Don't Be a Tease, Mr. Blackwood

Chapter 183: Chapter 183: Tell Big Sis, What’s Your Type?

All this talk about perverts was making Mandy Halloway a little creeped out.

It was rare for her daughter to be this adamant, so she couldn’t bring herself to force the issue.

"I’ll turn down the proposal for you, but you..."

"Mom, I’m on vacation right now. I’ll handle my love life myself."

"How are you going to do that? You have very limited opportunities to meet men."

Nina Halloway was so famous that whenever she went out, she had to bundle up more than a bear in hibernation.

How was she supposed to date?

Who was she supposed to date?

"Why don’t I just have Alaric introduce you to some people? You can meet them one by one."

"No."

Mandy Halloway’s head started to ache. "Then be honest with me. Are you still thinking about Jaden?"

"BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP..."

The call was abruptly disconnected.

Nina Halloway furiously threw her phone.

The phone flew through the air, hit the wall, and landed right at Ethan Austin’s feet.

He bent down, picked up the phone, and saw the screen was cracked.

He tried to turn it on, but it failed.

The perfectly good phone was wrecked.

"It’s broken."

Nina Halloway sat cross-legged on the yoga mat with her arms folded, her cheeks puffed out in anger.

"Boss?"

Nina Halloway didn’t say a word, just got up and stormed back to her room.

Ethan followed her to the bedroom door. Hearing a series of clatters and bangs from inside, he peeked through the crack and saw Nina Halloway had thrown a cardboard box on the floor and was frantically tossing things into it.

It was mostly women’s clothes, bags, jewelry, and other decorative items.

Ethan noticed the last item tossed into the box was a stuffed doll. It looked very old and was clearly faded, its original pink color washed out to a pale white. It must have been a toy Nina Halloway had since she was a child; it looked like it had been around for years.

He watched as she finished packing, sealed the box with tape, and bent down in one motion to lift it, only to hear a sharp CRACK.

The woman cried out, "Oww! My... my back... I threw it out..."

Ethan immediately pushed the door open and rushed in.

"Ethan, I think... I pulled a muscle in my back."

"..."

He carefully helped her to the edge of the bed. "Should I call a doctor or take you to the hospital?"

"I don’t want to go to the hospital."

"Then should I call Dr. Cole?"

"No, don’t. Dr. Cole is a surgeon, and besides, he’s a man."

Ethan gave a helpless smile. "Lie on your stomach. I’ll take a look and see how bad it is."

"Be gentle."

"Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you."

With the man’s help, Nina Halloway slowly lowered herself onto the soft bed, lying on her stomach.

Then, a pair of large, warm hands rested on her lower back...

"Does it hurt here?"

"No."

"What about here?"

"That doesn’t hurt either."

...

After a careful examination—his hands growing warm in the process—Ethan concluded that Nina Halloway had only slightly strained her back. It wasn’t serious.

It was due to her usual lack of exercise. When she suddenly moved like that, it was inevitable her joints would creak.

Although he hadn’t lived there long, he’d noticed Nina Halloway didn’t do any strenuous exercise. Even her yoga practice was sporadic. Most of the time, she was fast asleep, taking naps whenever and wherever she could, as if trying to catch up on all the sleep she’d lost over her years of working.

He had never seen anyone who could sleep as soundly as she did. One moment they’d be talking, and the next, she’d be snoring.

"It’s nothing serious. Let me massage it for a bit."

Ethan sat down on the edge of the bed. The pressure he applied was just right, and his massage technique was skilled.

Nina Halloway didn’t feel much pain anymore. She realized it was probably psychological; she was afraid she had injured her spine, just like in that sudden accident five years ago...

"Ethan, call a courier tomorrow. I need to ship that box."

"Where to?"

"Just send it directly to Garland Chase Law Firm. The recipient is Jaden."

Everything she had packed in the box was a gift from Jaden. That faded, washed-out stuffed doll was the first gift he had ever given her. She was eight that year, and Jaden was not yet six.

So what if they grew up together? A childhood sweetheart is no match for a new flame, in the end.

She suddenly thought of Stella Yarrow. The girl wasn’t very old, looking like she’d just graduated from college. She was petite and looked delicate—a classic example of the "pale, young, and thin" type.

And to top it off, the girl had the innocent face of a first love...

Nina Halloway let out a long sigh. "Do all you men like younger, petite, gentle girls?"

Ethan was taken aback by the question.

"I don’t like petite."

Sophie Shaw was five-foot-seven, about the same height as Nina Halloway.

"Taking someone really short out with you feels like you’re walking a child. The whole picture looks a little strange."

Ethan was speaking from the heart, but to Nina Halloway, it sounded more like an attempt to comfort her.

She turned her head to look at Ethan’s earnest expression, and her mood lightened a little. "Is there someone you like?"

"There was, but she’s married now."

Anne had told him everything. Sophie Shaw and Alaric Blackwood’s marriage wasn’t just a contract.

Even though they had initially signed a contract for a marriage of convenience, that agreement was now void. They were truly married, a real couple.

He didn’t have a chance.

As much as he hated to admit it, Alaric Blackwood was superior to him in every way.

He didn’t think he had any chance of winning Sophie Shaw’s heart.

Anne had told him more than once to just give up.

The flicker of disappointment in the man’s eyes made Nina Halloway feel a pang of sympathy for him.

"So you’re just like me. Loving someone you can’t have."

Ethan gave a self-deprecating laugh. "You had it better than me. At least you were engaged. Mine was just a one-sided crush."

He had never had her, it had never even begun. It was just a secret crush.

"Don’t lose hope. Once I’m recovered and back to work, I’ll introduce you to some pretty young girls."

Nina Halloway sat up and patted his shoulder very seriously. "Tell me, what’s your type?"

"I... I like older women."

"Oh, so you like the cool, mature type?"

"Not exactly..."

Ethan couldn’t quite put the feeling into words. He just knew he didn’t like younger women; he liked the "older sister" type, a gentle and caring woman like Sophie Shaw.

"The girl-next-door type?"

He thought for a moment, then nodded.

Nina Halloway’s moods came and went quickly. A smile was already back on her face. "Then we have the same taste. I like younger men."

Their eyes met.

Somehow, the atmosphere turned a little delicate.

One likes older women, the other likes younger men...

It seemed they both realized something at the same time.

Ethan quickly stood up and took a step back. "If your back still hurts tomorrow, we can have a physical therapist come to the house."

Nina Halloway nodded enthusiastically.

"I’ll head out then."

Ethan turned, picked up the box from the floor, and walked out quickly.

Closing the door behind him, he walked into the living room and casually placed the box in a corner. Seeing the yoga mat spread out by the sofa, he went over, methodically rolled it up, and put it away.

He saw Anne sitting on the sofa, writing down a list of groceries to buy tomorrow. He walked over and sat down beside her.

"Sis, can I ask you something?"

Anne didn’t even look up. "What is it?"

"The boss must have had a lot of bodyguards around her before, right?"

"Yes, why?"

"Did she ever have a personal bodyguard?"

"She’s had two."

"Then did she ever throw herself into her personal bodyguard’s arms?"