The Love Clause | ✓

04. sea, sand, sun

Alia exchanged a curious glance with Mr. Henderson. The knock came again, louder this time. He blinked when there was a third insistent knock. Another fresh breeze shook the curtains, and in that moment, in silence, she and Mr. Henderson waited.

"Open the goddamn door, Colin!"

Was she hearing things, or that was... No, it can't be. He grinned, but her heart skipped a beat and her palms became sweaty almost instantly. Mr. Henderson rushed to the door, before the male voice could call again.

"Maybe we should let them alone for a minute, darling," a sweet female voice murmured right before Mr. Henderson turn the knob. "Colin, my dear. Are we interrupting?"

Alia froze when William Sagger and Zelda Miller stepped in the bedroom.

He was wearing a white polo T-shirt with the famous WSZM letters embroidered on the chest and light summer pants. Sagger's dark blond hair was meticulously combed in the slicked back manner, making him look like Leonardo DiCaprio in a way.

"So you really came, you son of a bitch." Sagger smiled, holding Mr. Henderson by the shoulders. "This party's gonna be... interesting."

Zelda smiled, rolling her slanted eyes to the ceiling. She was wearing a white linen dress, incredible nudge heels – the heart of that season, from what Alia had heard –, an elegant light blue shawl and, to complete the amazing look, Zelda was holding a white fan.

A fan. How cool was that?

"Don't worry, Colin. You know how William loves gossip. How are things, dear?" Zelda laughed, resting a hand on her husband's arm.

Alia couldn't think straight. Zelda Miller and William Sagger were in her room, and she was there, just... looking at them, hearing their laughs and voices from afar. Like they were the cool kids in school, the ones you would love to hang out with at lunch time.

They must have said something because when Alia came back to Earth, the three were gazing at her, expecting an answer. Her ears became red in a blink of an eye.

"I'm sorry, I was..."

"So you are the girl from the photograph." Sagger laughed and reached out a hand. Alia greeted him, knowing how cold a sweaty her fingers were. "We still can't believe you've decided to sacrifice yourself pretending to be Colin's girlfriend just to meet us. You're brave, girl."

Mr. Henderson shook his head, chuckling.

"Don't mind Will, honey. Sometimes he likes to joke around." Zelda laughed one more time and greeted Alia, who felt her jasmine perfume as she came closer. She opened her fan, still resting a hand on Sagger's arm. "Colin told us you have some creations. Dresses, is that right? I'm pretty excited to—"

"Hey, Zel," Mr. Henderson said, crossing his arms. "We can do this later, the whole fashion thing. We signed a contract, and she'll have a meetup to discuss these... matters after we break up."

"Our little Colin, always a businessman." Sagger rolled his eyes, making Zelda laugh. He turned to Alia. "How's the relationship going so far? Horrible? Painful? Excruciating?"

"Thank you, Sagger. You're an incredible friend." Mr. Henderson smiled.

"Well, he looked like a robot in front of Jane's family," Alia said when she found her voice. A playful smile grew on her face when Zelda chuckled. "But I guess we're... OK."

"Ah, it wouldn't be Colin if he didn't act like a robot, my doll," Sagger joked. He held Zelda's hand and tilted his head. "Well, we just wanted to pay a visit and meet you. Our hotel has an incredible room service, and I'd really like to lie in bed and eat cake all day."