Chapter 519: Chapter 529: Discovered

Melody Yoody and Gina Lopez were chatting. Although there was occasionally a hint of rivalry in their conversation, most of the time, they laughed and enjoyed themselves, as they shared a mutual admiration. Unlike most women, they weren’t the type to squabble and get jealous.

Emily Lopez and Sarah Grandy didn’t enjoy listening to work-related talks, so they both headed to the kitchen.

“Hey, need any help from me?” Sarah Grandy hugged John Brown from behind, stood on tiptoe, stretched her head over his shoulder, and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

John Brown was used to Sarah Grandy getting handsy with him and said, “As long as you’re not causing trouble, I’m more than satisfied.”

“Haha, how could I be causing trouble? I’m here to encourage you, see how good I am?”

“Alright, alright, you’re great. But could you let me go so I can cook?”

“Hehe…” Sarah Grandy giggled mischievously, let go of John Brown, but continued following him around.

Emily Lopez was much more well-behaved compared to Sarah Grandy and was washing vegetables, saying, “Brother-in-law, we’re really going all out today with such a feast.”

John Brown laughed, “I haven’t cooked like this in a while. Today, you all get to enjoy to your hearts’ content.”

Emily Lopez placed the washed vegetables aside, dried her hands, and said, “I always knew Brother-in-law was the best.” Then she walked past John Brown.

John Brown felt a hand on his rear, looked at Emily Lopez, but she acted as if nothing happened, making him think it was unintentional.

But shortly after, Emily Lopez brushed past him again, and once more, she touched him.

Although Emily Lopez maintained a neutral expression, John Brown realized she was clearly doing it on purpose.

John Brown broke out in a cold sweat, as his sister-in-law started teasing him, but with Sarah Grandy around, he dared not say anything to Emily Lopez.

The meal John Brown cooked was tantalizing, with clingy Sarah Grandy shamelessly getting close to him, even touching him in sensitive spots when his back was turned to Emily Lopez.

Behind him, Emily Lopez occasionally and secretly touched him, driving John Brown to annoyance.

Thinking back to how he used to flirt with beautiful women, now it was two beautiful women teasing him, and there was nothing he could do—just endure the teasing, which left him unknowingly excited.

“Hey, weren’t you satisfied when I helped you earlier in the afternoon? Why are you still getting worked up?” Sarah Grandy hugged John Brown’s neck, whispering in his ear.

John Brown, feeling embarrassed, glared at Sarah Grandy, saying, “Stop your nonsense, or I’ll kick you out.”

Sarah Grandy giggled, “Okay, I won’t mess around anymore.”

Emily Lopez then chided John Brown, “Brother-in-law, you’re too much.”

Sarah Grandy immediately burst into laughter, watching John Brown with a grin, while John Brown glared at Emily Lopez, thinking she had a hand in this, but he couldn’t say it.

Emily Lopez, her face flushed, gave John Brown a stern look and said to Sarah Grandy, “I say, Sarah, whatever you do with my brother-in-law in front of my sister is your business, but in front of me, you should hold back a bit, consider my feelings, okay?”

Sarah Grandy stuck out her tongue and said, “Alright, alright, I won’t cause any more trouble.”

Finally, the two women stopped teasing him, allowing John Brown to breathe a sigh of relief and focus on cooking.

After more than half an hour, John Brown finished cooking. Just as everyone was about to eat, the doorbell rang. He didn’t have to guess who it was. Emily Jenkins always had the knack for showing up every time John Brown cooked a big meal.

Sarah Grandy went to open the door, and sure enough, it was Emily Jenkins, who said with a smile, “Emily, your nose is really something else, isn’t it?”

Emily Jenkins giggled triumphantly, saying, “Looks like I came at just the right time, it’s a feast today, I truly have a lucky mouth.” Then she remembered to look at the people at the table and stuck out her tongue, saying, “Miss Reed is here too, it’s good that you’re not an outsider, otherwise I’d feel embarrassed about mooching a meal here.”

John Brown chuckled, “Even if there were outsiders, you came, so there’s no way we wouldn’t let you eat. Otherwise, you’d be craving hard.”

Emily Jenkins stuck out her tongue again and said, “Big Brother Brown understands me well. Every time you make something delicious, if you don’t let me eat, I definitely wouldn’t be able to stand it.”

Apart from Melody Yoody and Emily Brown, everyone else was very familiar with Emily Jenkins, so they naturally invited her to join them for the meal, and Emily Jenkins sat down without hesitation.

