"Ella? Is something wrong? You've been cleaning the same spot for a while now." Alice nudged her.

"Hmm? Oh... Oops..." Ella shook off her daze. She was helping Alice again for the day, since Leon didn't need her help, but she couldn't stop thinking about the kiss from the other day. No matter how much she tried to distract herself, her mind always went back to Leon's kiss. Why can't I stop thinking about it? I must've gone insane or something.

"Ella, you're doing it again." Alice stole Ella's towel from her hand. "I think the nightstand is so clean it'll start shining soon. So, fess up. What happened? You know you want to tell me."

I'm not sure I do since I'm still having a hard time with it myself. Her vision blacked out by the towel Alice dropped on her head. "Hey, what was that for?" Ella tugged the towel off.

"Stop zoning out?" 

"I can't help it," she pouted.

"Oh, do tell." Alice stood toe-to-toe with her. "Or I'll get Kyra to come and pry it out of you."

Ella narrowed her eyes. "You wouldn't."

"Oh, but I would." Alice pulled out her phone and went into her contact list, where Kyra was listed in favourites. She held her finger over the call button. "So, what will it be?"

"Okay, stop! Put that away." Ella closed the door to the room they were fixing up. "I was cooking dinner with Leon..."

"Oh, nice; can he cook?"

"Not too much, as far as I can tell. Anyway, he brought up our night together, saying it was passionate and whatnot, unlike what he thinks my previous relationships were like. I didn't believe him, so he wanted to prove it with a kiss."

Alice's eyes lit up, and she leaned in eagerly. "And what happened? Did he kiss you? Did he knock your socks off? Oh, oh, oh, I know, that's why you're in a daze! You've been thinking about kissing him all day."

"Not quite... But I have been thinking about the kiss..."

"Must've been good if you're still thinking about it now."

"Well..." Ella blushed.

"Yes!" Alice cheered, clapping. "I've never seen you so flustered over a kiss; it was definitely mind-blowing!"

"But..."

"Isn't this exactly what you've been waiting for all these years? Isn't it the reason you've turned down so many proposals? Didn't you want the chemistry? The passion?"

"Can you really call it passion?"

"Isn't it?"

"Isn't passion more when you want someone... completely?"

"You sure that isn't lust and possessiveness? Besides, what makes you so sure he doesn't want you? I mean, come on, he wanted you enough to promise marriage and bed you the first time you two had a real meeting. What else would you call that?"

"Harsh circumstances making him need someone, and I was good enough for it?" Although, I don't know why.

"Love at first sight, maybe."

"Do you really believe in that? How long does that even last? You can love them until you find out more about them, and suddenly, they aren't so appealing."

"I think that's conditional love, though. And sometimes it works out in the long run."

Ella sighed. "And how many times does it not?"

"How long have you been this cynical?"

"I'm not cynical..."

"Have you listened to yourself lately? A mind-blowing kiss from the man you're going to marry... and yet... you want to run away? You want more? I really don't know what you're looking for anymore."

"What about you? What are you looking for? Or do you like jumping from one man to the next without having a long-term relationship?"

Alice sighed. "That is what I want right now. Maybe even for forever, who knows?"

"We've already hit the point that it'll be harder to find someone to marry later."

"I'm only looking to keep having fun; you're the one who sticks with the same one for years and then turns down their proposals... sometimes in cruel ways, if I might say."

"I'm not trying to be cruel."

"But you are. Think about it from their perspective. You're with the person you love, envisioning this long future together and thinking you're doing the same, so they ask for your hand, and bam, their heart is ripped to shreds by your rejection, and you run away from them. That's much worse than anyone I've broken up with; none of them have been disillusioned into thinking I wanted a future with them. Face it, Ella; you've left a line of destruction in your wake."

Ella went completely silent during Alice's rant. Am I really so horrible? She could feel tears stinging her eyes.

"Ella?"

Ella looked at her watch. "I have to go; time to start dinner..." She turned and left, clutching onto her shirt over her heart.

"Ella, wait... Dammit..." Alice realized her mistake. She couldn't even believe herself, that she was so hard on her. "Ugh... This is such a mess..."

After cooking dinner and putting an apple pie in the oven, Ella sat around in the kitchen, waiting in a daze.

Something tickled her nose.

What is that? Oh my gosh! It was the smell of her pie burning. "No, no, no!" She rushed to turn off the oven and take the pie out. "Ouch!" She yelped, having touched it without an oven mitt, and burned her hand. "Dammit." She grabbed the mitts, pulled the pie out, and rinsed her hand in the sink with cool water. What else is going to go wrong today? Tears formed in her eyes again as she looked at the burnt pie.

