"Evelyn—" A sharp meow interrupted Sheffield just as he was about to say something.
Meow!
A large furry creature came into sight. If it hadn't been for the meowing, Evelyn would've thought that Sheffield kept a leopard.
But as far as she was concerned, cats were far worse than leopards.
The animal stared at her and started walking towards her.
"Dude! Why didn't you send Bailee to the pet store? You knew I was coming!" Joshua asked as he ran away from the cat and towards the kitchen.
'Baby?' Evelyn couldn't believe that Sheffield would give his pet such… well, such an adorable name.
"It's not Bailee now. It's Eve," Sheffield corrected him.
'Eve?' Evelyn's face darkened. The cat was still walking towards her. Sheffield turned around to look at Evelyn, who was standing completely still. "Eve, wait—" he paused. He realized that it would be confusing to use that name with both Evelyn and the cat in the room, and at the same time, he also thought that no one could replace Evelyn. "All right. We'll just call her Bailee. I don't want to change the name anymore. Evelyn, her name is Bailee. She might look huge, but she is very meek."
'Oh, it's Bailee, not Baby, ' Evelyn thought, but she didn't say anything.
Joshua decided to make fun of Sheffield. "Evelyn, the cat is his mistress. He spoils her to no end. He doesn't even stop her when she messes around with us," he teased.
The two men waited for a long time, but there was no movement from the woman. They thought that she was playing with Bailee, so they didn't pay much attention, and took all the food into the kitchen.
"Achoo!" Suddenly, a sneeze came from the living room.
Sheffield craned his head from the kitchen and asked, "Evelyn, did you catch a cold?"
She shook her head. "Sheffield…" Her voice was trembling.
Even Joshua, who was far away from the cat, sensed that there was something wrong with Evelyn this time.
The cat walked around her legs, staring at the motionless woman with her yellow eyes.
"Achoo!" Evelyn sneezed again.
As soon as Sheffield saw her reaction, he knew what was wrong. "Are you allergic to cats?"
Evelyn didn't look good. She nodded her head. She was allergic to cats, and more than that, she was scared to death of the animal.
Yes… She had always been afraid of them.
Everyone had a weakness, and Evelyn was no exception.
Sheffield quickly took Bailee away from her. He had first thought of locking her up in his bedroom for the time being, but what if Evelyn wanted to go into his room to get some rest? So, he took Bailee to the balcony and locked her in the cage. Then, he closed the glass door.
After that, he opened all the windows of the living room to let in some fresh air.
After the cat was locked away, Joshua returned to the living room. "Evelyn, are you afraid of cats or allergic?"
Unwilling to admit that she was afraid, Evelyn answered, "I'm allergic… Achoo!"
"Apart from sneezing, is there any other reaction or any uncomfortable feeling?" Sheffield asked seriously as he pushed up her sleeves to examine her arms.
"My legs feel funny…" she answered honestly. The cat had circled around her legs a few times.
Sheffield sat her down on the sofa and was about to lift up her trouser legs. Then, he glared at Joshua, who was looking at her curiously. "Go to the kitchen and wash the vegetables."
"Huh? Oh," Joshua murmured and left.
Sheffield pulled Evelyn's trouser legs up. Within just two minutes, her skin had become red. "Wait. I'll go fetch some medicine for you."
"Mm hmm."
In no time, he brought a medical kit. He quickly found the ointment he was looking for, opened it and applied some on Evelyn's skin. "It heals allergy. Let's try this first. If it doesn't work, I'll take you to the hospital after lunch," he said anxiously.
"Okay, let me apply it myself."
Instead of giving the ointment to her, he lifted her trouser legs and carefully applied it on her.
He put away the ointment and the medical kit after he was sure that he had left out no spot. After washing his hands, he said to her, "Wait in the living room. I'm going to cook." He then strode into the kitchen.
"Okay," she said after him.
Evelyn looked around the apartment. The place was not too large, probably just over two hundred square meters and the decoration was modern.
She saw that his bedroom door and study door were closed. One of the bedroom doors was open, but it was next to the balcony, where the cat was kept. So, she decided to stay in the living room.
Very soon, Joshua was kicked out of the kitchen. He walked over to Evelyn. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Sheffield applied some medicine for me."
"I'm afraid of his cat, but I'm not allergic to it. I didn't expect that you would be so allergic to cats," he added.
"I am."
There was a moment of silence in the living room. Then, Joshua lowered his voice and asked, "By the way, are you really going to let our parents meet?"
Evelyn looked towards the kitchen and then at him. "Yes."
"But, Sheffield…he…" Joshua and Evelyn were only together to ease the pressure from their families, but only they knew about this arrangement.
Evelyn replied, "I told him very clearly that we're together."
"Sheffield likes you very much. Why don't you give him a chance?" Joshua had met her twice, and he could tell that she had a thing for Sheffield too.
After a short pause, Evelyn answered, "We're not compatible."
Joshua didn't buy it. That was too far-fetched.
Lunch was ready while Evelyn was on a phone call with Nadia.
She looked at the six dishes and the soup on the table; her stomach rumbled. She quickly ended her call with Nadia. "I'm having lunch outside. Let's talk about this when I get back."
There were two dishes with plum. Sheffield had also cooked the braised fish sticks with celery.
He sat next to Evelyn. Joshua had to sit alone, opposite to them.
Sheffield picked up a small slice of trotter and brought it to Evelyn's lips. "Taste this."
She was surprised. He smiled and said, "Don't worry. I haven't used the chopsticks yet. Eat."
Joshua covered his eyes dramatically. "I didn't see anything. I'm not seeing any of this romantic shit."
Evelyn picked up her bowl and said, "Put it in the bowl."
Sheffield insisted, "Open your mouth. Here… Be a good girl."
When Evelyn tried to protest, he took the opportunity and put the trotter into her mouth.
From under the table, Joshua kicked Sheffield's leg and said, "You didn't ask me to come here for lunch. You just wanted to show off your love for her, didn't you?"
Sheffield looked at him with a smug smile and said, "If you feel uncomfortable, feel free to leave anytime."
"Do you think I'm stupid? I waited for so long for this food. You think I will leave on an empty stomach? I'm not leaving. I'll be your third wheel. I don't care!" Joshua began to gulp down the rice.
Ignoring their banter, Evelyn focused on the delicious food.
She was in a good mood and ate a lot. She even drank up the whole bowl of soup which Sheffield had ladled for her.
