Lina’s POV

My parents’ house was located in the Historic District of downtown Roseville. I didn’t like to call it home even though I still lived there and that was because my father was trying to force me to get married.

Marriage was the last thing on my mind right now, because there was still a lot more for me to accomplish. I tried to explain to him a million times, that a woman was more than marriage, but his mind seemed to be set.

Cindy said there seemed to be a motive behind his insistence. Perhaps she was right. I had heard of a lot of families getting their wards married for business purposes, but I never imagined I would be one of those.

“Welcome, Miss Lina,” the Butler murmured at the door, a wiry old man in great need of a retirement. His head almost reached his knee as he bowed before stepping aside for me to walk in.

“I have told you, Malcom, you don’t have to greet me this way every single time I…”

My words got lost somewhere in my throat when my gaze fell on the hallway leading to the living area. There was something different about it. The decorative candles lining the walls had been turned on.

The last time I had seen that happen was when I graduated from college.

“Malcom, what is happening?”

“Your husband and his family are around.”

“What?” I shook my head in confusion. “I am married, Malcom. You know that…”

“Stop bothering Malcom and come in, Lina.” My mother suddenly appeared in the doorway, her expression stern.

She’d always been this way, stern and firm with me. At first, I thought I wasn’t her real daughter and that she hated me.

But when nothing changed, I just shrugged it off to another explanation. Perhaps, she wanted a male child and had me instead. We never spoke about it. In fact, we barely had any form of personal relationship.

I dragged my feet in, following my mother's lead as we walked through the dimly lit hallway into the living area.

I stopped when we got in. “Mom, I said…”

And then, he turned around.

Him.

The first thing I noticed was his piercing blue eyes, staring straight down at me like he could see into my soul. It made me swallow, take a breath that never got past my throat.

And that black hair. For a second, it made me remember….No! It can’t be. It definitely isn’t. Now, I’m just overthinking this.

My feet shuffled where I stood, and my chest thundered hard against my chest. I was scared it would be the only thing that could be heard in the room.

“Now that our daughter is here, we might as well proceed to the dining table,” my father announced, breaking the awkward silence that had settled between me and the man with the blue eyes.

His upper lip quivered in a smirk before he turned around and followed the rest of them to the dining room.

This wasn't going in the way I wanted at all, but then again, what has ever gone in that direction? I called Cindy because she was the only person I spoke with.

“Cindy, the…”

"It has been oddly quiet here." Those were her first words as soon as she picked up the call. "We know that The Barnes is part of a chain of restaurants. That means the owner is filthy rich, right?"

“Cindy…”

“After that review you left them, I expected that they would have done everything in their power to take it down, but nothing has happened, other than the fact that it has gone viral.”

I stopped.

“Viral?”

"Yes!" She squealed so loud that I had to pull the phone away from my ears. "Over two million people have seen it, honey. This could be that push you have been looking for."

“No! No! No!” I shook my head at once. “I didn’t expect…”

“Lina, calm down.” Her tone was still ecstatic. “You said you needed to go viral so people can finally see that you are a great chef. Well, this is it.”

"Not this way," I sighed, shaking my head. I could hear the clinking of cutlery coming from the other side. "Shit! This is bad."

“Lina? What is going on?”

“Remember the job I told you I applied for?”

“Don’t tell me…”

I began to nod, then stopped when I realized she couldn’t see me. “The Barnes. That was the restaurant I applied to. The moment they find out that I was the one who left that review, the chances of me getting employed will be blown away.”

“This is bad!” Cindy was finally agreeing with me. I could imagine her getting off the floor and pacing her cozy little living area. “What will you do?”

“I already have so much on my plate. My father is trying to get me married to someone I barely know. He is here right now, in the dining room with my family and…”

“Is he handsome?”

“Cindy!”

“He has to be handsome if you are going to get married against your will.”

"He is more than handsome," I conceded, allowing myself to think about those blue eyes again. "He looks like he was personally sculpted by a Greek god. Adonis, maybe.”

“Ouuu! I know that tone.”

"Cindy, no." I shook my head at once. "He is self-conceited, proud, and annoying. He had the effrontery to smirk at me because I might have stared longer than necessary. So, no. This isn't happening."

“So what will you do?”

“I will go enjoy this dinner my parents have planned and then, at the end, I am going to tell them no. I am not going to get married to that pompous jerk.”

“What if they force you?”

“They can try.”

“What if he wants to marry you?”

“I will… I won’t…” It was surprising to realize that I had no answer to that question.

What if he wanted to marry me?