Chapter 86 - Don't do that, Beautiful

Tiana's heart slammed against her chest. She wanted to pull away but every cell in her body was saying otherwise.

Green eyes, long lashes, carved beards, his lips… oh god…

Tiana's eyes stuck to his lips, and she swallowed;

How could a man's lips look so soft?

She bit on her lower lip involuntarily; as her eyes gazed intently at his lips, resisting the urge to reach out and feel them.

''Don't do that, beautiful… ''

Tiana watched his hand reach to her lips and take her lower lip out of her mouth; her heart instantly skipped a beat.

''You are already tempting enough, I don't know if I'll be able to control myself if you do that. '' His voice was hoarse and with a deep hint of breathiness. Tiana's cheeks were almost bursting from redness and not able to take it anymore, she stumbled backwards, away from his body.

''Ehem, I… I think my feet are okay now. Thank you. '' She stood up quickly from the couch and looked towards the door, ''I'll be stepping downstairs for a moment, grandpa asked me to spend quality time with him today, after I return from work.''

She explained and quickly walked towards the door. Although chatting with grandpa wasn't something very fun, at that moment, she would gladly spend five hours chatting with him, than stay another second in that room with Nicklaus, but just when she was about to reach the door, there was a knock on the door and she slowed down her steps.

Turning the knob, she pulled it open.

''We're having a meeting in the living room now; and we're waiting for both of you. ''

Tiana nodded at the smiling Diana and she waited for her to go back down the stairs before she turned to Nicklaus;

''I think we are needed in the living room now. ''

Nicklaus stood up and walked towards her,

''Let's go; '' He said, holding the door open for her and stepping out after her. When they got downstairs, everyone was already seated in the parlor except for grandma and grandpa.

''Tiana, Nicklaus, hurry we've been waiting for you. '' Elizabeth said as she waved them over. She was sitting beside her husband and Douglas and Michelle opposite them.

They sat down on an empty couch, just opposite Mia and Richard. Diana had a sofa to herself. Earlier, Mia had dismissed Alex right before Nicklaus came back from work. Even though she had made no advances yet, she didn't want Nicklaus to see him.

''I called everyone here because Grandpa's birthday is in a few days, we need to have everything prepared, so I called us to share the duties.'' She stopped, her eyes glancing briefly at Michelle.

''Michelle would share the duties between all of us, already I have sent out the invitations, and we're expecting about thirty guests, so anything we're planning should be with this number in mind.''

Earlier, she had argued with her on whom to share the duties. According to her, she was Douglas' wife and reserved the right to do such. Elizabeth was rather a quiet person; she didn't even have the strength to argue with her. She knew Michelle was just looking for trouble but she was not ready for that.

Tiana turned to Michelle and her brows creased;

She could sense that something wouldn't go well.

Michelle's lips stretched into a smile as she sat up;

''Aright, I already made a little to-do list. ''

She said picking the book by her side. ''There are a lot to do… '' she spoke as she swiped the pages of the book.

'I and Elizabeth would handle the decorations. ''

She stopped and looked at Tiana and Nicklaus;

Her gaze locked in Tiana's briefly and she looked away just immediately. Tiana could swear that she saw a light smirk on her lips before it disappeared;

''Tiana and Nicklaus… no Tiana and Richard would handle the drinks, while Nicklaus and Mia would be in charge of the caterers and the food menu. ''

.

.

.

The living room grew awkwardly quiet as all eyes widened in shock;

Was she joking with what she said or was she being serious?

For about a minute, no-one spoke.

''ha-ha, is there a problem with the arrangement?'' She asked, staring at everyone, her eyes widening, as though she did not realize what she did wrong.

Elizabeth pinched her nose, she knew from time that Michelle was just looking for trouble.

''Michelle, you can't pair Tiana with Richard… ''

''I can, besides, it's just a birthday preparation, it's not as though I'm pairing them to get married…''

Mia's heart slammed against her chest when she heard Michelle pair her with Nicklaus, she couldn't contain her joy, but when she saw the frosty expression on his face, she knew it would not end well.

''Mrs. Howells, I see you want to take care of the birthday preparations yourself, in that case, we'll be taking our leave, beautiful shall we? ''

Nicklaus expression was as blank as death and the words that left his lips were as sharp as a sword; the whole place grew quiet as he extended his hands towards his beautiful.

Tiana placed her hands in his and stood up from the couch. He turned around and made to walk out of the room but the words of his Douglas stopped him.

''it's alright Nicklaus, she made a mistake, she would correct herself now. '' Douglas turned to Michelle with a frosty gaze and she immediately looked down on the book on her hands.

He wondered what her IQ must be. How can she be so brainless sometimes? If Grandpa gets to know that she tried to pair Nicklaus' woman with their son, what would he think of her? Was she that thoughtless?

''No, it's already too late. If she thinks she made a mistake, she should correct it and work on it herself, and please no-one should call us for this gathering again. ''

He spoke in a commanding tone, not even bothering to look at Douglas. Placing his hand around Tiana's waists, he led her towards the stairs.