Thrill of romance

''Huh? Why would I be uncomfortable wearing a towel in front of you?" Diana blinked as if he was speaking in some incomprehensible language, ''You are my best friend,'' she slapped him on his shoulder.

His gaze darkened, the temperature dropping by several degrees.

Diana retracted her hand, covering her mouth with it as she coughed awkwardly, ''I mean… you were my best friend but I am still looking forward to doing a redo of our friendship,'' she smiled at him, genuinely this time.

Looking at her bright expressions, Maxim's lips parted. He turned around swiftly such that his back was facing towards her.

A brief moment of disappointment hit her but Diana looked at his back with unwavering confidence.

The awkwardness from the car was gone. So what if he did not take her olive branch to be friends again at the restaurant earlier? And so what if he did not say anything which in turn made it quite awkward for her?

Despite everything, he was still Maxim. The very same person who came rushing inside the room the moment she screamed. And he… kind of protected her.

When they were kids, it took him months, even years to properly warm up to her but he never pushed her away.

Now that they were adults, he just stayed quiet instead of pushing her away or rejecting her. That should be a good sign.

Diana had a lot of baggage on her at this time but she was not going to leave any space for regrets as she did 6 years ago.

She did it once, and she will do it again. She will befriend Maxim.

''You said… you wanted to shower,'' Maxim said, still facing towards the door.

Diana nodded absentmindedly. But realizing that he was not looking at her, she said, ''Yes. That's why I got changed but I didn't expect someone to be there. I was caught off guard.''

Maxim seemed to be quiet for some time.

Just when Diana thought that he wasn't going to reply, he spoke up, ''This place is safe. No one will cause trouble as long as I am around.''

Translation: I will protect you.

Diana could decode his words easily.

A thread of warmth seeped inside Diana's chest as she lowered her head. It has been a long time since she felt like this.

Maybe the consequences of some tragedies are not that bad after all.

She did end up on the streets in a penniless state and changed countries, her savings were running out but amidst all this, there was a little angel with her.

And then, her dire circumstances brought her to this person.

Everything might not be as bad as she initially thought.

Maxim cleared his throat after the drawled-out silence between them, ''Also, take a shower upstairs. In Ry…'' he paused for a moment before adding, ''…In my room.''

''Why?" Diana asked, genuinely curious.

''I don't think this bathroom is in proper condition,'' He had been here a few times after Ryle brought this property, but knowing the man, he just renovated the place where he was living and left the other parts of this hilltop mansion in ruins.

''Yeah…'' Diana looked in the direction of the bathroom, ''There was no warm water at all… No geyser…'' she mumbled, her voice unexpectedly coming out a bit whiny as if she was complaining.

Maxim sighed, ''This place will be fixed soon. Just make do upstairs for today,'' he said.

''I can just shower here for today,'' Diana's lips curled up in a mischievous smirk.

''You will catch a cold,'' Maxim said, within a beat.

She hopped to stand in front of him, ''Why do you care? You are acting like we aren't friends… so don't tell me it's the house owner caring for his tenant, huh?" she stroked her chin, ''Or worse, are you caring for me as my ex-classmate? God, Warner, so complicated you are. Just say that we are friends alright?"

Maxim looked at her, his gaze momentarily traveling down to her slender neck, her towel-clad body but he shifted his eyes towards the bed, looking at the peacefully sleeping baby, ''Get dressed properly before you come out.''

''It's just Ivy and you outside. I don't have to be this conscious around you all. She is a woman and you…'' Diana scanned him from up and down, ''…are you.''

Honestly, when she first saw him at the doorstep and today, in the morning, she was a bit ruffled. He was all grown up… all man… and it caught her off guard for some time because she did not know how to act around him. Not to mention that she did find him quite hot earlier this morning.

But appreciation of beauty wasn't a forbidden thing and now that she has already seen that he is still the same Maxim, cute and awkward, beautiful, but now in a hot body, she was falling into the rhythm.

Everything felt normal.

Not that Diana was used to hovering around men in towels. Moreover, growing up in a family like hers, she never had any such experience like that… the romantic aspects of her life were all in dark shades.

While she experienced many thrills in secret, like being a webnovel writer, keeping a burner phone secretly, random night outs with her sister that nobody was aware of, etc but the thrill of romance was foreign to her.

Her parents were conservative and because of her family background, no normal guys dared to pursue her.

Those who did came from rich families and they had to go through her mom before they reached her like a Prince Charming while holding rose bouquets.

Unfortunately for them, she was no Cinderella. She just turned them down.

Because of how conservative her parents were, even she was not accustomed to things. Like… many things… cough… but again, Maxim was Maxim. He was not just any man. To her, he was different.

''Trust me you will regret it if you keep roaming around like this,'' Maxim said, snapping the trail of her thoughts.

Diana looked at him, stunned, ''What?" Why would she regret it? "What do you mean?"

...

A/N: Do support this book with powerstones, golden tickets and reviews. I am planning to do a 4 chapter mass release once we hit 10 reviews. Currently, we are at 3 ^^