The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, the article had read in the paragraph where it had advised a good girlfriend to cook for her man. And that was exactly what Rhea had done. Well, cook for him to show him just how bad a cook she was.

And it had worked! For the first time since the whole episode had started, Adam had suddenly grown disheartened and grumpy instead of his usual infuriating enthusiasm. Rhea had given herself a mental high-five when he had practically fled from the kitchen when she had started on her “poor me” self about how she could not even manage to boil a decent pasta.

It had been unbelievably fast and she had never expected her plan to work out so quickly. But it was too early to hope for the best; she would only confirm her theory the next morning when Adam would skip the dreaded morning call. And she could only hope that it never came again.

Of course if it happened that way, she would never raise the subject again and they would be back to being good friends. And then he would eventually get himself another girlfriend. A real one this time. Rhea was finally happy.

When the pizza delivery had come, she had ran upstairs deciding to give him the final blow. The next advice of the ideal girlfriend saga was Be happy, smart and witty. She had wanted to behave like a dimwit before Adam finally defeated would kick her out of his life. Well, his love life.

Rhea wanted to be very much part of his life as his best friend forever. Happy that everything was going on as she had planned, she had knocked on his bedroom door but after three times of no answer, she had opened the door. And had found his body unceremoniously sprawled on bed with his business suit still on.

A pang of guilt had coursed through her as she had caught sight of his tired face. He was so handsome with his shoulder long hair which looked almost golden around the pillow. Rhea had felt bad for putting him through so much; she knew he was busy at work since Uncle Jacob had decided to retire. And Adam was going to be the only one responsible of the Crighton empire.

Their wealth and power intimidated her sometimes but they were very down-to-earth person and Rhea felt humbled to be part of their family. Maybe it was time for her to stop her stupid games. Adam has already worked out that she was not the correct person for her and he would eventually come around.

Feeling somewhat sorry for pestering him, she had removed his shoes and socks slowly so as not to disturb his sleep. He had immediately snuggled his feet upwards and she had approached closer. He could hardly sleep in his business suit and that too on an empty stomach.

So she had shaken him lightly on his shoulder to wake him but he had not even stirred. With much difficulty, Rhea had finally succeeded in pulling off his pants when he had straightened his position on the bed. But the suit had been almost impossible to remove without waking him up since he had been sleeping on his right side.

Deciding not to give up since it would be uncomfortable for him to sleep in his suit, she had waited to catch her breath before trying to remove the left arm. During her task, she had gotten so close to him and when he had moved suddenly, she had nearly stumbled right on him. At the last second, she had managed to steady her body over his and had almost been touching him. For a second, she had frozen expecting him to wake up and catch her in that uncomfortable position.

But his eyes had remained closed and she had found herself perched on his asleep form and so close that she could see every line of his face. He looked so handsome. His jaw was well-chiseled and his nose was the perfect aquiline shape. But his trademark looks were his eyes which were invisible now since they were closed. Rhea felt her heart beat faster at the sight of him close; it was due to her awkward position of course.

Dismissing her wayward thoughts, she tried to get up but failed. Closer up, the lines of fatigues were more visible and his eye bags were accentuated. For how long she had stayed there, she never knew. But she knew that her heart was beating like mad and she was having weird feelings around her heart which was not good for her mental health.

Adam had always seemed unbeatable and rock solid to her and seeing him now so tired and vulnerable was doing things to her. Of course it had nothing to do with the fact that he was so near. He had not that kind of effect on her. Nobody had that kind of effect on her.

Slowly, afraid to even breathe, she had finally wrenched the jacket free as he stirred another time to change side. Casting one last furtive glance in his direction, she had fled from the room feeling sure that there would be no need to continue her plans.

Until the next morning when she had gotten the usual call from him where he had sounded almost desperate. It was not sitting right on her conscience and she was feeling defeated. She had almost hoped that his stupid quest would be over and she would finally be able to move on with her life. Now as she sat with the dead phone still in her hand, she was reluctant to even go downstairs to face him.

