"Hello, Gael, nice to et you," Tristan said as he stretched out his hand for a handshake.
"It’s an honor to et you finally, Sir..." Stefan’s voice quivered slightly as he accepted Tristan’s warm handshake, a mix of respect and unease clearly showing through his eyes.
"Gael, you can call ’bro’ if you want, or just call by my first na. No need to use ’Sir,’" Tristan said casually before greeting the others with slight nods.
Stefan nodded in response, feeling pressured to call this man brother. For now, he would avoid talking to him.
Tristan, always a man of few words, settled down beside Bella. He listened to what his wife and her friend talked about while playing with her hair and gazing at the outside scenery.
...
"Wait, there are only two of you. Where is Leo? Why didn’t Leo co with one of you guys?" Bella asked, looking at Stefan and Sam in turn.
She was confused about why Sam and Stefan traveled in different cars, but none had Leo in them. If one of them were with Leo, they could have stopped by Dana’s house before coming here, right?
"I told you he picked up Dana," Stefan answered.
"I an, it’s such a hassle using a different car. Why not just use one car and stop by Dana’s house?"
"Maybe Dana was shy about eting Sam or ," Stefan answered nonchalantly, crossing his arms in front of his chest and looking around the room. He was curious and wanted to et Bella’s son but didn’t see him.
Before Stefan could ask Bella about her son, Sam suddenly said.
"Leo left the house earlier than us this morning, so maybe they had sothing to do before coming here." Sam paused awkwardly, talking about this. "Well, boss, you should know what I’m trying to say..." he continued.
"Ha ha ha..." Stefan laughed happily. "True... True... they are a new couple and need more intimate monts."
Sam and Bella smile upon hearing Stefan’s words.
"Who is the new couple?" Harper’s voice suddenly rang from behind, surprising everyone in the room. Instantly, they turn toward Harper’s voice.
Bella saw Harper enter the room, with Geoffrey following behind her.
"Harper, you finally arrived, huh?" she said, standing from her seat.
Bella was genuinely surprised by Harper’s unusual appearance; She was wearing skinny jeans and a white blouse, with her long hair neatly tied. What surprised Bella even more was seeing Harper in white sneakers.
After giving Harper a warm hug, Bella whispered, "Did you deliberately dress like this to attract soone’s attention?" Suddenly, her eyes widened when she thought about sothing. "My goodness, Harper Reed, are you trying to attract my husband!?"
Harper laughed before flicking Bella’s forehead gently. "What the hell are you thinking, girl? Tsk...Tsk... You are so funny..."
Bella rubbed her forehead while narrowing her eyes at Harper, protesting to her best friend with her gaze.
"I’m sorry, girl. Even though I know your husband is freaking handso, you don’t need to worry... Because I never like married n." Harper chuckled, watching Bella roll her eyes.
"By the way, how do you know I’m trying to attract soone?"
"You usually wear branded and glamorous stuff, but today, you look down-to-earth," Bella said, scanning her from head to feet. "I rarely see you like this..."
"Girl, you know so well..." Harper giggled while looking for soone. However, her expression showed disappointnt when she didn’t find the person she was looking for, and she turned to Bella, asking, "Why hasn’t everyone arrived yet?"
Harper thought everyone had arrived and she would be the last guest, but after checking around, she didn’t see Leo and Sean.
"Yeah, a few people haven’t arrived yet." Bella shared the sa expression as Harper. She started to worry that Sean wouldn’t co.
"Damn! They ruined my plan," Harper grumbled. Still, her words slowly faded as soon as her eyes landed on the handso, tall man she was familiar with—she had seen his picture on the internet; he was Tristan Sinclair.
Tristan was standing not far from her, absentmindedly looking at his cell phone, and didn’t notice that soone was looking at him.
Harper imdiately turned her gaze back to Bella, leaning closer to her.
"Girl! Now I know why you fell in love with your husband at first sight; it turns out he’s so hot—" she whispered. Seeing Tristan in person made Harper understand why Bella couldn’t forget this man.
"Stop teasing !" Bella shook her head.
"Girl, hurry up and introduce to your husband," Harper whispered again.
Bella led Harper to Tristan and introduced her. However, she was taken aback when Tristan only nodded at Harper without offering a handshake, unlike his greeting to Stefan.
’Why is he sulking? Did he hear what we were talking about?’ Bella wondered. She wanted to ask him but put aside her curiosity. Instead, she introduced Harper to Bryan and Dylan.
After a brief and warm introduction, Bella invited them all to move to the backyard, to the lunch party venue.
***
Even though the sun was shining brightly that afternoon, their table was set under a shady tree, sheltering them. The gentle breeze makes the atmosphere feel enjoyable.
They all sat in their respective chairs. Tristan sat at the head of the table; Dylan and Bryan sat across from him. They are seriously discussing so of their company projects.
anwhile, Bella sat next to Tristan while chatting with Harper. Stefan and Sam were seated before them, gossiping about Leo dating Dana.
Shortly after,
Bella called Geoffrey, who was standing not far in the back.
"Geoffrey, could you ask Dax and Max to join us? And please ask the chef to start serving. We can start our lunch now," Bella said. She decided to start their lunch even though Leo and Sean hadn’t arrived yet.
"Yes, ma’am..." Geoffrey nodded. But before he went inside, he rembered another guest. "What about your other friends?"
"Just ask soone to wait outside for them; if they arrive, bring them here," Bella instructed. She didn’t know why Leo hadn’t arrived yet.
Bella also didn’t know whether Sean would co. Well, at least she had invited him.
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