Chapter 16
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A month later, Kayla’s independent interior design studio officially opened for business.
Thanks to her solid reputation, clients started rolling in from day one. The non–stop work helped blur the edges of her heartbreak. But until she was officially divorced, true freedom still eluded her.
That afternoon, a young man walked into her studio. He stood over six feet tall, with sharp features, neatly cropped hair, and a black windbreaker that somehow made him look even better.
It was said black windbreakers were like a cheat code for men—and on a guy this good–looking, it was straight–up eye candy.
The new receptionist couldn’t stop staring, and neither could Kayla.
But Kayla wasn’t staring because she was lovestruck–she just had this nagging feeling that she’d seen him somewhere before, though she couldn’t place where.
“Are you Ms. Kayla George?” the man asked.
“Oh! Yes, that’s me.”
Upon realizing she’d been caught looking, Kayla gave an awkward smile and nodded.
“Becky, can you bring us two coffees?” she asked, gesturing for him to take a seat in the lounge area.
Before the coffee was even served, the man jumped straight into his introduction. “Nice to meet you, Ms. George. I’m Luke Kingston. I was born in 1997, I’m 28 this year, and I work in real estate.”
What Luke said instantly spiked Kayla’s discomfort.
Lately, her aunt, Laura Price, had been talking nonstop about setting her up with someone. She went on and on about blind dates.
Kayla wasn’t even officially divorced yet. What was she supposed to be doing on a date?
Wait a minute–was this the guy Laura had tried to set her up with?
“Mr. Kingston, I don’t think you’ve been properly briefed on my situation. I’m still technically—”
She didn’t even get the word “divorced” out before he pulled a floor plan out of his windbreaker pocket and slid it across the table toward her. “What? You mean you haven’t left Maxwell Interiors? Didn’t you already branch out on your own and open your own studio?” he asked. “Oh!”
Kayla let out an embarrassed laugh. So, she’d totally misread the situation—Luke was a potential client.
Thank God she hadn’t finished that sentence.
“Never mind. So, Mr. Kingston, about your house…”
She smoothed over the awkward moment as she picked up the floor plan.
But the moment her eyes landed on the drawing, her smile slowly faded, replaced by shock and disbelief.
Back in her junior year of high school, Kayla entered a design contest. It was open–ended, and students could design anything they wanted. Most went
for robots or art installations, but Kayla had drawn up floor plans for a three–story garden villa and titled it “My Future Home“.
Her entry hadn’t won anything, of course. Compared to the sleek, cutting–edge submissions, hers looked modest and almost childish. Still, it got displayed along with the rest–and earned her more than a few laughs.
After all, not everyone could dream of living in a three–story garden villa.
Even after all these years, Kayla still remembered that design clearly.
And now, the layout in her hands looked eerily familiar–almost identical to the one she’d drawn at 16.
The differences that did exist were minor and actually made the design more refined.
“This house… Is it already built?”
Kayla had no idea how a childhood dream sketch of hers had ended up in someone else’s hands. But at this moment, all she wanted was to see it in person -to experience what it felt like to watch a dream take shape in the real world.
Yeah. It’s ready to be moved into,” Luke replied, lips curled in a confident smile.
Kayla looked down again at the cover of the floor plan.
“Evening Breeze: Premiun garden villas that are move–in ready. Your dream home awaits.”
Half an hour later, Kayla stepped out of Luke’s silver Cullinan.
While standing in front of the three–story garden villa, she felt surreal.
