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."

Huh. She has a point, Zoe thought as she looked at Leanna speechlessly. She paused, then shrugged and said noncommittally, "Well, don't say I didn't warn you. Don't be too envious of the rest of us when we show up with our boyfriends."

for the barbecue site together. The girls had brought along

and asked Zoe, "Hey, where's the

one of the men exclaimed, "Damn, is

nearly bugged out of her head. She clutched Leanna's arm nervously. Holy crap, did I catch

that moment, the door on the driver's side of the luxury car swung open, and a towering figure emerged and stood

collective sigh of disappointment. They had

I not welcome

the vending machine,

she muttered begrudgingly, "What

Aidan answered flatly. His gaze flickered over to Leanna as he asked, "Where

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 the

actually show up to verify the

escaped her. She tried to run, but when she turned around, she was greeted

at Zoe, then at Leanna. A second later, he asked calmly, "Which one of you is

Aidan, and Zoe gaped at the

a moment think her social media handle could sound so embarrassing

little boy's eye level, then squeezed out a tight smile.

toward her and introduced himself politely, "I'm Hogbunny. Pleasure to meet

around and pressed, "Did you come here with your brother or your uncle or something?

I came here on my own. You invited me to come along 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

point, Zoe could no longer keep up

nodded slowly. "Yes,

really were planning to kidnap you,

I have my ways," he replied

who only knew how to toy with her, she was sure she would have fainted on the spot and been sent

to her, Leanna looped her arm through Aidan's, her face turning red with her effort to keep herself from laughing

hand, Aidan merely looked at the