Later into the night; I toss and turn in my bed as I dream of being at a castle. It feels completely real. I'm in a grand room with a butler, some maids and my dream man. But this isn't right...it's not right at all. I don't recognize anyone, but this is Dmitri's place–I know that for sure.

"Ivy, are you alright?" My dream man asks. I don't answer as I scan his face like I'm lost. I love him but...

"Miss Summers?" I hear the butler. I look and see Walter.
Oh my god.

Quickly, I turn back to my dream man. He still looks the same. What's happening here?
"Excuse me," I say to him, "I need to speak with-" I step closer to Walter, "you, sir...if that's ok." The butler seems a little confused, yet he accepts and walks with me toward the grand staircase.

"Walter..." I say.
"Yes madam?" Oh! It is him!

"Who is that man? And those maids–who are they?" Just to be sure...
"Miss Summers...?" He's astounded. I'm not joking, and he sees it.

"Why, that's Pamela, Angel and Christine...and that is-" He says the man's name but it's muffled. "Pardon me?" I question. He repeats himself, "Madam Ivy...that's Nick." My mouth falls open. NICK! I dart my eyes over at him. He's smiling at me warmly, genuinely.
My lashes flutter, "...Nicolai..."

Suddenly, I hear a phone ringing. I squint, open my eyes and smack my lips a couple times. I realize I've been drooling; there's a pool of spit on my pillow. Wow, I must've slept really good! Oh my god...it's him! It's always been him! Holy shit! I finally have my answer!

Reaching over and grabbing my phone, I wipe my mouth and blink a few times to help adjust my eyes quicker. Wow...I'm so shocked, and happy! It was him all along. I cannot explain all the mixed emotions I have at the moment; I'm between confused, stunned and ecstatic.

The caller ID says it's Mom.
I answer, "Hey, good morning," I look at the clock. Oh geez, it's 9:50am!

"Good morning! You sound like you just woke up... You slept in a long time!"
"I did." I smile with a small laugh.

"Well, sorry I woke you. What time are you coming over?"
"Oh! Sorry I didn't specify when! Well I still need to take my shower and get ready to go."

"It's ok Ives. I actually have to go out today; do you want to meet at Lounge 'N Sip for a few minutes?"
"Yeah, that sounds great. I'll get ready to go real quick and then I'll call you."

"Alright, talk to you soon. Love you, bye."
"Love you too, bye."

I toss the phone on the bed and hit the shower. The hot water feels great over my shoulders and the steam clears my head. I have to wipe the mirror because I left the exhaust fan off.

Still smiling from that dream I had, I put diamond earrings on and then start on my makeup. I have all these choices of eye shadows and my favorite dark red lip gloss staring at me. I don't have time, nor as much interest in putting all that on. I put on a light-blue long sleeved shirt, dark jeans, black high-heeled boots and then decide to only use mascara, the powder and the lip gloss.

I finish up with the blow dryer and go look in the fridge for a snack on the way to the coffee place. Nothing looks appetizing. Not even that yogurt I always like to eat. Nick has spoiled me indeed.

I shut the fridge door, grab my purse and give everything a last look before leaving. On my way down, I run into my favorite neighbor, who's holding a cup of coffee. He does this every time, no matter the time of day.

"Ivy, long time no see." He sips from his cup.
I smile shortly, "Yeah, I've been looking into moving."
"Oh wow."
I nod, "Yep. But I have to hurry now to meet my Mom somewhere. Talk to you later."
"Ok, see ya. Drive carefully out there."

I raise my hand with the car keys and keep going down until I'm at my mailbox. I find nothing but more junk and a bank statement. I stuff it all in my purse, take my phone out and head outside for my car.

Once I get in my jaguar, I call Mom and wait for her to pick up. In the meantime, I think of Gina and what she said about Nick 'having me under a spell'. He sure does. He's the most interesting person I'll ever know, no doubt about that.

Then I start thinking about finding another job. What do I do about that? I only have limited medical skills.

She finally answers her phone. "Hi Ivy."
"Hey mom. I'm outside my apartment, in my car."

"Alright, I'm about 10 miles from the coffee place."
"I'll head that way now and buy our coffee when I get there." I say.

"Ok. I'll have the pumpkin drink."
I confirm that, end the call and begin my drive there.

Now at the shop, I check my face in the rear view mirror one last time before hurrying inside. The first place I look is where Nick sits with his journal. Yeah, it's an instinctual thing for me to do. I go through the short line, buy her ice-blended pumpkin coffee and a hot pumpkin coffee for me, then I go to Nick's place and sit down. It seems like a good idea to sit here.