Maybe she was accepting defeat too soon. She was sure he had sounded depressed the previous night and if she gave him time, he would rebuild his hopes. There was no time for her to weaken her resolve. She should attack him again when he was his lowest so that the final impact would be strongest.

Feeling more positive, she joined them downstairs only to find out that Adam and Zoey had gone for their usual morning run. It was good; it gave her more time to plan how to be unhappy, ungrateful and dorky. It was completely against her nature and she reckoned that such a person would whine about everything in her life.

And she decided to do just that when Adam returned back. Stalling for some time, she allowed Jane to prepare a copious breakfast for her knowing that she would never be able to finish all that food. She hated wastage of food anyway but it was part of her “being ungrateful” plan.

When they arrived, she was already feeling very nervous and she prayed that it did not show. They greeted her a very chirpy good morning and she frowned as it was so in contrast of Adam’s morose mood of the previous night.

Damn! And just when she had thought that he was more than fifty percent ready to be knocked down. Or maybe he was and he was trying hard to hide his inner feelings. It was too late to back down now. Rhea was sticking to her plan no matter what.

“Hey Zo!” she greeted her friend who sat on the breakfast table with her. “How was your dinner last night?”

Zoey scowled at her. “Don’t ask! Oh Jane, you’re a darling. I’m ravenous. Can you please serve me another plate?” she asked the housekeeper fluttering her eyelashes coquettishly. Rhea bit her tongue to prevent Zoey from eating. She simply could not offend Jane by undermining the breakfast; it was out of question.

“One for me too,” cried Adam from the door and he joined them.

Jane muttered something under her breath and Rhea felt deflated as her plan went berserk. Damn them both for being such gluttons. Trying not to let her feelings show, she turned to Zoey picking up from her tone that something went wrong with the brother-sister dinner.

“What happened? Has Zach stood you up again?” she teased. Zach had the unfortunate habit of forgetting their plans. He was that busy.

“No!” Zoey said her mouth forming an exaggerated “O” on the word. “He did worse. He brought someone along. His client.”

Rhea gasped and Adam grinned. “He didn’t?” she screamed finding a perverse glee at the insensitiveness of Zach. “And you killed him?”

“Hah! I wish” Zoey scorned. “And there’s more. He was a Spanish client and he gave me the role of the interlocutor. Can you believe him? After almost a year of not meeting my brother, he had to spoil our private time?”

Adam howled with laughter and Rhea would have joined him except she had found the perfect excuse to execute her “being unhappy” plan.

 “Ooooh, that’s so bad of Zach,” she quickly played her role. “He’s such a lousy brother sometimes. I wonder what I would have done if he had treated me in such a way.”

“Was the stranger sexy at least?” Adam asked just when she opened her mouth to continue her ranting about Zach’s behavior. And Zoey almost snorted which came out unladylike. And refused to answer him. Rhea wanted to know more too since Zoey was as red as a beetroot but she bit her tongue to refrain from teasing.

“Why Zoey Cooper. You are blushing!” It came from Adam and Zoey rolled her eyes dramatically fanning her heated face but still without saying another word.

“Stop it, Adam!” muttered Rhea crossly earning two puzzled looks from Adam and Zoey at the same time. She squirmed inwardly; she was a spoilsport alright. “You’re making her uncomfortable.”

Adam gaped at her seeming really surprised that she was not participating in decapitating Zoey’s down moments. Then his eyes twinkled with green freckles as if he had just remembered a funny joke and her breath caught at its beauty.

“He was hot,” replied Zoey after a while unaware that the tension between Rhea and Adam became more palpable. “Damn! But he never looked up at me in that way. He was so… focused. And besides, you know me better than that. I don’t do strangers,” she reprimanded seeming to break out of her reverie.

Damn! That man must have really made an impression on her for Zoey Cooper was not easily impressed. If anything, Zoey was extremely choosy and had never found anyone up to her taste. Well, she did date many guys but no one had been important to her. According to her, they were all useless rich and boring distractions. She never committed. But seeing her flustered face right now, Rhea found her curiosity growing.

