Previously in "Angel of Destiny", Lexi breaks off her engagement to Garrett and tells Kol, then allows Meghan and Vicki to help her with a makeover.

Chapter Three

Kol was sitting behind his desk doing some paperwork when Jenna walked in. "Kol, what happened to the Branson-Johnson wedding?" she asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"The order was cancelled. The bride called off the engagement," Kol replied without looking up from the paperwork.

Jenna blinked. "Did she say why she broke it off?"

"The groom cheated on her with his ex."

"Did she tell you this herself, or something?" Jenna asked as she leaned on the edge of his desk with the palms of her hands.

Kol nodded. "Yes. She called me personally and told me."

"Oh, really, are you friends with her now? We consider that against company policy, Kol! We don't 'make friends' with the brides!"

Kol gave her an indignant look. "With all due respect, Jenna, what would you rather have me do, hang up on her? She was courteous enough to call me and tell me that she was calling off the engagement."

"Don't let it interfere with your promotion, Kol; you'll still be getting it…if you stay away from Ms. Branson," Jenna ordered before turning and leaving the office.

Kol sighed as he watched Jenna leave. True, he wanted the promotion and wanted to do as he was told, but staying away from Lexi was going to be easier said than done, considering the fact that the beautiful blonde doctor had been haunting his every thought since they met. In fact, he hated the fact that her fiancé had gone and betrayed her like that. No woman should be subjected to that kind of treatment.

Reaching over, he picked up the phone and dialed a number he knew all too well, that of an old friend he knew would help him in a heartbeat.

After a few rings, he heard the voice of his old friend, Galen Vaughn, on the other end. "Yes?"

"Vaughn, I want you to help me," Kol said. "I have someone I want you to keep an eye on for me. A Dr. Alexia Branson."

"Dr. Branson, you say?" Galen said. "No problem, mate." Curiously, he added, "Is any reason you can't keep an eye on her yourself?"

"It's my boss. She doesn't want me going anywhere near her if I want my promotion."

"Aye, the promotion," Galen said with a chuckle. "Sure thing, mate; I'll call you once I've got tabs on her." He and Kol ended the call at the same time and Galen turned, only to get a pointed glare from his wife.

"Who was on the phone, Galen?"

Galen smiled. "That was my old friend, Kol. He wanted me to do him a favor."

"What kind of favor?" Danielle Nichols Vaughn asked him, still giving the glare.

"He wants me to keep an eye on someone for him," Galen said. "A woman named Dr. Alexia Branson."

Danielle nodded. "And why would he want to you keep an eye on her for him? Can't he do that himself?"

"He's up for a promotion at this wedding planning place and he can't go anywhere near her if he wants it," Galen said. "So, I promised to keep an eye on her and call him when I have tabs on her."

Danielle nodded again and moved onto the bed with him, nestling herself into his arms. "Would you allow me to help?" she asked softly.

Galen nodded. "Of course, love. I wouldn't mind having you help me."

She smiled up at him then kissed him softly on the lips.

The Next Day…

Danielle approached the clinic where she knew Lexi worked and walked inside.

Lexi noticed Danielle and said, "May I help you?"

Danielle smiled. "I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd drop by."

"Wait a second," Lexi said before getting up and moving around the desk she sat behind. "You're that makeup artist, aren't you? I've heard about you!"

Danielle smiled. "Guilty as charged. I'm Danielle Nichols." She was careful not to use her married name to avoid suspicion.

"It's nice to finally meet you in person. I mean, you're, like, my idol," Lexi gushes to Danielle.

Danielle smiled. "Really; oh, I'm so honored. I have so many fans and it's definitely good to know that you're one of them."

Meghan and Vicki both came from doing routine check-ups with patients and smiled at their excited friend. "What's going on out here?"

Lexi cleared her throat. "Vicki, Meghan, this is Danielle Nichols. She's that famous make-up artist I've told you about."

"Hi, I'm Dr. Meghan Fell-Lockwood," Meghan said as she stepped forward to offer her hand.

"I'm Dr. Victoria Donovan-Talbot," Vicki echoed after Meghan.

Danielle nodded at the two women. "It's nice to meet you both."

Meghan tilted her head. "So, what brings you to the clinic?"

Danielle smiled. "I'm here to see Dr. Branson. I was in the neighborhood and I thought I'd stop in. I won't stay long, because I know she has patients and everything, but I wanted to surprise her with a visit."

She finally left and left behind three confused women.

Danielle exited the clinic and called Galen. "Phase one is complete, baby. I've met Dr. Branson."

"That's great, love," he replied. "You remembered to use your maiden name when you introduced yourself, right?"

"Yes, I did," Danielle said. "She doesn't suspect a thing."

"Good, good," Galen said before going on. "I love you, Danni."

Danielle smiled. "I love you too, Galen. I'll see you at home."

"All right," he replied. "I'll call Kol and let him know."

They ended the call at the same time and Galen dialed Kol's number, waiting for his friend to answer the call.

Kol heard his phone ring and, seeing Galen's number on the ID, he picked it up immediately. "Yes, Vaughn? What have you got for me?"

"My darling wife, Danielle, visited your Dr. Branson at the clinic," he replied. "She also met the women she works with. Apparently, she's a fan of my wife's work."

"She didn't use her married name when she introduced herself, did she?"

"Relax, mate, Danni used her maiden name," Galen said. "In any case, contact has been established."

