Chapter 192 Casual flirtation
Elizabeth was caught off guard for a moment, her eyes going wide.
By the time she snapped out of it, Michael was already back in his seat, looking all relaxed.
He nodded, "Yeah, it's pretty good."
Elizabeth shot him a glare. "Michael! We're in public! Eloise is right here! How could you..."
She trailed off, glancing over at Nolan and Eloise.
They were busy having the waiter scoop out different ice cream flavors to try.
Michael licked his lips and nodded, "Vanilla flavor?"
Elizabeth was a bit speechless. He was talking about the flavor?
Seeing her puffed-up cheeks, he laughed and asked, 'Does your tongue still hurt?
Elizabeth turned away, not wanting to engage.
Michael looked at her. "You're not a kid anymore. How do you even hurt your tongue eating?"
Elizabeth was already in pain, and hearing him tease her, she turned to shoot him a fierce glare.
Michael smirked, trying to figure out why she was so upset. Did he do something to tick her off again?
He thought back, 'It must've been when I handed the menu to Eloise. Yeah, that's when Elizabeth's smile vanished.'
Taking care of Eloise was second nature to him, something he'd done a million times.
But Elizabeth didn't get it.
Michael chuckled to himself. Did Elizabeth see Eloise as rival in love? Was she upset because he was being nice to Eloise?
It seemed like Elizabeth still had feelings for him and cared about him.
He finally got why she always got upset and glared at him whenever Eloise was around.
Turned out, Elizabeth was jealous.
Michael had a lightbulb moment. All her weird behavior suddenly made sense.
He'd never explained who Eloise really was to her.
So she had no idea Eloise was his sister.
Michael decided he needed to clear things up with Elizabeth. He wanted to tell her that his relationship with Eloise wasn't what she thought.
He didn't want her to keep misunderstanding.
He wanted to share the secret he'd kept for years.
Even if she laughed at him, he didn't care anymore.
Just as Michael was about to speak, Elizabeth's phone rang.
She answered, but the caller hung up quickly.
She opened her messaging app, sent a text, and started scrolling through pictures.
From his angle, Michael could see she was looking at photos of some guy.
He reached out and pressed her hand holding the phone. "Elizabeth, focus on your meal."
Elizabeth brushed his hand away and kept looking at the photos.
"None of your business," she snapped, using her favorite phrase.
Elizabeth had already hit him with that line a bunch of times tonight.
Michael, getting fed up, snatched her phone. "Quit staring at your phone. I need to talk to you."
Elizabeth frowned and lunged to grab it back. "Michael! Give me my phone!"
Michael glanced at the screen. "I want to see what's so fascinating that you can't even eat."
Elizabeth growled, "None of your business!"
Michael was sick of hearing that.
On her phone was a picture of a young guy with thick hair, a handsome face, and a bright smile.
Michael felt like he'd seen the guy before but couldn't place him.
He frowned and asked, "Who's this guy?"
Elizabeth took advantage of his distraction and snatched her phone back.
Just then, Eloise and Nolan came back, followed by a waiter with a tray.
The tray had the ice cream scoops they'd picked out.
Nolan sat down next to Elizabeth.
Eloise glanced at Michael. "Michael, did you sneak a bite of Elizabeth's ice cream? You've got some on the corner of your mouth!"
Michael looked over at Elizabeth.
Elizabeth awkwardly lowered her head.
Eloise tugged at Michael's clothes, whining. "Look, we picked out a bunch of flavors. Nolan and I tried them all, and these are the best. I want to eat them all later."
Michael looked at Eloise with a soft smile. "One is enough. It's cold, you shouldn't eat too much ice cream."
Eloise clung to his sleeve, not letting go. "Michael, I don't care, I want them all."
She tugged at his sleeve, swaying back and forth.
Thinking about how Michael had grabbed her phone earlier, Elizabeth felt a headache coming on.
Outside, Calla was his public girlfriend. At home, he had Eloise's angelic face every day.
And Elizabeth? What was she to Michael?
An ex-wife he could flirt with whenever? Someone to pass the time?
Elizabeth thought about this and suddenly stood up.
She said to Michael, "Michael, from now on, let's keep our distance. I'm just your ex-wife." She glanced at Eloise, "And you have no right to interfere in my life."
Hearing this, the hope that had just sparked in Michael's heart was instantly crushed, and his good mood vanished.
Elizabeth turned to Nolan, "Nolan, are you done eating?"
Seeing her serious expression, Nolan immediately put down his ice cream spoon, stood up, and took her hand. "Mom, I'm done. Let's go."
Elizabeth took a step, then turned back to Michael, her face blank. "Thanks for tonight's invite, Mr. Thomas. We live far, so we'll head out. Sorry."
Then she left with Nolan.
Michael shook his head, picked up his fork, but lost his appetite. He put it down and went to pay the bill.
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