“Really?” I pant as Phil starts to singCome With Me.
“Yes,” he states firmly.
I wonder for a second why I haven’t thought about any of these things – Because you’re a freak of nature!– I laugh sarcastically at myself.
“What?” Tristan chuckles.
“Nothing,” I chuckle then frown. Why haven’t I thought about the kind of wedding I want, or dress or wedding song?
“Tell me,” he pleads.
I feel panicky just thinking about it and start squeaking it all out rapidly.
“I just don't understand why I haven’t thought about any of the stuff you keep bringing up, like wedding rings and dresses and songs’– “Ok, take a breath,” Tristan says and walks us over to the bed. Sitting us both down, he wraps his arm around my shoulders.“Does it matter that you haven’t?” he asks softly. “All I care about is that you want to marry me. Still do?” he asks questioningly.
I roll my eyes at him.
“Ok,” he laughs. “So don't worry about the rest. I know I keep mentioning certain things because I keep thinking you’re thinking the same. Most women would have loads planned by now, I'm sure, but that’s one of the many reasons I want to marry you, because you’re not like them, you’re so different.” I look up at him feeling skeptical about what he’s saying.
“It doesn’t matter to me that you’re not running around ordering this and that for the wedding, or planning where and what date. All that matters to me is what’s most important, that you want to marry me.” I somberly shake my head, I feel so guilty.
“I have no idea what I want Tristan, except you. I have no idea what kind of wedding, or dress or rings or any of it. I just want to marry you,” I whisper.
“Well that settles it then,”he says.
I frown back at him.
“We hire a wedding planner,”he adds. What?
“Really?” I squeak in surprise. “Aren’t they for people who have huge weddings?” I ask.
“I don't think so,” Tristan frowns.
I chuckle at him, he has no idea, but I like his plan, I’m already feeling less nervous.
“Leave it to me,” he says confidently. “Now, I’ve moved our appointment to an hour later,” he tells me. “So, how do you feel, headache gone?” He questions as his lips quirk up at the corners.
“Why are you trying to hide your smile?” I ask.
“I'm not,” he says, grinning broadly.
“No,” I answer sarcastically, shaking my head. “Of course you’re not!”
“Headache?” he asks sharply, trying not to smile.
“Gone,” I smirk. “What – Are – You – Laughing –At?” I ask mock punching his arm with each word.
Tristan really starts tittering and falls back onto the bed.“I was thinking,” he chuckles. “About when you came with me to view this place, you were so ill. I think I knew back then that you don’t handle hangovers very well,” he says.
So he did find my suffering amusing, bastard!
“Who does,” I answer dryly.
“Well it’s a good job you’re feeling better,” he tells me.
“Why?” I question hesitantly. I may not like what I'm about to hear.
“You’ll see,” he answers smugly. I look down at his hand, remembering last night, the bandage is gone and the cuts look like they are already healing.
“How’s your hand?” I ask, taking it in mine. Feeling on top of the world that I have such a gentle, yet masculine man who loves me – Who knew!
“Fine. Now come on, shower Mrs. I’ll get your breakfast going.”
Mrs…Hmm, I like the sound of that!
“My breakfast?” I question.
“Oh, I already ate,” he tells me jumping up from the bed. How can he have so much energy? We were both pretty slurry when we climbed into bed this morning.Glaring grumpily back at him, I huff loudly, pick up my veggie juice and stomp into the bathroom...
AFTER DRESSING IN MY JEANS, t-shirt and trainers at Tristan’s request, I make my way down the stairs.The moment I reach the top step of the first flight of stairs, I’m hit with the smell of smoked salmon and eggs. Hmmm, my stomach rumbles loudly in appreciation.
As I skip into the kitchen, I see Tristan whisking something at the counter.
“Just in time,” he says. “Take a seat,” he tells me so I do.
Picking up my orange juice, I take several gulps.Mmm…it’s so refreshing.
“Close your eyes,” he requests politely, so I do,I hear him place something in front of me, it smells divine.“Open your eyes,”he whispers.
