Chapter Six - Announcement

"We need to talk Scarlet Price,"

The deep voice emphasized on my name and I jumped in my spot, turning sideways.

Alec was standing there with a deep scowl plastered on his face, his arms crossed over his chest. I noticed that his suit was gone and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbow, his tie lazily loosened around his collar.

Ben's grip loosened on my shoulders and he glanced between us in confusion. I took a step away from him.

"Who are you?" Ben turned to Alec.

"Who the fuck are you?" Alec snapped.

Ben's face deepened with a frown as he took a step towards Alec, which only caused Alec to take a long, menacing stride in his direction. Ben shifted back a bit and honestly, I didn't blame him. Alec looked really intimidating in his tall frame and if he was advancing in my direction with that scowl, I'd do the same.

My reflexes made my legs move and soon I found myself standing between them, facing Alec. His sharp gaze shifted to me and I gulped.

Not knowing what to say, I turned to Ben instead. "Leave,"

He stepped on his side to leave immediately but stopped reluctantly. "Who is he Scarlet?" He asked in a low voice.

"A friend. Now leave," I gritted my teeth at him and thankfully, he got the message and without another word or glance at Alec, he left.

I sighed in relief and turned around. Alec was glaring at Ben's retreating figure and once he was out of his sight, his gaze met mine.

His eyes pierced through mine and just when he opened his mouth to speak, I spoke. "Let's go,"

Without waiting for a reply, I started walking towards the store and sighed in relief when I heard his heavy footsteps slowly following behind.

I pushed the door open and breathed in the strawberry freshner around the place. An old lady with grey hair and black eyes stepped up to greet us and I smiled at her kindly. She shook my hand.

"Scarlet Price," I spoke.

"Nice to meet you Ms. Price. I'm Janet Rivers. The owner of this boutique,"

"Mr. Sinclair," She turned to him and shook his hand.

"Ms. Rivers," He gave her a little nod and she turned to me, a gleam reaching her eyes.

"So you're the pretty bride. Come on. Let's get you a perfect wedding dress,"

I gave her a tight smile and turned to Alec, pleading him one last time with my eyes to stop this but he seemed to not care at all as he shifted his gaze to his phone and turned around.

The lady seemed to be waiting for me near a partition that led to another section and I walked over to her. Upon entering, my jaw dropped open at the beautiful wedding gowns hanging off the decorative shelves.

I was standing in the middle of the room when Ms. Rivers started searching through various aisles. She pulled out a few dresses and handed them to me while I was still in awe at the beauty of them.

Guiding me to a changing room, she shut the door infront of me and I turned around to stare into the mirror and looked down at the dresses in my hands.

I took my clothes off and tried on the first dress. It wasn't a perfect fit and neither did it look that good on me but I still went out to show it to Ms. Rivers.

She looked up when I stepped out and gave me a little smile. "It looks good but you should try the other ones,"

"Okay," I nodded and went inside again and later showed her three more dresses, which did fit perfectly but I couldn't see myself getting married in them.

Hell, I couldn't see myself getting married to that psycho at all.

Finally, I pulled on the last one. The upper part was like a corset and fitted me perfectly, defining my slim waist and I immediately felt proud of the gym training my dad made me attend to. The dress was flowy from my waist onwards and a beautiful beads pattern was designed near the neck area, making it look like a pearly necklace.

It was a cut sleeved gown and the thin straps had little sprinkling of glitter over them, giving it a dreamy fantasy look.

I couldn't take my eyes off the mirror and I knew if there was anything that could drag me to the altar, it was this dress.

I rolled my eyes at the stupid thought and turned around to go outside.

Ms. Rivers' eyes grew wide as her hands clasped together and went up to cover her mouth.

"Oh My God Ms. Price. Please tell me this is the one,"

Smiling at her approval, I nodded, biting my lip to stop the smile from turning into a grin.

"Come on," She dragged me out of the section and before I could protest, I was standing in the main lobby of the little store, where Alec was busy texting something on his phone.

His eyes lifted up and he went back to texting but then, after a second his eyes lifted up again, this time becoming a little wide for a second.

They travelled all the way from my feet up to my neck and finally stopped at my eyes, his intense gaze turning my legs into jelly.

I shifted my weight from one foot to another as I found my cheeks heating up under his gaze. Taking in a deep breath, I looked down at my feet for a second.

"What do you think Mr. Sinclair?" Ms. Rivers broke the awkward silence and I silently thanked her for that.

