I didn't know if he knew it, but Christian was like the Sun. He easily attracted other people. I noticed the way he behaved with Jeremy and Astrid compared to strangers. He could be so cold to the point where it burned, just like what would happen if you got too close to the sun.

And me, a perfect stranger, felt cold, completely out of its solar system but wanting to be closer. When I researched facts about crushes, I mentioned it said that you were more likely to be attracted to someone you didn't stand a chance with. If Christian was the Sun, then I was Pluto.

So that's what I told him. I cleared my throat and said, "you're the Sun and I'm Pluto."

Christian set half of his burger on his plate and looked up at me. We sat across from one another at the diner, eating in silence save for the sound of chatter around us and thunder outside. He puckered a brow and replied, "eat your chicken nuggets, Eden."

His tone was flat and if I hadn't seen him smile in the parking lot earlier as well as yesterday, I would've assumed he was annoyed with me. But it was just the way he spoke. It surprised me, to say the least - when he smiled at me, I mean. It was a slow action, his smile slowly forming the way a flower would open up when the sun graced it. Now that I knew he could wear a genuine smile, I was going to do everything to make him wear it regularly.

"I'm right and you know it," I told him and took a bite of my chicken nugget. He tipped his head in approval. I pointed at myself. "Pluto is a dwarf planet. I'm tiny." Christian snorted. "There are five members in my household and Pluto has five moons. See where I'm going with this?"

"Okay, I'll humour you," he said after taking a sip of his coke. "If you're really Pluto, then it makes sense." I gaped at him, not believing that he was actually taking me seriously. "All the other planets orbit the sun in an almost perfect circle. Pluto's the only one that's wonky and orbits in a fucking oval. Explains why I never know what to expect with you."

A laugh forced its way out of my throat, and I nearly choked on my food. Christian clearly wasn't an airhead, he knew his stuff. And the teasing lilt to his last sentence triggered my laughter - even though it was said dryly. I sipped some of my vanilla milkshake and asked, "did you just make a joke?"

"Did you find it funny?" He raised a brow and snatched one of my chicken nuggets.

I nodded, pursing my lips to prevent myself from giggling. "I did."

Christian winked, "then it was a joke."

Once again, it astounded me how easily I was comfortable around him. The only other person who wasn't related to me who I was relaxed around was Ruben. Part of me knew I was enjoying having a new companion. The downside of it all was that once I was comfortable - I wouldn't stop prattling.

Shaking my head as I slapped his hand away when he reached for another chicken nugget, I said, "anyway. Yes, you're right. Pluto's orbit is weird, and sometimes it overlaps Neptune and ends up being closer to the sun than it. But eventually, it goes back into its original place. Kind of like what's happening right now."

"What are you talking about?"

I chewed slowly before discoursing, "you're only here in London for another two weeks. That's Pluto overlapping Neptune. Neptune is the distance between the Sun and Pluto - you being the Sun, and me being Pluto. But after next week, you're going back home and Neptune will once again stand in the way of Pluto and the Sun. There'll be distance between us once again."

Christian seemed to think very hard - and here's what made me giddy: he didn't cast me a mere side glance, he didn't glimpse at me and go back to his burger. No, he gave me his full attention. That was one of the main things I had anxiety about. If someone wasn't giving me their attention when I spoke, I felt like I was bothering them and that they didn't want me there.

"And when will Pluto overcome that distance again and be closer to the Sun?"

My nose felt stuffy, and I hoped I didn't sound weird. Sending him a tiny smile, I replied, "Neptune and Pluto's orbits will overlap again in the year 2227."

His expression went dismal, and I quirked a brow, taking another sip of my milkshake. I'd be catching a cold soon, having been out in the rain too many times, and here I was drinking milkshake on a chilly night. I shivered.

Just as Christian was about to say something, I was scooted over in the booth and a brawny arm was suddenly shrouded around my shoulders. "Why aren't you at home?" The merry voice floated through the air and I didn't have to look to know that he was grinning from ear to ear.

Christian's lips formed a line, and he glared at the man holding me, "who's this?"

