[Garden]

It had been almost ten minutes since the two of them were walking around the garden and neither of them had said a word. Though they were quite close in the past and used to talk non-stop, things were different now. They were not ten and thirteen anymore. They were adults.

Every now and then, Rachael kept stealing glances of him. And the more she stared, the more handsome he looked. He was wearing formal black pants and white shirt, the sleeves of which were rolled to his elbow. His sharp chiseled jawline, toned arm muscles and ideal facial features, everything was perfect.

He was walking with his hands tucked inside his pocket which made him look even hotter. The man was a heartthrob.

"Are you just going to stare or say something?" He stopped and turned towards her. "If you are feeling awkward, we can go back."

"No—It's not like that." Awkwardly scratching the back of her neck, she exhaled. "Fine, it's a little awkward. Don't you think so?"

He nodded. "It is." Keeping quiet for a while, he added, "You haven't changed a bit."

"What do you mean?" she frowned.

"You were like this when we first met too and you are still short." He patted her head a couple of times and resumed walking, leaving Rachael behind.

"Hey, I am 5'6"." Catching up with him, she stated, "That's a good average height."

"Are you telling me or convincing yourself?" When she frowned, Andrew added, "See your nose still gets red when you are angry."

She scrunched her brows and covered her nose. "No it doesn't."

"Hey Andrew—" Jogging towards them, George gave him a hug. "How have you been?"

"I am good."

"What happened that day? You just disappeared after the conference," George asked.

"Something came up so I had to leave early. I am sorry I couldn't inform you," Andrew apologized.

George and Andrew were friends and classmates until the latter left for Russia with his maternal family. Both of them had hardly spoken to each other since then.

He had met George at an international conference in London last month. They had shared a brief conversation during the conference and had agreed on meeting later in the evening. But Andrew had to leave early as he had some personal business to attend.

"That's alright, I kinda figured out you had something important to do. But hey, since you're back, we should hang out more."

"Definitely." He agreed while giving him a hug again.

When George saw Rachael, he remarked, "I see you have already met Rach again."

"I was just showing him around."

"I hope you guys are done because mom sent me here to call you guys for dinner."

Without saying anything, Rachael walked away while Andrew and George followed her.

...

[After Dinner]

After dinner, Michael and Andrew sat down in the living room to talk about random things.

"So how are things in Russia? I heard you have business there as well."

"Everything is fine there," Andrew answered. "My cousin will be taking care of things in Russia from now. But I will have to fly there every now and then."

"I see but you will be spending most of your time here, right?" When he nodded, Michael beamed, "That's great, I am just glad you are finally back."

Just then Rachael arrived with some coffee for the two of them. Passing them their respective cups, she was about to leave when Michael stopped her.

"Honey, come sit with us."

"I—"historical

Patting the empty seat beside him, he added, "Come here, I was telling Andrew about the new museum."

Left with no other choice, she reluctantly sat down.

"You know what, you should visit the museum. I heard it's very nice." Looking at Rachael, he asked, "You haven't been there too, right?"

"No, not yet."

"Then that is great, you both should go together," he remarked.

Scrunching her brows, she subtly pinched her father's waist. She knew what he was trying to do and it was embarrassing.

"What happened honey? Why are you pinching me?"

Retracting her hand back, Rachael awkwardly cleared her throat. "I wasn't pinching, there was something there so—"

"Oh what was it?" Checking out his clothes, Michael said, "I don't see anything."

"That's because I removed it, dad." She glared at him, warning him to stop whatever he was trying to do.

Completely ignoring his daughter's subtle yet obvious warning, Michael resumed the topic they were discussing. "So what do you say Andrew?"

But before he could answer, Rachael interrupted him. "Dad, I am sure he is very busy. There must be so many things to handle in the company. Right, Andrew?" She looked at him expecting him to play along with her. She was sure he didn't want to waste his time going around when he had important things to deal with. But little did she know Andrew had different plans.

"I can take some time out to see the museum," Andrew remarked. "But we can reschedule if Rachael is busy."

"Oh don't worry about her. She was complaining about being bored and watching Netflix all day earlier." Placing his hand on Rachael's back, Michael chuckled, "I solved your problem. At least now you know you won't be bored tomorrow."

Left with no other choice, Rachael smiled and nodded. She didn't wanna come up with another excuse as that would make her look weird and stubborn. Anyway, a museum trip with Andrew didn't sound that bad.

....