Her Engagement

"Sylvester was killed last night… it's Richard, he's taking us out one after the other—Pope!... Pope!!... Please say something!" Burt said through Pope's phone. He sounded so terrified as if he has shit his pants already.

Pope quenched his cigar and puffed out smoke from his mouth, he sighed, took a few seconds, then said;

"Lay low Burt."

"Lay low?... Is that all you have to say?... Lay low?... Can't you understand what I'm saying? Sylvester is dead—Dead! He was shot in the head at a strip club last night... I need to leave Miami."

"You heard me Burt… lay low is what I said, not leave… his trying to smoke y'all out… if you fall for it, you might be next."

"Next?—What—"

Beep!... Pope hung up the phone before he gets irritated any further

"Call me Jack" He handed the phone to Marcos and lighted his cigar. "He better delivers or else that engagement might end up being a blood bath."

Jackson held a scowl as he excused himself from the house to his car to talk to Pope.

"It's tonight," he reassured.

"Good.." Pope replied, "Marcos will meet you by the bay."

"Alright!" the phone hung up, then he sat back with a deep sigh and his expression darkened.

This is it, He thought.

Deep in his muse, until a tap on the window startled him. It was Emily, she was on her way out.

"Jack, are you ok?" she asked with so much concern in her voice, as she saw his darkened expression and a worried frown pleated on his brow.

"Oh," he blew a raspberry and forced a quick smile, then Opened the door to plant a kiss on her lips. "I'm good babe…I promise." He pulled her to him and kissed her again.

"I will see you tonight." She bit her lips and pulled away from him, giving him a flirtatious stare. She strolled towards her parked car down the drive as Jackson just stood there watching her. He loved this woman so much, one thing he was certain of, and he was ready to do everything he could to protect her. After tonight, everything should finally be in place, he could concentrate more on his life, His agreement with Pope was promising.

"I'll send you the address," Alice said to Travis on the phone, then hung up.

Just as her friends had said the other day, she really need to be with someone in her life right now, and her heart goes so well with Travis, he was so warm, such a gentleman. Not to even mention how much Carl mentions his name in the house, his eyes lit up at his mention.

The way he looked at her at the beach the other day made her feel a lot of emotions she never thought she had toward him.

She strolled back to the kitchen where Carl had his breakfast; his favorite, smiley pancakes and eggs with orange juice.

"Was that Travis?" His eyes lightened up with a big grin.

Alice smiled as he forked a mouthful of pancakes in his mouth, she nodded and he jumped up in excitement.

"Hey, calm down!" she chuckled.

"Is he coming? He promised to take me bowling."

"Sure he did," she leaned on the marble table and rumpled his hair. "Yes honey he's coming—but, you are going to Aunty Piper's, she'll be here any minute to pick you up, don't forget mommy has to be at her friend's wedding at eight and Travis is my plus one."

"Ok Mom," He mumbled with a slight slump on his shoulders. "But, can Travis take me bowling after?"

"Of course sweetheart."

"yes!" he jumped off the stool and hugged her legs in so much excitement. "I love… love you… love you, you are the best!"

"Alright sweetie…" she giggled. "I love you more, honey—Alright finish up your breakfast so I can get you all set up for Aunt Piper." She said and Carl went back to finish up his breakfast. She had her luck with him, even though she always chose the wrong relationships, at least she made this beautiful soul with Declan; Carl's father.

Now she was thinking of getting involved with Travis, it was worth the shot, the way he treated her son like his own, it was everything. Putting her child first was the one priority, she'd encountered many failed relationships, simply because as soon as they learn about her son, they back out immediately. So, she just gave the whole dating thing a rest since then.

After a hectic day at Davison Inc. Kieran went back home to his modern glass mansion on star island, he took a bubble bath to relax his muscles, his schedule was still the same, he was planning to skip the engagement earlier, but he realized Jackson wouldn't forgive him if he did. Now he had all these mixed feelings about the whole thing, he couldn't tell maybe it was regret, disgust, or disappointment. It was high time to figure all that out.