I look down and see he’s made Eggs Florentine on a bed of spinach with smoked salmon, all neatly stacked on a toasted muffin.
I gaze up at him.“You made this?” I ask in astonishment – I think Tristan should be the chef!
“Gran taught me,” he says shrugging his shoulders.“Come on, eat up,” he tells me.
I pick up my knife and fork and cut through it, taking a bite I moan dreamily.
“Perfect,” I say sweetly, because it is, just like Tristan, just like his proposal, just like last night’s love making.
My pelvic muscles contract just thinking about it.It wasn’t perfect, it was damn-hot-sexy-sex, not love making.I pick up my orange juice and take several swigs, trying not to picture what we got up to, clearing my throat and taking a deep breath, I smile sweetly at Tristan, quiet my mind and tuck into breakfast.
“I could get used to this,” I say, feeling a tradition in the making; Tristan making breakfast, me cooking our evening meal.
“Me making you breakfast?” he questions, laughing lightly.
“Yeah,” I chuckle. “I think that’s fair, especially if I’m cooking on an evening.”
Tristan seems deep in thought.“I could get someone in to cook and clean for us,” he says.
I can't help smiling.
“What?” he chuckles.
“Nothing,” I laugh.
“Tell me,” he pleads.
“It’s just...I never imagined myself with someone’ – “With money?” he questions, interrupting me.
I nod feeling shy.“I just think it’s going to feel weird you know…having people to do stuff for you,” I say.
“Well I don’t know about you, but cleaning bores me to death, and this is a big place. I’d rather pay someone to do it,” he says. “And if you’re going to be busy in the evenings, maybe we should get someone in to cook for us too – I don’t always have the time myself,” he adds.
I think about it for a second, maybe it’s not a bad idea. I can cook when I’m home early, and when I’m not the chef can do it, at least I’ll know Tristan’s getting a decent meal in him.
I look around the huge expanse and decide a cleaner would probably be a good idea too. Tristan and I could spend all weekend cleaning this place, and we still wouldn’t get to every room.
“Ok, let’s do it,” I say.
“Glad you agree,” he says. “But I was going to do it anyway.”He adds, grinning broadly at me.
“Really?” I say sarcastically.
He chuckles at me. “What do you think about a live-in housekeeper?” he asks.
I shrug, unable to answer as I’m eating, but wouldn’t that be weird, other people living in the house, but there’s something about the way he’s smiling at me.
I quickly swallow.“Do you already have one?” I ask.
“Yes,” he smiles. “In London,” he adds.
“You do?” I squeak in surprise.
“Yes,” he chuckles.Hmm, I’ve never asked him where he spends most of his time.
“Are you there a lot, you know compared to Birmingham and Leeds?”
“Yes, I consider it home…well, I did,” he says his thumb skimming my cheek.
“Male or female?” I ask, frowning at him.
“Female.”Hmm, not sure about that!
“Will you ask her to come here?”
“Yes.”
“Do yo
u think she will?”
“Yes, I think so. Her daughter is in Devon so I think she’ll jump at the opportunity.”
“Oh,” I nod. “How long has she worked for you?”
“Ten years.” He raises one eyebrow as he reads my expression – Crap!
“She’s sixty-three,” he says, smiling broadly.
“Oh,” I say, feeling stupid.
“Oh baby,” he chuckles. “Edith is lovely, when she came for the interview, I hired her there and then,” he says, his eyes going all warm with memories.
“Why?” I ask.
“She was by far the best candidate,” he says, but I can tell he’s hiding something.
“Why don’t you just tell me the truth?” I say between mouthfuls.
Tristan sighs then smiles warmly at me. “Alright, ten years ago I had my folks move in with me, they were both getting on and I didn’t want them rotting away in a care home. My London pad has its own studio, so they were happy with that. Edith knew her duties would be mainly taking care of them, keeping the house clean, grocery shopping, cooking meals, you know stuff like that…” he trails off, his cheeks flaming.
