Tyler had parked his car at the entrance. He bowed down low, his aura imposing as ever. Rachel could smell the slight scent of tobacco on him, mellowed out by his body heat.

She could hear his voice in her ear, like a breeze brushing past her.

“How about me?”

Rachel thought she must have heard him wrong, or that something had gone wrong with her ears.

Her face froze as she stared at Tyler before stuttering, “What…what did you just say?”

Tyler stared back at Rachel, who looked as though she had seen a ghost or heard something frightening. He retracted his gaze and tapped the car window.

“Nothing. Let’s head down.”

Rachel snapped back to attention when she saw Tyler at the entrance. She unbuckled her seatbelt and walked to him, clearly troubled.

Her mind was filled with what Tyler just said. How about him? What did he mean by that?

Rachel didn’t dare to ponder further. In fact, she had never considered that possibility. She and Tyler were from different worlds. What’s more, he didn’t seem to like her very much.

Given his status and who he was, he had no lack of women to choose from. Why would he fancy a divorced woman like her?

Rachel shook her head and quickly eliminated that possibility from her mind. Tyler probably didn’t mean it that way. He had always loved teasing her–just like how he teased Ray the dog.

At that thought, Rachel felt the weight lift from her shoulders. She walked in and shut the door.

Ray wasn’t particularly excited to see Tyler, but upon seeing Rachel, the dog bounded over excitedly to her and leapt up high to rest both paws on her shoulders.

Even though Ray couldn’t speak, Rachel could sense his enthusiasm and eagerness. Truth be told, she had adopted a dog herself because of Ray. She wondered how Waffle was doing at her friend’s and made a mental note to call and check in on Waffle.

Rachel patted Ray’s head as she asked Tyler, “What time will you go to bed?”

Tyler removed his jacket and cast her a sideways glance.

“So eager for me to sleep right now?”

Rachel rubbed the tip of her nose sheepishly. “Not really. You look like you haven’t been sleeping well recently. Perhaps you should turn in early today.”

Tyler scoffed. “Are you planning to flee the moment I fall asleep?”

“No!” Rachel denied at once.

Tyler laid his jacket on the back of the couch and unbuttoned the top two buttons of his pristine white shirt, revealing his collarbones.

“I have some work to clear and will probably be busy till eleven. It’s free-and-easy time for you now, okay?”

There wasn’t much Rachel could say. Tyler was a busy man, and she couldn’t expect him to sleep the moment he reached home. All she could do was accommodate his schedule. Rachel clearly knew her place.

She sat on the couch with Ray in her arms, pulling out some snacks she bought earlier from a bag. She even remembered to ask Tyler for permission. "It’s fine for me to feed Ray these snacks, right?"

“Just watch out. He might get clingy if you give him too many snacks.”

With that, Tyler went straight upstairs.

Rachel didn’t quite understand what he meant by that. Ray was just a dog. How clingy could Ray be over some measly snacks? That sounded exaggerated.

She decided to take Tyler’s words as a joke. Rachel took the chance to call her colleague.

“Hey Xena, Rachel here. I’m just calling to ask how Waffle is.”

“Don’t worry. Waffle is doing great, just maybe missing you a little.”

Rachel missed Waffle, too.