“Richard! What took you so long?”
Sharon greeted him with a teasing smile when he finally reached them.
“Were you busy entertaining your admirers?”
Richard glanced over his shoulder at the group of women behind him. One of them was still staring in his direction, apparently offended by his refusal to entertain her.
“I’m not interested,” he replied flatly.
Sharon laughed. “You could have at least helped them take a picture. It wouldn’t have cost you anything.”
“If I had, they would have asked for something more. Better to reject them from the start.”
Sharon rolled her eyes.
“You’re really cold and heartless.”
“He’s right, Grandma. They would definitely pester Richard if he gave in.”
Kristal spoke in a light, teasing tone, a mischievous smile playing on her lips as though she were remembering something amusing.
Richard turned toward her, his gaze lingering on her smiling face.
“What are you laughing at?”
“Nothing.” Kristal tried to suppress her smile. “I just didn’t expect you to be so difficult.”
“Difficult?”
“You heard Grandma. Taking a picture wouldn’t have hurt you.”
“Neither would ignoring them.”
His deadpan response made Kristal laugh again.
For some reason, Richard found himself enjoying the sound more than he cared to admit.
He agreed to accompany them on this trip only because Sharon had pestered him into it. According to her, she wanted her granddaughter to have wonderful memories of Ambrussia before leaving.
If only he knew Sharon’s real intentions, would he still have agreed so readily?
To be fair, Grandma Sharon had always treated him like her own grandson. She genuinely wanted him to succeed and find happiness. Of course, she also wanted him to become her grandson-in-law.
Richard, however, had expected nothing more than a long, exhausting day spent listening to the grandmother-granddaughter duo chatter, taking photographs at their command, and enduring the heat and boredom.
He hadn’t expected Kristal to be so entertaining.
Nor had he anticipated how infectious her happiness could be. Sometimes, he found himself laughing along with her before he even realized it.
“Richard, take pictures of me!” Kristal suddenly handed him her cellphone. “I’ll send them to the family group chat. My sisters-in-law will surely turn green with envy when they see where I am!”
Richard accepted the phone without complaint.
Kristal immediately began striking one cute pose after another, occasionally turning this way and that to find the perfect angle. Richard patiently snapped photos, capturing every playful expressions.
“Wait! One more!” she called, lifting her chin and placing a hand against her cheek.
Richard raised the phone.
Just as he took the shot, Kristal shifted her weight on the slippery sand.
Her foot slid.
“Ah!”
Before Richard could react, she lost her balance and toppled into the knee-deep water.
“Kristal!”
He hurried toward her, reached down and pulled her upright, steadying her by the arms.
For a moment, she clung to him to regain her balance. Then she burst into laughter, so hard that tears gathered in the corners of her emerald-green eyes.
“What’s so funny?” Richard asked, his brows drawing together.
“Your face!” she managed between laughs. “You look as though I nearly drowned!”
“You fell into knee-deep water.”
“Exactly! And you looked so worried!”
Richard opened his mouth to retort, but the words died on his lips.
Their eyes met.
Kristal’s laughter gradually subsided as she became aware of how close they were standing. His hands were still resting on her arms, and she could feel the warmth of his fingers even through the thin, damp fabric of her dress.
Behind his dark sunglasses, Richard’s gaze seemed to deepen.
For a fleeting moment, neither moved.
The laughter around them faded into the background, replaced by the gentle lapping of waves against the sandbar. A breeze swept across the water, carrying the faint scent of salt and sea spray.
Something shifted between them—something neither could quite name.
Richard became acutely aware of the woman standing before him, of the droplets clinging to her lashes and the way her damp auburn hair framed her flushed face.
Kristal, too, seemed to have forgotten what she had been laughing about.
Then—
“Come on!” Sharon called from nearby, splashing water toward them. “The water is wonderful! Stop standing there like a couple of statues!”
Richard abruptly released Kristal’s arms and stepped back.
“Grandma!” Kristal exclaimed, her cheeks warming as she turned toward the older woman.
Sharon merely grinned, looking far too pleased with herself.
Kristal quickly recovered and extended her hand toward Richard.
“Come on. Let’s join Grandma.”
Richard looked at her outstretched hand.
For a fleeting moment, the sight stirred a memory buried deep in his mind—a much smaller hand reaching for his years ago.
Richie, promise you’ll take me to the beach someday.
The memory caught him off guard.
“Richard?”
Kristal’s voice pulled him back to the present.
He looked at her hand for another second before taking it.
“Fine.”
Her fingers curled around his as she led him toward Sharon, who was standing in the shallows with a triumphant smile.
The cool seawater washed over Richard’s feet, sending a refreshing chill through him. Afternoon sunlight shimmered across the turquoise surface, scattering silver reflections around their legs.
Kristal turned toward him, looking delighted.
“The water feels so nice here! It’s nothing like the cold water in Fiorenza.”
She smiled brightly at him.
“I’m so happy you brought us here.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
Isobel would like it here, too.
The thought came unbidden.
Richard’s smile faded almost imperceptibly as his gaze drifted toward the distant horizon.
“Hey! You’re zoning out again.”
He turned back to Kristal.
“I’m not.”
“Really?” She narrowed her eyes at him playfully. “Then I must be imagining things.”
Before Richard could reply, a wave rolled toward them and broke against their legs.
Kristal lost her footing again.
This time, however, she quickly regained her balance. Laughing at her own clumsiness, she scooped up water and splashed Richard.
Cold droplets scattered across his dark blue shirt.
Richard stared at the wet fabric for several seconds.
Kristal pressed her lips together, trying to contain her laughter.
Then he bent down, scooped up a handful of water, and splashed her in return.
“Richard!”
She shrieked, retreating with a laugh as the water struck her already soaked dress.
“You asked for it,” he said, a rare smile touching his lips.
“Oh, you’re going to regret that!”
She retaliated without hesitation.
Soon, the two were splashing one another like children, completely forgetting their surroundings.
Sharon watched them for a while before retreating to the dry sand. She settled beneath the shade of a beach umbrella, declaring that she was too old to keep up with two energetic youngsters.
Of course, she didn’t waste the opportunity.
She pulled out her cellphone and began recording videos and taking pictures, her smile growing wider with every shot.
The two of them looked remarkably comfortable together.
More importantly, Richard no longer looked like the perpetually composed CEO of the Learson Group. His usual reserve had given way to an easy smile, and even his laughter seemed more spontaneous.
Sharon couldn’t have been more pleased.
Perhaps her efforts hadn’t been in vain after all.
Grandma Sharon is acting match maker.
Can you guess how would Richard feel when he learns that Kristoff proposed to Isobel?