I giggled at his bothered appearance and returned the man's hug, feeling him press a kiss to my head. Christian snarled, causing the man to laugh. "Christian, this is-"

"Maksim Orlov. But you can call me Max," the muscular man cut me off and leaned over the table to shake Christian's hand. The latter shook it firmly. "I own the diner."

Christian looked to me with an exasperated look, "does your family own everything?"

Both Max and I laughed at the question, and I slapped my cousin's hand when he reached for a chicken nugget. "Not everything. But, yes, Max owns the diner. He's Alex's big brother - if you remember him from earlier."

The resemblance was there. They both had deep ocean blue eyes but instead of having pitch-black hair like Alex, Max had dirty blonde curls. He turned to me. "None of my employees mentioned that my favourite cousin came in. They probably didn't recognise you because you came in with a male that wasn't related to you."

I rolled my eyes at the subtle diss as Christian drank from his coke. "Haha, hilarious, Max. This is Christian, my crush."

Christian choked on his beverage whereas Max ruptured into profound laughter, slapping the table as Christian continued to gag. "I don't think you're supposed to introduce him like that," Max sputtered through chuckles, seizing his stomach.

Disregarding him, I told Christian, "keep your head lowered to drain out any liquid that got caught in the wrong pipe. Breathe slowly and deeply. Good. There you go." He scowled at me as he cleared his throat, not liking that the attention was on him.

Max let out the last laugh and spoke, "don't you just love a woman who can send you into a choking fit but can also tell you how to overcome it? Damn."

"And that's why you're twenty-seven years old and still single," I retorted, passing Christian a napkin.

I comprehended it was the wrong thing to say because whenever someone jabbed at Max's romance life - or lack thereof - he became dramatic and defensive. "That is not why I'm single." He then shifted to Christian as if it was more likely for him to believe his story than me. Which was true, because I'd been hearing about this for years.

"Don't ask him why he's single," I warned Christian.

His icy blue eyes narrowed at me, a tantalising smirk tugging his lips. I keened in distress when he inquired, "why are you single, Max?"

Max huffed, and I rolled my eyes, deciding to immerse myself with my milkshake. I'd heard this story way too many times. "I have a twin brother. Before he got married, he went through women like underwear. But I have a theory."

"What's your theory?" Christian mused, and I whined, dropping my head onto the table. Max ran a comforting hand over my back as he talked, not apprehending that he was the root of my imminent headache.

"I think that he's not packing down there, you know?" He recapitulated. "And women like to gossip. They obviously told their friends about his tiny schlong. Now they're all staying away from me because they think if we have the same face we have the same size penis. Which is not true!"

I raised my head as I glared at Christian, challenging him to egg Max on. "Great story, Max-"

Christian cut me off and said, "I can relate to that. Just because you've got the same face doesn't mean your dick is the same size."

He spoke with a knowing edge to his tone, and my brows scrunched in curiosity. "You're a twin?"

"Triplet," he replied, and it was my turn to choke, this time on my saliva. My throat stung as I coughed, trying to get air into my lungs. "Keep your head lowered. Breathe slowly and deeply," Christian stated, and I could hear the smirk in his voice. "Good girl."

I pulled my milkshake closer and took a sip, sighing as the coldness relieved my inflamed throat. "Are you trying to be funny?"

"Did you find it funny?" he asked in return.

"If I wasn't choking, I would've been laughing."

Christian smirked, "then yes, I was trying to be funny."

Max eyed the two of us before saying, "Well, it was nice meeting my cousin's crush. I have to get back to work." Christian scowled, and I stifled a giggle. "Eden, please tell my idiotic baby brother that I'm kicking him out of our room."

Babushka's apartment had three rooms. One belonged to her, one to Uncle Olezka, and the other belonged to the boys. The room was technically supposed to only belong to Alex since his two big brothers passed the age of moving out already. Yet Max was still there.

I snorted, "it's his room. You're the one who's supposed to be house hunting." He flicked my forehead before stomping away. I had no idea how he managed to fit through doorways. The men in my family were built like Vikings - except Alex. The poor boy was a noodle, having inherited his deceased mother's slight frame.

"Your family is very interesting," Christian drawled, and I smiled.

