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6. Intriguing Questions and Revealing Answers

Lily's POV

After the woman's words, I began to understand my boss better. He truly seemed to have gone through a lot in his life. So I was kind of resolved to understand him, help him, and protect him as well. I really didn't like seeing people sad, especially when it was my boss. I would do everything in my power to help him become a better person. If he needed me, I was willing to be there to assist him. I wasn't sure if part of my determination came from the admiration I had for the man or because I enjoyed his company, but I decided that I would always help him.

"Could you apply sunscreen to Garrett, Lily? Otherwise, he'll get all burned from the sun." Mrs. Magdalena asked me while we were still sitting in the castle garden, enjoying the afternoon breeze, sipping tea, and eating chocolate biscuits. I didn't understand why the woman was asking me to do such a thing. Not that it wasn't normal, but something inside me trembled with that request, expecting to be so close to my boss and able to touch his skin... My boss shifted uncomfortably in his garden chair and spoke.

"No need, I know how to apply sunscreen myself." He reached out to take the sunscreen bottle from Magdalena's hand, but she moved her hand away, placing the bottle in my hand and taking Arthur from my lap, putting him on her own. Arthur grumbled and went back to scratching his gums with the toy in his hands.

"None of that!" the woman spoke, "You've been careless since you were a child. You never had a knack for applying cream to your skin, or even dressing yourself properly. I believe you still don't know how to do it now." She spoke to Garrett, looking at him accusingly. I wanted to laugh at her words. Magdalena was the only woman who could scold my boss.

"Don't exaggerate, Mag," he looked at her too. It was incredible how those two resembled each other, even as biological mother and son. Mag was the living person who knew Garrett Ward best. At that moment, she ignored him with a roll of her eyes and then smiled at me. "You can do it for me, Lily dear," she kindly requested. I ended up nodding and got up with a sweet smile.

"Of course, ma'am." I approached my boss, who was grumbling quietly in dissatisfaction. I knelt before him and asked for permission before slowly unbuttoning his black floral shirt, one button at a time.

"You don't have to do this if you don't feel comfortable. I'm not as useless as Mag makes me out to be," he spoke, and I gave him a small smile to reassure him.

"It's all right, it really doesn't bother me." He muttered something and fell silent. Now I was so close to him that I could hear the sound of his breath. I had been this close to him when we were in the basement, and he wanted to throw me into the cell for disobeying him. And now I was unbuttoning his shirt, revealing his skin free from clothing. He stretched his arms, making it easier for me to remove his shirt. For a moment, my eyes slid mischievously over his body. He was thin and not particularly muscular, but he had a perfect masculine beauty, a chiseled abdomen and well-defined biceps. I found myself swallowing hard at the sight, so enticing.

"Are you okay? Any problems?" he asked me softly, his voice heavy and tempting. I raised my eyes to him suddenly, but looking into those deep blue eyes didn't help either. So I ended up stuttering and stumbling over my own words.

"Oh yes... it's all right." I grabbed the sunscreen bottle and poured some into the palm of my hand, lightly rubbing one hand against the other, and started applying the lotion to my boss's skin. My hands were small and harmless compared to his tall and handsome body, but I did my job properly, ignoring the desperate beating of my heart as I touched him in such an intimate way. I had never done that before, and even if someone told me that I knew how to do it, I would doubt that person, but things were different when I was taking care of my boss.

"See, she takes good care of you, Garrett. Start treating her well, this girl is golden." Magdalena, who was watching the whole scene closely, said with a satisfied smile. At that moment, Garrett grabbed both of my wrists, making me stop, surprised, I looked at him with a question mark in my eyes.

"Nonsense!" He pushed me, not too forcefully, but I ended up falling back and sitting in the garden, letting out a startled cry. He stood up, grabbing his shirt and quickly putting it back on his own body, took his phone, and started walking away. "Hey! Where are you going, boy? It's a day to be with family!" Magdalena tried to call him back, but he kept obstinately moving away.

"Did I do something to upset him?" I asked innocently, not knowing why he had gotten so angry. Did I scratch him with my nails? But my nails were short and trimmed... Magdalena shook her head and dismissed my concern with a wave of her hand.

"It's not your fault, he's just too bitter." I looked for a while at the path where my boss had just walked away. Did he hate me that much? When Arthur started whining in Magdalena's arms, I wiped my hands with a towel and went to pick up my baby to take care of him.


"Arthur needs some fresh air, I was thinking of walking through the city park near the cathedral. It's good for him to hear the voices of other children." I was standing outside my boss's office, days had passed since the afternoon in the castle garden. He barely exchanged words with me since the incident in the garden. I disregarded what Magdalena had said that he wasn't mad at me because in my mind, he was indeed angry with me. So I used the excuse of going to the park with him to be able to talk to him more openly. He put down his pen and looked at me attentively.

Moments later, Arthur, him, and I were strolling slowly through the city park. The day was really sunny and fresh, children were running around the park, adults sitting in the garden or on benches reading a book or chatting, people doing exercises, and even those walking dogs, and beside us, in the distance, the imposing York Cathedral rose in all its majestic glory. Arthur was happily playing from inside his stroller while I gently pushed it, with my boss walking beside me. He hadn't said anything so far, and neither had I. In fact, I was gathering the courage to start talking.

"Are you angry with me?" I blurted out all at once so that this outing wouldn't have been in vain. He glanced at me briefly and looked ahead again.

"Why would I be?" he asked calmly, there was no real emotion in his voice.

"Because I was bold and applied sunscreen on you." I spoke quickly and heard him snort, but it seemed like an attempt to hide his laughter. I found it comical.

"You are quite evasive indeed, but your hands are efficient." I nodded and ended up smiling without him noticing. It sounded like a compliment to me. I loved receiving compliments from him, even if they were minimal and rare. Receiving compliments from him made my heart flutter with anticipation and happiness. I felt like I was floating on air. "You should even open a massage parlor."

"Oh, my specialty is taking care of babies."

"If you opened a massage parlor, I would go." That caught me so off guard that I widened my eyes and almost stopped pushing Arthur's stroller. Maybe he just needed a massage... And he would let me give him a massage... 'Just ask, and I'll do it!' I almost responded like that, but I restrained myself and answered instead.

"Maybe I'll open one if you answer my questions."

"Do you have something to ask me?"

"It's nothing major. Just some curiosities." I replied with a chuckle. It was evident that I wanted to get to know him better. My boss has been intriguing me a lot lately. I was practically only thinking about him. He would pop into my thoughts even in the most unlikely moments, so yes, I wanted to know more about him.

"I'll answer the ones that aren't too evasive." I chuckled and started bombarding him with questions.

"Do you prefer summer or winter? Coffee or tea? What's your favorite color? Public places or quiet ones? Do you like music? What's your favorite song? What's your favorite book?..."

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