Belle focused entirely on her work, determined to block out any unnecessary thoughts about Eli. She knew that if she let her mind wander, Ceres would immediately seize the opportunity to tease her mercilessly. On the other side of the coffee table, Eli was doing his best to clear his own mind. He forced himself to review his documents, desperately trying to stop obsessing over the unsettling possibility that Belle might actually like a guy like Jackson.
In the quiet room, a comfortable silence settled over them as they both immersed themselves in their tasks, completely respecting each other's space.
An hour later, the heavy exhaustion of the past two weeks finally caught up with Belle. She pinched the bridge of her nose, closing her weary eyes. Between her regular routine and the extra online work she had taken on to secure a comfortable future for herself and Neon, she was running on fumes.
"Eli," she murmured softly.
