Leila's POV

I'd just put the coffee on when Adam came downstairs wearing his hoodie, joggers and running shoes.

"Um......where are you going?"

He stopped then and looked at me, a small smile on his face.

"Good morning, Leila. I feel a little better, so I decided to take a walk instead of run this morning."

Drawing my eyebrows together, I pinned him to the spot with my gaze. If he showed any sign of sickness he was going back to the bed.

"The weather's good. I just want some fresh air."

I had turned back to my coffee and told him that he could go, but he was taking longer than I had expected, and I was now beginning to worry. What if he got too weak and has collapsed somewhere?

After deciding to go and check on him, the front door opened and in he walked, acting like he hadn't been gone for an hour. With his hands in his pockets, he fled upstairs, his strides faster and quicker than expected. He must definitely be getting better. Thank God. I was not used to seeing him like that, and it better end soon.

I'd taken Emilia to the bus and I'd just gotten into the house when I saw him come down the stairs in his suit. The man was beautiful, and I didn't like that my thoughts of him were heading in that direction. Suddenly, I just remembered something very important.

"You can't leave the house."

He raised a brow, a smirk growing on his face. Why did he have to do that? He was killing me here!

"And why is that?"

"James said that you shouldn't leave, and if you went to work he'd kick you out of the office himself."

He raised his brows in surprise, making me laugh at his predicament.

"You could've told me earlier. Now I wasted a suit."

After my small laughing fit, I apologized for not telling him sooner. He walked back upstairs, presumably to change his clothes. I did the dishes and went to the sitting room. The idea of watching a movie seemed more appealing at the time, so I sat down and picked one.

I was on my second movie when someone suddenly sat next to me. Adam was holding a bowl of popcorn in his hands while he made himself comfortable next to me.

Mentally shrinking, I tried to concentrated on the movie, and not at the man next to me.

"What's the movie called?"

"Uh...... Never been kissed."

There was a silence for a while, which ended up being awkward. Giving myself a mental facepalm, I wished that I'd been watching a documentary instead, about dolphins or even tortoises.

"That's an interesting name to give a movie."

"Yeah...."

He nudged me with the bowl, and I looked at him to see that he was chewing on his popcorn totally invested in the movie. I took some and ate as well. That went on and on till the movie was over.

"Not too bad. I hadn't watched a movie in a while, and when I say a while, I mean a while. Emilia's movies don't count."

Laughing,I replied.

"Well, you should make more time then."

He looked at me then and smiled.

"Maybe i will, since you have excellent movie tastes, you'll pick the movies."

My eyes widened and I quickly turned to look for the remote so that he wouldn't see the shock on my face. He wanted to watch them with me? What?

"Leila."

"Yeah?"

I turned to see him holding a book in his hands. My face must have showed my confusion, because he began to talk.

"It's for you. You took care of me yesterday, and I knowing your love for books, decided to get you this book. It's more of like a thank you gift."

Redeeming Love, the cover read.

"How did you know that I love books by Francine Rivers?"

"Uh.....I saw you holding one of her books a few days ago."

Touched, I felt that that was his way of compensation for the help. It was generous of him, but I couldn't take it. I hadn't helped him for anything in return.

"Thank you, but I-"

He put the book in my hands, silencing my already made speech.

"No buts. Take it. And the library I got it from doesn't take refunds, so you have no choice but to take it."

Looking at the man who sat next to me, who was finishing up the popcorn in the bowl, I felt appreciated. I smiled, genuinely grateful for the gift.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Do you want to see the library? It's close by. Just a few minutes and we'll be there."

There was a library close by?

"Well....."

Intrigued, I agreed to go with him.

"How do you survive in this quiet house by yourself?", he asked while we were heading out.

"Once you get used to the solitude, you don't even feel it. Plus, I'm an introvert, so I'll survive."

********

The wind was cool, and the sun was appearing and disappearing in the clouds, giving the right weather for a walk. In what felt like a couple of minutes, we were in front of this small building that looked like it had been there for a while due to its appearance. It looked old but strong and sturdy.

When we got to the door, he opened it for me. Smiling shyly, I walked in and the smell of books hit me. There were shelves and shelves of books that were filled to the brim.

"You can look around. I'll go and talk to the librarian."

"Okay."

He left me by myself and I began to walk about looking at the books. The library had a lot of different genres; paranormal, romance, thriller, spiritual, you name it. I even came across a few books I could borrow. Looking around a little more, I saw Adam talking to an old thin woman who seemed to be speaking to a mischievous child due to her expression. He was scratching his head, and I decided to just leave them be. When I was done looking through, he came to me.

"Did you find any book interesting?"

"Quite a lot actually. I'll come and borrow some."

"I can buy them for you."

I shook my head then and there.

"No no. You already bought one book, there's no need for you to buy more. I'll just borrow some books and I'll return them when I'm through with them."

He seemed satisfied with my response.

"Ok then."

Going back to the shelves I'd been at before, I took the books I wanted to read and went to the front. The old lady smiled at me and I smiled back.

"Thank you for coming here, child."

"No, thank you. I love this place."

"That's great then. You'll come and get more, okay?"

Nodding, I put my signature in her book and just as I was about to leave her, she said something that buffled me for the rest of the day.

"Hold onto what you're given, child."

************

Adam's POV

With a spring in my step, I walked into the office building. I greeted back those who greeted me and I was in a good mood. When I got into my office, James was already in, being his usual pesky self.

"Good morning, James."

His eyebrows raised, he replied to my greeting.

"Someone woke on the right side of the bed this morning."

Shrugging, I sat down.

"What can I say? It's been a good morning and I'm not sick anymore. It's good to be back."

"I can tell. Isn't there something you're forgetting?"

"What?"

"I was in here without your permission. You usually chew my head off because of that."

I called my assistant and told her to send the list of appointments and meetings for the day.

"That doesn't matter."

His eyes widened, clearly shocked by my statement.

"Woah! Did the flu mess with your head, or did time at home do something to you? Dare I say someone??"

Taking my eyes off of the file, I looked at him.

"I'm just glad to be back."

He smiled his i-know-everything smile.

"You can't lie to me. I'm your best friend and I know that you're lying to me."

I stood up and went to the window with the file.

"Just admit it. You had a great time yesterday and your feelings are growing towards a certain lady."

"There's nothing to admit, James. You're just in your head."

It was his turn to shrug then.

"If you say so........ though I know you're lying."

He became quiet and went on with the work he'd brought with him. I went on with mine, but after a short while, I couldn't concentrate. One moment I was thinking about work, and then the other I was thinking about her. I honestly had fun yesterday, and the more I saw her, the more I was intrigued by her.

She was funny, adorable, friendly, organised and so beautiful, it was ridiculous.

Let me go, Adam.

Sighing to myself, I went on with my work but my thoughts were interrupted here and there by the girl who loved novels with a passion I couldn't even understand myself.

Maybe, James was right, for once in his life.

°•°•°•°•°•

When I got home I went straight to my room. After taking a long shower while I was deep in my thoughts, I wore more comfortable clothes so that I could go downstairs. On my way out, I saw Katherine's picture on my dressing table. I walked towards it and picked it up.

She was by the beach with a huge smile on her face. Somehow, as I looked at it, I didn't feel sad nor guilty. All I saw was the woman I had loved and now was gone. She would forever be in my heart but, the feeling was different now. It was like I was seeing a memory that I wanted to keep but knew that it wasn't a part of my present life anymore. I found a box and began to take the pictures of her and put them in.

††††††

Keep safe, y'all!❤️🌼