She would confront her friend when Adam was gone. For now she had to focus on being a complete douchebag. So she stared whining about how the behavior of Zach was unacceptable and she would have a word with him.  Zoey rolled her eyes at her having guessed what it was all about and finally bored she left them alone. Which was a good thing.

Except Adam did not seem at all bored. He sat there listening to her infuriating rants and treated her with patience. She ended up criticizing Jane’s cooking skills anyway out of lack of inspiration and got a venomous look from the housekeeper. Smiling apologetically at her, Rhea tried to excuse herself of not being in the mood and thankfully, the housekeeper only huffed her way out.

Adam on the other hand remained unfazed. Even when she criticized everything. And finally tired of ranting about every insignificant thing and with Adam trying to persuade her, she felt her mood worsen. It was going to take longer than she had thought.

“So, Rhea,” Adam said when she fell silent. “Dad has asked us to come over for dinner tonight. Will you join us? Zoey has already agreed and I have not been able to reach Zach yet.”

Rhea nodded. She would never miss a dinner at the Crightons. They were too much fun and they never fail to lighten up her mood.

“Sure,” she replied jumping off the stool too quickly in her haste to escape his unconditional support and tripped on her feet almost falling over. Almost because she found herself in the arms of her knight in shining armor.

Glad that her face was buried and he could not see the crimson color which she was sure had crept up her skin, she remained there waiting for her blood system to become normal. And something happened. A feeling of security and warmth engulfed her and she felt a sudden longing consume her. Never in her entire life had she felt so good than at that particular moment and she had to fight her demons to wrench herself back from that tempting cocoon.

It was simply not fair of her to take so much from him. She knew that if she fell in love with him, her entire universe would resolve around him and she could not allow herself to be too dependent on only one person.

Sniffing in his scent, not realizing how much she had missed him until now, she stepped back only to see him look at her intensely. She wished he would stop that look because it created havoc in her system. She was allowed herself to acknowledge that had he not been Adam, she would have fallen hard for him.

And then she found herself wishing that things were not so complicated. It must have reflected in her eyes because when she finally dared to meet his gaze, she saw a sudden softening of his look towards her. And he raised his index finger to lightly caress her cheek. And she could not help basking in his touch. It was like she had no control over her body and wanted more.

Hypnotized, she arched her face closer and his caress got bolder. It moved to her chin and lips and she felt her skin sizzle after his trail. She knew she should move away but she stood transfixed in that position her brains turning to mush disabling her from any coherent thoughts.

Adam finally bent to bring his face nearer and brushed his lips lightly on hers. Rhea was incapable of thinking and could only feel the marvelous feeling which travelled from her lips towards her toes. It was sensational and suddenly she wanted more.

In her haze, she forgot her already complicated situation and tiptoed towards him to drop a feather like kiss on his mouth. It was just to test whether she felt the same sensation the second time. And bam! There it was. That jolt of electricity which passed through her whole body leaving her wanting for more.

It was un….And then everything changed. He grabbed her by the waist and descended his lips on hers. Almost as if it was she had been waiting for, she opened her mouth to him allowing him complete access to her very core. When his tongue dipped inside, it felt like she was transported to another world. A world where only feelings resided.

At first, it was discomfort which powered her as she felt the unfamiliar taste of his saliva. Then, when he seemed to caress her tongue with his, she opened her mouth to welcome his taste. And felt a sensation of hot liquid pooling through her.

Then came the hunger and since she had never felt something like that before, she instinctively knew it was another kind of appetite. Her sexual appetite. Something which was similar to being hungry except she instinctively knew it wasn’t for food.

For several minutes, she still could not register her surroundings. Some endless moments later, she realized that Adam had stopped kissing her but was still holding her in his arms. And was looking at her with another soul searching expression. It was only then that realization of her folly dawned on her.

