Love's Change of Heart

Chapter 344

When Leanna returned to the workshop after submitting her design, the organizing committee emailed her to let her know it had been received and would soon be judged. She was asked to wait patiently for the results.

So, I am right about those cubby holes, she thought.

She set her phone down and let out a breath of relief. At last, she could finally kick back and relax for a couple of days.

A moment later, a knock came on the door, and Zoe poked her head in. “Hey, Nana. Are you free right now?”

“No, why?” Leanna asked.

Zoe came in and closed the door behind her. “It’s been a while since our last retreat. The girls and I were talking about it, and we thought it’d be nice if we had a barbecue in the woods this weekend. What do you think?”

Leanna nodded in agreement. “Sure. I’m down for it.”

“Great! I’ll make the arrangements,” Zoe offered brightly. Then, she leaned in as though to tell Leanna something scandalous and whispered, “By the way, we’re allowed to bring a plus-one for this retreat. You might want to bring someone along in case you end up feeling lonely.”

Leanna gave her friend a bewildered look. She tugged at Zoe’s sleeve and asked, “Wait, are you bringing anyone?”

Zoe chuckled mischievously and raised a brow at Leanna. “Well, of course. I got to know a really cute guy on the Internet not too long ago, and he has the most amazing voice. He even sent me photos of his abs! I figured this is a good opportunity for us to meet up in person.”

“I hope you haven’t been catfished…”

“Oh, relax! There’s a higher chance of me catfishing him than the other way around. Besides, we’re going to see each other in real life soon. I might as well test the waters and see if he’s anything like he made himself out to be on the Internet,” Zoe said wistfully. “If this retreat turns out well, I’ll finally have a boyfriend!”

The corner of Leanna’s lips twitched as she pointed out, “I think this whole thing is a little dubious. You ought to watch out.”

Zoe gave her a firm pat on the shoulder and reassured her, “I’m a big girl; I know what I’m doing. Now, let’s talk about you. Are you going to bring your darling President Pearson along?”

The word “darling” made the blood rush to Leanna’s cheeks. She cleared her throat and countered primly, “W-Why would I bring him to a team-building retreat? We’d probably end up on the barbecue pit if he were to go.”

noncommittally, “Well, don’t say I

The girls had brought along their boyfriends, and it took only a round of pleasantries

at the time and asked Zoe, “Hey, where’s the cute guy you

pulled up by the curb, and one of the men exclaimed, “Damn, is this the guy you were

nearly bugged out of her head. She clutched Leanna’s arm nervously. Holy crap, did I catch a big one this

of the luxury car swung open, and a towering figure emerged

of disappointment.

in their reaction. “Am I not welcome

to get drinks from the vending machine, while others ran off

muttered begrudgingly,

the shop getting serviced,” Aidan answered flatly. His gaze flickered

had asked Leanna about her weekend plans in hopes of asking her out on a date, but she had a team-building retreat to go to. In the end, she lied to him and said she would be working through

didn’t think he would actually show up to

she turned around, she sight of a grade school kid with chubby cheeks. He even had a backpack

second later, he asked calmly, “Which

and Zoe gaped at the little boy in

particular, did not for a moment think her social media handle could sound so embarrassing

little boy’s eye level, then

toward her and introduced himself politely, “I’m

with your brother or your uncle or something? Isn’t there

to a barbecue, right?” The little boy huffed impatiently. “You have no idea how long it took me to persuade my mom to let me come. Speaking

this point, Zoe could no longer keep up her

nodded slowly.

if I really were planning to kidnap you, what makes her think

have my ways,”

weren’t already so jaded after her many experiences with douchebags who only knew how to toy with her, she was sure she would have fainted on

her arm through Aidan’s, her face turning red with