After a few minutes, I see her park her van and come inside. She searches for me and sees my hand raised. She comes right to me like she's the only one in the room and sits down, smiling. I push her coffee to her, "Morning Mom." She takes it, thanking me with a very relieved look in her eyes. She loves this coffee. "Good morning. Thank you. So..." she starts taking the wrapper off her straw, "Tell me about this mystery man you got together with." Yep. Right down to business. That's my Mom.

"Well, his name is Nicolai Francis. He comes here all the time. And guess what? That strange building on that island we saw–he lives there."

Her eyebrows rise, "Ohh, really?"
"Yeah. Mom, listen...I haven't told you anything. I'm sorry. The weekend of my birthday, I actually had Gina go there with me. That guy has a butler and everything–well, sorta... The owner of the castle–Dmitri Vladoiu–everything there is his and under his employ, but Nick is his executive assistant. So you know what that means."

"Wow Ivy...that's quite a thing to keep from your parents." She is very amazed yet at the same time, a bit ashamed.
"I know." I sigh, taking a drink of my coffee.

"And you too are together?" she asks.
I nod. She looks quizzical. "This leaves me speechless, honestly. It's so bizarre to me. It...it doesn't seem real at all."

"But it is!" I say, "Trust me, when I really think about it, it's like a fairy tale. But it's really happening Mom. It is."

"You don't need to repeat yourself. I do believe you. I just want you to be safe. You don't feel strange about this at all? You were avoiding him, weren't you? You behave as if you never knew him." I sit quietly after she asks that. Then I let out a slow sigh, "I'm sorry Mom...I lied. I was so intimidated by him that I felt like he was going to follow me or something. I couldn't handle being here any longer with his eyes on me like that, so I told you he annoyed me and I wanted to get away from him as fast as I could. Please don't be mad. He's really a great guy and I judged him all wrong." She stares at me, then raises her hands, "Ivy, it's your life. I'm not mad. I want you to be careful. I'll only give you my opinions."
"I'll be fine." I assure with a single nod.

"Your Dad would be completely stunned."
I scoff, "No doubt. But I'll tell him in time."

"I won't say anything for now." She says.
I slightly point at her, "Like I said; I'll tell him. But anyway, I'll be going back to the castle this afternoon. Nick is going to pick me up around 2."

"You're going back? In his car? What's he drive?"
I grin arrogantly to myself. "A dark-red Aston Martin."

She gasps, "Oh wow...those are expensive and classy! I imagine you've been in it already...?"

"I know." I laugh, "Yes I have. It's fast and really smooth."
She warily smiles, "Girl, what am I gonna do with you?" I playfully shrug my shoulders, drinking more coffee.

"Well it's 10:40 now." She says, looking at the clock above my head. Her telling that reminds me of tonight. This is going to be quite a day to remember.

"Yeah," I slowly smile.
"So Ivy...you say his name is Nicolai. That's not an American name exactly. What is he?"

"Romanian." I'm smiling wide in my head right now.
"That's a Romanian name?" Now she's disbelieving.

"I don't think so... Maybe he had his name changed." I say.
She hums, "I wonder why he would do that."

"Beats me. You know, I haven't even considered that."
She shakes her finger at me, "Well...consider it."

"Ok Mom." I look away, finishing my coffee. Something comes to my mind. She doesn't know what happened with my job. Oh, what would she say about that? But, it's my life...not hers.

"What's wrong?" she asks. I look at her and set my coffee cup down, "There's something else I held back from you and Dad."

"What? Are you pregnant?" Her brows rise. Whoa now, I didn't see that coming!
"What the-? Mom, no!"

"What is it Ivy?" she laughs.
I sigh and let my head hang low, "I lost my job. Last week."

"You did? Oh my god... What have you been doing since then?"
I look back up to her, "Well...I've been at that castle."

"You're living with him?" she surprisingly asks. "Well...yes...I guess. It sounds bad, I know. I didn't ask for it; it just happened. After we got to know each other, I told him what happened and he suggested I stay there, and I agreed. We really like each other, Mom."
"But Ivy! Again–you hardly know the guy!" I quickly stand up from the table but then realize how defensive I'm getting. I calm down and take my cup, muttering, "I'm still alive and well, aren't I? If he was bad news, I would've told you." I go throw my cup away and then come back.

As I sit down, she nearly glares at me. After I look at her for a few seconds, she loses that face.

"Are you moving out of your apartment?" she asks.
"I don't know yet."

"Well, let me know."
"I will, don't worry."

"Hey..." she gently grabs my hand, resting it over the center of the table, "You know I want the best for you. Follow your heart, but also notice any red flags that might start showin' up, ok?" "Ok Mom."

