Hi everyone! I'm sooooooo sorry it has taken me this long to update this story (especially since it's a gift for oncertwice for her birthday…..last month). I've been struggling a lot with my writing lately and I have been working on this chapter for a month now! This update isn't much (lenght wise) but I really wanted to post something even if it was a small one.

Many thanks to navykillian for being my beta!

She felt like a fool- like a goddamn fool.

The tension in her office was thick, as she skillfully avoided talking directly to the groom and prompted her attention to the bride, who was very excited to talk about wedding garments. Usually she would be to, but in this very moment, she wanted nothing more than to vanish into thin air and hide under her covers for a week.

Emma shamelessly flirted with the groom and was more than ready to ask for his number. To her excuse, she didn't know (even though a man standing alone looking at wedding garments is either a groom, a man working in fashion, or gay) and he was flirting back, not to mention he was waiting for his fiancée.

Men.

Killian was sitting across from her in silence, Ariel doing most of the speaking which was something pretty common in her experience. Emma scribbled some information in her notebook as she continued asking her usual questions concerning their wedding and preparing a schedule as she put on her most genuine smile.

The torture ended an hour later, as her new clients left her office. She shook their hands skillfully avoiding eye contact with Killian as she walked them to the door. Despite everything, she still was a professional. When the happy couple left the shop, Emma went back to her office to bury herself in work, wanting to forget the humiliation she just put herself through.

Today proved to her once again that when it comes to the opposite sex, she doesn't have any luck.

-/-

He didn't know why he flirted back. It wasn't his style to start flirting with a random woman he just casually met; well, not since Ariel. He did occasionally turn on the charm, knowing the effect he had on women, but he never flirted this way. The moment he laid eyes on her, he was pulled towards her. His body instantly reacted to the gorgeous, stunning blonde in front of him. The words slipped out of his mouth without him even thinking twice about them and he liked the way he made her smile, the occasional pink shade covering the apple of her cheeks.

When Ariel arrived, his fiancée, it was as if a bucket of water had been thrown on him, waking him up from a dream or that his dream suddenly turned into a nightmare. Kilian was grateful that Ariel was too excited to notice the heavy tension that was now between their designer and him. He felt like a cheating bastard, his stomach twisting in a tight knot as he saw the way Emma's face fell, and the forced smile she shot him when she told his fiancée that she did indeed have the pleasure to meet him.

Ariel tugged on his arm so he would follow Emma to her office, his feets feeling heavy as he walked to the back. They entered her workspace which was basically a fitting room, mirrors on one side and on the other side a sewing machine, a headless mannequin, fabrics draped here and there and a ton of others mysterious items Killian didn't recognize. Emma led them through another door in which her office was hidden. She sat behind her desk as Killian and Ariel sat next to one another in the chairs.

Emma took what seemed to be her notebook filled with little notes here and there and grabbed one of the pens that was laying across her desk and looked up at them with a smile. To be more accurate, she looked up at Ariel and spent the whole meeting talking directly to his fiancée even when he answered her question. He couldn't blame her.

His girlfriend didn't seem to notice since she was obviously excited to meet the Emma Swan. The moment he had asked her hand in marriage, she had talked and talked about the fact that she wanted the best designer making their garments. He had found it endearing how she was enthusiastic about the whole wedding and how passionate she was about it, even though Ariel was often passionate over the tiniest thing.

Killian Jones has never been a man to tie himself down in a relationship, since he never felt any intense emotions for any woman, and he often wondered why he didn't and with time he told himself that maybe he was just one of those people who wouldn't experience love.

He was a passionate man. Passionate about his family, his work, sailing, and women. He never denied the fact that he loved the company of women, even if they were different every night, that is until he met Ariel. He had met her at a party that Anna, Liam's wife's sister had thrown at her place.

The moment he laid eyes on her, he knew it was different what he was feeling, but couldn't quite place the feeling. It was now two years later, and Ariel was still by his side and he had come to label the feeling he had for her as love, since it was the first time he felt that way about any woman. Killian knew that he wasn't exactly in love with her but he did genuinely care for Ariel. He had come to terms with himself that maybe that was as good as he was going to get.

The meeting with their designer finally came to an end, and Killian was grateful for it, but couldn't shake the need to walk up to Emma and apologize and explain himself. He knew it wasn't the time, with Ariel next to him and also how Emma held herself. He might have just met her an hour ago and talked to her only briefly, but he sensed that she wasn't going to react nicely to all of this. He told himself that he was going to have plenty of other chances to apologize to her and that it was probably best to leave that matter at rest for now.

He walked Ariel back to her hair salon, Under the Sea. Killian found her obsession with mermaids quite endearing since for his part, he loved a good pirate story. When they had first met it was the first thing they bonded over, Killian telling her she was a mermaid bringing him, the pirate, to his death. He smiled at the thought of his first meeting and realized how much he was happy with her.

