Kayleigh's fingers were surprisingly steady as she sewed the delicate crystals into the embroidery lining the bodice of Abigail Kilton's wedding dress.

"Folle," Jean Luc muttered as he reminded her she had people at her disposal to do that.

But Kayleigh found the work soothing and more importantly, distracting. The systematic movement cleared her mind of all the noise that kept her constantly on the verge of another anxiety attack. After a night of absolutely zero sleep, her body felt exhausted and her eyes burned. But at least her mind was fresh and her heart was calm as she worked. Unfortunately, all too soon, a familiar voice that shattered that calm rang inside the Bridal Hall.

"Kayleigh, darling, how are you?"

The girl set down her needle and thread, careful not to prick her finger and bleed over the white material, and then looked up at the beautiful blonde sitting on her desk.

"Good morning, Abigail. I'm okay, thank you. And you?"

All signs of concern evaporated from the heiress's face when her eyes landed on the white fabric across Kayleigh's lap.

"Is that my dress?" she grinned. "I get gooseflesh every time I see it!"

Kayleigh offered her a coy smile, the knowledge of how close she was to not wearing the beloved gown gnawing at her gut. But it was clear that Abigail was oblivious to Kayleigh's low mood as she chanted in a teasing voice, "Did you and Jack go to the park yesterday?"

Kay felt another pull in her stomach, more guilt pouring into her insides with every passing moment. "Yes. Thank you for giving me the afternoon off. The fresh air really helped."

Abigail's photogenic smile widened. "Of course. I bet the sexy billionaire with the Thermos and sandwiches didn't hurt either."

Kayleigh dropped her head to hide her blushing face behind her hair. No, she thought. That didn't hurt at all. If only a certain someone hadn't spoiled her mood just moments afterwards.

"Kayleigh, I was wondering if I could pick your brain on something. I want to get Mark something special after signing his partnership with Jack Monroe. He's too modest to admit it, but getting a recommendation from Jack's firm is like getting a Michelin star in this country. So, I was thinking, which of these do you think he'll like most?"

Abigail pushed her phone in front of Kayleigh's nose and showed her a photo of an undoubtedly expensive Rolex. It was big, masculine, rather aggressive, Kayleigh thought, with small diamonds embedded in the rim. Abi swiped her finger over the screen to show her another impressive watch that looked more formal and even less like anything Marcus would wear.

Kayleigh knew Marcus Burrows didn't really like wearing anything around his wrists. In fact, he only wore health watches simply because he was obsessed with his health. A warm feeling rushed to Kay's face as she remembered it was the first thing he removed when they staggered into her apartment on her first night in London, almost smashing it against the wall to stop its tedious alarming due to his increased heart rate.

"You're smiling. Do you like the second one better?" Abi asked causing Kayleigh to drop her thoughts instantly. "I knew it! I'm kind of hoping he'll like the first one and wear it anyway, though. Sometimes I feel Mark doesn't get how big he is in high society and I just want him to look the part, you know? I mean, he doesn't even wear a watch to work."

"Abi, he's a dentist," Kayleigh interrupted. "He's always wearing gloves or washing his hands. He won't be able to wear either of those to work."

"He won't?" Abi looked genuinely disappointed.

At that moment, Kayleigh's phone went off and her eyes went wide at the sight of Marcus's name flashing over her screen. Her hand instinctively flew over her phone but it was too late. Abigail had seen. In her panic, Kayleigh declined the call, but Abi only narrowed her eyes further at the girl.

"Why is Mark calling you and why did you hang up on him?"

"Photography!" Kayleigh practically shouted at the woman. "Marcus is really into photography. You should get him something related to that."

Abigail furrowed her brows and Kayleigh knew it wasn't just because of her evasion of the question. "Really? Hmm... He does like to take photos of the sunrise whenever we go on holiday." Kay's stomach churned involuntarily at the image of the beautiful couple away at some resort, by the sea, maybe on a boat. "Okay. I'll look into it."

She shot her a sweet smile and jumped off her desk, but just as she turned to leave, Kay's phone was off again. Abi gave Kayleigh another suspicious look.

"Kayleigh, what's going on?" she questioned after she declined the call again.

Kayleigh's brain went into overdrive, but quick thinking in crisis situations was probably the least thing she was good at. "I can't tell you," she sighed finally.

"Why not?"

"It's a surprise?" It came out more as a question rather than an answer and Kay could tell the girl was not convinced.

"A surprise?"

"Yes! Marcus wanted to get you something too. He's probably calling about that."

Kayleigh's heart missed a few beats until Abi's features brightened. "The bag! Oh my gosh, he noticed! I saw this gorgeous Prada bag yesterday at Selfridges but I didn't think he was paying attention. He seemed pretty out of it, to be honest. Oh, Mark! Was he always this romantic?"

Kayleigh gritted her teeth together as she stared at the dreamy-eyed bombshell. "I wouldn't know."

"Okay. I'll leave you to plot my 'surprise' then. Have a nice day, Kay Kay!"

Kayleigh shuddered on hearing Marcus's nickname for her fall from Abigail's lips. She suppressed the urge to correct her. Abigail didn't deserve her anger, after all. But as soon as she disappeared into the corridor, Kayleigh swore under her breath and scrambled to collect her things. She pressed redial and all but ran out of KHF.

"Meet me at Selfridges now!"

#

Kayleigh was downright furious when she reached the blond man hovering in front of the large department store.

"Why were you calling me?" she snapped.

"Because you're such a delight to talk to," Marcus Burrows replied sourly, fixing her with his signature piercing gaze.