Too busy trying to cool the burn on her hand and not break down in tears, she didn't hear the front door open. Leon, smelling the burnt pie, dropped his briefcase and rushed into the kitchen to make sure there wasn't a fire. He saw the pie on the counter and Ella running water over her hand and put things together.

"Ella..." He got the first aid kit out from the bathroom cabinet and set it on the table, searching through for ointment and bandages. "I think you've held it under the water long enough." When she didn't respond, he lightly touched her shoulder.

"Oh!" She jumped and looked at him for a second before turning away. "I'm sorry... I didn't hear you come in."

Leon turned off the water and lightly patted her hand down with a towel.

"I can do that..." She tried to take the towel from him, but he refused to let go.

"Let me help you. Come, sit down." He led her over to the table, where the first aid kit was sitting open, its contents spilled about.

He noticed I was injured right away? She stared at her reddened hand with furrowed brows as he carefully put ointment on it and bandaged her hand. "Thanks..." she mumbled and went to pull her hand away.

"One last thing." He kept hold of her hand and leant down to gently kiss it. "To help it heal." He glanced up at her, and his expression fell at the tears in her eyes. "Is it hurting that bad? Do I need to call a doctor or something? Zeke is actually good with this."

"It's not about the burn," she huffed and tried to make a getaway.

"Ella..." He tugged on her good hand. "What's going on? Tell me what happened."

She looked over at the pie. "So much wasted food and effort."

"It won't go to waste; I'll eat it all."

"What?! You can't! It's obviously burnt and deserves to go in the trash."

"No, it doesn't. Sure, it's a little dark, but I can tell how much work you put into it, and I refuse to waste your effort."

"I'm normally good at this..." she mumbled.

"Everyone has an off day now and then." He patted her shoulder.

Is he really twenty-three? I mean... he looks it, but he's definitely more mature than the men I knew when I was his age.

"Now, I hope you don't mind me asking, but what happened to leave you so... distraught?" He couldn't help but think it was about something more than just a pie.

Ella frowned, not wanting to tell him.

He pushed a strand of hair out of her face and trailed his finger down her cheek. "You might feel better if you tell someone." He rested a hand on top of hers in her lap and caressed hers with his thumb. "I promise I'm a good listener, so will you talk to me? Please." He gave her a gentle smile.

He's not going to give up, is he? "I had a fight with Alice..."

"About what? I'm sure friends fight all the time."

She sighed and could feel the tears building again at the thought of her conversation with Alice. "Well, all she did it point out the truth." She laughed weakly. "I leave a path of broken hearts and destruction in my path... I shouldn't be with anyone... All I'll do is bring pain." She covered her eyes with her hands, but it didn't stop the tears from dripping down her cheeks. "How many people have I broken just because of how I am?"

He took her hands away from her face and kissed the tears on her cheeks. "Did she actually say all of that?"

"I don't remember the exact words, but basically..." She turned away, not wanting him to see her face.

"I see... Maybe it was in the heat of the moment, and she didn't really believe that."

"It came from somewhere, and she's right... You'd be better off running the other way."

His cheek twitched. "You do remember what happens if I don't marry you, right? I lose the company, people lose their jobs..."

"Oh, right..." He's stuck with me I guess...

"But I also believe we can make things work. You already have a guarantee of a... relationship together and won't have to worry about money or about me straying or anything like that. And I know you denied it, but we've proven we have amazing chemistry. If anything, you needed to get rid of those previous boyfriends so you could have space for me." He smiled at her. "I'd rather they all be in the past, while I get to be your present and future."

"You're not afraid? Afraid I'll run away—"

"I'll find you if you go missing."

"What if I don't want to be found?"

"I'll wait until you do."

"And if that never happens?"

"I'm not that patient. I'll work to make sure you do want to come back to me."

"Ha..." Ella sighed. How can someone be so set on another person? "What if you tire of me?"

"That'll never happen."

"You can't promise that."

"I just did. I'm in this for life, Ella, and I hope you are, too. Your past with them won't matter anymore, and there will be no more worrying about an unknown future or leaving others heartbroken."

He's so... intense... She couldn't tear her eyes away from his.

"After we have dinner, and you catch what I hope to be a good night's rest, then talk to Alice again. I'm sure she's itching to talk to you if you'll turn on your phone."

"How'd you know I turned it off?"

He chuckled. "You didn't answer my call. I was actually worried and called the hotel to check if you were here..."

"You were worried because my phone was off?"

"Yes; seeing as I never turn mine off, and if I remembered correctly, most of my peers in college and high school didn't either."

"Well, young man, it's not that way for my group of friends. We shut off when we want alone time."

"Young man?" His eye twitched. "Look, I know there's a bit of an age gap, but it's really not that big in the grand scheme of things."