I looked up again and he was still looking at me but this time his eyes were fixed at the dress as he scanned it up and down, giving her a nod and then going back to his phone again. A bit reluctantly might I add.

Ms. Rivers didn't seem much satisfied with his reply but gave a nod anyway and turned around to go back. I silently followed her and she turned to me once I was outside the changing room.

"Did you see the look on your fiancè's face?" She teased me.

My lips wanted to break into a smile but I held it back and shrugged casually.

That look was definitely not what she thought it was but I knew better than to correct her. Also, I would be lying if I said that look on his face didn't light up fire inside my chest.

Just how much I wish this was real. Like a real wedding and my fiancè would look at me like that. With a little love and affection ofcourse.

But maybe it was too good to be true as all I had was a crazy Alec Sinclair who probably considered this marriage another of his business deal. I hoped there was someone who could slap some sense inside that thick skull of his.

I was suddenly reminded of his family and tried to remember if I had read about them in any magazine. I couldn't recall anything but a hope was rising inside me. Maybe I could contact his family and ask for their help.

I know this could be a really stupid decision but at this point, I could use all the help I could get.

I was brought out of my thoughts by Ms. Rivers.

"Aw you're used to that look, aren't you? He loves you. Young love," She sighed dreamily and I pondered over her words.

Love?

If only you knew!

Giving her a little nod, I went back into the changing room and changed back into my clothes. My eyes went down to my hands and noticed the missing ring.

Wondering if Alec had noticed that yet, I pulled it out of my bag and slipped it across my finger. Walking out, I handed the dress to her and she carried it outside to the counter.

Alec was at the counter as he handed her his card to pay. The billing process was a short one and surprisingly, he carried the white shopping bag in his hands.

I noticed the beautiful design on the bag, which was a bride striking a pose in a beautiful wedding gown.

We left the place and I almost walked over to my car to leave when Alec's voice stopped me.

"Who was he?"

I turned to him and blinked. Was he talking about Ben?

His narrowed gaze gave me the answer and I sighed before speaking.

"He was just a friend. Stop over reacting,"

He raised a brow at my casual answer. "Over reacting?"

"Yes. You're acting like you care. This is all fake. It shouldn't matter to you,"

He frowned. "You're my fiancèe. I am bound to react if I find you clinging to someone like that,"

His words ticked something off inside me. "Well, you're the one to say," I rolled my eyes. "You didn't come to pick me up yesterday because you were busy fucking someone. What does that say fiancè?"

This earned an eye twitch from him and I smiled triumphantly.

"Whatever is it that I did, was inside my apartment. Not on a busy road," He spoke calmly and I frowned at how his words made a little sense now.

"Okay then. Next time I'll do it at someone's apartment," I snapped.

He scowled at me. "What?"

Giving him a scowl of my own, I turned to walk to my car but he grabbed my wrist.

Huffing, I turned to him. "What?" My eyes travelled down to my wrist and a tingle ran down my spine at the sight of his hand perfectly fitting around my wrist.

My throat turned dry as he gave my arm a light tug and I was pulled up to him, my hands lying flat on his chest. My gaze slowly went up to his warm blue eyes.

"I'm not done yet," He spoke, making my eyes travel down to his perfect lips.

"What else?" I managed to speak and reluctantly took my eyes away from his lips.

I felt his arms snake around my waist and I closed my eyes, relishing his grip. He didn't speak anything and I could feel his gaze on me, which made me nervous.

I didn't know what came over me when I spoke the most stupid thing in the world for this situation. "Is this your way of keeping up a conversation with me?"

I opened my eyes to find amusement shining in his blue ones.

"What do you think of yourself Scarlet Price?"

His smirk suddenly brought some confidence inside me and soothed my racing nerves.

I put my arms around his neck and lifted my mouth to his ear. "I'm definitely something if you wanna marry me right after our first meeting,"

Pulling back a bit, I glanced at his face, which still had that sexy smirk plastered on it.

"Is that what you think?"

I nodded. "What else would an asshole like you want me for?" I spoke before I could stop myself.

Definitely need to carry around some kind of word filter.

I shivered at his sharp intake of breath as a completely new emotion flashed across his intense eyes--longing. "Time to make an announcement," He mumbled to himself.

I stared at him confused but all my confusion was thrown away when he inched his face closer and sealed the distance between our lips.

He placed his perfect soft lips against mine, our lips started moving in a sync and I found myself reaching for his hair and tugging at them gently.

