How to Make a Girl's Heart Skip a Beat

I was jumping and celebrating in my seat as Claude disappeared from the café where I was with Richard. It was also the first time that I'd acted like that, and I am even proud of myself!

"Wow, lovely, isn't it? To see my fiancée flirt with another man..." I scoffed and crossed my arms.

"It is not like we're going to get married because we love each other; stop acting as if you're hurt."

Richard smiled, and it only made me feel angry—how he makes it so obvious that he does not care about whatever is happening around him. He rolled up the sleeves of his polo up to his elbows and put on his eyeglasses. He asked, "Can you let me see all that you've written so far?"

With a frown on my face, I turned the laptop to him and slouched on my seat. I'd already written six chapters, and I don't think that would disappoint him, considering how each chapter contains about five thousand to nine thousand words. I sipped on my drink as well as enjoyed the sweet dessert on the table while my editor across from me was busy reading my manuscript. I noticed that he smirked. My curiosity got the best of me as I transferred to the seat that was beside him. He realized that I was here but did not bother to look. Richard had his arms crossed over his chest as he leaned back and stared into my eyes.

"What?" I questioned, but he remained wordless. "What!" He suddenly started cracking up. I frantically checked on the draft to see if there was anything funny or grammatical errors in there.

"You enjoyed that time I hugged you, didn't you?" I was frozen for a minute and then looked at him. "You did, Bethany; if not, you wouldn't have put it in your novel and had the male lead do it to the female lead. Was that the first time you've been hugged by the opposite sex?"

My face turned beet red, and I looked away. "It was perfect for the novel! It was sweet and romantic! Alondré is the type who showers his girl with love and affection!"

"And Alondré is based on me, right?"

"But he's not a hundred percent like you—he's not someone who has no idea how to make a girl's heart skip a beat. You're boring and unromantic."

We are now on our way back to our own homes. Richard insisted that he drive me there, even though the sun has not set yet. But it was a yes for me anyway, as he'd help me save money and energy from having to go home alone. The car stopped in front of my house as I unbuckled my seatbelt and opened the door, but Richard pulled it back as it closed with a slam. That surprised me; it even made me jump.

"What the hell are you doing?" I was not able to complete my sentence when I found that his face was close to mine. His gray eyes were looking straight into mine. He had me trapped in between his arms. I swallowed. "I'm getting off. Let go of the—" I could not finish what I was about to say once more when he leaned even closer; his lips were only an inch away from my own. An annoying smirk lined up on his face, and it made me feel so embarrassed.

"Doing this makes your heart beat faster, doesn't it?" My eyes looked back into his when he said that. "Can you still call me boring and unromantic?"

What? This was because of what I said earlier? He was really affected by those words?

"Get out of my face," I whispered. I felt him move, but the distance between us was not at all growing. He was too close, and it is making me break into a cold sweat! It took everything in me to push him away, but that was the wrong move. His fingers were hooked into the car door handle, and when I pushed him, he accidentally opened the door. I would have gone rolling outside of the vehicle if only Richard had not caught me in his other arm and shut the door.

"That was close!" I heard him exclaim. His hand was on top of my head, keeping me close to his chest. I could hear his heartbeat from this position, and it seemed that he got nervous when I almost fell off. "Your parents would definitely kill me if something were to happen to you! Are you hurt anywhere? Did you bump your head?" I shook my head as he let out a deep breath. "That's a relief!" I refrained from moving, as doing so could be another mistake—that was what I was thinking. Richard must be thinking that I was scared when my body almost met with the ground, but in truth, I still could not recover from what he'd done before that.

I erased these thoughts inside of my head and masked the embarrassment I was feeling as my lips opened to say something like, "You're more sensitive than I thought." Richard released me from his strong arms, and only then was I able to breathe normally. He glared down at me. "I never thought you'd get affected by those words, though. Could it be that you've never had a girlfriend before that you got so easily insecure when I said you were boring?" I ended my teasing statement with a laugh.

Richard has not said anything, which made things a little awkward as I turned away and opened the door to hop out of his car. I did not mean to rub salt on his wound. He is already thirty-four, and the fact that he's never had a girlfriend ever before must have been hurting his pride, and he was ashamed for other people to know about it. I feel guilty; I should not have said anything at all. It startled me when he pulled my hand back. He leaned forward; his lips were so close to my ear that I could feel his hot breath against my neck. "No man would ever like to see his woman getting all giddy and excited because of another man. Men are similar to wolves—we're territorial."

I backed away with a hand over my ear, and my face was as red as a tomato. Richard flashed me a smile as well as a wink before closing the door of his car and stepping on the gas. What the hell was that? Why did he say that as if I belonged to him? It couldn't be that he felt jealous over Claude; it was clear that there were no feelings involved in the kind of relationship we have. Was Richard that lonely? Was it easy for him to fall in love with someone?

"Nah," I said, shaking my head to myself. "He must only be trying to make fun of me; that guy seemed to like seeing my reactions. I am positive that was the case."

The house was empty when I entered, and I know where everyone must have gone: Mom and Aki at the hotel, and Dad at his company. Now that I think about it, I think we're as rich as the Brown's, and that's probably one of the reasons why our parents considered getting us to marry into each other's family, as they could merge and become more powerful than they ever are now. Money gives you power, I suppose.

My body collapsed on the bed as soon as my eyes saw it all made up. My mother was definitely the one who organized my room because this was not how I left it earlier. I guess I'm going to be home alone until nine in the evening, or maybe even later than that. My phone started to ring from inside my bag, and I sat up with a groan. My eyes were so close to getting some rest that I am certain that this might only be Richard.

"What do you want now? Can you please refrain from saying things that might confuse me? We're only getting married because our parents wanted us to; it is against our will."

"I'm afraid that I have called at the wrong time." That was not Richard's voice. I took a peek at the screen, and I gasped, smacking my face against the pillow at least three times and exclaiming due to frustration. How could I be so careless? Why didn't I check who the caller was before answering it? It was Claude Evans, for God's sake! There I was, thinking that no one else should know about my relationship with Richard, and yet, my mouth ran as it pleased! I'm stupid. 

"I'm sorry, I might have heard something that I was not supposed to know. I understand if you'd like for me to end this phone call."

"Oh, no!" I yelled. "It's fine! I think it should be okay if it's you, Claude." I drew out a deep breath. "Actually, Richard and I are going to get married by the end of the month, and it's just like you heard. It was an arranged marriage."

"But it does not mean that you are into him, right?"

"Yes, why?"

"Because I was thinking of taking you out to lunch or dinner tomorrow. I might have developed an interest in you, Author Kim."