Royal Holiday - Jasmine Guillory Page 0,73
and put his champagne glass down.
“I wouldn’t have phrased it in quite that way . . .”
She patted him on the shoulder.
“I know you wouldn’t have, but I did.”
Plus—and she couldn’t tell him this part—she knew she’d gotten far too attached to Malcolm in the week and a half she’d known him. It would be fine; she knew she’d get over it after a while once she was at home and he wasn’t around. But also she knew herself well enough to know that if she and Malcolm stayed in contact in the way he’d suggested, her feelings would just grow stronger. And it would hurt more once it ended.
She took his hand.
“This was a perfect week, and I’m so grateful to you for it.”
He picked up their joined hands and kissed hers, then put his other hand on her cheek.
“You, grateful to me? Vivian, you have made me happier this week than I’ve been in years. I’m so grateful to you for that.”
He leaned over to kiss her again, and they kissed for a very long time, as the fireworks exploded in front of them.
After a while, he pulled back and slowly plucked all of the pins out of her hair. She was certain her hair looked like a tangled mess now, but the way he ran his fingers through her hair made her not even care. She lifted her face up to him, and they kissed more, until he slowly pushed her back so she was underneath him on the couch.
“You are just extraordinary,” he said. Good Lord, she would never get over the way he said “extraordinary” in that accent. And he was saying it about her!
She put her hand on his cheek, and they looked each other in the eyes for a very long time. Finally, he bent down and kissed her again.
“Mmm, is this the way people say thank you in England?” she asked as he pushed her dress up to her waist.
He looked up at her and grinned.
“The good ones do. Is that okay with you?”
She lifted her hands.
“Who am I to refuse to participate in a local custom?”
He laughed as he kissed her again.
Chapter Fourteen
They had to wake up far too early on New Year’s Day. Vivian’s flight wasn’t until noon, but what with the nightmare Heathrow always was, and the time it would take them to get there, they had to leave his place no later than nine. Vivian jumped out of bed when the alarm went off and finished tucking everything into her suitcase, while Malcolm lay in bed and watched her. The night before, he’d pretended he wasn’t hurt when she’d said no to his suggestion that they keep seeing each other, and now he winced when he thought about her rejection. He understood why she’d said no, he supposed, but it still stung.
And he hated that this was going to be the last time he saw her.
He got out of bed and pulled her into his arms. She nestled her head into his chest, and they stayed there like that for a long time, not kissing, not moving toward the bed or anything else, just holding each other. Finally, he pulled away and kissed the top of her head.
“I’m going to make us some coffee while you finish getting ready.”
He pulled pajama pants on and went off to the kitchen. He’d bought some pastries yesterday to have this morning, so he put them in the oven to warm up while the coffee brewed. He listened to Vivian in the shower and smiled at the gasp she always made when the water came on. After not that much time, she came into the kitchen and sat at the table.
“I think I have everything,” she said.
He poured her a cup of coffee and added cream and sugar to it.
“Do you have food? You need food.” He set her coffee in front of her, along with the plate of pastries. “There’s some leftovers from last night. I’ll pack them up for you.”
She smiled at him.
“Thank you.”
They were both quiet over their coffee. Finally, she looked over at the clock in the kitchen.
“Malcolm, I think we should probably . . .”
He got up and nodded.
“You’re right. Let me throw clothes on.”
He picked up the packet of food he’d made and handed it to her.
“I hope you have room for this in your purse.”
She smiled.
“If not, I’ll make room.”
All too soon, they were on the road to Heathrow, her luggage in the boot of