Falling in Love : I love you, Today and Forever

Ivy felt pity for the man who was cursing himself for coming late. She knew it was not intentional and also with his untidy look, it was clear that he had hurried here as soon as he had got up. She rubbed her forehead. "It's okay, Danny. It's not like you wanted it to happen." She tried to console him. "It just happened and don't worry. You can speak to her on the phone when she calls."

"No Ivy. It's all my fault. If only I had not taken the drink at the party yesterday, I could have seen her off."

"Now that we were on the topic, is this the reason why you couldn't come to dine with us?"

"Yes. When Aria gave me a call to invite me, I was already at a party and I couldn't leave half-way. It was a party celebrating my win in a case and the client was a prominent figure. I had to give him some face." 

"That explains it. I was wondering why you were not there. There was no way Aria would not have invited you." Ivy said.

"Yeah."

"It's okay. You can talk to her on the phone." She tried to console him again.

"I guess that's the only way left now," Daniel said with a small smile, but he was still sad.

"Now that we are off the topic, can we appreciate how great you look in this attire?" Joshua commented from the said and Danny looked at him in confusion. He had no idea what he is talking about.

"He is talking about you," Ivy whispered to him and Danny bent down to only for his eyes to widen in shock. He was still in his wrinkled pajamas. He gaped at his reflection on Noah's tinted car window. His hair was disheveled to a great extent that it looked like he just survived a trip on the aerotrim. One could even see antennas jutting out just like a grasshopper's. And worst of all, he was wearing mismatched slippers.

When Daniel had looked at his reflection, again Oliver was startled because Danny was staring at him through the window. He knew people outside could not see him. But he couldn't stop himself from getting nervous. Though he wanted to get out of the disguise and go greet his daughter, he did not want to put her life in danger. So, he stopped himself, his heartbeat rising every minute Daniel continued to stare at the window. Only when he moved his eyes, did Oliver take a breath of relief.

"I like this attire though. You look cute this way." Ivy said and Daniel scratched his head in awkwardness. He was still embarrassed that he had rushed out of his house without taking a good look at himself in the mirror. Now he looked like an idiot in front of the four people, especially the two men who were impeccably dressed. Though they were in casual clothes, they still looked as suave and dashing as ever and he felt like an ugly duckling in front of them.

"Aww, Danny boy is feeling shy." Ivy rubbed his right hand in concern. She did not want him to feel humiliated in front of the two powerful men beside her. He was her friend. Though he was not as close as he was with Aria, they were still good friends. "It's okay. These things happen and I find you cute this way." She then gave Joshua a glare to help her and just like that he followed her command.

"Yes, yes Daniel. Ivy is right. You look very adorable. If Rachel was here, she would have jumped at you for a kiss." He winked at Ivy making her scowl. This man would never let an opportunity to flirt to slip away from his hands. At least, he had helped her this time. So, she did not say anything.

However, nobody noticed Daniel's eyes widening again. Noah was still staring at the gate. Ivy and Joshua were having a staring competition and Ronnie was standing at the side looking out for any possible dangers lurking around. Though they were near the military grounds, he couldn't still bring himself to keep his guards down.

Daniel remembered that in a rush to meet Aria, he had not brushed his teeth. 'I must be stinking right now. Oh my God, what have I done? This is the most embarrassing day of my life. I just want to jump off a cliff or get dragged away by the ocean waves.' 

Ivy perceived Daniel's unusual behavior. "Danny, are you alright?"

"Umm, yeah. I just realized that I have a meeting to attend. I'll leave first. Bye. Sorry." Without waiting for anybody to respond, Daniel dashed to his car and took off. He did not want to them find out about him not brushing his teeth and humiliate himself further.

"That's weird. What happened to him?" Ivy questioned looking at the way Daniel had driven off in a hurry. Joshua shrugged not having any answer to her question.

"I need to go home. I am feeling a little sleepy." Ivy stifled a yawn and Joshua noticed that Ivy looked a little tired.

"Let me take you home." He volunteered.

"Ohh, I came with Noah..." Ivy started but Noah interrupted her all of a sudden.

"I have a meeting to attend Ivy. So, I am not sure if I can drop you home."

"Ohh," Ivy replied.

"Don't worry. I am here. I'll take you home." Joshua said with a dazzling smile on his face.

"Can you do that? Thank you so much." Ivy was relieved with his offer. Though there was a certain degree of awkwardness between them, she had no choice but to take his help now that Noah was busy. They were in a restricted area and getting a cab would be difficult for her.

Noah handed his keys to Joshua as Ivy stared at him confusion. "Are we going in Noah's car?" Her question took the three men off guard. However, Noah came up with an answer immediately.

"Yeah. I wanted to drive Jo's car today. I have an important deal to sign and Jo's car is always lucky for me." He said with such a straight face that for a second even Joshua believed his lie. Noah cursed himself. Who was he kidding? 'Lucky, my foot.'

"Is that so?" Seeing Ivy's believed look, Noah sighed in relief.

"Yeah."

"Okay. I am gonna go. All the best with your meeting." Ivy and Joshua went together and Noah and Ronne waited until they departed. They had a smile plastered on their face as they saw the couple drive away. Noah sighed remembering the lie he had said. 'What all do I have to do in the name of love? Joshua, you owe me one.'