Chapter 139 Do Not Want to Tangle with Him Anymore
Amelia glanced at the pile of gifts, then at Samuel's beaming face, silently complaining to herself.
They had agreed to start dinner at six o'clock, but it was only a little past three now.
Was Samuel really this free?
Not just Amelia—everyone in the Richardson family was surprised that Samuel had arrived so early.
Natalie, who was busy in the kitchen, hurried out to welcome them.
Even Liam, who had been resting upstairs, came down with his cane.
"Why did you bring so many things? We invited you for dinner—you just needed to come. Next time, don't bring gifts."
Natalie said as she untied her apron.
Samuel replied, "It's only right. I just wasn't sure what you and the brothers would like, so I bought a little bit of everything."
The words "the brothers" made the Richardson sons exchange meaningful glances.
Natalie, however, seemed not to notice anything amiss and said with a smile, "I didn't expect you so early—we haven't finished preparing the meal yet. Mason brought back some really aromatic coffee. Why don't you go to the coffee room and try it?"
Mason immediately made a welcoming gesture.
Samuel didn't refuse, but before heading to the coffee room, he asked Jeremy to help in the kitchen.
Natalie quickly declined.
"No, no, you're our guests. How can we have guests help with cooking?"
Jeremy had already put on the apron Natalie had hung on the chair.
"Mrs. Richardson, don't be shy. I usually enjoy experimenting with dishes myself. If you don't mind, let me make you a creative dish to try."
"Well..."
Natalie was about to refuse when Samuel spoke up.
"Mrs. Richardson, he loves going into the kitchen at home. Just let him show off a bit."
Natalie agreed.
Soon, Jeremy followed Natalie into the kitchen, while York found plenty to talk about with Felix.
Both of them studied Combat Arts, and they chatted endlessly about it.
Standing in the living room, Amelia suddenly felt like an outsider, not knowing what to do.
Just as she was about to help in the kitchen, Liam called out to her.
"Amelia, push me to the coffee room. I want to try the coffee beans Mason brought back too."
Amelia had no choice but to take Liam to the coffee room.
When they entered, Samuel was already drinking coffee.
He sat there casually, his long legs wrapped in black dress pants, his suit jacket removed and hanging on the back of the chair.
He wore only a simple white shirt, his tie slightly loosened, his figure radiating an indescribable elegance.
She heard him say, "Goldenvale already has one Disneyland. You want to create a second one, which is great, but you need to be careful with your project choices."
Samuel continued, "If Mason needs it, I can introduce you to some designers."
Mason's eyes lit up.
"Really?"
"It's not a big deal. If everything's okay on your end, I'll have the designers report to your company tomorrow."
Mason quickly raised his cup. "Thank you so much, Mr. Crawford!"
Samuel took a sip of coffee and said, "Just call me Samuel."
Age-wise, Mason was actually a few years older than Samuel, so using his first name wouldn't be impolite—in fact, it would bring them closer.
"Alright, Samuel."
Samuel nodded, his smile widening, then turned to Grant.
"Grant, are you ready to start at the company?"
Grant felt oddly uncomfortable hearing this form of address.
But he still nodded. "Just waiting to report on Monday."
"If you have any problems adjusting, tell me anytime. When you're free, you can also come upstairs to have coffee with me."
He completely had the attitude of an older brother.
Grant was about to say okay when he caught sight of Amelia and Liam out of the corner of his eye.
"Liam, Amelia, you're here? Come in and sit down."
Hearing this, Samuel half-turned to look toward the coffee room entrance.
He sat under a designer lamp, as if there was a halo above his head.
When he looked at Amelia, his eyes became even more unfathomable.
Unlike their previous meetings, after confirming that the woman from that day was Amelia, looking at her now stirred more feelings in him.
He had more expectations too.
His gaze was quite intense.
The people in the room weren't stupid—they could all see that Samuel looked at Amelia differently.
But everyone pretended not to notice.
They were just all curious about when Samuel and Amelia had developed feelings for each other.
Looking at Amelia again, she just carefully pushed Liam to the coffee table and was about to leave.
"Amelia, won't you sit down and have coffee with us?"
"No thanks." Amelia met Mason's eyes and said, "I'm going to help Mom in the kitchen."
Mason nodded and didn't try to keep her.
But everyone became even more curious.
How come Amelia and Samuel didn't seem very familiar with each other?
But Samuel...
What was going on between these two?
Samuel didn't say anything the whole time, but shortly after Amelia left, he said he needed to use the restroom.