Ariel kissed him goodbye before walking inside her salon as he turned around and headed back to his office and went on with his day as he usually would. His mind did drift occasionally to the blonde he had met that morning, his chest tightening whenever he remembered the way she looked when Ariel arrived and how closed off she was with him during the meeting. He couldn't blame her. He even gave all the reason to reacting that way but it still pained him since he didn't want her to feel bad or betrayed.

Killian sighed as he leaned back in his chair, his fingers lacing together behind his head as he stared at the ceiling of his office. He tried to figure out his schedule for the following day wanting to make some time to head back to her shop and apologize.

The next day, after his lunch break he found some free time to head back to the Enchanted Swan. The same receptionist welcomed him as he walked inside as he gave her one of his most charming smile.

"Good afternoon, how can I help you?" the woman asked him as she looked out from her screen and turned her head to look at him.

"I came in here yesterday to meet with the designer of my wedding garments, and I forgot to mention some important information concerning the garments to her. Is Emma Swan here today? "

"Yes she is. What's your name, Sir?"

"Killian Jones."

"Let me see if she's available." The woman got up from her desk and walked towards the door he knew was Emma's office.

Killian walked around the store as he hoped that she would receive him and took a deep breath. A moment later Ella, the receptionist, came out of her boss's office and told him that he could go in. He nodded at her as he gave a thankful smile and walked the few steps that were separating him and the door.

As he entered the room, he was caught off guard by the sight of Emma. He had expected to come into her office and see her behind her desk with a stern and scolding face but she was not. Emma had taken off her heels and was standing barefoot in front of a mannequin wearing a wedding dress that looked as if it was out of a fairytale book. Her hair was up in a messy bun with a few pencils caught in it. Her features were as delicate and beautiful as the first time he saw her, but he could tell she was focused on the task at hand, her fingers altering a part of the dress.

Killian couldn't help but to stare, entranced by her. Emma seemed to be as caught up but by her work. He cleared his throat to make his presence known as she lifted her head from her work, with a needle safely locked between her teeth.

She straightened herself and took the needle out from her mouth and tucked a loose strand of hair safely behind her ear. Her previous laid back stance disappeared and the professional one came to surface as she slipped her feet back in her high heels.

"My receptionist told me you needed to give me some information about the garments," Emma said as she broke the awkward silence and walked towards her desk as she seated herself behind it.

Killian chuckled uncomfortably as he shifted on his feet. He looked up at her and saw the serious glance she was casting him and knew he had been right to have come up with that excuse.

"Not really. Something told me that if I told her that I wanted to talk to you, you wouldn't have had time to see me, or something like that." His eyes locked with hers as he noticed the battle going behind her emerald eyes.

"That's probably what would've happened," Emma whispered. She took a deep breath as she looked around her desk, her fingers lacing together as she pulled herself in a cold and professional demeanor.

"What do you want to talk about?" Her voice came out harsh, the tone making him wince. Not at all the same charming and warm woman he had meet the previous day.

Killian walked towards her desk and sat in the chair in front of her desk as he made sure to keep his eyes on her.

"I wanted to apologize." That made her react, silently asking him to go on.

"I know that it seems pointless to change your mind, since I guess you pretty much made it up, but I still think an apology is in order."

Emma shifted in her chair and then leaned back in a more comfortable stance as she cocked an eyebrow at him.

"And why is that? Because you blatantly flirted with the designer of your wedding clothes or because you didn't tell me your were engaged?"

Killian winced at her words, realizing how badly this whole situation made him look.

"Both I guess. To be honest, I didn't know you were the designer that Ariel had been raving about ever since we got engaged."

"So that excuses you from flirting with another woman who isn't your fianceé?" Her tone was now slightly outraged as he realized that he was just digging himself a deeper hole.

"I don't flirt with other women." At those words Emma scoffed as dry laugh then left her mouth. She shook her head in disbelief before settling her eyes on his once more.

"You expect me to believe that?"

"Aye," he timidly answered as he felt himself shrink on his seat.

"If so, why me?"

Killian took a deep breath as he tried to find the right words for her question, as he didn't even know himself. There was just something about her that attracted him, he just didn't know what, how to explain it.

"I just felt that there was a connection between us. I can't explain it otherwise." Emma stood still, her green eyes locked on his, before her eyelashes fluttered and then looked away as she clearly felt somewhat uneasy.

"We are going to spend a lot of time together for the next few months. Don't you think we should at least be on agreeable terms? Start over?"

Emma pondered on his offer as her fingers toyed with a pencil that was laying on her desk. After a minute or two she raised her head to meet his gaze as she took a deep breath which seemed to be resign one.

"Fine, let's start over." Killian couldn't help the grin that appeared on his face upon hearing her words. He got up and propelled his hand forward and waited in mid-air awaiting for her to do the same.

She got up from her desk and mirrored his stance. Her hand was reaching for his when she abruptly stopped and looked at him with a stern and warning look.

"No funny business." He nodded at her final warning, and then they both shook on it.

Killian tried to ignore the sparks that ignited the moment her hand touched his and how his heart swelled with pride when he saw her smile again.