His arms travelled up from my back and he wrapped a hand around the back of my neck to keep me in place. His firm grip didn't allow me to move my neck as he teased my bottom lip with his teeth, causing me to close my eyes and relish the feeling.

His other hand gave a gentle squeeze at my waist and I gasped. He took this perfect opportunity and slipped his tongue into my mouth.

Our tongues fought for dominance and I tasted the mint on his breath. His hand went up to my hair as he tangled it in a few strands and I let out a moan. My eyes opened to find him smirking against my lips and I brought my hand to his cheek, feeling his stubble against my palm.

My hand traced his face and finally reached his perfect jawline. My entire body was on fire and I gasped in air when his mouth finally left mine and he withdrew his hand from my hair and waist.

Not wanting him to step away, I placed my head against his chest as I was still breathing heavily. My heart was beating furiously as I took in deep breaths to calm myself, feeling intoxicated by his scent.

Realization of what just happened finally dawned on me as I took a step back and looked up at him. His face looked as indifferent as anything and I doubted if this really happened or if it was a dream.

His unsteady breathing told me that it was not a dream and I blinked at him, touching my lips in the process. A satisfied smirk reached his lips and he turned sideways to glance at his car.

"I'll see you at the apartment Ms. Price," His deep voice reverberated in my ears as he walked over to his car and just then, Jeremy stepped out of the driver's side.

Alec got in and left while Jeremy walked up to me with a smile.

"I'll drive you to the apartment Ms. Price," He said but I was too dumbfounded to do anything as I simply handed him the keys and he held the back door open for me.

I got in and Jeremy started driving towards the apartment. Still feeling lost, I threw my head back against the head rest and closed my eyes, the kiss replaying in my head.

I found myself touching my swollen lips through the entire ride and once it started making sense, my cheeks heated up. I sunk low in my seat to avoid Jeremy seeing me like that as I looked out of the window, a smile breaking out on my lips.

He kissed me.

I blushed at the thought.

Just then, another thought crossed my mind. What the hell am I doing?

Why the hell am I blushing? It was just a simple kiss. Not like it was my first kiss or anything. What is wrong with me?

Taking in a deep breath, I shook my head to clear the image of Alec standing so close to me and the feel of his lips against mine. I reached over for my bag and pulled the earphones out. Plugging them in, I tried to divert my mind off him by listening to some AC/DC.

I shut my eyes and leaned back unless we reached the apartment. Upon reaching, I muttered a thanks to Jeremy and went up to the apartment.

Martha was nowhere to be seen and neither was Alec. As I was going upstairs, I saw the light coming out through the little space under his study door. He was inside.

Scared as if he would open the door right then, I ran upstairs and entered my room, shutting the door behind me.

Collapsing on my bed, I shut my eyes and soon, drifted off to sleep.

I woke up at 2 a.m. Looking around, I realized that I had slept without changing. I lazily got up and changed into a comfortable tee and pajamas.

My stomach growled and I decided to go downstairs to get some food. I walked through the corridor and went down the stairs. The entire place was dark and I had to open my eyes a little wide to find my way.

I finally arrived in the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. My jaw dropped open at the amount of chocolates and candies lying inside it. I looked up at the upper shelf and almost drooled over the delicious chocolate and a red velevet cake lying inside it.

Who knew Alec Sinclair had a sweet tooth?

Grabbing a plate from the counter, I cut big slices of both the cakes and put them in my plate. Smiling down at them, I carried it to the island and sat down on the stool to eat.

A piece of cake fell from the fork and landed on my left hand. Letting out a laugh, I picked it up and shoved it into my mouth. I licked the icing off my fingers and started eating again.

A movement to my left caused me to stop and turn sideways. The place was dark and I squinted my vision. A human figure formed upon looking closely and I let out a scream, jumping from the stool amd holding the fork out as a weapon.

Alec stepped out of the dark with an annoyed look and I sighed in relief.

"Oh. It's you," I sat down on the stool.

"Did anyone tell you how big of a drama queen you are?" He asked with the same annoyed look.

"It's not my fault. You are scary," I snapped with a sarcastic smile and he rolled his eyes.

I held the plate forward. "You want some?"

"No,"

"Then why did you come here?"

"It's my house. I can go anywhere I want to,"

"Right. I'll just take this up to my room," I got up with the plate and walked past him to leave.

I rolled my eyes as I thought over how rude and distant he was.

I was half way upstairs when I realized that I didn't bring the fork along. Turning around, I went back into the kitchen.