“What’s wrong?” I whisper.
He turns and stares down at me with sad eyes. “I…I just…sometimes it hits me so hard, like I’ve been hit with a truck, like it’s just happened all over again, but that’s grief for you I guess.” He takes a deep breath and slowly blows it out. “I miss them Coral, sometimes…it’s really hard to think about them,” he adds, swallowing hard.
“I know baby.”I wrap my arm around his waist and lean my head on his shoulder, Tristan rests his head on mine, and pus his arm around my shoulders, I try to think of something to say, something to take his mind away from the grief.
“Tell me about Edith,” I prompt.
He kisses the top of my head. “Ok, well Edith had never worked a day in her life, but she knew how to run a home. Her husband had always done well, and she wanted to be a full time mother to their daughter, so she was a stay at home mom, but her husband had died suddenly of a heart attack, the very same month her daughter had gone off to university. She said to me that she had to re-evaluate her life, and with them both gone she knew she couldn’t stand being in the house, the other job she applied to was cabin crew on a cruise-liner.”
“She was brave,” I say.
“Yes and determined, I immediately liked her and so did my folks, she really was the mothering type, which was exactly the kind of women I trusted to take care of my folks, you hear such horror stories about abuse in homes-” Tristan stops dead and looks down at me.
“It’s ok Tristan, I know what you meant, believe me I’ve thought about it often enough with Gladys, there’s no way I’d let her go into a home.”
Tristan nods once then continues. “Well as you know, I like giving good jobs to good people,” he says.
“Yes Tristan, I know, you’re very sweet like that,” I say.
“Well, she started with me, and after three months she put her house up for sale, it quickly sold, and she has that money invested for when she retires,” he says.
“So, was she there?” I question. “At the funerals? Did she help you Tristan? Help you get through it all?”
“Yes,” he breathes. “Without her I think I would have fallen apart,” he adds, his eyes darkening as he remembers.
“Oh Tristan,”I whisper. I kiss his cheek and hold him to me. “Then she must come here, she can't stay in London on her own, not after everything she’s done for you,” I say. “And I like her already,” I add, knowing it’s true, she helped Tristan through a painful part of his life.
Tristan pulls back and gazes down at me. “You are so sweet,” he whispers.
“Tristan’ –“You are,” he interrupts.
“So will you ask her?” I say, trying to get off the subject of me.
“You’re keen?” he observes.
“Yes, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” he smiles. “I have a question?”
I swallow hard. “Ok.”
“Next weekend, can we move you in, I mean officially. I’m dying to tell everyone Coral, I don’t think I can contain it much longer. I want the whole world to know that you, beautiful you, have consented to be my wife.”
I frown down at my empty plate.
“You don’t want to?” he says.
“No…it’s not that…” I whisper, still frowning at my plate.
He places his hand on my cheek and turns my head so I have to look at him.
“What is it Coral? What are you hesitant about?”
“I just…the moving in part yes, let’s do that, but announcing we are getting married after such a short amount of time together…I don’t know about that. And I think we should still keep our relationship quiet…at least until…” I stop, frowning deeply.
“Until what?” he whispers.
Ugh! Susannah, Susannah, Susannah…If she wasn’t a possible psycho, I would have him announce us, our relationship, our engagement to the world, but he can't, because of her!
Argh! That is so annoying!
“I just don’t think anyone should know about us yet, not until the take-over has happened.”
“Alright,” he whispers frowning down at the floor. I think I have hurt his feelings.
“Tristan, I want to shout it from the rooftops…tell the whole world about you, about us. I just think with everything going on, it’s best to wait. Besides, I don’t want to give Gladys a heart attack, I’ve never lived with anyone…or had a real bona fide boyfriend. I just think she’ll freak out, I don’t want her thinking I’m rushing into this because she’s moving away. I want her to know – eventually, that I moved in with you and married you because I fell in love with you.”
“Oh baby,” Tristan grasps my face in his hands and kisses me forcefully, I feel giddy by the time he’s finished.“You’re right,” he murmurs against my swollen lips. “We know how we both feel, let’s give others time to adjust.”