She glances at the clock, "It's 11 now."
"I have a little time left." I say.

"We can go clothes shopping if you want."
I stare at her.

She smirks, "Just kidding. But seriously, you do need more clothes."
I groan like a child, "I don't want to go clothes shopping!"

"What are you going to do for the next few hours?" I pause. Then my eyes go into two thin lines, "Clothes shopping."
She smiles again, "Good! Now," she stands up with her coffee cup, "let's go. Follow me." She motions me to stand, "Come on, get up!" I roll my eyes and do as I'm told. She puts her hand on my back, leading me out, "Stop being such a prude. It will only be for about an hour or so." She drinks more of her coffee.

"Hmmmph..."

Finally, the shopping is done. It's now 12:55. I have to rush back home. We're now standing by our cars outside an outlet store. Thank goodness we're not far from my apartment. We made a deal to stay within that area. I only got a few items, whereas she got much more. I got some earrings, a pair of shoes, two shirts and a pair of skinny jeans; all of which were marked down. I bet if Nick were with us, he wouldn't let me get that stuff. He would want me to wear expensive clothing. I'm definitely ok with that.

"Well, it was nice shopping with you." She says.
"Yeah, it turned out better than I thought it would." I admit, chuckling some.

"Alright, go on home. I've got things to do at the house." She hugs me and then adds, "Be good and be safe, you hear me?"
"I will Mom–I promise."

She winks at me while we both get in our vehicles, then she starts her van and leaves before me. I get behind her at the exit. When it's clear, we beep at each other and go our separate ways.

During my drive home, I'm so preoccupied by everything that's happened to me within the last few weeks. The way I'm watching traffic; it's like I'm just naturally wavering through, not paying close attention.

What is Nick doing right now? What is anyone at the castle doing right now? Surely they're getting ready for this evening... And I wonder what I'm supposed to wear. Wow, this is such an awkward situation. You'd think everything would be taken care of by now, right? Or maybe...maybe these 'preparations' have something to do with the spirits...

I really, really hope he's ok. Walter obviously has no clue what's truly going on there. Neither do the maids; they probably don't concern themselves with anything. It's just Nick and I.

On a different note, something tells me Mom will tell Dad about Nick very soon. It's nearly impossible to hold something like that back for a while.
"Oh well...that's not really something to worry about." I muse.

Finally, I'm home. I climb the stairs as quickly as I can, go in my apartment, toss my purse on my bed and start unpacking my bag, then I refill it with other clothes and more accessories. Two bags; I'm better prepared this time! Yes indeed!

It takes me about 15 minutes to do all this.
I stop, thinking I'm finished when I glance over at my journal on my nightstand. I didn't take it last time. Do I take it this time? I might be too busy for it now. I've never asked myself this question before, honestly.

My doorbell rings. My belly clenches. I know who it is. I go out of my room and look through the peephole of the door. Nick... I bite my lip with a growing smile and open the door.

He winks at me and presents a dark red rose, "Buna ziua, iubirea mea," He makes me blush. I daintily take the rose, "Multumesc." At least I know what that means. It means thanks! Me saying that surprises him. "Very good..." he says as I invite him inside.

"But do you know what I said?" he asks, walking into the kitchen.
"No, I sure don't." I laugh.
He grins at me, "I said good afternoon my love."
"Ohh," I snicker, "Well good afternoon to you too."

He starts that strange contemplative stare while I sniff the rose and try to decide whether to put it in a vase or not. "What is it?" I ask. A mysterious smile creeps at the corners of his lips as his head slowly tips to one side, "You were worrying about me last night..." I suddenly halt everything. How does he know that?

"You seem bewildered." He simpers.
"Well I was worried." I murmur, "How did you know?"

"I know that face."
"You know what face?" I repeat in an oddly amused way.

He steps closer, "I know it."
I look up at him silently.

"I told you I have everything under control." He says. Oh...I feel so on the spot now.
"You always have this stare...like it's straight into my soul." I say, very quietly.

"Are you questioning me?"
I gulp, "I am."

He smiles darkly, "It's just how I am." My heart jumps a little as he brushes his warm fingers across my cheek. "Stop worrying...because I am taking you home now."

"Home," I begin to smile. He winks and kisses my hand. Watching him, I forget everything; just lost in this state he's put me in, but then I come back to reality. "Ahem," I lightly laugh, "My bags..."
"Go on," he waves a hand, then slides both of them into his pockets. I again flash a bashful smile. Carefully, I set the rose down and go into my room to get my stuff.

As I'm collecting the bags, looking around for other things I could be forgetting, I hear him stop in the doorway. I glance over my shoulder at him. He flashes his eyes up to my face.