"That's good," Kol said. "At least no one suspected anything."

"Nope, and we're doing great now. I'll be in touch, mate," Galen said before ending the call.

Kol smiled as Galen ended the call. So far, his plan was working. If all went well, he and Lexi would be together.

Later…

Kol lifted his glass along with his 3 older brothers in honor of their younger brothers, Henrik & Olivier, who were getting married in a double ceremony. "To marriage!" they all echoed together then clicked glasses.

Elijah smiled as he drank the champagne in his glass. "Our brothers have certainly done well for themselves, haven't they? Francesca and Cora are fine young women."

"That they are," Finn said with a broad smile. "Alright, who's ready for cake samples?" He rubbed his hands together after emptying his glass and putting it on a passing tray.

Elijah, Klaus, and Finn helped themselves to some cake samples, Kol grabbing one after they did. Of course, his mind wasn't on the celebration; it was on other matters, such as the secret mission he had Galen and his wife doing for him.

He quickly snapped out of his thoughts when there could be cheers heard and he joined his brothers at the railing of the private room Finn had booked, smirking when he saw Lexi among the group of women that came into the bar where they were having the bachelor party. He also saw Caroline, Sage, Katherine, Francesca and Cora. "Do you think they're aware we're here?"

Klaus smiled at his brother's question and shook his head. "If they are, they're having too much fun to notice."

Kol barely heard the answer as his eyes had met Lexi's through the tall mirror behind the bar. He lifted his glass in a silent toast to her and smirked behind the rim of the glass when he saw her squirm in her seat.

Sage noticed that Lexi squirmed a little and gave her a concerned look. "Hey, Lex, are you okay? You look nervous."

Lexi nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." That was a lie, of course, but she didn't want to tell Sage the truth. Lexi's gaze went back up to Kol through the mirror then glanced down when her cell phone buzzed on the bar in front of her. Meet me, now! he wrote in a text message.

Lexi went to the alley outside the bar, where she saw Kol waiting for her. Before she could say anything, he pulled her close to him and kissed her. Lexi moaned when he angled his head and deepened the kiss, their tongues colliding. She moaned even louder into his kiss when he pressed her against the brick wall.

Lexi reached up and ran her fingers through his hair as they continued to kiss, pulling away after a few minutes, her lips swollen. "You're quite a kisser, Kol."

Kol smiled. "Thank you, love. I've been waiting to kiss you like that since I met you. You haunt my every thought, Alexia Branson."

"Not as much as you haunt mine," she replied. Her hand lifted and she ran her thumb over his bottom lip, shivering when his lips opened and he sucked on the organ.

Kol felt his heart hammer as enjoyed the encounter. In that moment, everything seemed to be forgotten, including his promotion and the bachelor party he was here for with his brothers.

"Kol, what if we get caught?"

Kol smiled. "Let them catch us. I don't care as long as I'm with you."

She shakes her head, giving him a final brushing of her lips across his then turns and heads back into the bar. Kol follows a few minutes later, going up the back stairs and goes back to his brothers' party.

Kol had a smirk on his face when he returned, which Klaus noticed. "What have you been up to?"

"What makes you think I was up to something?"

"You have that cat-that-swallowed-the-canary look on your face," Klaus said. "That means you were up to something."

"I've just been kissing a beautiful woman," Kol said mysteriously. "Now, let's finish those samples, shall we? Francesca and Cora paid a lot of money for them."

Klaus raised an eyebrow at his brother's reply. Something told that he wasn't telling him the truth, but decided to let it go when Kol mentioned the samples. "You're right. We shouldn't insult them by not enjoying the samples they paid good money for us to try."

Beneath the guys' party, the women in their lives/their wives were giggling over stories that Francesca and Cora were more than willing to share.

Caroline laughed as she listened to one story that Francesca was telling about Henrik. "He actually did that?"

Francesca nodded. "Oh, yeah, he definitely did. And he'd be embarrassed if he knew I was telling you this. He made me swear absolute secrecy."

Lexi listened to this as well and although she was enjoying it, the memory of the kiss with Kol in the alley was still playing over in her mind. He was an incredible kisser, and she wished that she didn't have to return to the other women.

After the Parties…

Lexi let out a loud hiccup as Sage held her up with one arm draped around the redhead's shoulders while Sage had her own arm around Lexi's waist. "I kissed Kol earlier, Sage," Lexi confessed.

Sage scowled curiously at the blonde. "What? He wasn't even here, so how could you have kissed him?"

"Yes, he was," Lexi said. "He was here for a bachelor party with his brothers, and he sent me a text message to meet him, so I went out to the alley. When I got there, he was waiting for me. Before I could say anything, we start kissing."

Sage frowned then finally lifted one arm and hailed a cab, before one pulled up to where they were. "137 Cottonwood Lane," she told the driver, paying him with a $100.

Lexi wanted to protest, but was pushed into the back of the cab. She gave Sage one last look as the driver took off.

Little did the two women know that Kol was watching what was taking place & he waited until the cab was gone before getting into one of the limos that Finn had gotten for himself and each of the brothers in the event they drank too much. When the driver asked him where he was going, he said, "137 Cottonwood Lane."

Author's Note: I'm going to be cruel and end this here, and give you all a cliff-hanger! You'll probably call me horrible for cutting you off like that, but hopefully, the romance will really blossom soon!