by Brandy Blake
She had avoided thinking about the baby issues, pushing it into the dark recesses of her brain. If she didn’t think about it, it wouldn’t happen. That was her way of thinking, she steeled her mind, and clamped it shut.
“Oh, here, this is for you.” He handed her some money. “To pay for the fee and the extra money on the trip. I think it was a difference of like 50 extra dollars, right, besides the 200 for the change.”
“Yeah, thank you.” She took the money and placed it on the table in front of them.
“You ready for bed? I’m tired and it’s been a long day.”
“Sure, I’ve been looking forward to sleeping on this mattress!”
She stood up and followed him into the bedroom and enjoyed the silky sheets and the cushiony feel of the bed as she lay down. He pulled her close and soon she could hear him snoring. Shortly after, she nodded off and was fast asleep.
Chapter9Mike watched Amanda as she slept. She is so beautiful, he thought. How did I luck out and meet her? he wondered. I guess it was just a matter of timing and good luck. Some might have said it was divine intervention, even. Mike doubted that was the case, but not as strongly as he would have in the past.
He had been serious when he said she’d changed his outlook on life. He really had never believed in love at first sight. But, that first night when he saw her sitting at the bar, her dress had fit perfectly on her body. It had shown that her curves were in all the right spots.
He had wanted to get to know her immediately. He wanted to touch her, it felt like an insatiable longing in his body or an itch that he wanted to scratch very badly.
When they had made love that first night, it had felt like he was coming home. He didn’t know how to really make sense of it all. It had just felt perfect, like they fit together like a puzzle.
He was so thankful for this chance, and he wanted it to work out. He’d been playing with the idea of actually moving to Arizona if he couldn’t talk her into moving to London.
After she had explained the Phoenix area, he actually thought it sounded like a nice place to live. He could open up a division of his company there, maybe. However, then he’d feel the fear of moving from the place he’d lived all of his life.
He had been born in England and grew up around London. Why would he just up and leave it all? For her, that’s why, he thought. No, I’ll just talk her into moving here. London is the perfect spot for us, I’m already established. She can start her business here, and she’ll do just fine. Heck, I can hire her, he thought, and wondered if she might go for this.
Mike thought out a plan in his head. While they were out seeing London the next couple of weeks, he’d begin to plant the seed in her mind. He wanted her here with him, on his home turf. Where he knew that he controlled it all.
If he did a good enough job, he would be able to talk her into it, like he had talked her into staying longer. He wouldn’t ask her to not go back for her dad’s surgery because that would simply be cold-hearted.
He would just buy her a ticket back, give her a few weeks to say goodbye to everyone. If she agreed to it, and he hoped he would be able to spin his words and make her want a life with him in London.
Mike kissed the top of her head, and then got up and made them breakfast. He cooked some eggs and bacon. He toasted the bread to a perfect brown, placed some butter on it, and had gotten out all of the various jams and jellies that he had in the refrigerator. He wasn’t sure which she would like the best, but he wanted her to have all the choices possible.
She walked out when he had just finished cooking the bacon and wrapped her hands around his waist. “Good morning,” she said, and he turned and kissed her deeply.
“Good morning, you look lovely.” He smiled.
She laughed. “I’m sure my hair is all over the place, and I don’t look that good!”
“It is a little bit messed up, but not that bad. You hungry?” he asked.
“Starving.”
“Good sit down, it is almost all done. I didn’t know what kind of jam that you like, so I dug out all that I had in the refrigerator. If you don’t like any of them, we can go and buy whatever you want later.”
“Okay, but I’m sure you have something I’ll like just fine.” Amanda hugged him again and kissed his cheek. “It sure smells good.”
“I hope it tastes as good as it smells. Now go sit down and let me get it out to the table, and then we can eat. I have a big day planned for us today.” He smiled.
“What are we doing?” she asked.
“I’m going to take you on a boat tour of the Thames, and it will end at the London Eye. If you would like, we can ride the London Eye, and you’ll be able to see the city from the top of it.”
“It’s a ride?”
“Yes, you didn’t know that?”
“No, I just thought it was a big round wheel!” She laughed.
He laughed. “Good thing I’m taking you to it, now you will know exactly what it is.”
“Sounds like a lot of fun. Is it going to be cold today? So I know how to dress,” she commented.
“Dress warm, but you should be okay, I’ll help keep you warm,” he said and placed a plate of bacon and eggs in front of her.
He sat down across from her and started to eat.
“It’s good, thank you. I didn’t expect you to cook me breakfast.”
“Didn’t you expect to eat?”
“Yeah, but I figured we would eat out. This is so much better though.”
“I would spoil you every day of the week if you lived here.” He smiled back at her.
Amanda smiled and ate more, but she could never move to London. She enjoyed the sun far too much, and the heat. To her it was far too cold here, but she wouldn’t tell him that right now. No use in ruining the moment, he had made such a nice breakfast.
“I got the dishes, you go ahead and get ready for the day,” Mike said as he started to clean off the table.
“Are you sure you don’t want some help?” she asked.
“Nope, I’m good.”
