of My Ruthless Neighbor

“Eat.” He places a piece of meat on my plate with his chopsticks.

I try to hide my shock. In Korean dramas, I have seen numerous scenes where the hero always shares his food with the heroine. It’s a way of showing affection to your significant other in their culture. And seeing Archer doing that with me makes me giddy! Happy! Over the moon happy!

Suppressing my smile, I begin eating.

“This feels like a date.”

“It’s not.” He answers and my face falls.

“Right.” I look down.

“I’ll take you out on a proper date this weekend.”

My head snaps up so fast, I almost had a whiplash. “You will?”

He takes my hand in his and lifts it to his lips. Brushing a soft kiss on my knuckles, he says, “Yeah.”

“But you’re so busy with our on-going project.”

“Never too busy for you.” He says and my insides turn all mushy.

“But you have to help me out if I fuck up. I’m new to this. I’ve never dated.” He grimaces.

“Ever?” My mouth agape.

When he confirms, I giggle.

“Is that supposed to be funny?”

“No,” I shake my head. “It’s just… I wouldn’t know if you did fuck up because I’ve never dated either.”

“Then I guess we’ll have to rely on google.” He says with a hint of humor.

“I guess we’ll be all right but just don’t pick any extravagant place for the date.”

“Why not?”

“Well, those places have dress codes and I don’t usually fit in those.” I motion to myself, specifically my outfit—a cute vintage dress with orange pantyhose and black high heeled boots.

“Then I’ll simply book the entire place for you.” He says, pinning me with his gaze, making me blush like a teenager.

My heart beats a bit louder and I can’t help the smile on my lips, feeling giddy as I gaze across the table at the man I love.

I never thought I could have a love story of my own much less one with a happy ending. He makes me believe that an orphan like me could dream of a happy ending too.

Then a thought assaults me, wiping the smile off my face. “Or we could just stay at home and order in. The tabloids are keeping tabs on you, Archer. We dodged the paparazzi on our way here but we can’t get lucky every day. Did you forget the recent articles about you? if they spot you with me—a model with questionable fashion sense—just after your alleged date with the mystery girl, they’ll have a field day. They won’t hesitate ruining your image.” I shake my head. “I think we should avoid going out for the time being.”

“If I want to take you out on a date, I will take you out on a date. I don’t give two fucks about what others think of me or your fashion sense for that matter. You shouldn’t either. Nobody can pull off the looks you create, Summer. Your style is unique and it suits you. Fuck what people think.”

“You’re missing the point here. It’s not about me. It’s about you and your reputation. The character assassination is not worth it.”

“Let me be the judge of that.” He says with a growl.

“Archer—”

“Food’s getting cold.” He dismisses the topic and I shake my head. He can be insufferable sometimes. There’s no way I can win when it comes to him. Be it an argument or love. I lost my heart to him a long time ago, the argument is nothing in front of it.

But then I remember something important. “Oh, I forgot to mention. I have plans this weekend. Sunday to be precise.”

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