I smile up at him. “So, if I’m secretly moving in next weekend, will Edith be with us by then?”
“More than likely,” he answers.
I’m excited to meet her. I fast forward to next weekend, to packing boxes and moving them here – I instantly get an image of Bob, looking sad and lonely, eating junk food – No!
Then I remember that I need to call him anyway, he can't tell Gladys someone tried to get in!
“What is it?” Tristan asks.
“I just…” I quickly pull my mobile out of my bag and call Bob, letting him know I don’t want him to say anything to Gladys about my late night visitor. Tristan raises an eyebrow at me as he clears away the plates. Bob assures me he won’t say anything, so I say goodbye and hang up.
“Tell me baby,” Tristan says sitting next to me.
“Tell you what?” I ask.
“Why you looked upset before you called Bob?”He doesn’t miss a thing!
“Bob,” I whisper, remembering the image. “Who will look after him when I’m gone?” I muse.
“Well, we could always ask him if he wants to be here with us?” he casually says.
“You would be ok with that?” I squeak.
“Yes Coral, of course I would. I know you consider him as your adopted granddad, he may not agree though,” he adds.
“Where would he sleep?” I ask.
Tristan shrugs. “We’ll sort it if he says yes,” he softly says.
“Thank you Tristan,” I whisper – He really is a wonderful man.“I guess we’ll be filling up the bedrooms after all,” I murmur.
“What do you mean?” he chuckles.
I smile shyly at him. “Well, when I came here with you on the viewing, I didn’t understand why a single man would want to buy a place with so many bedrooms,” I say.
Tristan frowns down at me. “Kids,” he whispers, reading my mind.
I shrug. “Yeah, I guess I was thinking like that,” I gush.
“Coral, you do know don’t
you?”
“Know what?” I ask.
“That I’d be very happy to adopt, that’s if you want a family one day?”
“Are you trying to tell me something?” I whisper with wide eyes.
“No baby, I’m just putting it out there,” he shrugs.
“Oh, ok,” I whisper.
Tristan quickly stands and holds his hand out to me. “We’d better get going,” he says.
“Ok,” I place my hands in his and we head out for Tristan’s surprise...
AS WE HEAD BACK TO THE CAR, Tristan drapes his arm over my shoulder. I reach out and squeeze him tight around his waist. Tristan’s surprise was Go-Karting, I didn’t know there was a place in Brighton you could do that, but it’s actually closer to Worthing, so that’s probably why.
I wasn’t really sure if I wanted to do it, but once we were inside the massive building and got kitted up, I was bouncing about with excitement, which Tristan found really funny.
There were eight of us (I was the only girl) a small stag doo and Tristan and I, they seemed a nice enough bunch, but there was one that was a little flirty, well, until I showed him my engagement ring, and introduced him to Tristan. It was quiet comical as he looked up at Tristan’s tall stature and wide shoulders, he immediately gave up with the one liners.
The track was awesome. It had a sweeping double apex, a twisting flyover and a most impressive Monaco-style tunnel. At first, we were all given a few goes at getting to know the track. Tristan instantly picked it up and overtook me several times. I gritted my teeth and pushed harder, trying to beat him, then we all raced individually.
Tristan won, and to my complete surprise I came second, I had to wonder if it was because the other guys were hung-over, or if it was because I was actually good at it. Tristan told me in no uncertain terms that I was brilliant and he was very proud.
After the individual races, we all teamed up. Tristan was like a kid at Christmas, of course he had a strategy, and after five laps the scores came up on the board. Tristan was totally overjoyed that we won!
His free spirit and laughter was infectious, I don't think I’ve ever had such a good time on a date. I still can't believe we got so close on scores, maybe there’s a racing driver in me after all, I wonder if it should be my new career?
Laughing at myself, I shake off the thought.
Darkest Fears Trilogy: Fallen For Him / Freed By Him / Forever With Him Page 82