She picked through her clothes and looked for the warmest combination of clothes she could come up with. Having lived in Phoenix all her life, and enjoying virtually year-round warm weather, she didn’t have a lot of cold weather clothes.
Thank goodness, she had bought a few heavier sweaters when she left Phoenix. She put on a shirt, and then pulled one of the heavy sweaters over her head.
Amanda had packed only one pair of jeans, not having expected to need them, since she’d planned to dress nicely for the seminar. Her plans had not included staying an extra two weeks in London. Being shown around by a man she had fallen in love with.
She pulled on the jeans, and they seemed to be a bit tighter than normal. She shrugged and made a mental note to do some exercises later.
Mike came into the room. “You about ready?” he asked as he pulled out his own clothes.
“Yep, just have to run a brush through this mess of hair, and I’ll be ready.” She laughed. “And you said it looked fine!”
“It doesn’t look bad to me. But, I’d think you were beautiful, even if it was a complete mess!” He laughed.
**
They were on the boat, he hugged her close to his body. “I’m sorry, I really didn’t think it would be this cold. I guess being out on the water and all. I should have not planned this today.”
“Your body heat is actually helping me out a lot.” She smiled up at him. “I’m enjoying it a lot, even if it is a bit cold!”
“We’re almost to the London Eye, if you want to skip riding it we can. We can find a nice warm restaurant and eat, or just have a drink and warm up,” Mike offered.
“No, we came all this way, I want to ride it,” Amanda said.
“Okay, anything you want.”
Amanda smiled at him. He was a very good host, he would give her anything she wanted. She liked that about him, but she wouldn’t take advantage of him either. That wasn’t the type of person she wa
s.
She wondered what his marriage had been like, had he been this caring with her? He had been so much younger, she was sure he had been a lot less mature at that time, and most likely nothing like he was now.
“Come on, there is the Eye, it looks like a very short line to get on. Last chance to back out.” Mike pulled her along.
She looked up. “It is so tall. How tall is it?” she asked him.
“135 meters.”
“What is that in feet?”
“Almost 443 feet.”
“Oh, my goodness, thankfully, I’m not scared of heights. But, to be honest that sounds so high up. I can see why you would be able to see so much of London from it.”
“Wait until you get to the top of it!” He smiled.
Amanda walked beside him, they held hands and he hugged her many times as they waited to board the ride. She was excited, and nervous. She had never recalled being up that high, in something that didn’t have walls around it.
They got on the ride and moved up towards the top. They lucked out and were stuck at the top for several moments, as a new passenger was put on the ride. “Oh, my goodness, what an amazing view. I can’t even explain it.”
“I know, you really have to experience it to know what it is about.” Mike smiled.
He pulled her closer to him and kissed her, high above the ground. “I love you, Amanda.”
“I love you too, Mike.”
“I wish you could move to London and live here with me,” he said.
Amanda had felt this coming, she just knew he would eventually mention it. She hadn’t figured out what to say though, she loved Mike, but she hated cold weather. As far as she could tell, London really didn’t have many warm days in the year. How could she give up the sun? “I really like Phoenix, and the heat,” she finally said.
“I’m sure you could adjust to living here, though. I’d be able to spoil you every day. You could live with me and enjoy the Jacuzzi tub all you wanted.” Mike dangled what he thought she might want from life.
“I have a steady business there, and friends, though. You are asking me to give up a lot. Can we just enjoy our time together and talk about our long-term plans later?”
“Sure, it was just a suggestion.” He hugged her to him and looked out over the city. “The view from here is truly amazing,” he commented.
“Yes, I agree. Thank you for choosing this. It was well worth the cold trip across the water, and we got to see all those other wonderful sites too!”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it. But, I suggest that we find a warm pub when we get off here and have something to eat and get the chill out of our bones!”
She laughed. “Sounds like a perfect plan to me.”
Amanda thought, I should point out the benefits of him moving to Phoenix. “You know if you don’t like this chill, you’d love the heat of the sun you experience in Phoenix!”
He laughed. “I guess that is only fair!”
“Sure, I mean you could move just as easily as I could!”
“Yeah, but like you said, let’s enjoy the next couple of weeks. As it gets closer for you to leave, we will talk more about our long-term plans,” Mike said.
She felt like she had made her point, and that maybe he wouldn’t try and push her into a decision like moving anymore. Of course, she couldn’t blame him. She wanted to be with him too, just on her terms. I’m being selfish, she thought for a moment. I want my cake, and I want to eat it too. There has to be an easier way to do this.
“Yeah, don’t get involved with someone who lives halfway across the world!” her mind spoke up inside her head, the thought resounded throughout her body.
She had placed herself in a near impossible position. Her heart wanted him, but her body wasn’t willing to deal with this cold weather. She already knew she wouldn’t be willing to move here. Was that fair? Did it even give them a shot at happiness?
How happy could they be with meeting every other month? All these questions seemed to pile on, and far too quickly for her to come up with any answers.
Amanda felt that she just wanted to shut out the world and hide. She wanted to take Mike into a secret hiding spot, and never leave it. Just the two of them, in a perfect spot, where they would be together. The rest of the world could go on without them. That was fine.
