"I've been in love with her since you pointed her out to me at your office and dared me to try and take her off your hands. I obviously can't hide it very well, or from anyone except, apparently her..." He shrugs as Luna glares at him and then at me

I can't believe I'd actually tried to orchestrate a peaceful professional dinner. What had I done wrong? Hadn't I explained this to him? The beard, the peace, the professional? And now he was revealing some bet they made about me? ME?

"I'm not ashamed of it." Luca declares as if this was the part of the movie where we all start saying "I'm Spartacus."

Sir! Sir Whitlam! You're small small in love please! It's not a military draft.

Luna on the other hand was fuming, as if she had any right to. She brought this on herself, she dared Lucas Roland to do something and the man had done it, excellently even! Had that been the rivalry then? Me?

"Too bad she's moved on." Luna announces firmly, a dark smile on her face

I smile nervously, turning to Vik so we can hopefully find our way out of this. We could still have a professional dinner. Luca had been honest enough for one night, surely he'd back down now, remember the peace, the professional, the few hours compared to the rest of our lives this dinner would take. I was waiting for him to say something else but there's nothing, just this odd look on his face that I can't place. He was clearly punishing me for leaving for my place, where my clothes are...

The man didn't know peace, was a complete foreigner to the concept and suddenly I wondered if he'd have been content if I came to this dinner in one of his shirts with bedhead and a neon sign attached to my forehead that read "We're in love, deal with it."

"Moved on?" He probes, as if it was impossible, turning a incredulous look to Luna, like she'd said something completely off

Why? Why was he like this? BEARD! PROFESSIONAL! DINNER!

"I brought a date with me... Lucas..." I growl up at him, watching his eyes shine darkly at me

I am trying to not have a fight break out at this tense dinner that your psychotic very rich brother-in-law decided to host in your gardens and invite your rival my ex to!

"Date?" He wonders dryly so I'm forced to point at Vik, who smiles nervously at everything and gives a little wave

"Hi, I'm Vik..." Vik gently says, just as shocked as I am that Lucas Roland, the crown Lothario of the greater South London metropol hadn't seen him sitting right next to me all night

BEARD! I TOLD YOU I WAS BRINGING A BEARD!

"I thought that was your brother..." Luca chides, lifting an eyebrow at me

You FUCKING IDIOT!

"He's a doctor!" Carlen cries informatively, as if this was a bar quiz of some sort and she was eager to win

A paediatric cardiologist who teaches prenatal and postnatal to dads in his free time; a saint, if you will...

"I don't have a brother, you know that!" I hiss back at him as he shrugs

He knows this! I'm pretty sure he knows I don't have a brother! Apparently Vik doesn't qualify as human in Lucas' eyes... The cheek of this rinsed tonk!

"Could've fooled me. Who even let him in here?" He probes, looking around for someone to blame

I couldn't believe him! I'd had an entire briefing with him before this dinner! I'd spoken to him in English, I was sure of it!

"I came with him! That's how a date works, you wouldn't know because you've never been on one!" I state, heated now

Can you believe the nerve of him being this rude to Vik?! SAINT VIK! My beautiful beard Saint Vik!

"How many lunches and dinners and picnics and helicopter rides have we been on, Funke?" He wonders intently, apparently bothered by my very correct claim

Wow! He was an absolute demon! Speaking of demons, Luna had just realized that there was, perhaps something going on here, because she bangs her hand on the table

"Helicopter...EXCUSE ME?!" Luna roars, apparently bothered that I'd been in the same helicopter as Luca

The fact that he's stormed round the table in a Scottish fit of rage and was glaring down at me as if I'm the idiot who'd ruined everything was sheer madness! Peaceful, professional... I'd used those words right? I'd asked?

"You never asked me out." I point out stiffly, choosing this over telling Luna I'd never cheated on her with him

Which wasn't the point, but from the shift in his eyes he was realizing that I was right. He'd never asked me on a date!

"So you WERE CHEATING ON ME THIS WHOLE TIME?!" Luna cries, incensed

"Well I'm asking now." He shrugs darkly, apparently too stubborn, too dedicated to ruin the tense professional peace of this dinner to care that Luna was losing her mind behind him

I'm, not cheating on you could easily be the anthem I sang throughout my relationship with Luna, and because Luca was ignoring her, I do too, choosing to concentrate on his madness

"While I'm on a date with someone else. Someone who asked." I hiss at him, so angry I actually jump out of my seat

I'd asked for peace! Tense uneventful peace! I'd asked that we sit around this fucking table and pretend to laugh at Angus "jokes" and then when everyone had fucked off peacefully, we could get right back to us...

"Would it make you feel better if I had security carry him out of my garden and then ask?" He offers, not a smidgen of remorse in his eyes, his body closing in on mine in very disrespectful ways

"Well I'll have you know I cheated on you too! So there's that!" Luna announces haughtily

I couldn't care too much for it, I was too busy trying to make sure this crazed Thor wannabe didn't disgrace Vik with a unruly exit

"I... I can leave..." Vik offers kindly

Which wasn't the point! The point was tense peace and professionalism, which wasn't something we could recover now.

"Stop it!" I warn Luca, whose eyes are dancing with a familiar danger

"I'll have my driver take you safely home." Angus offers, emphasizing on safely rather wisely as Luca smirks darkly at me, his body pressing mine against my chair

"You're being irrational!" I hiss as his hands move past my hips to hold the chair firm behind me, giving me no space to manouver past or away from him

"I'm being impatient, there's a difference mogradh." Luca retorts like the absolute wanker that he is

Just because all this was making me a little wet doesn't mean I'm going to let him mistreat Vik! I might be attracted to this man something ferocious but I have principles!

"I'll take that ride home if you don't mind..." Vik politely says as I try and think of something quite rude to say given the fact that I wasn't thinking quite right at the moment

Luna was mumbling something angrily behind us

"You're being a prick..." I complain with a pout

"Would you like your meal as a take-away too? Compliments of the chef?" Carlen politely offers as I try to not breath in Luca's cologne

"I'm being brave enough for the both of us mo gradh." He states, his free hand rounding my waist and pulling me into him

"Luna, would you also like to be heading home now?" Angus suggests rather strongly

"You don't know how crazy she is." I mumble, losing a bit of fight from the feel of Luca's gorgeous body pressed into mine this way

He groans softly as if savoring the feel of my body before bringing his face to mine.

"I'm not scared of her Funke! I love you and I mean to love you loudly and maybe even quite obnoxiously for as long as I can!" He rasps firmly

I'm about to call him a fool when his lips find mine, ferocious, passionate, feverish but not demanding. The kiss washes over me in a form of electric bliss I'm sure there was a drug dedicated to. It was like all the wonderful things inside me came alive with a blissed out sigh. I let out a soft moan against his lips. The way all my rage just buggered right off at the feel of his lips... An exorcism in a kiss...

This... the dangerous power this man wielded over me, that he could put me through all I had been through in the last eight months and then kiss me and have me forget, have me yearn for more... for all of it...again...forever...

"I cleaned out a closet for your favourite clothes mo gradh." He adds in a husky whisper against my lips, just as something loudly hits his back

We were standing so close together I felt it, heard the crash, felt his body fall onto mine.

"LUNA!" Angus growls

"LUCAS!" Carlen sharply screams as something wet washes over my face