"...Are you planning to stay for dinner?" Carolline Ruiz raised her head, knowingly asking even though she remembered not inviting him.
"Yeah." Bryan Hawkins lowered his eyelids and lightly responded. Carolline's gaze was too direct, and he could see her questioning whether he was being too thick-skinned. But being thick-skinned helped get things done. "Auntie said I could stay for dinner."
Bryan Hawkins shamelessly brought Emily Hill into the conversation.
"..." Carolline didn't say anything. Since the hostess had already spoken, what else could she say? After a while, she said, "You can't freeload. Help put the marinated dishes on plates."
Carolline casually picked up the food that Emily Hill had bought and, while grabbing a few plates from the cupboard, stuffed them into Bryan's hands, shooing him to the wooden table nearby. She didn't want him standing so close to her.
