Mr. Smithfield

by Louise Bay

  I tutted. “It’s California dew. Not rain. I come from the Pacific Northwest, and California dew doesn’t even get me wet. More importantly, we’re in Rome. That’s Italy, in case you didn’t know. We brought raincoats and rainboots. We’re all set.” I wasn’t about to let a bit of H2O spoil this trip. “Bethany, Rome is the capital of Italy. It’s on the river Tiber and it was founded in 753 BC.”

  Bethany nodded solemnly, squinting at the view as I lectured her.

  “And did you know that it has the best ice cream in the world?”

  “Really?” she asked. “Can we eat some?”

  Gelato was definitely on our itinerary. “Sure. We have to make sure your dad tastes some too.”

  “And we can play hide-and-seek as well?”

  As soon as we’d gotten into the hotel, Bethany’s eyes had lit up with the idea of hiding in all the different nooks and crannies of the hotel. The thought terrified me.

  “We gotta make a deal on this, Bethany,” Gabriel said.

  “Okay, I can deal,” she replied.

  “The deal is, when we come in that door, into our bit of the hotel, we can play hide-and-seek. You and me or you and Autumn. But outside that door, you need to be able to see Autumn or me all the time.”

  “Okay,” she said, looking a little confused. “Deal.”

  “No playing hide-and-seek until we’re in our suite. Okay?”

  She nodded. “So, now we can?”

  “Now is good. I’m going to count to twenty-five.”

  “Did you lock the suite door?” I said, concerned she wouldn’t know which door led out into the hotel corridor.

  “Yeah, and I put the chain on. She’s not getting out of here.”

  “This balcony could be a problem,” I said. Rome was going to be exciting, but I was going to worry about Bethany a hundred times more than I did at home.

  “Not if your California dew keeps up. We’ll have the doors shut.”

  “You have to learn how to dance in the rain, Gabriel. Haven’t you heard? You can’t just wait for the storm to pass.”

  “I’m not dancing anywhere,” he replied, his eyebrows furrowed together.

  I spun around in the middle of the sitting area. “Well, you’re going to miss out. And I refuse to let you. Let’s go and find your daughter—who by the way, is hiding behind the door of the bathroom on the chair in there. Then let’s go and get gelato.”

  “How do you know where’s she’s hiding?” he asked.

  I shrugged. I wasn’t about to confess that she’d started on again about playing her favorite game as soon as she’d seen that little seat. “If we find her there, you have empirical evidence that I know what I’m talking about, so you’ll have to come out to eat gelato with us.”

  “Are you the second woman today that I find myself making a deal with?”

  I grinned at him. “Absolutely.”

  He pulled me into his arms and pressed his lips against mine. Instantly I became boneless and forgot everything except the hot press of his skin on mine. It took all my willpower to place my palms on his chest and withdraw from his kiss. “We need to find your daughter.”

  “Okay,” he said, before cupping his hands around his mouth. “Coming, ready or not.” We headed to the bathroom to find Bethany. But she wasn’t behind the bathroom door.

  Gabriel beckoned me to follow him with a tilt of his head, and we wandered up the corridor toward the bedroom. “I have an idea.”

  As we entered the bedroom, I spotted Bethany lying on the bed, having tried to burrow under the pillows and cushions. “Where can she be, Autumn?” Gabriel asked, pretending he hadn’t seen her and her socked feet poking out from the blankets. “Behind the curtains maybe.” He went over and made a show of scooping up the drapes. “Nope. What about under the bed?”

  Bethany giggled as he stepped closer to her, and then he pounced, grabbed her, and fell back onto the bed, his daughter in his arms.

  They were beautiful together. They always were. They had a bond that seemed to be unbreakable. And I’d been proven wrong—Bethany hadn’t been hiding where I thought she would.

  “Looks like I lost our bet,” I said.

  “I had an advantage and didn’t tell you.” He tapped his nose. “Historic knowledge.”

  He was such a good father. Yes, he worked hard, but he paid attention and gave Bethany all his time at weekends. He was a wonderful man. No wonder Hollie hated all my loser boyfriends if there were men in the world like Gabriel.

  He began to tickle Bethany and she giggled and squirmed before he set her on her feet and announced, “Ice cream in the rain is next on the agenda, I believe.”

  “But I lost,” I said.

  He shrugged and led Bethany out. “Apparently we can’t wait for the storm to pass.”

  We headed out in our rainboots and slickers, with directions to the best gelato in Rome. Bethany insisted on walking between us, holding both our hands as we dodged puddles and pedestrians and navigated the narrow streets that led into open square after open square. We managed to squeeze past a moped coming in the opposite direction through a narrow path under some buildings, and then we were out in the open again. This time, surrounded by tourists. “Keep hold of her,” Gabriel said, and I could tell by the dark tone of his voice he was in Sensible Dad mode. I tightened my grip on Bethany’s hand. “We’ll look but won’t stay long.”

  “Look at what?” All I could see was people.

  He lifted his head above the crowd and pointed. “The Trevi Fountain.”

  I followed his hand and looked up. It was the wildest thing I’d ever seen. We were in a tiny square but on one wall was a huge building that seemed to have a marble Triton bursting out of it in his chariot, bringing the crashing waves of the sea with him. “It’s . . . wonderful,” I said.

  Gabriel grinned and then his face turned stern. “Keep close. I’m going to get us to the front.”

  He moved into the crowd with the confidence of a man who knew he would get to wherever he was headed. It must be why he was such a great lawyer.

