Love’s Change of Heart novel 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."

That weekend, everyone gathered at the workshop's entrance so they could leave for the barbecue site together. The girls had brought along their boyfriends, and it took only a round of pleasantries before the men became friends.

Leanna glanced at the time and asked Zoe, "Hey, where's the cute guy you mentioned? He's late."

Just then, a Maybach pulled up by the curb, and one of the men exclaimed, "Damn, is this the guy you were talking about? You didn't say he was loaded!"

Zoe's eyes nearly bugged out of her head. She clutched Leanna's arm nervously. Holy crap, did I catch a big one this time?

At that moment, the door on the driver's side of the luxury car swung open, and a towering figure emerged and stood tall and straight in front of them.

The crowd gave a collective sigh of disappointment. They had been holding their breath for nothing.

Aidan took in their reaction. "Am I not welcome here?" he asked dryly.

Everyone felt a chill run down their spine. Some hurriedly made a feeble excuse to get drinks from the vending machine, while others ran off to the washroom. They would rather be anywhere but in Aidan's vicinity right now.

Zoe was visibly crestfallen as she muttered begrudgingly, "What happened to the other car, President Pearson?"

"It's in the shop getting serviced," Aidan answered flatly. His gaze flickered over to Leanna as he asked, "Where are you all headed?"

He had asked Leanna about her weekend plans in hopes of asking her out on a 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 weekend.

She didn't think he would actually show up to verify the truth.

An awkward laugh escaped her. She tried to run, but when she turned around, she was greeted by the sight of a grade school kid with chubby cheeks. He even had a backpack on.

The kid looked at Zoe, then at Leanna. A second later, he asked calmly, "Which one of you is the Enchantress?"

Leanna, Aidan, and Zoe gaped at the little boy in astonishment.

Zoe, in particular, did not for a moment think her social media handle could sound so embarrassing when read aloud.

She took a hesitant step forward and crouched down to the little boy's eye level, then squeezed out a tight smile. "Hi, there. How may I help you?"

He extended a hand toward her and introduced himself politely, "I'm Hogbunny. Pleasure to meet you."

Excuse me? She glanced around and pressed, "Did you come here with your brother or your uncle or something? Isn't there an adult with you, kid?"

"No, 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 come. Speaking of which, you'll have to drop me home as soon as we're done with the meal. My mom thinks you might kidnap me."

At this point, Zoe could no longer keep up her smile. "K-Kidnap you?"

Hogbunny nodded slowly. "Yes, that's right."

"And if I really were planning to kidnap you, what makes her think I'd drop you home?"

"Don't worry about that. I have my ways," he replied coolly.

If Zoe weren't already so jaded after her many experiences with douchebags who only knew how to toy with her, she was sure she would have fainted on the spot and been sent to the intensive care unit.

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

On the other hand, Aidan merely looked at the child with an unreadable expression.

Zoe took a deep breath, stood up, squared her shoulders, and said, "Come on, I'll drop you home right now!"

Hogbunny took two hurried steps back and said with newfound resolve, "No! You told me you were going to let me tag along to a barbecue. I won't go home until I've eaten!"

Presently, Zoe's co-workers were returning from the vending machine. They saw the little boy standing before her and quickly made their way over, then asked, "Zoe, is this your little brother? He's adorable!" As they gushed over the child, one of them reached out to pinch his chubby cheek.

Clearly displeased by the unsolicited contact, Hogbunny frowned and hid behind Zoe.

One of the men, who was oblivious to what had happened before their return, asked Zoe innocently, "Is your boyfriend still coming?"

Zoe wanted nothing more than to evade this conversation. Flustered, she snapped, "No, he's not! His car broke down on the way. Alright, gang, let's move out! Go, go, go!"

"Let's go!"

Zoe and Leanna had not anticipated Aidan's or the little boy's arrival when they did the headcount for the carpool arrangements previously.

With admirable wit, Zoe immediately tucked Hogbunny into Aidan's car. She didn't wait for Aidan to protest as she said cheerily, "I'll leave the kid to you, President Pearson! I owe you big time!"

She hurtled into her car and slammed the door right after that.

Seeing this, Leanna asked quietly, "Aren't you worried that the kid might not make it out of Aidan's car alive?"

"Natural selection will take its course. The stronger one will survive the ordeal," Zoe said heartlessly.

Leanna wasn't sure what to say, but she didn't have time to remind Aidan to be nice to the kid. She trusted that as sharp-tongued as the man was, he would not wound a kid with his words.

Besides, it was only a one-hour drive up to the barbecue site. Indeed, the kid could survive the journey.

With this thought, Leanna shook herself out of her reverie and climbed into the car.

Meanwhile, inside the plush confines of the Maybach, Aidan cast a sideways glance at the little boy behind him. "Put your seatbelt on."

Hogbunny set his backpack aside and mumbled obediently, "Okay."