A few minutes to eight pm, he got out of the bath and got dressed; he wore a gray Brioni Vanquish Ii Suit and Tom Ford's Custom Loafers. He adjusted his black tie and picked up a Girard-Perregaux Quasar Light Tourbillon from his collection and fastened it around his wrist, the car was ready, with a deep sigh he stepped out of the house and got into his Ford F550 SUV parked out front. It was a cool evening, everything felt perfect, except for the fact that Emily was getting Engaged to his best friend. Everything had changed from the moment he found out, he has been thinking about her more recently, and he tries pretty hard to convince himself he doesn't care about Emily and her business, but, he was just wrong all over again.

The boat was beautiful and luxurious, the warm and natural white lights created a warm and inviting atmosphere in the cabin. Captain Ian welcomed guests onboard. The interior had Cool flushes and the Turquoise and Coral furniture was splendid. The Cool white provided optimal visibility in the galley and engine compartment. And Red was well suited to chart reading at the helm as they helped preserve night vision.

The total number of guests at the engagement was 37, just the perfect amount of people they expected. The boat had just an hour before it sails. Jackson was onboard for a while, when Kieran arrived, the friends were greeted in a warm embrace.

Emily was with her father when Jackson called her attention.

"sweetheart," he gave a warm smile and placed a hand on the small of her back. "Come here, I'd love you to meet someone." He said, then she mouthed an excuse me to her Dad and walked with Jackson.

She'd met a few of his friends tonight already, including Oscar and Rico, Now she wondered if it was maybe a business partner or something, she nodded gracefully to a few guests as she walked with Jackson towards the lounge.

Emily wore a tiny strapped cream silk gown, that showed off her smooth back and her amazing figure. She wasn't wearing a bra, and where Kieran stood, he was the first to sight her as they approached, she looked as beautiful as ever, and her hair was perfectly styled in wavy curls. It felt as if he was just setting his eyes on her again, for the very first time. The way she smiles at every guest she walked past, the curve of her lips, the gentle movement of her mouth sent a message to his groin.

"Emily," Jackson said with a gesture. "I'd like you to meet my friend Kieran, the one I told you about ."

What!... Which one did you tell me about? You never told me about a friend of yours named Kieran Davis, whom I was having sex with, for the last few months you weren't home… who has been hunting my dreams back to back with hot sex every fucking night… and whom I think I might be in love with. Now you bring him to our engagement to torment me when I thought I got rid of his physical magnetic field. With all these words running through her head, she couldn't say a word, it was as if her throat suddenly went paralyzed. Everything seemed to be going wrong with her that moment, she had a heart flush and headache, and the pain in her chest grew as her heart raced as if she'd seen a ghost.

Kieran caught the sight of pain in her eyes and the rest was something he couldn't explain, because, he was fascinated by her, every bit of her gets him, he thought his feelings were nothing real, but this moment had proven him so wrong, he felt a clench on his chest.

"It's an honor to finally meet you, Mr. Davis," Emily said finally, and offered her hand, then forced a warm smile.

Before Jackson could catch a glimpse of the tension between them, Kieran picked her hand and kissed her knuckles. "Congratulation dear, I'm happy for you two."

At the touch of his warm lips, on her knuckles, Emily sucked in a sharp breath, very unnoticeable, but Kieran noticed it. Even a tiny shiver of her hand against his, he noticed. Kieran had his normal serious look, and it was really difficult to guess what was running through his mind.

Emily avoided his gaze as much as she could, but yet, he found her gaze, and their eyes locked for a few seconds.

Jackson had other things on his mind, he was just there but his mind was elsewhere, he was trying to calculate his timing.

Kieran engaged in a few small talks with Emily, and before he knew it Jackson was gone, he just disappeared among the guest.

"So, how long have you guys known each other?" Kieran asked finally, taking a drink from the waiter's tray.

Emily scowled, "Don't you dare play that card with me!" Angrily, she said in sotto voce.

What card? What was she talking about? Hey! I'm trying to be casual here.

Kieran said nothing and just raised a brow.

"You shouldn't be here Kieran! And—wait a minute, you knew about me and Jackson all this time? And you just--" she paused and swallowed her words as a guest approached, and gave her a warm hug, they exchanged a few smiles. She turned back to Kieran, who was already walking away.

"Mr. Davis," she said firmly, halting him.

Kieran scoffed and slipped a hand in his pocket while the other held his drink. "Emily… congratulations again," he smiled warmly, and walked away.

Furiously, Emily's heart raced, she felt used and betrayed, how could he? She kept thinking. Could Jackson have known about what went down between them? now the curiosity killed her even more and all she felt that moment was fear