His Naughty Lessons-Chapter 167: Girls’ Talk

** Eli **

Eli watched Harper’s expression closely as it changed from shock to puzzlement to ... a hint of grudging annoyance?

He felt simultaneously amused and a little guilty. Amused because he was finally getting the reason why she was here, looking grumpy, and it surprised him to realize that his girl with such a big heart was actually getting jealous over him talking too much to other women. But with that realization came the guilt ... because he should’ve considered this before habitually kissing someone else, even though it was only a peck on the cheek.

He had simply been too stunned to see Cecilia here to be able to think thoroughly at the time.

"I don’t—" Harper chewed her lips as Cecilia waved at them on her way over. "Is it necessary for me to meet your colleagues? I’ll probably never work with her anyw—"

"Harper! Oh my, I thought I wouldn’t get a chance to meet you tonight!" Cecilia was already next to them within a second, and the chatty girl probably didn’t realize she was cutting Harper off mid-sentence with a big hug. "I wanted to come say hi earlier," she added, "but Eli said you were having important work chats with those dudes. I even tried to glare at them, but no one got the hint to move away."

Harper seemed ... caught off guard in a daze, obviously not expecting such an enthusiastic greeting.

Eli chuckled, slipping his arm back behind her back. "This is my cousin, Cecilia," he introduced. "Apparently also known as the catering manager of this resort, which I only found out half an hour ago when she popped out of nowhere."

Now the look on Harper’s face went completely blank. "Your ... cousin?"

"Hey, be more specific." Celilia threw over a stern stare before turning back to Harper. "A cousin on his mom’s side. Not that fucker of a dad’s side. I assume you know the story?"

Eli coughed at the language. Harper continued to look dazed for a few more moments before it finally looked like she had processed the information overflow. "Oh, yes ... I know a little about it." She glanced back at him with a complex look full of questions. "I wasn’t aware Eli had cousins though. It’s a great surprise to meet you," she said to Cecilia.

"Tsk, he just likes to pretend I don’t exist." Cecilia jabbed Eli with an elbow. "We used to be close when we were kids. Before all the shit hit the fan, I mean. We haven’t talked much after my aunt — his mom — passed away, aside from liking each other’s pictures occasionally on social media. He didn’t even know I moved to Hawaii years ago!"

"... You actually post pictures on social media?" Harper turned to Eli again dubiously. "I had no idea you had any of those accounts. You never friended me!"

Eli chuckled once more at the slight tinge of jealousy seeping through her voice all over again. "I only use it to stalk old acquaintances I don’t talk to anymore, but I’ll add you right away if you want me to."

"Ugh, calling your cousin an old acquaintance. You’re such a heartbreaker, Eli." Cecilia clutched her heart, looking thoroughly hurt.

This girl was too good at dramatic shows ... No wonder Harper had been upset when she saw them talking earlier. It was probably unavoidable that she caught sight of how familiarly Cecilia was acting around him, or how exaggeratedly excited she looked the whole time. The scene could’ve very easily been misinterpreted for sure.

"Anyway." Cecilia hooked an arm with Harper’s, already acting like they were besties for life. "I’ve never seen him post girlfriend pictures though, so I’m really ecstatic to see one in person! I want to know everything about you. Why don’t you give me your version of how you guys met?" Then she switched to a lower voice before adding, "Don’t worry, the story stays between us. He told me it’s insider’s knowledge for now."

Harper was still shooting questioning glances at Eli when a giggling Cecilia pulled her aside into a "let’s have a girl’s chat and ignore the guy" conversation. Eli decided against interrupting them, and he simply raised his glass in a small gesture of a toast.

~ ~

The girls talked nonstop for the rest of the evening. Cecelia kept a good pretense of excluding Eli from their secret exchange of girly gossips, but she was obviously talking loud enough for all three of them to hear everything, especially when she shared anecdotes of Eli as a kid that were embarrassing enough to make him groan.

If it weren’t for the catering team coming to look for their manager near the end of the event, they probably would’ve kept going forever. Only after another round of hugs and kisses did Cecilia finally let them go, making them promise in the meantime that for their next catering — hopefully a wedding or a baby shower — they’ll come back to Hawaii and let her plan a dinner of a lifetime for everyone.

"Wow." Harper made a sound somewhere between a laugh and an overwhelmed sigh once Cecilia was out of sight. "Your cousin is ... so enthusiastic."

"That’s one word for it." Eli didn’t miss the opportunity to finally slide his arm back behind her again, now that Cecilia wasn’t here to interfere with her enthusiastic hugs. "So ... Am I forgiven, now that you know this is just the way she always is?"

The explanation rendered Harper quiet for a moment, and a tiny tinge of blush crept up her cheek. "I wasn’t ... mad at you or anything!" she argued. "I just didn’t expect— I mean, who still greets people with kisses on the cheek these days?"

Harper had done precisely that herself before, Eli thought amusedly, though he kept the comment silent. "Cecilia is a quarter French and a quarter Italian. Naturally gives her some unique quirks." He pulled Harper closer into his arm, then lowered his head and whispered into her ear, "But if that kiss still bothers you, why don’t you fix it for me? Just cover my face with kisses of your own. I’m sure that’ll remove any traces of a mark anyone else could’ve left on me."