But it was too late.

Hadley had already pulled off his sunglasses, holding them in her hand.

Her eyes widened in shock. “What happened to your face?”

Even with half of it still covered by the mask, the red, blotchy skin around his cheeks was impossible to miss.

“Take off the mask,” she said, her voice now demanding.

Before he could react, she reached up and pulled it away too.

“Hadley!” He quickly threw a hand over his face, trying to hide.

“Why are you hiding your face?” she laughed despite herself. “Come on. Let me see it properly before I lose my patience!”

“Fine,” Eric sighed, slowly lowering his hand, bracing himself like a man facing execution.

“Look at me,” Hadley said as she gently took his chin and turned his face toward her. She froze.

His entire face was splotched with red patches and raised rashes.

“You…” Her voice dropped. “What happened to your face?”

Eric let out a sheepish laugh. “Well… there you have it.”

He tried to cover himself again, muttering, “It’s an allergy.”

“An allergy?” Hadley blinked. “What did you eat?”

She tilted her head, confused. “You’re not allergic to any food I know of. What was it?”

“It wasn’t food,” he mumbled miserably. “It was a facial mask.”

“A what?” Hadley stared at him like she’d misheard. “Did you just say… a facial mask? Wait, seriously? Since when do you use facial masks?”

Read it first on g?lno?els.c?m

“No—I mean—just once.” He raised a finger, his ears turning red. “Last night, I found one in the cabinet. It was yours.”

Hers?

Hadley blinked, remembering she’d left behind a ton of random stuff when she moved out of Olisvale Bay. But still…

“Why would you just use one of my facial masks out of nowhere?” She held his face in both hands, leaning in. “That rash… Which one did you use?”

“The silk and aloe one,” Eric replied smoothly.

He’d actually gone through the trash just to check the label after the rash broke out.

Hadley arched a brow. “Are you allergic to silk? Or aloe?”

“I have no idea,” he admitted.

She let out a half-laugh, half-sigh and poked his forehead. “See? That’s what you get for using random skincare stuff.”

“I wasn’t trying to be weird,” he mumbled, ducking his head. “I just wanted to keep my skin looking young. You know… I’m getting older.”

Hadley stared at him, baffled. “Seriously? You look perfectly fine. You’re not even that old.”

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