"Marcus, Abi was at my desk. She saw you calling!"

She saw the wheels turning in his head and finally understanding darkened his features. "Oh," was all he said.

"Oh, indeed!" she yelled back.

"What did she say?"

Marcus had the nerve to roll his eyes as Kayleigh groaned and buried her face in her hands. "Come on, you have to buy her a Prada bag," she stated before rushing into the store and checking the floor plan.

"What?" the man said chasing after her.

"She was telling me about this Rolex she wants to buy you to celebrate your partnership with Jack. Then you called and I panicked. I said it was a surprise and she told me about this Prada bag... Where is it?"

Marcus watched in confusion as Kayleigh found what she was looking for and started her way towards the escalators. He followed her feeling completely lost. "What bag?"

"I don't know what bag, Marcus! She told you about it yesterday."

"Kay Kay, you're not making any sense."

"Don't call me that,'" she growled making it to the first floor and turning on him.

Marcus looked straight into her eyes and pushed his fists into his pockets. "I haven't signed the contract yet," he stated calmly. "And I don't know if I will, so Abi doesn't need to buy me a Rolex. And I don't have to buy her a bag."

Kayleigh glowered at him. "Why not?"

"Because if I wanted a Rolex, I can buy my own and Abi has more Prada bags than Prada!"

Kayleigh thought she was two seconds away from strangling him. "I meant about the contract, you bloody idiot!"

"Because I don't like other people making money off my clients."

"Won't you be making money off his clients as well?"

"That's not the point," he grumbled.

Kayleigh begged to differ and she would have argued her case further if they weren't so pressed for time. She turned around and started her hunt for the Prada label.

Finally, she saw it at the end of the hallway, but as she arrived at her destination her heart fell. There were dozens of nearly identical bags on display. All were of a beautiful nude colour Kayleigh knew Abigail adored. They had the same effortless elegance and style and only varied in shape and size.

"Please tell me you know which bag she was talking about," Kay cried, but she felt the man's answer before he spoke.

"You're kidding, right?" Marcus deadpanned.

Kayleigh groaned again. "How the hell did we get into this one?"

"Because you panic over the silliest things."

Kayleigh's eyes shot daggers at him. "No. It's because of your stupid phone call! What did you want anyway?"

Marcus's features tightened and his eyes fell to his feet. "I wanted to apologize for yesterday. You were right. We can't throw away what we have for something that's probably nothing."

They were her own words, her exact thoughts, and yet coming out of his mouth, they felt like hot knives attacking her lungs. Of course, she was right, she thought. He was already regretting that night.

"Right," she managed to say as she fought to keep her face in check. "I'm glad we agree."

Marcus nodded curtly; hazel eyes trained on her as though they had a permanent residency on her face. "Friends?"

Kayleigh stared at his outreached palm, mocking her as it waited in the small space between them. "Friends," she replied, hesitantly taking it.

Their palms made contact and the static at their touch sent Kay's heart into a flutter. It was ridiculous.

Completely and utterly stupid, Kay screamed in her head as she fought to hold Marcus's gaze until he finally turned back to the display in front of them.

"So, uh... which bag should I get Abi, Friend?"

Kayleigh drew her hand away and balled them into fists by her sides. "I don't know, Friend, but I have to go."

Marcus stared hopelessly at the array of bags and scratched the back of his head. "No, stay a while. It's nearly lunchtime."

"I can't," Kay said shortly. "I already have plans for lunch."

This caught Marcus's attention. He turned to her with a raised brow. "Plans? With Monroe?"

Kayleigh wasn't sure if she wanted to scream or run away. Her lack of Fight or Flee response was always something that baffled her. It was supposed to be a natural reaction, something primal. But with her, there always seemed to be a delay.

When too many seconds had passed, she just nodded her head in response and Marcus Burrows narrowed his eyes. "Kayleigh, I don't want this to come out the wrong way," he started taking a deliberate step towards her, "but don't you think you're going a bit too fast?"

Kayleigh's fidgeting body stilled. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you met this guy three days ago and this is the third time you're getting together with him."

"Getting together? Marcus, it's just lunch!"

"Yeah, right!" he snorted.

Kayleigh could feel her self-control wearing thin. "What do you mean, yeah right?"

"I see the way he looks at you. It's not just lunch."

"What's it to you?" she fired back, the volume of her voice increasing.

Marcus's lips twitched as he fought to keep control. "You don't even know the guy and you're already rushing to his side!"

"You know what's rushing, Marcus? Inviting someone for a bloody scone and ending up in their bed!"

The man's face flushed, but it was the only sign that he felt the dent in his argument.

"That was completely different. We've known each other for years."

"Really? That's your justification?"

"Look, I know things got out of control that night, but you were with someone you knew and trusted-"

"A fat load of good that did me! The person I 'knew' and 'trusted' turned out to be engaged to my boss."

"Oh, come on Kayleigh!"

"No, you know what? Just forget it!" Kayleigh shouted over his protests, oblivious to the curious faces around them. She looked towards the escalators and mapped the way out in her head. "I'm already late."

But Marcus didn't miss a beat. "Late for what?" he spat as Kayleigh turned on her heels and started walking away from him. "Lunch with Jack?"

"Yes!" she yelled over her shoulder. "Maybe if I'm lucky, he'll take me for a scone afterwards!"

👜👒👗

Wow! These two can't seem to stop arguing!

Do you think Marcus is right? Is Kayleigh going too fast with Jack?

Are you enjoying the story so far, guys? If so, please don't forget to vote!