A man only starts paying attention to his looks and his age when his heart has been stirred.
I was just about to speak when his phone rang.
The girl's voice came through, sweet and full of energy.
"Lloyd, remember to bring your casual clothes, okay? The other stuff looks way too old-fashioned."
"I'll make sure our Lloyd comes out super handsome in the shots."
Lloyd listened so intently he forgot I'd been in the middle of talking.
Only after the girl hung up did the curve at the corner of his mouth fall away.
"Rosamund, what were you saying just now?"
"She's young, and she takes the shoot seriously. It's her first time doing a big production like this."
"I'm the senior here, I have to look out for her. Don't read into it."
His tone was light, weightless. It wasn't reassurance. He just couldn't be bothered to deal with my feelings.
The words had barely left his mouth before he picked up his bag and walked out the door.
I glanced at the schedule for his next route. Two hours until the ship departed.
If he was leaving in such a hurry, then where was he going?
I didn't dare think the answer through. A pain that pierced straight through wrapped itself around my whole heart.
I grabbed my keys and went out too.
By the time I reached the dock, there was no sign of Lloyd.
I waited an hour. At last I saw him.
And the girl walking shoulder to shoulder beside him.
Lloyd held the umbrella tilted toward her, more than half of his own body soaked through.
The girl beside him didn't have a single drop on her.
"Rosamund, what are you doing here? Weren't you the one who said the rain was too heavy?"
My coat was already drenched. On instinct, he started to drape his coat over me.
Only to realize his uniform jacket was already draped over the girl.
"Ivy Swanson's delicate, and rainy weather is too cold for her. Hurry up and go back."
I said nothing, my gaze moving back and forth between the two of them.
"I'm so sorry, ma'am. My scent is on this jacket. You won't mind, will you?" Ivy slipped off the coat and held it out to me with both hands.
"I don't mind." I had just reached to take it.
The girl across from me let out a sudden sneeze.
In one motion Lloyd snatched the coat back and draped it over her again.
"Keep it on. You can't take the cold with a frame like yours. Rosamund's fine. She's weathered wind and waves out at sea before."
I'd clenched my teeth through towering storms at sea, and now this one weightless sentence of his froze me stiff all over.
"Lloyd, the truth is, I get cold too."
"The girl's right here. Quit joking around. Who was it that went out to fix the deck in the pouring rain back then?"
"I got sick from the cold that time and you were perfectly fine. I know that body of yours better than anyone. It's plenty tough."
My expression went completely cold.
Seeing the mood turn, Ivy hurried to push the coat into my hands.
"She's just jealous, that's all. It's fine, I'm not cold."
"Lloyd, you run warm. I'll just stay close to you."
Ivy pressed herself tight against Lloyd's arm, her whole body trembling uncontrollably.
Lloyd even raised his voice.
"She's just a kid, what is there to be jealous about? See, this is what happens when you spend too long stuck at home. You start imagining things."
I laughed. Wasn't he the one who'd kept me at home?
And now somehow it had become my fault.
"What exactly did you come here for?" His handsome brows knit together.
I drew a deep breath and rubbed my two hands, red from the cold.
"You forgot something."
Lloyd patted himself all over. "Right, my keycard. Good thing I have you."
"Just that?"
I asked again.
Lloyd stood there racking his brain for a long while and still couldn't come up with it.
"Just that. That's all, I have to board now. Hurry and give it to me."
He held out his hand to me, waiting for it.
I only handed his uniform jacket back to him. "You didn't forget it. It's in the inner pocket of your uniform."
