Stuck in you

Chapter 38 The Banquet

Celia was very grateful to them for caring for her brother. Touching Mendes' soft cheek, Marcus asked, "Are you alright? Do you still feel pain in your knee?"

"Still a little painful," Mendes answered. Then, he took his sister's hand and added, "Just a little bit." He showed others what a little bit was through hand gestures. His childish behavior caused laughter from the people around him.

"He's alright now. Thank you for bringing him here. I am his sister," Celia said.

"You are welcome." As an acknowledgement, Marcus waved his hand at Celia. "I am also going this way. We know Dr. Shen, and we thought Mendes was her son. We are very sorry for what happened."

After hearing his explanation, Celia felt a little embarrassed. She hurriedly explained, "This is my brother, not Dr. Shen's child. Dr. Shen doesn't even have a boyfriend."

When they heard Celia's explanation, Henry squatted down to play with Mendes and Marcus had a strange expression. "So, Dr. Shen hasn't gotten married yet, has she?" Marcus commented.

"No, not yet. Dr. Shen is still young. Why would she get married so early?" Celia answered.

While they were talking, Rachel and Jack approached them.

The two happened to hear what Celia said. Embarrassed, Rachel lowered her eyes while Jack maintained his cold expression. Walking up to his friends, he said, "Let's go. Rachel can call us if anything else happens."

"Okay then." Then, Henry stood up and nodded to Rachel. She nodded back.

Looking at Celia, Marcus smilingly said, "See you next time, beauty."

All of a sudden, Celia's face turned red as a tomato. She wasn't able to reply anymore. All she did was stare at the guy, but he already turned around and left.

When they were gone, Celia asked Rachel in a soft voice, "Dr. Shen, are they your friends?"

Rachel nodded. In a loud voice, Mendes pointed at his sister and said teasingly, "You are blushing!"

"No! I am not blushing!" Celia answered, emphasizing each word, and instinctively covered her face.

"Really? How come your face is so red?!" Mendes continued, making a face at her and then running behind Rachel to hide.

So angry, Celia stamped her foot. Then, pointing at Mendes, she shouted, "You little rascal! If I had known you would treat me like this, I wouldn't have treated your wound!"

Peeking from Rachel's back, Mendes laughed out loud and made face at her again.

Bending to reach Mendes' eye level, Rachel touched his head and said in a kind voice, "Mendes, you should apologize to your sister. You shouldn't treat her like that. When you got injured, she got really worried. And she even treated your wound."

Hesitation could be seen on Mendes' face. But after a while, he realized that what Rachel said was true. He walked towards Celia and apologized, "I'm sorry. I won't make fun of you anymore. It's my fault."

Looking at him, Celia felt moved but didn't reply. Mendes looked back at Rachel who gave him an encouraging smile.

Hesitating a little, Mendes nudged Celia and held her leg. He looked up to her and said, "Celia! I'm really, really sorry! It's my fault!"

"Oh, Mendes!" Celia burst into tears uncontrollably.

The small misunderstanding between brother and sister was finally resolved.

Sighing, Rachel shook her head. Looking at Mendes smilingly, she said, "You are really naughty these days."

Then, Lucas smiled, "I heard that many interesting things happened while I was away."

"Yeah." Rachel began to return the things to their original places. She stood on tiptoe trying to reach the highest shelf, but she couldn't.

All of a sudden, somebody leaned over to take the things from her hand. "Here, let me help you," Lucas said.

Heart pounding, Rachel felt her ears turning hot, and her body stiffened for a moment. She didn't move until Lucas finished put them away. When he stepped back, she turned around. Clearing her throat, she said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." There was a gleam of emotion flashing in his eyes. "Why do we need to say thank you to each other?"

Hiding her uneasiness, Rachel replied, "I'm used to it..."

Lucas didn't notice anything peculiar with her. After thinking for a while, he suddenly said, "I saw Mr. Fu earlier."