What the hell was she doing? He was in love with her and she was giving him more footage to come after her. Why had she felt the need to kiss him? It wasn’t as if Adam would relent easily now. All her plans have turned into fiasco; they were discredited by the mere fact that she had allowed her sexuality to take over her mind.

Frantic, she tried to think of something to mask her unease and found no better solution than to act as if nothing of consequence had just happened. She would have a pep talk with herself later.

“Errmm,” she said clearing her throat and moving out of his embrace. He was still giving her that intense look and tried a fake casual smile. “That was… wow.”

After a few minutes of his continued perusal, he finally seemed to snap out of his haze and smiled back at her gently. Thank God he was not gloating. But knowing him, Rhea was sure it was only a matter of time for him to take the situation into hand and turn it against her. Like he had been doing so well for the past few days.

“It was, wasn’t it?” he observed calmly none of the raging turmoil she was feeling reflecting in his tone. And Rhea felt a sense of disappointment at his nonchalance. Had he felt something? Or had the kiss mean nothing to him? Well, she should be feeling happy. Maybe he had found the kiss too insipid and was now glad that she had refused his advances.

But why was she feeling so…. so down? Why was she feeling like she had failed when in fact she had succeeded. She had succeeded in driving him away. Wasn’t that what she had wanted all along? “Get a grip, girl!”, she chided herself. She was not one to play too hard to get. She had thought about it when Adam had called her to apologize the first day after the proposal fiasco.

When he had so boldly proposed to her on her twentieth birthday party, she had been furious. How dared he think so little of her? And she had reacted violently. She had vowed never to talk to him again irrespective of whether it would spoil her relationship with the Crightons. There were certain things that could not be compromised like her virtue.

But when he had phoned to apologize, Rhea had assumed that he had been in some drunken stupor and had forgiven him. They had talked quite easily for a few minutes all remorse forgotten when he had suddenly confessed that he loved her instead.

Rhea had treated it as a joke assuming that he was teasing her after the unfaithful event. But Adam had insisted telling her that she was the only one in his thoughts for a long time now. That whenever she went out with someone else, he got jealous. And Rhea had instantly known what he had been up to. Adam was an extremely possessive person and he had been confusing the protective instincts he had for her for love.  

But when she had tried to explain to him that he was not actually in love with her, he had insisted and they had fought. After having slammed down the receiver, Rhea had asked herself why she was so angry? He had every right to fall in love with her and she had been sure that it was a passing whim. It was nothing serious. Or that was what she had tried to convince herself and had grown so used to that thought that even after he had been pursuing her after two years, she had never reviewed her opinion.

“Don’t make a big deal out of it, Rhea,” Adam said after a long awkward pause. “It was just a kiss,” he added and dropped another light kiss on her lips before walking towards the door. “Don’t forget about dinner tonight.”

On that parting note, he left her stranded feeling like she was the biggest fool of the earth. Why the hell had he said that? It was just a kiss?!!

It had been a hell of a kiss for her. Taking a deep breath, she allowed her lifeless body to fall onto a nearby chair. But he was right. It was just a kiss and she could not make a bigger deal out of it. Adam was the more experienced one in that field and if he found it was no big deal, it must be just that. Except that now she was completely lost and had no idea what to do next.

After the dinner fiasco, Adam had seemed ready to give up and that morning, she had tried to nail the hammer by acting stupid and unhappy. Which she had failed pathetically when Adam had been patience personified again. But the unplanned kiss had had no effect whatsoever on Adam.

Then she slapped her forehead. Of course! How could she be so stupid sometimes? It could not have been more perfect. The kiss must have put him off for him to behave so casually towards her and she could not have planned it any better. She was a bad kisser and that had helped her in her mission.

Smiling to herself, she decided to stick to her plans. Everything was working out perfectly. Even that kiss had finally worked in her favor. It was a miracle but it had the opposite effect of what she had expected. Instead of giving him more footage, he had remained aloof and ready to bolt.

Rhea Ivy Palmer felt sure that Adam Devin Crighton would not be calling her soon.