"You're in your early twenties, and I'm already thirty... so yes, I can feel the age gap."

"It's not even a decade difference; don't worry about it. And yes, I'm aware some people find it odd when the woman is older, but I don't care, and that's what matters. I hope you won't let it bother you." He scratched his neck, losing confidence.

"Hard to say, but I suppose I'll have to learn to deal with it either way." She averted her gaze.

"And please, don't ever call me 'young man' like that again." He shuddered.

"What's wrong with that? You are young, after all."

"Because it makes you sound way older than me... and like I'm in trouble at school or something."

Ella couldn't help but laugh. "Okay, I'll try to refrain from calling you that."

Leon smiled, glad she laughed. "Now, let's eat."

After eating the main meal, Leon picked up the pie, grabbed a fork, and sat down at the kitchen table with it.

"What are you doing?" Ella reached for the burnt pie and he pulled it away.

"I'm doing exactly what I said I was going to do," Leon said.

"But it's burnt... At least pick off the dough from the top; the inside itself might be edible."

"Nope; I'm eating it all." He dug in and didn't even flinch from the burnt dough as he ate.

"It's also a full pie, and you're going to eat the whole thing?"

"I haven't done it since my early college days, but I think I could still eat a full pie."

He can eat that after a meal? Where does he put it all? An image of his fit, bare body from their night together flashed through her mind. Definitely can't tell he can eat like this... And why did I have to remember that now? Her cheeks flushed.

"Are you okay?" he asked in between while his mouth was empty. "Your face is red."

"Dehydration." She rushed to grab a bottle of water from the fridge and chugged a bit down.

"You know what, I know there's a little bit burnt, but it was still a good pie." He cleaned up every crumb in the pan. "Whew." He patted his stomach. "Been a while," he laughed.

"You are so... sweet..." she mumbled. "Doing that for me..."

"I will eat all the food you make for me."

"But what if it's not cooked properly?"

"I'll eat it and get sick... and you can nurse me back to health." He wiggled his eyebrows and smirked.

"I'll try to do better..." Especially since it doesn't even seem like he's going to use my skills as a concierge.

"Quit worrying about it so much. Things went wrong while you were having a bad day; it happens. Now, what do you say to relaxing on the couch with me and watching TV? You can even choose what we watch."

"Uh... sure..."

"Maybe we should change into loungewear, though, since a suit isn't that comfortable, and you're still in your uniform." He loosened his tie.

Despite herself, Ella's eyes were drawn to his neck as he did it. Ha... I don't know why I find it sexy when a man loosens his tie... but it sure is. She bit her lip.

"Ella?"

"Hmm?"

"You're zoning out again." When he noticed she was biting her lip, he smirked and sauntered up to her, his eyes narrowed. "We could do something else if you'd prefer. Have some adult fun in the kitchen, or living room, or how about we shower together?"

"N-no thank you." She backed up into a wall, her heart racing. "Watching TV suits me fine."

He leaned close to her and kissed her on the cheek. "Okay then." He backed away and headed for his room.

All the tension she had released, and she slid to the floor. How can he be so... brazen? Intense? Ah, this is when I normally contact the girls. But if I talk to one of them, they'll bring up Alice... Not wanting to be caught sitting on the floor, she forced herself to stand and rushed into her room to get changed.

PJs should be fine, right? She gave Penny a hug and came out in her nightgown to find Leon on the couch scrolling through their streaming service.

"I don't know what you like to watch yet, but there's a massive variety..." he trailed off as he looked at her. "That's dangerous," he muttered to himself.

"Is something wrong?" She hid a bit at her doorway, worried because of his reaction.

"No, I suppose not... Come on over." He patted the spot beside him on the couch.

She sat down on the opposite corner of the couch, leaving plenty of space between them. He immediately closed the distance, his arm wrapping around her shoulders as he handed her the remote.

"Choose anything." He smiled at her.

She took the remote and scrolled through while overly aware of Leon playing with her hair.

"A martial arts movie?"

"Yes, is that a problem?"

"No, I'm just surprised. I didn't know you liked them."

"I've watched them since I was little."

"Cool." He nodded and went quiet as it started.

Throughout the movie, he couldn't help but glance at her and smile as she was completely focused on it, immersed in the action. He was expecting her to want to watch a rom-com or something along those lines, but he actually preferred it this way. At least he could tell she was being honest with her preference with how intensely she watched.

"Ha, that was a great movie; lots of epic choreography for the fights." She sat back and looked over at him. A great way to relax. "But I'm sleepy now, so I should head to bed." She let out a giant yawn.

"Okay." Leon stood. "Goodnight then." He tugged her close, kissed her forehead, and headed to his room.

She touched her forehead and sighed. Maybe this won't be so bad.