I suddenly smile at him, "What were you looking at?"
"What do you think? Miss Summers, you have a nice ass...staring me in the face."

I stand up slowly with my heavy bags, sarcastically blinking at him. He walks up and takes them from me, "I will carry these."
"But-!" "Ah!" he lifts them up in the air effortlessly, "I will carry them."
"Oh my..." I absentmindedly say. He chuckles, "Come now."

I giggle, following him. Before heading out of the apartment, I grab my purse, the rose and lock the door, then we're gone.

As we're driving along, I feel completely content being with him again and his pace is so smooth, I could just fall asleep. It's so peaceful watching how we pass the trees and the sunlight feels wonderful on my face. While I'm admiring the scenery, he talks to Esmeralda on the phone, letting her know we are almost to her place. He puts his phone down between his legs and sighs softly. I take his hand, slowly smiling.

"I am glad to have you Ivy. Without you, I honestly don't know how life would be." I look at him, and he does the same with me. It's a strange thing to say; I am not sure what to think of it. Though, it warms me and makes me happy.

I have to admit my feelings... As many as they are, where do I even begin?
I focus on our hands, thinking about it.

"Nick," I look back up to his face, "you make my world a whole different place...you make it so much bigger and extraordinary." My voice is small, sincere. He only studies me in adoration. Because he doesn't say anything, I feel I have to turn away; back to looking out the window. I've stated my true feelings; I've taken that leap...

"I adore everything about you Ivy." I shut my eyes at that, smiling stupidly.
For a few more seconds, there's silence between us.

I start talking again, "This morning...I had coffee with my Mom at the coffee shop."
"And...?"

"I haven't told anyone about us." I say.
He becomes more interested. "You told her?"

"Yes I did."
He smiles ahead, "What did she say?"

"She is stunned mostly." I nervously laugh.
"Heheheh...how cute. You have not said anything to your father, I assume."

"No."
He pouts, "Well why not?"

I start laughing at him, "I...I don't know!"
"Oh yes you do know."

"I do know, huh?" I fold my arms.
"Of course you do. You are his daughter. It's natural."

I look out my window again without saying anything else.
"Don't worry sweetheart; that only means you come from a good family."

"Yeah, perhaps. What about your family? Where are they?"
He sighs in a matter-of-fact way, "They are all in Romania."

"They won't come here?"
"No. They love their country and prefer to stay there." He shrugs.

"Huh, interesting." I say.
"Indeed." he halfway smirks, "I am the...black sheep of my family."

"So am I." I say, amusing him. Then I start straightening up in my seat as we pull into Esmeralda's driveway and park the car in her garage. She's waiting outside for us. She sees me in the car and smiles at me.

Nick parks the car and gets out quickly. Before I can open my door, he's opening it for me. Esmeralda looks amused but doesn't say anything. He hands her the keys and cell phone and she tells us Leonardo is inside the boathouse.

"Alright then." He lightly shakes her hand and guides me there. She follows us.
When we get there, Leonardo greets me happily. He and Esmeralda must really like my company. They don't talk to us for very long though, since they know Nick is in a hurry.

Nick holds my hand while stepping aboard and then Leonardo follows behind us. Just before we go, Nick makes sure everything is secure; my luggage and me. He's so protective.

Esmeralda casts off the lines and we back out of the boathouse.

While crossing the Sound, I gaze at the top of that big castle filled with so many secrets. I no longer wonder why Dmitri never goes there. I can understand why. But the place is also so luxurious.

I lower my gaze but then smile at Nick as he wraps an arm around my shoulder.
"So...I've got quite a surprise for you." He says.

"What is it?" I ask, grinning daringly.
He mysteriously thins his eyes at me, "It's a surprise."

I clam up.
"And I will not allow any hinting either." He lifts his chin, looking down his nose at me.

"Ohh-kay," I giggle. He kisses my temple and then looks out at the water. I wonder what's up his sleeve this time.

Soon, we arrive at Leonardo's boathouse. Before we get off the boat, Nick talks with him about tonight. From watching and listening to what they're saying, I learn the ferry has been hired to run from 6 to midnight. 7 o'clock is when the party starts, and Leonardo will be available in case any of the guests have any emergencies. Sounds like a good plan to me.

Nick picks up my bags and starts to get off the boat. Leonardo slightly points at the bags in his hands, "Would you like some help with those?" Nick laughs with a small shake of the head, "No no, I've got it. Thanks."

"No problem." Leonardo salutes him, and then we start heading for the castle. Yeah, he's got it alright. I smile shyly to my secret joke.