Celine remembers the car stopping. ‘Are we home?’ she asks as she tries to peer outside her window. It didn’t look like home, and the driver said something she did not understand, so she didn’t really care, and continued with her coloring.
Then she recalls Carmen taking off her seatbelt and pulling her to the floor of the car. ‘Celine, come here! Remember the hiding game? We surprised mom… we need to do that again.’ She frowned, but Carmen said it was a game, so she willingly played it.
Her sister was piling stuff on top of her, and she started squirming. ‘Oooww…’ ‘Shhh… Close your eyes and keep quiet until mommy or daddy comes, okay? Don’t come out, I’ll get mad.’ Camen said before she disappeared.
There was some noise outs
-=-CelineOur courtship had been slow because I had reservations about Max coming from out of town. I doubted he could keep up the pretense that he was really serious and keep his promise to see me every week when his schedule permits. But all his persistence has paid off because my heart has been melting ever since. Every weekend we spend together has endeared him more to me.Our routine would be to have dinner every Friday. Go to a cafe after so we can sit and talk some more. Then the next day, we walk around a park or a hiking trail he found around the area. If I don’t have any prior engagements, we would have dinner again on Saturday. Then brunch the next day before he heads home. I know my parents complain that he’s been hogging all my time, but isn’t that what people in relationships do?
‘Oh, did I tell you my good news?’ he said as he sat on her vanity chair, trying to ignore the implication of her actions. His desire shot up when he saw her lock her bedroom door, and his presumption was correct. She seemed to have a plan on what should happen today.Celine was daring, and he liked that. He pegged her as conservative and a do-gooder, but it seems like she was more adventurous than he thought. In the few times they were together, he thought maybe he was the only one who felt the sexual tension, and he influenced her decisions. But it may seem that it was not one-sided after all, and he enjoyed discovering this side of her. Having this information was not good for his libido because now he feels more encouraged.‘No, what is it?’ she asked nervously, as she sat on her bed, not knowing how to initiate her plan.
Emelia jumps in, seeing her husband’s scowling face. ‘Sure dear, maybe it will help with my headache. And we can talk to you and Max before we turn it in. She nudged her husband to stop him from glaring. I hope we didn’t interrupt anything,’ she fussed.She was happy that Celine finally found a man to fall in love with, being a romantic at heart. All she wanted was for her daughter to be happy and hopefully find someone like her husband. Someone who loved her through the thick and thin. All this time, Nathan never gave up on their relationship and their family. That’s what she wanted for her daughter. A man who would stand by her no matter what.Celine blushed, they almost got busted making out in her bedroom. And even though she was already an adult, it would be hard to explain to her overprotective father what they were doi
-=- MAX could not believe it. He did not know if this was cause to be happy or be sad. 99.99% match meant they were sisters, and his chance with Celine had just gone out the door. For sure, Clara would not want them to be together. With his track record with women and all the bad rep recently, it did not look good. Even though he had never introduced women to his sister, he knew she kept tabs on his sexcapades and the number of women he bedded. In hindsight, he should have known that the universe would screw him over and throw someone unattainable at his feet. He always knew the fates hated him, but to mess with him like this got him frustrated. ‘I am not giving her up.’ he thought selfishly to himself. ‘Celine
Max shrugged off the ominous vibe he was getting from Rowan. Hoping he was wrong and that the CEO would turn out to be an okay guy.‘Sure, Max and I will take you up on your offer. Do you want us to meet you there?’ Clara asks as she helps Max clear up the conference room. ‘I heard everything around here is walking distance. Is that true?’‘It’s true. It would be a nightmare to drive anywhere around here, especially if you are not used to the area. Too many one-way streets. Come, let’s walk to the restaurant,’ Rowan says as he takes the laptop from Clara’s hand, even before Max could take it from her.Clara didn’t think too much about it because she was so used to her brothers carrying her stuff, but as Rowan reached for the laptop, she suddenly noticed he
‘I know. You’re with Sebastian Colfer from the Navio shipping company, right? But you’re not married yet, and I think I can sway you to choose me instead of him,’ he said. Max’s eyes grew big, and he silently said, ‘Whoa!’‘You haven’t been together for a long time, either. In the last three months, you’ve gone out on less than five dates? I don’t think that’s enough for you to have enough feelings for each other. I assume you slept with him already, and that’s why you’re attached to him?’ He looked at her inquisitively, questioning if he hit the nail in the head. Clara glowered at him.‘So what? I’ll make you forget about him as soon as you become mine,’ he said in a cocky manner that made even Max’s hair stand on end. He was trying so hard t
‘WTF, Max? You’re not serious about this, are you? Wasn’t the harassment at lunch enough? What else does he want? If this project wasn’t important for our company, I would have already cursed that guy off. Isn’t telling him I have a boyfriend enough? These men are so frustrating,’ she complained, covered her face with the pillow, and screamed into it.‘Doesn’t he remind you of Sebastian, though? The direct questions, the tactics, and now the dinner. Do these men have one guidebook they read on how to get the girl?’ Max wondered.‘Max, at lunch, he talked about Navio’s contract. How did he get that information? Do you think we have a spy in the office?’ Clara frowned as Max shook his head. ‘I was wondering about that too.’‘You
In the cab, Max drapes his arm around Clara. He knows that in her mind, there was a war going on. Her mind is fighting whether she should have backed down, accepting his invitation for dinner to show that arrogant fool that he did not really scare her and on the other, she felt she did the right thing. She would willingly swallow her pride and do what’s good for the company, but she would not let arrogant men like him win.She leans against Max and sighs, ‘Max, did I do the right thing? It kind of scared me that if he took me to dinner, something else might happen. He looked like he would have been capable of taking drastic measures. What if I’m not as strong as I thought? If I couldn’t fight him back…’He hugged her closer. ‘It’s okay Clara. He’s just a client. We can find another one. You are more i