They found a pub about a block from the Eye, and he opened the door. The warmth of the interior hit her cold body and helped to warm it a bit. “Look, they have a fireplace! Do you want to sit closer to it?” he asked.
“Yes, please,” she answered.
He asked to be seated near the fire, and they were led to a table that gave them a nice dose of heat off the burning wood.
“This is nice.” She allowed the heat of the fire to warm up her body. She really enjoyed the warmth and sound of the crackling fire and the smell of the wood burning as it mingled with the aroma of various foods in the room.
“Yes, I think it got colder out while we were up on the ride. Or the ride just made it seem colder. We were up pretty high, and there was a bit of wind today.”
“I think it got colder,” she stated.
“Thank goodness for this fire, then!”
She put her hands out, reaching towards the fire, to warm up her fingers. The heat of the fire reminded her of Phoenix, and how she felt every day. She loved the heat of the sun, and there was always plenty back home. Here it seemed to hide from the people, only coming out occasionally. She wondered how people were ever happy living in this city.
Then she remembered, they were most likely like Mike, they had grown up here. Much like she had grown up in Arizona. They had both adapted to their environments. All people did this, did that mean she, or he, could adapt again? Was she willing to give London a chance? she thought.
She shook her head and thought, No way. I love him, but nope, I don’t want to live in this cold place. I would be depressed never seeing the sun. I would be willing to have him move with me. I have a decent place, it would be big enough for us both, and Bow Tie. We could be a happy little family, but also enjoy the warm weather!
Amanda wanted to stop thinking about all of this. It made it harder to be able to enjoy her time with him. However, she knew that the next two weeks would zoom by, and then they would be apart.
“Our food is here,” Mike said, and Amanda came back to the present. She had been living out a fantasy in her head. It had been nice, and Mike had decided to move to Arizona with her.
She tried to not let the hopelessness of the situation swallow her up. She couldn’t ask this much from him. Not when she had been upset by his attempted proposal for her to move here. It just didn’t seem fair. She might just be better off going home right now, she could start the healing process, and maybe one day she would be over him.
It seemed like the only option that made any sense to her right now. She just wasn’t ready to leave, he made her want more time with him. If only to be spoiled for a few more days. All I want to do is enjoy it. All I’m asking is for this time to go slow, please God, she thought.
She didn’t often pray, but she did silently as she sat at the table and looked at the man she had dreamed of meeting her whole life. If only the circumstances were different, maybe they would have a chance to have a happy life.
It just seemed cruel to be with him and knowing that soon she would have to say goodbye. She would miss his kisses. How he touched her, and how their bodies molded together perfectly when they made love.
Chapter10
“So do you want to go to Stonehenge or a medieval castle today?” Mike asked Amanda the next morning.
They had come home and made slow love, after taking a bubble bath. It had been amazing, and Amanda had enjoyed it as much as she had every other time they had made love. She wished that this time would never end. Thankfully, they had been smart and used protection.
“Which would you suggest?” she asked.
“Well, honestly, either of them. The castle is the Tower of Lo
ndon and it is closer, we can make the other one a weekend trip, and do it on Friday maybe. Of course, since I’m off we can do it now. So, in the end it is up to you. Do you feel like a long trip, or a short one today?” Mike inquired.
“A short one, we can do the other one, maybe in a couple of days. As long as we do it before I have to leave,” Amanda commented.
“You know you can always come back for another visit if we aren’t able to see everything,” Mike said.
“Yeah, I know,” Amanda commented. She was happy he hadn’t suggested she moved to London again.
“Okay, so it’s the Tower of London today. Dress semi-warm again, it’s not very warm out. The castle has walls, but it isn’t insulated like modern homes, so it won’t be very warm, but not cold either. It is kind of a medium between the two. I think you should be much better than we were on the water yesterday,” he commented.
“Okay. I’m sure I have something that will work. Tonight, if possible, I need to wash a few clothes. If you don’t mind, that is.”
“Of course not, you are free to use anything in my house, including me!” He smiled and pulled her to him.
“Ahh, someone is feeling randy today.” She laughed.
He busted out laughing. “Oh look who is speaking with the British phrases now!”
“I saw it online yesterday when I was sending an email to Janice.”
“It sounds so sexy coming from your mouth. It makes me want to keep you in bed all day long. However, I know how much you want to see some things before you leave. So, I’ll hold off until later.” He chuckled.
“Maybe tomorrow we could spend the day in bed. I mean I’m willing to make a sacrifice here and there. I don’t have to see everything!”
“A sacrifice, huh, I think there would be more pleasure than sacrifice.”
“Oh, I’m quite sure of that too. Thus, the reason I can skip seeing some things to spend time in the bed with you.”
“Tomorrow, I will ravish you until you can’t take it.”
“Sounds delightful.” She smiled.
**
“Wow, I knew castles were big, but honestly, this is even larger than I could picture. You never know if movies tell the truth, so I’ve never been sure about their portrayals of a castle,” Amanda said, as they followed the tour guide through the Tower of London.