Falling in Love : I love you, Today and Forever

The group was done with their dinner and it was only ten. Ian took his leave as he had packing to do. Ivy too wanted to go, but Joshua stopped her.

"Ivy, may I speak to you for a second?"

Seeing Joshua's serious face, Ivy did not try to irritate him. She sensed he had something important to tell her. "Sure. What's wrong?"

"Ivy, I wanted to warn you to be safe." He spoke, his voice unbelievably gentle and filled with concern. Ivy's heart skipped a beat seeing him worry. It was the first time she had seen him behave differently than his usual playful and flirtatious way. She realized that behind his mischievous facade, there was a genuine person who cared about people who were close to him. This touched her and her heart was filled with warmth.

"Sure Joshua. Thank you so much for worrying about me." Ivy replied with a small smile on her face. 

"No Ivy. I mean it. You have no idea how dangerous the people behind the matter you are investigating are."

"Do you know something?" Ivy narrowed her eyes trying to see if he was hiding something.

"Not exactly. But my hunch says it is dangerous, you are falling into a dangerous pit." Joshua stated. He was unsure why he was feeling that way. Since the time he had heard that people were following Ivy, he couldn't help but worry about her. He was having an ominous feeling about it.

"Thanks for your concern. I'll take care." Ivy smiled at him gratefully. She was genuinely happy that he was concerned about her. It was making her giddy and butterflies were dancing in her stomach thinking about it. She couldn't help but feel jubilant seeing him that way. It was as though her first crush had reciprocated her feelings.

"Do you want me to drop you home?"

"No, I drove my car today. Thank you very much for the offer though."

"Anytime. Please take care and tell me if you need any help."

"Aww. Mr. Martin, please don't be so cute or I might end up falling for you." Ivy blurted out without thinking and the next moment she smacked her mouth in realization. 'Shit, what did I just do?'

As expected, Joshua was taken aback by her sudden outburst. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. "What did you just say?"

Ivy coughed twice to cover her awkwardness. She cleared her throat and faced Joshua's scrutinizing gaze. "Nothing. I said Nothing."

"Are you sure because I am damn sure that I heard something from you, something about you failing for me."

"You have become delusional Mr. Martin. You are hearing nonsense. I advise you to visit an otolaryngologist and get your ears tested." Ivy folded her hands, not willing to back off. She was not ready to accept that she had blabbered those words unknowingly.

"Really now?" Joshua smirked. He was back to his usual mischievous form. His eyes were sparkling in the night and for a second Ivy lost herself in those beautiful eyes. Ivy knew he was charming and along with his gorgeous looks, any girl would be attracted to him like a magnet, including her. She couldn't deny that she was enticed by him but it was nothing more. There was no love between them nor was there any infatuation. 

Joshua noticed her go in a daze and his grin widened unknowingly. He controlled himself, not wanting to give away that he was satisfied with her reaction. "Hello, earth to Ivy, come back."

Ivy snapped back to reality and she blushed the next second when she realized that she was fantasizing about the handsome man in front of her. 'What is wrong with you? Get your senses right. He is not the one for you.' She scolded herself and within seconds she was back to herself. She gave him a sweet smile making him wonder what she was up to now.

"Mr. Martin, thank you for your sweet concern. I was about to think that you had feelings for me with the way you were caring for me. Shall I assume that way?" Ivy asked, her smile still plastered on her face.

Joshua scoffed with the way Ivy had twisted the words. It was clearly her who had a dreamy look on her face and now, she was accusing him of being a flirt. How shameless. "Miss West, we both know who had the look of admiration a few minutes back. So, cut the crap and stop your nonsense. I know you are a sweet talker, but it ain't gonna work on me, sweetheart."

Ivy rolled her eyes seeing him flirt. "Suit yourself."

Noah and Aria were watching the duo converse and they smiled. They could see the spark between them. It was as strong as a lightening before a thunderstorm. Nobody could miss it, it was that clear and bright. However, the people in question were completely ignorant about it. They had turned a blind eye to it and behaved as though there had no obvious attraction to the other person.

"They look awesome together," Aria commented, her eyes fixed on them.

"They sure do." Noah agreed. They were still waiting for the couple to finish their chat as they wanted to speak to Ivy.

"I don't know why they are not able to feel what we are able to sense. I wish I could fill some sense in my sister's head."

"We cannot help them. They are matured and they know what is good for them. But I am sure of one thing, it will take some time for Joshua to take the first step. He has a bad romantic history which is making him hesitate to go into this again."

"I didn't know that. Was the breakup too bad?" Aria had finally stopped looking at the couple and her eyes landed on Noah.

"Sort of. He took it quite hard. That was the first relationship he had ever been in. It was only after that he became a playboy."

"Ivy too had a boyfriend in the past when she was studying at university. He was all sweet and caring at first. But it did not take long for her to find out he had made a bet with his friends. He only wanted to get into her pants before the month ended. Since then, she has stopped trusting men when it comes to issues related to love. Also, "Aria made Noah to face her, "I will warn you beforehand. She might get a little overprotective of me in these matters. She does not want to see me hurt."

"Duly noted." Noah went back to look at Ivy and Joshua. "They both have had a similar kind of experience in the past They could easily heal each other if they wish to. I just hope they realize their feelings soon."

Though Aria was silent, she had agreed to his words. Joshua was an awesome man and he would definitely keep her sister happy. She could only wish Ivy to realize it before it became too late.