There was a public restroom on the first floor.
When he came out of the restroom, he saw a graceful figure standing by the door.
Samuel's lips curved into a smile.
"Waiting for me on purpose?"
Amelia turned around, her expression quite cold.
"That's right."
Samuel's smile widened, becoming almost unrestrained.
"I thought you'd keep pretending we weren't close until I left."
Amelia didn't respond to that and asked directly, "What are you up to?"
Samuel tilted his head, as if he didn't understand.
"Up to what?"
"Stop pretending." Amelia stepped forward and looked him straight in the eye. "Aren't you getting a bit too familiar with my family? You're calling them Mason and Grant—since when did they become your brothers?"
Samuel looked back at her deeply.
"They're names I'll have to use sooner or later anyway. Better to get used to it early, right?"
"What do you mean by 'sooner or later'? You don't need to change anything. They won't become your brothers."
"Really?"
"Yes!"
Her identity prevented her from getting too close to Samuel.
They had just helped each other out—they couldn't get any closer.
"Alright." Samuel lowered his head, looking hurt. "If you don't want me to call them that, I won't."
Amelia sighed.
"After dinner, just leave quickly. Don't stay long."
"That heartless?"
"I'm not a sentimental person to begin with. If Mr. Crawford wants to find someone sentimental, there are plenty of women out there. Don't waste your time on me."
"But I don't think it's a waste of time."
Amelia's brow furrowed. "What exactly do you want?"
He was suddenly being so nice to her family.
The gifts delivered today were worth more than a house.
This was strange—he must have some ulterior motive.
The Richardson family members were all innocent, so she had to be on guard against Samuel.
Samuel looked completely innocent.
"I'm just here for dinner. Amelia, you forgot—you invited me to dinner."
Amelia was stumped.
It was true that she had invited him.
Though it was at Natalie's suggestion.
She really couldn't argue with that.
"Anyway, leave right after you eat. About Mason's project, thanks for your help, but it's not necessary. He'll find suitable designers himself, and I'll tell him that too."
Samuel looked at her deeply.
"I thought we were friends."
"We are friends, and I don't want to be your enemy either. But friends should also keep some distance. You getting too close to my brothers makes me uncomfortable. I hope you can understand."
She wasn't stupid either. She could sense that through their recent encounters, Samuel had developed feelings for her.
Maybe she had felt a moment of attraction to him too.
But it was all fake.
When people are saved from danger or helped when in trouble, they naturally feel grateful to the person who helped them.
This gratitude can easily be mistaken for attraction.
She had made that mistake herself, had been confused, but now she had calmed down.
She hoped Samuel could calm down too.
Don't mistake momentary appreciation and gratitude for real feelings.
She had many important things to do and couldn't keep getting tangled up with Samuel.
Especially since her identity couldn't be known to anyone who might be dangerous.
Samuel's status was too important, too dangerous, and attracted too much attention.
Getting entangled with him would only draw more attention to her.
That wouldn't be good for the Shadow Operations Division.
As the leader of the Shadow Operations Division, she had to be responsible for it.
Samuel's expression gradually became serious.
"I understand. It's my fault."
Amelia said nothing more, turned and left, and went back to help in the kitchen.
Samuel stared at her retreating figure, his eyes dark and unreadable.
Had he been too hasty?
Because he learned that his first love was Amelia, he had rushed to get close to the Richardson family, which instead made Amelia uncomfortable.
When it came to love, he knew nothing.
So everything he did was based on instinct.
It seemed he couldn't rely on instinct anymore—he needed to find someone with experience to teach him.
After a while, the meal was ready, and beautiful sunset clouds appeared in the sky.
Just as Amelia had hoped, Samuel behaved very politely and didn't chat enthusiastically with anyone.
The brothers all thought it was strange but didn't ask questions.
When the atmosphere was awkward, saying more would only make things worse—better to say nothing.
After dinner, Samuel stood up to leave.
"Won't you stay a bit longer?" Natalie asked.
"No, there's some business at the company that needs my attention."
Hearing this, Natalie didn't insist and personally saw Samuel out.
After getting in the car, Samuel was very quiet.
Both Jeremy and York sensed something was wrong.
"Mr. Crawford, what's the matter?"
Samuel said it was nothing, but the next second suddenly asked, "Hasn't Yosef returned to the country?"
"Yes."
"Have him come to Goldenvale for a few days. I'll cover all expenses."
"Yes!"