With Emily Jenkins, this bundle of joy, around, the atmosphere was lovely. Gina Lopez and Melody Yoody couldn’t subtly tease James Brown in their conversation anymore. Plus, Gina Lopez had to take care of Emily Brown’s meal since the daughter was still young, not tall enough, and unable to help herself with food, so Gina, as her mom, was naturally responsible for assisting her.

Melody Yoody, being pregnant, was also not allowed to drink alcohol, so everyone drank fruit juices and soft drinks while James Brown enjoyed a beer alone.

After taking a few bites, James Brown felt a sudden warmth on his leg, pausing his chopsticks and looking across at Emily Lopez. Emily Lopez was there eating with her head lowered, acting very natural. James Brown was all too familiar with this small foot’s sensation, and Emily Lopez was very comfortable with such antics. Who else but her loves stepping on his foot under the table?

James Brown wanted to retract his foot, but knowing if he did, his sister-in-law might stir up some mischief, which would only give him more of a headache. Better to let her step on it. But this dining table wasn’t sheltered like a mahjong table, making this truly precarious, and he felt quite anxious about it.

Seeing Gina Lopez noticing or seeing Melody Yoody, or even Charlotte, would lead to a heap of trouble.

Sandra, this girl, is truly something; when they’re alone, engaging in a little secret flirtation is one thing, but she insists on playing around when the situation is most risky, purely testing James Brown’s heart’s endurance.

Fortunately, everyone was engaged in pleasant conversation, eating and chatting without looking under the table. For the time being, they didn’t get caught.

The dining table was square, not the usual rectangular found in most homes, seating two people per side. Gina Lopez sat with Emily Brown, James Brown with Charlotte, Melody Yoody sat alone, while James was next to Gina Lopez and Charlotte, directly opposite were Emily Lopez and Emily Jenkins.

During normal family meals, even without Emily Jenkins and Melody Yoody, they usually sat like this. Charlotte always regarded herself as the third party and wasn’t afraid of other people’s gaze. Gina Lopez could sit beside James Brown, but she would sit on the other side. Even knowing Melody Yoody’s relationship with James, she wouldn’t give up her place.

But usually, even though Emily Lopez sat opposite James Brown, she never stretched out her foot to step on his, yet today with more people, she decided to do just that.

While James Brown was anxious, he felt another warmth on his thigh, realizing instantly it was Charlotte’s hand, making him startled. He discreetly pulled away her hand.

However, Charlotte’s hand soon reached over again. James Brown turned to glare at her while the little girl gave him a smug smile, paying no attention to him.

After several instances, James Brown simply ignored Charlotte, as everyone knew about their relationship, so even if someone saw, it didn’t matter much.

“Gina, you are really good to Emily Jones,” Melody Yoody kept watching Gina Lopez and Emily Brown. She had always suspected Gina Lopez’s affection for Emily Jones was just pretense, since she wasn’t biologically hers, thinking true devotion was unlikely. But after a long time observing, she couldn’t spot any falseness from Gina, feeling instead her genuine affection.

Gina Lopez looked up smilingly, saying, “I’m the mom, how can I not be good to my daughter?”

Melody Yoody nodded in approval, saying, “But getting to this extent is really not easy.”

“Haha, thank you for the compliment. Sweet daughter, what else do you want?”

“I want a big shrimp!” Little Violet pointed at a plate of oil-braised shrimp on the table; this little girl loved seafood most now.

Gina Lopez immediately picked up a big shrimp, peeled it, and placed it in Little Violet’s plate. She didn’t directly feed her, avoiding indulging, as Gina managed this really well.

Then Little Violet wanted a crab ball, Gina picked one for her, but because it was slippery, she accidentally dropped it on the floor, quickly bending down to pick it up, lest someone steps on it creating a mess.

But as Gina bent down, she saw Emily Lopez’s foot stepping on James Brown’s foot, leaving her momentarily stunned.

James Brown internally exclaimed ‘disaster,’ this unexpected movement from Gina Lopez caught him off guard. Though he’d reacted just in time, his heel accidentally bumped the chair, failing to pull it away quickly enough, while Emily Lopez was busy chatting with Emily Jenkins, not noticing.

This surely spells trouble, now Gina’s caught onto the sneaky flirtation between him and Emily Lopez, making James Brown’s face change color abruptly.