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ou’re engaged?” I exclaimed irrationally, feeling emotionally bereft and embittered.

It took me about a minute or two after Margery was out of earshot to confront him. If I had chosen not to, it would forever eat me alive. Still, I had to stand my ground and face him, and it was a now or never situation.

“Yes,” he replied without batting an eyelash.

Damn. I could feel something crack.

“How come …? Why didn’t you mention it last night?”

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean by ‘you don’t know’? How can you not?” I pressed. If it were me who was engaged, I would have told him. He wasn’t necessarily being deceitful about it, nor was he leading me on … but I hadn’t been able to shake the feeling that there was something there. Now I realized how wrong I had been.

Something passed across his eyes before he gave me a frown. “Serena, last night—”

“I’m sorry I kissed you,” I immediately interrupted. “I don’t know what came over me. I’m not usually like that. Maybe it was being in that beautiful, magical garden that made me get carried away.” My reasons sounded unconvincing to my own ears, but it was the best I could do, and whether he believed it or not was out of my control. “Can we just forget that happened? Is that possible?”

“If that’s what you wish.”

I wasn’t wishing on anything. My heart was stammering out of control, and I had no idea why I was reacting as if he and I were dating and he had led me on. It was too much. It was almost making me freak out inside.

“Thank you, Cruz,” I whispered, looking at him, but not really. I didn’t have it in me to stare into those metallic pools that made me feel so alive it was frightening. “I’ll see you on Monday or whenever.” As graciously as I could, I managed to get up without making a fool of myself. “Have a good day.” I gave him a wan smile then spun on my heels, almost sprinting out of the dining room.

My heart galloped as I raced towards the stairs, seeking my bedroom so I could fully grasp everything. It was a relief I didn’t run into any household staff. I’m sure it was easily seen how upset I was.

Holding my breath as I grappled with the bedroom door, I stilled when I heard him say my name. My heart stampeded madly against my chest as I tried to ponder every rhyme and reason for him coming after me. In the end, I knew I couldn’t keep staring at the doorknob. I had to face him and ask him that myself.

“Yes?” I asked as I turned on my heels to face him, barely meeting his intense gaze.

“I …” He breathed out heavily, frowning down at me. “I hope this won’t be a problem between us in the future.”

I hastily shook my head. I didn’t want it to be awkward between us, either. “No, it won’t be a problem. I promise.” I was going to start working under him in two days’ time. Whatever qualms I had prior to working with him had to be squashed, swept under the rug.

He gave me a curt nod, accepting my promise without hesitation. “One more thing …” he hesitantly drawled. “I’m sorry if I led you on. It wasn’t my intention. Well, to be quite clear, I wasn’t sure what I was doing.”

“No, it was my fault. It’s perfectly fine. Let’s forget any of it happened.” I was dying to kill the damn memory.

“Very well.” His frown vanished, replaced with that toe-curling smile I adored too much. “I will see you come Monday, then.”

Why does this man have such an effect in me? I wondered as I swallowed what little moisture I had in my mouth.

“Of course,” I said in a scratchy voice.

“Good day, Serena.” He threw me one last look before leaving me to my own devices.

“You, too.”

Watching him walk away, I released a long, melancholy sigh then shook my head, dismissing any lingering thoughts. The man was engaged. Engaged. He was going to marry someone. He was already spoken for. And for me to daydream about him was disrespectful. I supposed it was better this way. He was out of my league, anyway. He was too good-looking, too rich … well, too everything.

Once school started, hopefully I would meet great friends so I could have my own life, totally separated from these folks. There was nothing wrong with Archer or Cruz, but they were not on my level. I was at the bottom, while they were on top.

It was basically my second day here in this country, and I had already caused problems. I wondered how the rest of my stay would pan out. Hopefully, it would be with less drama, great memories and experiences, and nothing related to the matters of the heart.

With my body clock still stuck on Pacific Time, I decided to stay in today and unwind, unpack, and call my family back home.

Pulling my phone out of my purse, I pressed to call my mom, hoping she wouldn’t cringe at the cost of my roaming charges. I strolled towards the end of the bed, taking a seat while I cradled the phone on my ear, waiting for her to answer.

“Sweetie, how have you been? How are you settling?” My mother’s gleeful greeting made me realize how much I missed home.

“Just tired, but yeah, everything’s been great. Margaret’s been really nice,” I responded with a smile on my face.

“I know! Did she manage to get you an internship? I haven’t spoken to her today. Maybe she’ll call later. Nevertheless, how are you, baby? This is the first time you’ve been out of the nest; I’m actually really nervous. I try not to worry, you know, but it doesn’t help that your dad freaks out, as well. Thank goodness for Grace. She never fails to remind us that we’re a breath away from a nervous breakdown if we didn’t stop worrying about terrorist attacks, getting robbed, and all of that stuff.”

My grin grew wider. Grace, my little sister, was the cute, sarcastic doll I adored too much. My parents were both worrywarts, but she would always take them down a notch.

“I’m fine. Jesus, Mom, I’ve been gone for, like, a couple of days. And, no, there’s no terrorist attacks, but I’ll do let you know if something comes up,” I teased, hoping she would calm her butt down.

“Now that’s not funny, Serena. You should be kind to my nerves. You know how I get,” she reprimanded, but it was obvious in her voice just how much love there was.

“You guys have to stop. Seriously. Have some confidence in me. I can handle this.” Reassuring her somehow worked.

My parents were great folks, but holy crap did they worry. It was to the point of borderline paranoia.

As our conversation progressed, I asked for updates about Grace and how she was doing in school. Grace was in the top of her class, as always. I was the laidback one, while my little sis was the perfectionist in the family. We were like night and day, yet our sisterly bond was as strong as ever.

The more I conversed with my family, the more homesickness settled in. Then again, it also reassured me that I was going to be okay. They grounded me. Thinking about them made me realize what was important in life.

I was here to experience living and studying abroad, not to find a boyfriend.

Boys came and went, but achieving lifelong goals, such as experience and education, that was for life.

Prioritizing was all I had to do. Cruz and his magnetic eyes be damned.