Of the Utmost Importance [rina au]

The War for Love

a/n: hey y'all hope everyone is enjoying the story. I hope to update more. I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm changing Ricky's older sister to the character Val from s3, she will no longer be named Catherine. K enjoy!

Kourtney is under no illusions about the status and wealth of the Caswells but somehow when EJ takes her hand as she steps off the carriage she's taken back by the sheer opulence of the estate. She doesn't get the chance to blush at EJ shooing away the footman so he can help her out of the carriage himself. She takes it all in with shortness of breath. The endless view of limestone and elaborate columns melded together to form four pillars at the entrance.

EJ doesn't stop holding her hand as he guides them through the cobblestone pathway leading to the white door. Soon enough Kourtney finds herself even more enraptured with the interior. The ceilings are a collection of designs with stylings from Baroque to Rococo. She finds herself relieved she doesn't have to enter a room so she can't gawk at sights that she knows must be even more astonishing to the eye.

Kourtney swallows harshly, feeling anxiety pestering her like a relentless mosquito on a sweltering humid summer day. Her confidence had been instilled by the powerful presence of her mother since birth. She was proud to be a Greene, a formidable woman whose skills and talents knew no bounds. Art and beauty had never truly made her feel smaller. Yet as the pair strolled through the house EJ had grown up in and all the paintings of lords and ladies pictured on the wall appeared, she couldn't help but lower her gaze.

EJ squeezes her hand as they walk and the action grounds her. Kourtney blinks and finds herself suddenly taken by his profile. He'd been looking forward in content with a determined gleam in his eye. A warm feeling completely unfolded in her stomach, a feeling she'd been trying to boggle down for months now with every charming smile he'd thrown her way. It's as if he'd sensed her discomfort with what she'd been faced with and what waited for them outside the servant's entrance.

Kourtney spotted his mother Lady Caswell sitting across another seemingly noble person with Gardinias surrounding them and nearly froze. Her heart spiked, its regular rhythm interrupted when she recognized a figure by the willow tree. Suddenly her hand is out of EJ's grasp and his expression is adorably confused, if it were any other time she'd take his face in her hands and soothe the lines of concern on his forehead. Now was not that time. Now was the time for answers.

"What is Richard Bowen doing here?"

"Well-" EJ's brows are still adorably scrunched in confusion as he looks behind him and then back to her. "I actually don't know the answer to that. What is he doing here?" he mutters, still confounded. Kourtney spies Gina uttering something to Ashlyn as Ricky shifts uncomfortably on his feet when he sees her. More and more the knot in her stomach grows, of course, this wasn't a good idea, Kourtney chastises herself for indulging her impulses. Meeting his family now of all times made no sense and now with Ricky being there, likely to pursue Gina, this was all looking like one big mess.

"This was a bad idea." Kourtney says anxiously, taking one hesitant step back. EJ's eyes widened with surprise and a dash of hurt she'd only been able to perceive upon knowing him. "What? No, it wasn't."

Kourtney shakes her head, "Yes, it was. I mean coming to visit your family out of the blue, will it not be strange to your mother? She and Lynne Bowen are having tea for heaven's sake." she emphatically points out.

"Well, then you can join them." The taller lord insisted, chancing another step closer. He celebrates internally when she doesn't take another step back. "EJ-"

"One day." He practically pleads. "All I want is one day with you that feels normal. That feels like what could be a lifetime." EJ sincerely states.

Kourtney bites her lip and she finds herself fighting her impulses again. The very ones that got her in this mess in the first place. The very ones that wanted to take the pain bared in his eyes and voice and kiss all the worries away. "I want that too." She lets herself admit it.