I stopped at the entrance of the kitchen at the sight of Alec sitting on a bar stool, the entire chocolate cake lying infront of him as he digged the fork in it and ate.

Surprised, my hand went up to my mouth to stop myself from laughing and I cleared my throat to get his attention.

His hand stopped mid air infront of him and he turned to me. He dropped the fork into the cake and looked at me.

"You want something?"

"Just came back for my fork. Didn't mean to intrude," I shrugged and grabbed a new fork from the holder.

He didn't speak anything and waited for me to leave so he could probably dig into his cake again.

"I didn't know this was your midnight snack time," I grinned at him.

He deadpanned.

"It's my house. I can eat anything and anytime I want to,"

Typical Alec reply.

"Ofcourse," I shrugged at him and sat down opposite to him. He raised a brow at me. "I thought you were going up to your room,"

"I changed my mind," I shrugged and started eating the cake on my plate.

"Why? Does the idea of me licking my fingers like you sound appealing?"

I blushed at his words. He saw that.

I looked up to meet his intense gaze, his eyes shining even more from the moonlight entering the kitchen. The entire surroundings were dark and at that moment, all I could see was a sexy specimen sitting infront of me, teasing some chocolate cake on his fork.

I gulped.

"If I say yes, will you lick your fingers?" I raised a brow, trying to conceal my nervousness.

"No," He spoke and I smirked at him. "I might lick yours," He murmured.

I stopped breathing.

Ladies and Gentlemen, That's what he said.

My mind started going in a completely different direction and I looked up to find him smirking, knowing very well that his mind was exactly where mine was.

Gulping down, I broke the gaze off and looked down at my hands to find chocolate icing covering my fingers once again.

I blushed crimson and picked up a tissue from the counter to wipe it off, all the while feeling his gaze on me. Once I was done, I looked up at him. His eyes were fixed on my lips.

A shiver ran down my spine as the kiss ran over my mind once more and I bit my lower lip. His eyes snapped up to mine and he blinked.

"You've got some icing near your lips," He said and digged his fork into his cake.

I wiped my mouth with the tissue. "Did I get it?"

He looked up at my lips once more, his eyes lingering there for a while before he nodded and looked down at his cake to eat it.

I decided to go up to my room once more. "Goodnight," I muttered and picked the plate up.

"Night," He gave a short reply and I turned around to go up, not being able to take the grin off my face.

Why am I even smiling? Am I going crazy?

Once I was inside my room, I started playing a random episode of F.R.I.E.N.D.S on my phone and enjoyed the cake.

*****

My phone vibrated for probably the tenth time and I groaned in my sleep.

Sleep had just started coming back when the device barked again and I opened one eye to look at the contact.

Lily?

I answered the phone sleepily. "Hello?"

"You bitch," She snapped and I woke up a bit. "When the fuck were you going to tell me Scarlet Price? Since when did you start keeping so many secrets from me?"

Confused, I sat up on my bed yawning. "What are you talking about?" I mumbled and turned to the night stand watch. 8 a.m.

"You're getting married!" She screamed over the phone and my senses resurfaced instantly.

"Who told you that?"

"Told me? Are you fucking kidding me? Go and read the Goddamned newspaper,"

"I'll call you later," I told her and hung up. Getting up from my bed, I rushed downstairs to get the newspaper.

There was no one in the living room and kitchen when I spotted the newspaper lying on the dining table.

I picked it and my eyes grew wide, taking in the front page. There was a picture of me and Alec kissing right in the middle with the headline saying Alec Sinclair seen with Price Industries Owner's Daughter.

My eyes became the size of a saucer as I read further. Scarlet Price elegantly flaunts the engagement ring and Alec Sinclair can be seen holding a shopping bag belonging to a wedding store. Are they hinting at marriage?

My jaw dropped as I looked at my hand lying on his cheek while he kissed me. The engagement ring can be seen clearly.

Oh God! Has dad seen this yet?

As if on cue, my phone rang and I looked down at the contact. Dad!

Oh no!

I picked up his call.

"I assume you saw the paper," I muttered before he could speak anything.

There was silence over the line, followed by a sharp intake of breath.

"Perhaps we need to discuss a few things Scarlet Price," Dad snapped.

"Uh. Dad I was going to tell-"

"You and your fiancè are coming over for dinner tonight," He hung up.

I shut my eyes and groaned.

I'm screwed.

Hey guys! Anyone there?

Can I please get some feedback on this? Pretty please? *Puppy face*

Vote, comment and share! ^^