"What? Yes...he was here." When Rachel heard Lucas mention Jack, her face turned cold. "Those two guys with him are his friends. They called Jack to come."

"I see," Lucas smiled. "How are the two of you doing these past few days?"

"Which two?" she asked.

"Jack and you..."

"We didn't really know each other. And, I have nothing to do with him," Rachel answered with a pout. "Recently, we have met a lot ."

Feeling that there was something in her words, Lucas raised his eyebrow. "Tell me about it. What happened?"

After a moment's hesitation, Rachel said, "Nothing. It has something to do with my brother."

Seeing her unwilling to talk, Lucas didn't press her for more information. Instead, he changed the topic. "I'm going to my father's place later. Do you want to come?"

Looking at her watch, she replied, "Sure. But you have to wait for me till the end of my shift."

Soon, it was Wednesday. Rachel had to attend to Francis' engagement party with Jack.

Jack called in the morning to remind Rachel. Needing to prepare herself, she asked for an afternoon leave.

Half an hour before their agreed time, Jack arrived and waited in the car for Rachel.

Used to this kind of waiting, he didn't expect Rachel to be on time. If it were Celine, he would be waiting for an hour at least.

Walking out, Rachel was wearing a light-colored evening dress. Her hair, which was usually tied in a bun, was now flowing down on her shoulders and light curls styled the ends. The evening dress was modest but elegant, with complicated handmade embroideries on the top part.

The design and workmanship were excellent. It followed the curves of Rachel, emphasizing her slender waist. The skirt naturally dropped just above her knees, revealing her slender beautiful legs.

It was nearly dark, just a trace of light from the sky. As Rachel walked leisurely toward the car, she looked like a beautiful silhouette of an angel.

Then, she opened the door and got in.

Jack's gaze swept down her delicate neck and collarbone. His inspection of her continued to her chest which showed the curves of her snow-white breasts heaving rhythmically with her breathing.

Compared with those women wearing sexy dresses, Rachel's dress could be called conservative but generous. She only showed what should be shown.

When Jack realized he ogled at Rachel, he looked away. But in his mind, he praised Rachel for dressing very well.

"Let's go," he told the driver.

"Yes, Mr. Fu," the driver answered.

Leaning back against the leather seat of the car, Rachel felt a little uncomfortable. Since she didn't like the feel of the leather on her bare skin, she straightened her back.

Fiddling with his watch, Jack didn't say anything to Rachel.

And, so was Rachel. She neither looked nor greeted him. Then, she shivered.

Though she knew the car's heater worked perfectly, she didn't ask the driver to adjust it. Instead, she looked at the thin coat in her hand.

Thinking for a bit, Rachel put on her coat and decided just to remove it when they reached their destination.

Jack turned his gaze out the window. After a while, the car jolted, and he smelled the familiar fragrance near him.

Turning to look at her, Jack saw her cute but embarrassed face. The bump must have caused her to lean towards him.

She distanced herself from him.

Squinting his eyes, Jack thought about the smell and finally remembered it. It was the same scent he smelled on her when they slept together.

That time, she got up. Lifting the quilt, he unintentionally turned to his side facing Rachel's side of the bed. That was when he smelled the scent.

The fragrance, which he never smelled from any woman before, was light and pleasing to the nose. All of a sudden, he asked, "Do hospitals permit doctors to use perfume?"

Surprised, Rachel turned to face him. She felt the question weird, but she still answered, "There is no rule regarding the use of perfume. It is a personal preference."

Hospitals had rules on the use of jewelry, makeups and nail polish, but they didn't include perfume.

Those who worked in the hospitals did not usually use perfume.

The smell of disinfectant was considered as their perfume already.

"And you?" Jack asked suddenly. Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.

"What?"

"Do you use perfume or not?"

Shaking her head in surprise, Rachel said lightly, "I don't."

Aside from dressing elegantly, was the use of perfume a requirement in attending a party?

Confused, she asked hesitantly, "Is there any problem?"

Calmly, Jack answered, "No, there's no problem."