Chapter 849

Tristan Davis could only give her a helpless smile before turning away to grab his laptop.
Emily Blair had used Tristan’s computer plenty of times before she was completely
at ease with it and already knew which files were off-limits.
She settled herself on the living room rug, typing away with intense focus.
After a while, Tristan emerged from the kitchen, carrying a plate piled high with freshly sliced fruit. He set it down in front of her. “Want a bite?”
Emily frowned, her shoulders tense. “Let me finish this first, okay? I’m swamped over here.”
Tristan sat down beside her. “What’s going on?”
She let out a frustrated sigh. “There’s a bug in the game’s code. It’s messing up the whole system. Players have already sent in a ton of complaints, and the programming team is drowning. I thought I’d take a look.”
“I can help,” Tristan said, leaning over to peer at her screen. “Let me see?”
As Emily combed through lines of code looking for the culprit, Tristan pointed out something. “Try changing this.”
“Alright.”
Once he flagged the issue, Emily spotted it instantly and made the fix.
With Tristan’s help, the bug was squashed in no time.
Emily pushed the laptop away and leaned back, letting out a long, relieved breath. “Finally done. You should go back to bed.”
Tristan picked up a toothpick, skewered a piece of apple, and held it to her lips. “You deserve a break. Have some fruit.”
The apple touched her lips.
Emily’s whole expression froze. She leaned back just a little more, keeping a safe distance between herself and the offered fruit.
When it looked like Tristan was about to insist, Emily quickly raised her hand and took the toothpick from him. “I can feed myself.”
She carefully pinched the toothpick between her fingers, and as she took it from Tristan, their hands brushed—briefly, inevitably. Emily pretended not to notice, popping the apple into her mouth like it was nothing.
Tristan just smiled at her and held out the plate again. “Have another?”
Emily eyed him suspiciously as she stabbed a piece of fruit. “What’s with you tonight? You’re being awfully attentive.”
Tristan grinned. “Is it so wrong for me to take care of you?”
She pressed her lips together, a little flustered, and nudged the plate back. “Just leave it on the table.”
Tristan, ever patient, just smiled and agreed.
They sat in companionable silence, sharing fruit, until the laptop chimed with a cascade of new messages.
Emily had logged into her work chat on Tristan’s computer, and sure enough, there were more issues needing her attention.
Tristan noticed the messages, too. He reached over to gently ruffle her hair. “I can’t help with this one, so I’ll make you a midnight snack. By the time you’re done, it should be ready.”
It was already twelve thirty in the morning.
Emily scooped up the laptop without a word. “Thanks.”
Tristan chuckled quietly and disappeared into the kitchen.
This new problem wasn’t too tough. Within half an hour, Emily had sorted it out.
Not wanting to deal with any more work tonight, she logged out of her account, closed the chat app, and shut down a slew of files.
Maybe she’d had too many windows open, because the laptop suddenly froze. Even the mouse wouldn’t respond.
Emily waited for it to catch up, glancing down at her phone.
After a minute, she looked up and only then did she notice that, at some point, a file had opened on the screen.