Vivian only remembered now that she had left the spaghetti Bolognese she made for lunch at home as she left in a hurry yesterday.
She figured that Finnick must have eaten one of them and kept the other in the fridge.
Vivian felt embarrassed. She perched on her toes and tried to reach for the serving of spaghetti Bolognese in Finnick’s hand. “You don’t have to eat the leftovers from yesterday. Since I’m here, I’ll make you something fresh.”
Seeing Vivian struggling to get ahold of the spaghetti, Finnick only writhed his lips. Instead of lowering the plate of pasta in his hand, he bent down to face Vivian.
Vivian was shocked by Finnick suddenly moving so close to her. She lost her balance and tripped over. Fortunately, Finnick was quick to react. With one scoop around her waist, he pulled her back upright.
“Be careful,” Finnick muttered under his breath. “No need to make me anything. I really like your spaghetti.”
For some reason, Vivian blushed at Finnick’s words even though they were nothing special. Perhaps it was because of his deep and husky voice.
“If you like my spaghetti then let me make you more.” Vivian was afraid that Finnick would notice her queasiness and lowered her head. “Leftovers are not healthy to eat.”
“It’s not like I eat leftovers all the time.” Finnick slowly let go of Vivian’s waist and popped the spaghetti into the microwave. “I don’t want to waste food, especially since you made it.”
Vivian knew she wouldn’t win Finnick in banter and backed off. She watched as Finnick remove the heated spaghetti from the microwave and ate it slowly.
Finnick looked elegant while he was consuming the plate of spaghetti. Even though it was just homemade food, he acted as if he was eating a Michelin three-star meal.
“Hey,” Vivian, who sat opposite Finnick, spoke hesitantly with her two hands clasped together. “I will try to pay you back the money for my Mom’s surgery and medicine.”
Finnick’s eyes narrowed at Vivian’s words. He was in the middle of twirling a few strands of spaghetti into a ball.
“Vivian.” Finnick swallowed the food inside his mouth and uttered with his deep voice, “Did you forget the promise you made me yesterday?”
“Yesterday?” Vivian was stumped. Then, she suddenly recalled what Finnick was talking about. “Oh, you mean the promise I made to come to you if I ever need help?”
“Yep.” Finnick shifted his gaze to Vivian’s face. “I thought we are close enough for me to help you?”
Finnick’s eyes were like scalpels that could dissect Vivian’s mind right away. At that moment, Vivian felt as if she was standing naked in front of him. She replied shyly, “It’s not that I don’t think we aren’t close enough. I just don’t like owing others.”
Vivian bit her lips determinedly as she tried to keep her head cool.
At that moment, Finnick was a friend to her. Still, Vivian could not let herself be indebted to others.
Finnick kept what he initially wanted to say to himself when he saw the conviction in Vivian’s eyes.
“If you really want to repay me…” Finnick’s eyes shifted to the spaghetti ahead and had an idea. “It’s okay if you don’t pay me the money. I am in no need of it anyway. You can repay me in some other ways instead.”
“How else can I repay you then?” Vivian was flummoxed as she couldn’t figure out what Finnick needed. He was a man who had everything.
“Food.” Finnick gave Vivian a terse answer. “If you really want to repay me, just cook for me.”
Vivian gaped her eyes. She couldn’t believe her own ears.
“Huh? That’s all you want?” Vivian was dumbfounded. “But my cooking isn’t that great.”
Vivian admitted that her cooking was only mediocre at best. Her cooking was a far cry from Molly’s excellent cooking.
Finnick is such a picky eater. Why will he want me to cook for him?
“What’s wrong?” Finnick arched one brow. “Do you not want to cook for me?”
“Of course not,” Vivian replied in a hurry. “But my Mom’s hospital bills cost sixty thousand. How many meals do I have to make to cover that?”
“What do you think?” Finnick threw the question back at Vivian.
Vivian was at a loss for words.