Popping the last of my food into my mouth, I said, "they're a handful. People think Babushka has her hands full with me and Alex, but you should meet Matvei. He's Max's twin brother, by the way. When the two of them are together, wow. As old as they are now, they still yell at one another and fight like little children."

A fond look passed Christian's features, and I apprehended that Max and Matt must remind him of his own siblings. He must've missed them being so far away. And that right there was another reason I couldn't let this crush get carried away. Christian had family and friends to get back to.

Just because I finally found another person I could be relaxed with, didn't mean that the earth would stop on its axis to accommodate me.

When Christian went back to eating his food, I spoke again, realising that when feelings got involved - he shut down. "I work here," I said. He looked up and gawked at me and I quickly added, "here at the diner, I mean. When I'm not helping Babushka."

"You work here? At one of the most public places? Surrounded by people?" He didn't even apprehend it, but when he got confused, his nose did an adorable little scrunch.

Unable to help myself, I leaned over the table and bopped his nose. His icy eyes narrowed, and I laughed, sitting back in my seat. "Mum made me take the job to ease me into working with others and being around more people."

Christian ate a chip before questioning, "and you're okay with them forcing you to be more social?"

I shrugged. "I don't really mind because I know that they're only doing what they think is best. If you had a child like me - you'd be concerned too, trust me." I grabbed one of his chips. "And it's natural for Mary to be so meddlesome. She studied Psychology."

"Yeah, I've heard. Monarch University, right? She's interning there." I nodded. "My sister's always wanted to try out their student exchange program, but there are just too many applicants." He spoke with obvious fondness, and I smiled at that.

Poking his arm, I responded, "maybe Mary could put in a friendly word for your sister."

"That's too much to ask for," he countered lowly, taking another sip of his drink. I beamed at him, but there was an abrupt prickle in my nose. A tiny sneeze shook me, accompanied by another three. I kept my hands in front of my face as Christian whispered, "cute," followed by, "Bless you."

There was a sudden ringing in my ears that I hadn't discerned before. My saliva felt adhesive and the throbbing in my head got worse. Another sneeze left me, and I worried that I'd wet my pants if I had another one.

"Eden?" Christian called out to me and I looked up, seeing his icy eyes clouded with thoughtfulness. "Jeremy and I noticed you seem to be quite good at soccer."

A frown tackled me at the mention of the sport and I opened my mouth to speak, "Yeah, I-" Another sneeze cut me off and this one was unexpected. I didn't feel the tingling in my nose, it just came out. Which meant that I had no time to conceal my face and ended up sneezing on Christian's food. My eyes moistened in embarrassment. "I'm so sorry, I-"

Christian disregarded my words and stood up, stepping around the table so that he could hunch next to my seat. He ran his thumb over my bottom lip, which I didn't even realise was jutted out. "Dehydration," he muttered before frowning. "But you just had your milkshake."

I shook my head and clutched his hand in mine, "I'm fine."

He stroked my forehead and said, "your fever says otherwise." Without another word, he scooped me up in his arms and I yelped, latching onto him. I was about to argue, but then I felt the chill in my nose. Because I was holding onto him, I shoved my face into his sweater and sneezed. "You're gonna be okay," he murmured.

"What's wrong with her?" Max's voice was heard, but I was too fatigued to lift my head and instead snuggled my face against Christian's neck. I felt a tap on my back and Max spoke in Russian.

"I did not play in the rain," I snapped, but my voice sounded muffled. "And don't call me stupid, stupid."

"Well, fuck," Max replied. "She's only that nasty when she's sick. You should get her home. The bill is on me."

Christian grumbled thanks, and I felt Max throw a coat over me. I trembled again. "Hold on tight, angel," Christian told me before hoisting me with one arm and using the other one to position the umbrella he was given by Max. In a matter of seconds, I was lying in the back seat of the rental car.

I felt bad about sneezing on Christian, and I wanted to apologise but I felt tired. I detested how the flu always hit you out of nowhere. You could be as healthy as a horse and then boom - you're keeled over and having a coughing spasm.

"What were you saying earlier?" I inquired softly, nestling into the coat. "Something, um, I dunno. Something about football, I think. I dunno. I think. But I dunno."

Closing my eyes again as Christian drove us home, I heard him say, "I want you to come to California with me."

And then I passed out.