Chapter 262: Have we ... known each other before?
Although Adelyn had agreed to let her have a taste of it, she still felt rather skeptical about it.
But again when she glanced at Eira, who looked so eagerly expectant ...
She couldn’t help feeling helpless.
How could she refuse her?
She sighed, thinking in her heart.
Denying the little girl anything had almost become impossible for her. Yet at the same time, letting her eat something that clearly didn’t look very appetizing made Adelyn nervous.
She placed the plate on the dining table alongside the other dishes.
Perhaps Little Eira sensed her hesitation.
The little girl gently reached out and held Adelyn’s hand before looking up at her.
And meeting those innocent eyes, Adelyn let out another sigh.
"You really know how to make things difficult for me sometimes, baby. I don’t know what to do at times with you like this. Do you really have to eat this?"
Little Eira nodded again without the slightest hesitation. She was very sure of it, and the way she looked —one could tell; nothing could deter her.
"Fine," Adelyn relented again. "Then let’s have it. But remember your promise. If it tastes bad, you’ll spit it out immediately. Even if it’s just the tiniest bite."
She couldn’t bear to see the little girl force herself to eat something she disliked. What if the recipe she prepared was really bad and ended up causing trouble? How would she be able to take the blame?
Little Eira didn’t think so much and nodded obediently once again.
Only after making sure of everything did Adelyn help her climb onto her high chair.
She had just turned, intending to ask Mabel to call Dylan over for dinner, when she heard approaching footsteps.
Turning around, she saw Dylan already walking toward them, right on time.
Although he was now dressed casually in a comfortable pullover and joggers, the moment Adelyn looked at him, her mind instinctively recalled the toned physique beneath his clothes that she had seen earlier.
Her throat tightened.
Almost feeling dry.
However—
Just as the memory threatened to become overwhelmingly vivid again, Dylan spoke.
"The dinner is ready?"
Adelyn cleared her throat, immediately snapping herself out of her thoughts before deliberately looking away from him.
"Yes," she hummed. "It’s ready. Let’s eat together."
With that, she pulled out a chair and sat beside Eira.
Dylan walked over as well and took the seat at the head of the dining table.
Although Adelyn had prepared a few dishes herself, they weren’t the only food on the table.
Before she had entered the kitchen, the household dinner had already been prepared. Those dishes had also been laid out neatly.
And that alone gave Adelyn some peace of mind.
If anything went wrong with what she had cooked, Eira would still have something delicious to eat.
And Dylan wouldn’t have to force himself to try her cooking either.
With the best food already there, he might not even look towards what she had prepared.
Thinking that, Adelyn picked up the dish she had prepared quietly and carefully served a portion onto Eira’s plate before serving herself some as well.
Once she finished, she was about to set the serving plate back down when Dylan suddenly spoke.
"You aren’t going to serve that to me?"
Adelyn froze before slowly looking at him. Blinking in surprise, she asked suspiciously, "You’re going to eat this too?"
Dylan glanced at the dish before looking back at her.
"Mabel told me you were preparing dinner."
Adelyn nodded.
"Yes, I made something." She briefly glanced at Eira beside her before continuing slowly, "Eira wanted to try my cooking after what happened the other day, so I merely gave it a try. But ..."
"But?" he repeated, looking at the dish once more. "Didn’t you make enough for three?"
There was clearly enough food left to serve three more people.
How could he possibly think there wasn’t enough?
"No," Adelyn replied hurriedly. "There’s plenty for all of us. But ..."
"But again?"
"But, Mr. Warren ..." she finally admitted honestly, "do you really need to eat this?"
She lowered her eyes to the dish.
"It already doesn’t look very good. I don’t think it’ll taste much better either. It’s only because Eira insisted on trying it that I couldn’t refuse her."
She was helpless.
But he didn’t have to be.
He could simply choose the better food instead.
Glancing toward the beautifully plated dishes the kitchen staff had prepared, she added, "The kitchen already prepared dinner. You can have those instead. They’ll suit your taste much better."
Her refusal couldn’t have been any clearer.
Nor could her explanation.
Yet Dylan simply continued looking at the dish in her hands.
"It doesn’t look undercooked," he said after a brief moment of silence.
"Huh?" For a moment, Adelyn couldn’t quite understand what he meant. She stared at him before lowering her gaze to the food again.
"Oh ... no, it isn’t undercooked. I checked it while cooking."
One thing she was sure about was that the food was cooked perfectly —definitely not undercooked at all.
He heard her and nodded as though that answered everything.
"Then there’s nothing wrong with eating it."
As he spoke, he calmly turned his plate toward her, silently asking her to serve him as well.
Adelyn was speechless.
She couldn’t understand which part of her explanation had been so difficult to understand.
Hadn’t she clearly told him that it probably tasted awful?
Why was he still insisting on eating it?
Didn’t he fear poisoning himself?
"Mr. Warren, this ..."
"This isn’t the first time I’m having it," he suddenly said, looking directly at her. "I can handle it."
His words immediately made Adelyn’s brows knit together.
She stared at him, utterly confused.
This wasn’t his first time?
What did he mean?
When had she ever cooked for him?
Her eyes remained fixed on his face, silently waiting for an explanation.
But Dylan merely looked back at her, gesturing once again for her to serve him.
In the end, Adelyn couldn’t hold back anymore.
"Mr. Warren ..." she asked cautiously, "what do you mean by that?"
She paused for a brief second before asking the question that had suddenly surfaced in her mind.
"Have we ... known each other before?"
