Lunch with his parents

My eyes reluctantly fluttered open, and the first thing I saw was Killian's face mere inches from mine. Startled, I attempted a graceful roll to get away from the impending awkwardness, but grace was clearly not on my side. I tumbled off the sofa with a thud, my dignity taking a nosedive alongside me.

Before I could process, Killian, wielding a sausage and a soup ladle with all the finesse of a makeshift morning alarm, knocked on the tent he'd generously pitched for my beauty sleep.

"Wake up! Time to meet the parents and seal the deal. We're getting married!"

Groaning, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, contemplating the life choices that had led me to this peculiar moment. Killian, ever the romantic, casually tossed an ironed dress my way, accompanying it with an insistence that I transform from a sleep-deprived mess into a blushing bride-to-be.

He was taking me to his acquaintance.

With my patience dangling by a thread and Tony, Killian's supposedly trusted makeup artist, turning my