Mr. Smithfield - Louise Bay Page 0,35
I’m still excited. It’s just a way off, that’s all.” I was happy with the now. I didn’t want to think about the future. I spent the day with the most amazing kid, hanging out, seeing London, getting to see how the British did things. And then in the evening . . . For the past couple of weeks, in the evening, Gabriel would come home and we were together. He’d make love to me in his workshop. Or on the kitchen table. In front of the fire. We’d talk. I’d make him laugh with my ridiculous stories of life back home. He’d make me swoon with the way he talked about his daughter.
My life was good.
Close to perfect.
I just wished I could tell my sister. But she wouldn’t approve and would tell me every reason why he wasn’t right for me. And I didn’t want to hear it.
Gabriel was a good man. Kind. And thoughtful. He was serious, but he seemed to like me poking fun at him. Yes, he was older, but did that matter? And okay, I had a job starting in the fall that meant I wouldn’t be his daughter’s nanny, but until then?
Gabriel was right for right now.
“Where do you think you’ll start? You still wanting to go to Seville? Maybe Paris would be a good starting point because you can just take the train over.”
“Yeah, probably Paris,” I replied, wondering whether Gabriel and Bethany would maybe come with me. Even if it was for a few days. Gabriel said he’d been to Paris a lot. Maybe he could show me around.
But I wasn’t going to suggest it. Gabriel and I had an unspoken policy about not planning for the future. We didn’t talk about next week, let alone six weeks from now.
Hollie stepped out in the second dress. It was even more beautiful than the first, if that was possible.
“It’s so glamourous,” I said, taking in the fitted corset and sweeping fishtail.
“It looks great. But it’s not as comfortable as the other one,” she said, stepping up to the podium with a shuffle and a hop.
“It makes your ass look incredible,” I said, and Hollie turned around and tried to look at the back view over her shoulder.
“I’m not sure a good butt is worth not being able to breathe. What do you think?”
“I think not breathing is a compromise too far,” I agreed.
She nodded and tentatively stepped down from the podium and headed back behind the changing screen.
“Dexter is pushing me on the date, but I want to make sure it doesn’t interfere with your plans,” Hollie said. “Could you put together some kind of itinerary and let me know as soon as you can when would be a good time?”
I laughed. “You’re insane. This is one decision where I refuse to let you put me first. You can’t plan a wedding around plans that haven’t been made, or a person who isn’t the bride. Set your date and I’ll work around it.”
“What if you’re in the middle of Russia at the time we’re supposed to be getting married?”
“Well firstly I’m not planning on going to Russia, and secondly, I’ll come back.” I wish we could get off the subject. There was so much to enjoy about life right now. I wanted to soak in it for a little while.
“I don’t want to be responsible for dragging you away from something fun. Can’t you just come up with a plan?”
“Okay,” I said. I wasn’t going to win this battle. Hollie didn’t know how not to put me first. I would have to start looking into what I was going to be doing this summer. “I’ll look into it.” I needed to pull up my big girl pants and start planning. My right now wasn’t going to last forever, and I needed to embrace the future. I’d spent my entire life dreaming of travelling around Europe, and I wasn’t about to be sad about the fact my dreams were going to come true. I just wouldn’t allow it.
Fifteen
Gabriel
The kind of news I’d gotten today would normally have me irritated. Everyone in my law firm knew that I didn’t travel. It was the one rule I’d not broken for the sake of a client since Bethany was born. Apparently Autumn Lumen changed everything, because tonight, I couldn’t wait to get home and see the look in her eyes when I told her we were going away.
“Hello,” I said as I walked through the door. It