"Nice to meet you."
"You too." Heather replied with a smile. Freya smiled politely, and looked around the shop. When Lin described it to her, she had always imagined it as a small shop, but it was large and high class. Shoes were lined everywhere on racks and people were running around preparing for the show that was about to begin.
A small stage has been placed in the center of the shop and female models were talking to someone who to be their manager beside it. About fifty or so chairs were lined in rows in front of the stage.
"Did I come too early?" She asked confused that they weren't ready and no guest seemed to have arrived besides her.
"No, we're going to start at 10am, but I told you 9:30am so that you won't meet the line at the entrance, and when is Salma arriving?"
"That's nice of you, She will be here any minute now."
After twenty minutes into the fashion show, they finished the first round and that was when Freya saw Luke's mom, Debby enter the shop and sit down on one of the guest chairs beside her.
Salma had arrived thirty minutes before and was sitting close to the rest of the group, Freya sat farther away from them because Lin told her they had reserved the seat closer to her and said that she should seat in the VIP chair.
It now made sense why she did that, it was to make her seat next to Luke's mom. She had told them how she didn't warm up to her when she met her and Lin probably wanted to help. She had to thank her later.
She turned around to greet Debby and met her smiling face, "Freya, how have you been? I hope you have been taking care of our Luke?"
She felt surprised to see Debby cheerful and happy towards her, "It's more like Luke taking care of me."
"He always wants to take care of everyone."
The lights dimmed and the second round of the fashion show began. A tall woman with dark hair wearing a long white skirt and pink blouse with a set of designer pumps on her feet walked up the stage catwalking and jutting her hips then went off the stage. Another woman in a yellow and red fitted dress came out with flat designer shoes on her feet. That was how the models kept performing until the fashion show finally ended.
"Just a heads up, Iris's sister, her daughter and my grandma are living with my parents, and they can be very forward. The three of them want me to marry her daughter, Lucy." Luke cringed as he told Freya while he was driving them in his mustang.
She raised eyebrows, "I definitely needed the heads up, but I understand. It's because you're irresistible." She smiled showing white teeth glancing at him which made him chuckle.
"I see my charming abilities are rubbing off on you."
He and Trevor had picked her up from the fashion show and he had talked with his mom before they went home to refresh. It was after eating lunch that they had gotten into Luke's mustang and started their drive to Jack and Iris's house.
They arrived at the house and he stopped the car, opened his door. He walked around the car to Freya's door to open it for her, but she has already opened it and stepped out.
He smiled and took her hand leading her to the door of Jack and Iris. He raised his hand and knocked on the door.
"I'm so glad you made it today, but your father won't be able to make it home on time from the office. Come, let's introduce you to the rest of the family." Iris said after opening the door, she hugged Freya and ushered them into the house.
Luke followed behind them as they entered the living room where an old woman, a woman almost the same age as Iris and a younger version of her were sitting talking amongst themselves.
"Nana, Julie and Lucy, Luke is here and he brought someone to meet you."
They all separated as the three of them entered the room. "Luke, my darling. Why haven't you come to see me for a long time?"
The old woman Nana walked up to Luke and hugged him, she turned to Freya eying her up and down then looked back to Luke.
"I came here last month, Nana."
"A month is too long, look how Lucy has missed you. She has been waiting for you to come and see her." Nana pulled the younger girl's arm and brought her closer to Luke.
He stepped back, heaving a sigh, "Nana, there's nothing between Lucy and I, and I have a girlfriend now." He stepped closer to Freya and held her hand in his again.
Nana looked at their hands then between the two of them, "You don't need a girlfriend, you need a wife."
"Nana, can't you see Luke brought his girlfriend to introduce her so that she can become his wife in the future?" Iris said softly and turned to Lucy looking irritated, "And Lucy, you know better than to expect Luke to be with you. He has already made it clear he's not interested."
"I am sorry, aunt Iris, but shouldn't Luke be with someone of his own status? I saw on TV how she's just a small town lawyer and her parents are even dead." Lucy said with fake innocence as her mother nodded along.
"That's enough, Lucy." Iris said sharply and looked at her sister, "And Julie, you should teach her better than this."
Julie's face turned into a scowl, "Don't tell me how to train my child. You should teach your step son how to appreciate a beautiful girl like Lucy."
"Why are you calling my grandson step. You don't think of him as family when you want him to marry your daughter?" Nana said looking annoyed at Julie.
"Why don't we all calm down and start over." Luke suggested as he faced Nana.
"Nana, I would like you to meet Freya, my girlfriend." Nana let out a strained smile at Freya in an effort to accept her.
"Hello, Nana, I'm proud to be your grandson's girlfriend."
Freya had just come out of the bathroom after her shower, and she was wearing only a towel as she used a smaller towel to dry her hair. They had come back from his parents' house after eating dinner where Jack had ended up joining them, and they both went to their rooms to get ready for bed and sleep.
As she wrapped the smaller towel around her hair, the door opened and Luke came in dressed in pyjama pants and a T-shirt. He stopped in his tracks when his gaze fell on Freya dressed in only a towel.
His eyes darkened heating up as he took in every inch of her until his eyes reached hers as she stared at him in shock, not expecting him to enter her room at that time. She felt herself getting hot as he stared into her eyes with desire, she felt drawn to him like she was being pulled to him by a rope.
She took a step closer to him without realizing, and he took a step closer too. Tension was heavy in the air as they connected with each other through their gaze. It was when she took a second step closer that Luke turned around abruptly and left the room.
She felt disappointed somehow that he left, but she realized it was for the best because she wasn't ready to go there yet. She quickly dressed in her pyjamas and left the room padding her way to Luke's room which was two doors down from her room.
She knocked then pushed the door open, she saw him sitting on his bed facing the door. "Luke..."
He looked up at her, his heated gaze trailed her body and came back to rest on her face. She went and sat beside him on the bed, she slipped her hand in his and he shut his eyes inhaling sharply.
"Freya, I'm sorry, I didn't know you will be undressed when I entered your room. I know you want to take things slow and we will, so I need you to back to your room because I don't know what I would do to you after seeing you like that." He said huskily as he felt her rubbing circles on his hand.
"Luke, I didn't know either, and I understand the attraction between us. I can feel it too."
"Don't call my name like that after I've seen you like that, baby. I want you to go back to your room before I do something we will both regret in the morning." He said in a strained voice and opened his eyes.
He turned to face her and brought his lips to the skin connecting her jaw and neck and pressed a kiss there. Her stomach squeezed with butterflies as her heart fluttered in her chest.
"Good night." She gave him a smile and stood up after he drew back from her neck and left the room feeling his gaze on her.
She felt so alive to see how much he desired her, how much he wanted her. It was a feeling she cherished and wanted to feel often. She couldn't stop thinking about him and his heated gaze as the butterflies in her stomach kept fluttering.