Ian was stunned for a moment, then he closed his eyes and cupped my face in his hands, kissing me back. His lips moved against mine in a heart clenching passion, his lips so gentle but yet move with a fervent desire that had me numb against him. He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me to his chest, letting our wild hearts beat against each other. My hands moved up to tangle in the dark strands of his hair and he moaned against my lips as I raked my fingers through his soft curls, pulling at the bottom tendrils.

Ian suddenly lifted me off the ground and placed me on his table, gently biting my lip before moving downwards, trailing soft kisses over my jaw and my throat. He pressed his lips along my neck and I let out a moan as he nibbled on my soft spot. I arched my back, pressing closer to him as I ran my fingers through his hair, then down to his broad shoulders, gently giving them a squeeze.

Ian's lips reached back to mine, capturing them in a passionate kiss. He kissed me with a deep desire and longing that had me wanting to forget everything just to be in his arms. My heart raced, butterflies erupted in my stomach until I was lost in my own bliss.

Then he slowly pulled back allowing us to breath. I panted heavily for air and Ian leaned his forehead against mine, his hands on either side of me. "Do you still want me to be with another woman after this Hailey?"

I stiffened. I wanted to say yes but at the same time I didn't want to. I couldn't manage to. What's wrong with me?

"Answer me Hailey" He landed a soft kiss on my nose. "Do you want me to?"

I bit my lip anxiously and looked down, struggling to answer it. Why? Why can't I say yes? What's happening to me?

Ian let out a defeated sigh. "At what time should I be there?"

"Umm...at 8. I-i'll text you the address" I stammered.

"Okay" Ian pulled back and gave me a small smile. "Now do you want me to help you get down?"

I stared at him in confusion and he nudged his chin towards the table with a teasing smile on his lips.

"Oh I'm sorry" I quickly jumped down from the table. "Umm...I'll get going then" I awkwardly turned around and scurried out the door.

I went running straight to the cafeteria and collapsed onto a chair next to my friends.

"Why are you all red?" Lexi asked me as she chewed on her burger.

I let out a heavy sigh. "I don't know. Everything is just so.... confusing"

"Did he say yes to the date?"

I nodded.

"Wow, how did you manage to do that?"

A blush crept up my cheeks as I recalled the feel of his soft lips on me. The hunger in his eyes, the desire in his kiss and the way our wild hearts misbehaved. Pull yourself together Hailey! "That's top secret"

"Pfft. Whatever"

My phone suddenly rang and I took it out of my pocket to check the caller ID and it was an unknown foreign number.

"Hello?" I answered.

"HOW DARE YOU BLOCK OUR NUMBERS?"

My phone suddenly slipped from my hand and fell to the ground.

"Answer me!" A woman screamed.

Lexi looked down at my phone in horror. "Oh my god who's that?"

Recognising the voice I groaned and banged my head on the table. "It's my mom"

"Hello Hailey? Hailey? Hailey? Hailey!"

"You there sweetie?" Dad jumped in.

I let out a heavy sigh. "I'm here" I mumbled and picked up the phone then reluctantly placed it close to my ear. "Why are you calling me?"

"Do I need a reason to call my daughter?" My mom yelled.

"No I mean-" this is so annoying. "Why out of the blue?"

"We're coming back to US"

"WHAT?" I screamed so loud that everyone in the cafeteria looked at me. "Are you coming here to stay forever?"

"What if we come there to stay forever? Any problem?"

I rubbed my temple in frustration. "No that's not what I meant. You know-"

"We're only coming for a few days. We're happily living in France" I could picture my mom raising her chin up arrogantly. "We don't want to stay anywhere near you"

I scoffed. "Wow, are you still holding grudges against me for not getting into law school? Is it my fault that everyone blood related to me is a lawyer?" I was practically yelling by now and both of my friends were biting their lips to stifle their laughter.

Mom huffed angrily. "Pick us up from the airport at 8. Be there or I'll drag you to grandma's birthday" Then she hung up.

I moved the phone away from my ear and gaped at it in shock. "How dare she threaten me with grandma's birthday?"

"What did she say?" Brian asked.

"They're coming today. I have to go pick them up at 8" I took a bite from Brian's sandwich and chewed on it furiously. "I can't even witness Emma and Ian's date now" I mumbled.

"Do your parents know about you and Ian?"

I choked on the sandwich and Lexi had to pat my back. "Oh my God" I coughed. "I forgot about that" I coughed again. "They're gonna kill me"

"You think you can keep it a secret?"

I drank a glass of water. "I have to or else I won't live to see the next day"

"Well if they're only staying for a few days then I think we can do that" Lexi shrugged. "Let's send them back to France like nothing happened"

...

I stared at the flight arrival board in the JFK airport, my mood already soured.

"So you're staying with Lexi till they go back?" Brian asked as he stood beside me, his arms folded across his chest.

"They'll have a heart attack if I say I'm living with my boss so yeah I'm gonna stay with Lexi"

"What if they already know? I mean, your cousins might have told them"

"Nah, if they knew they would have taken a flight straight after I went viral. And my cousins are only interested in law and politics. They think the rest of the world is a myth. So they probably don't know either"

Brian nodded. "Good for you. I have very lousy cousins"

I scoffed. "When you have cousins your mom always like to compare you with, what's good in that?"

Brian raised a brow. "She's that worse?"

"Way worse"

Lexi jumped in. "They even moved to France because her mom couldn't bear to see her daughter working in a marketing department and not in a legal department"

"Ahh dramatic mom. I see"

I stood on my tip toes and scanned the crowd. "Where are they? They should be here by now"

Then I spotted a couple in their late fifties approaching us, a grim expression etched on the woman's face.

"Here comes the she devil" I muttered.

"I thought you wouldn't come" My mom said as she reached us.

"You would have ate my head off if I did that"

"Good that you know" She raised her chin up.

"Oh I know" I also raised my chin up, matching her stance.

Dad rolled his eyes. "Stop it. How long has it been since we last saw our daughter? Just give each other a hug"

I didn't move and neither did mom. We just raised our chins higher and higher stubbornly.

Dad sighed. "I give up" He turned to my friends and smiled. "You two must be Lexi and Brian. It's nice to finally meet you" Dad extended his hand and they shook it. "You've been friends with my daughter for many years and I feel bad for not meeting you earlier. I'll buy you dinner as an apology"

Lexi beamed. "Oh you don't need to do that Mr. Evans. We're also happy to finally meet you. Better late than never right?"

Dad chuckled. "That's right"

Lexi grinned. "My car is parked outside. I'll drive you"

"There's no need for that"

I suddenly tensed as I heard a familiar masculine voice behind me. Achingly slowly I craned my neck and saw Ian Kingston approaching us, wearing a black overcoat over his black suit with a hand tucked inside his pocket.

The power rolling off of him was staggering. His long strides, his piercing blue eyes, his devilish gaze intimidated everyone close by and I could see people moving out of his way, fearing the thought of provoking him.

He came to a halt in front of us and extended his hand to my parents. "Mr. and Mrs. Evans, I'm Ian Kingston" A sardonic smirk curled in his lips. "Hailey's fiancé"