"Katie? Are you really my little Katie bear?"

The woman sitting on the mansion sofa uncrossed her slender legs, jumping up in utter surprise. Her big, brown eyes with specks of gold widened slightly, her thick, long eyelashes fluttering as she blinked. Ever so slowly, the woman's eyes narrowed, scrunching up her eyebrows.

"I'm Katie Knight... Who are you?"

"Katie, it's me! Don't you remember?"

She tucked her long, mocha strands of hair behind her ears, fiddling nervously with her chandelier earring.

"Uhm, kind of."

Katie felt a pang of guilt as she watched the man in front of her. His face had significantly lost its glow, since his dazzling, blissful smile had completely disappeared from his face the moment her lips had murmured those words.

"Wait… is it…?" Katie's heart skipped a beat. It couldn't be. "James? Is that you?"

The man gave her one of his famous, heart-melting, lopsided smiles. "Welcome back, Katie!"

Katie squealed and wrapped her slender arms around James, embracing him with all of her strength. Her entire world became fuzzy and unstable as James' firm, muscular arms wrapped around her waist, hugging her back. Her heart began to flutter wildly as it had when she was a girl, each heartbeat echoing as she remained in James' arms. The glimmering ring on her left hand, however, reminded her that she was not a little girl anymore.

Katie slowly pushed James away, speaking in a soft, gentle voice. "James, I have to go."

"But you just got here!" James whined. "Come on, we have a lot to catch up on…"

The brunette smiled. "It's been years since I've seen you."

"It's only been four years, Kate."

The woman rolled her sparkling brown eyes and laughed. "So? A lot of things happen in four years. I've missed so many things! I even missed your birthday this year... By the way, how does it feel to be twenty seven?" She stuck her small, pink tongue out teasingly.

"I don't know. How does it feel to be twenty one, old lady?" James chuckled, ruffling Katie's hair.

"It's certainly different." She sighed, going back to the serious woman James encountered moments ago. "Which reminds me, where is Kendall?"

"That's a good question." The man frowned. "He's probably out with Jo, somewhere."

Katie rolled her big, brown eyes once more. "And mom?"

"Momma Knight? Out to get some groceries." James sat down on the sofa, patting the spot next to him. "What's the dealio, Katherine? I thought you were coming back in May. You're two months late!"

"Well, I was… But… something came up." Katie looked at her lap, not wanting to look into James' eyes.

"You look a little nervous. What is it…?"

James looked at her, contemplating all of the possibilities. Finally, his eyes became wide, and he let out a sound of what could only be described as absolute horror.

"OH MY CUDA! You're pregnant?"

"No!" Katie gasped, bewildered. "How could you even think that? That's completely absurd!"

"Oh. What is it then?"

Katie sighed and finally looked into James' eyes. To her dismay, her heart continued to beat abnormally, causing her to question her sanity. She never imagined, that after four years of distance, her heart could still falter at the sight of James Diamond.

"James…" She looked at the ring on her left hand, wondering if she could utter the words she had often thought would cause her immense bliss. At the moment, she only dreaded saying the words aloud. Perhaps she had not thought the process through as thoroughly as she believed.

She looked back up only to see a pale, horror-struck James. His eyes had followed her gaze, and had inevitably found the sparkling diamond ring on her left hand.

"You're engaged?"

James did not know why his heart felt as though it had been doused with ice cold water, but he was quite disturbed by his reaction.

This is Kendall's sister, getting married to some bloke I don't know and probably don't like. That's why I'm upset. James comforted himself, still a little worried by his quickening heart rate. Katie remained silent.

"Katie bear, you're engaged?" He whispered in his deep, melodious voice, sending shivers down Katie's spine.

"Yes. I'm getting married next June." Katie murmured, looking at the ring with a twinge of regret. Four years had not enough to forget James Diamond. How many more years would it take to get over her stupid crush?