  Sure enough, we got to the front and it seemed even more majestic, more imposing from up close. “Can you see the horses?” I asked Bethany, pointing at the marble statues of the sea horses riding through the water. “It’s like they freeze-framed an invasion,” I said as I stared up at the onslaught of marble.

  “Yes, it’s very baroque.”

  “You hold tight to Daddy while I get some euros out.” I rummaged in my purse and pulled out some change. “Here. You have to throw over your right shoulder,” I said, tapping her gently to indicate the correct side. “Turn around.” I handed her a coin in her right hand. “Throw it back over your shoulder and make a wish.”

  She did exactly what I’d said. “I wished for really good ice cream,” she said, and I laughed.

  “I hope that one comes true for all of us,” Gabriel said.

  “Now you,” I said, pressing a coin into Gabriel’s hand.

  He rolled his eyes but turned around and threw the coin over his right shoulder just the same.

  “What did you wish, Daddy?”

  His gaze flitted between his daughter and me. “I wished to stay as happy as I am right now.”

  My stomach flipped and I reached for him, wiping the raindrops from his wet cheek.

  “What about you?” he said, as he took Bethany’s hand.

  I turned around and tossed my coin over my shoulder.

  “What did you wish?” Bethany asked.

  “I cheated,” I confessed. “I made two wishes in one. I want great ice cream and to stay this happy.”

  Gabriel held my gaze. When I’d left Oregon, I’d expected to come to London, start my job as a trainee executive, and have the time of my life. I had no idea that the time of my life would be had hanging out with the best man I’d ever met and his daughter. Unexpected as this was, nothing could have made me happier than I was right now.

  Eighteen

  Gabriel


  I couldn’t remember when I’d had a better day. And now the skies had cleared and the view through the balcony doors was breathtaking. Autumn was putting Bethany to bed. She was sleeping in a rollaway in my room and Autumn had the second bedroom in the suite.

  Autumn appeared in the doorway in her pajamas. “What did you do?” Her face broke into a grin as she took in the laid table.

  I shrugged. “I made a few calls.” Room service had delivered dinner, champagne, and flowers, and set it all out on the dining table that overlooked the floor-to-ceiling windows with a view of the city.

  “I feel underdressed.”

  “I would argue the opposite,” I said, pulling her toward me as I reached under her top, smoothing my hands around her waist.

  “I had the best day,” she said. “Rome is so much more than I expected. So . . .”

  “Italian?” I offered and she laughed.

  “So beautiful and over-the-top extravagant. It just feels full of life.”

  “Sounds a bit like you.” I dropped a lingering kiss on her lips.

  “You think I’m extravagant?” she asked.

  “I think you’re full of life.” I kissed her again. “You breathe life into me.”

  Her hands slid around my neck. “I’m not sure your friends would believe how romantic you are.” She stood on tiptoes and we kissed, our mouths meeting and tongues colliding, the lights of the city behind us. Everything just felt completely right. Completely perfect.

  She pulled back and put her head on my chest as we looked out at the view.

  “Speaking of my friends,” I said. “We need to agree what we do if one of them asks straight out if there’s anything going on between us.” I shifted and started to pour out two glasses of champagne, my arm around Autumn while I did.

  She shifted away slightly. “Did someone say something?”

  “I thought Dexter was going to the other night, but he just talked about me being an overprotective employer. We need to be prepared.”

  “Okay,” she said, frowning.

  “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  She shook her head. “You didn’t.”

  I passed her a glass of champagne. “Cheers to your first trip to Rome.”

  She clinked her glass to mine. “I’m so bummed you have to work this week.”

  “I know. But—” I almost said that we could come back another time, but I stopped myself. There wouldn’t be another time. Not for Autumn and me. “You get to enjoy it with Bethany.”

  “Let’s not think about it and just enjoy dinner,” she said, taking the cloche off a plate in front of her. “Pasta. If your kiss didn’t make me giddy enough, this might push me over the edge.”

  I took a seat kitty corner to her so we could both see the view.

  “I think we should be honest,” Autumn said after she swallowed her first mouthful. “To your friends. Or Hollie.”

  “Okay,” I said, not wanting to commit myself to anything. What did honest mean? What would we tell them?

  “But only if they ask.” She twirled her fork around, catching her spaghetti. “Hollie will be pissed whether or not I’ve been hiding it from her.”

  “I like the idea of being honest,” I said and took a forkful of pasta. It didn’t sit well with me that Autumn was keeping things from a sister she was so close to. And that I was keeping something from Dexter that I knew he’d feel strongly about. But honesty was more than just responding to a question. It was offering up information if you knew someone would want to know. Wasn’t it?

  “And if they ask, we say . . .?” I took a sip of champagne and waited for Autumn to reply. My feelings for Autumn had grown the more time I spent with her, but I understood that going forward wouldn’t be easy. She wasn’t going to be Bethany’s nanny beyond July, and she was planning out the rest of her life. I couldn’t demand to be included.

  Autumn was never shy, but the way she looked at me from under her eyelashes suggested she didn’t want to be the first to offer an answer.

  “I guess we say that we enjoy each other’s company,” I suggested.

  She nodded as she chewed then swallowed. “Exactly. We like spending time together. And we’re hanging out and having fun.”

  I chuckled. “I’m not sure Dexter will believe that. ‘Fun’ isn’t the first thing my friends associate me with.”

  “Well Dexter hasn’t slept with you, so he would have no idea how fun you can be.” Her eyes widened and she grinned as if to say, Yes, I really said that. “What else would we say?” she asked, lowering her voice, almost like she didn’t want to ask the question. But it was a question she was going to have to answer. I didn’t want her to give anything up by being with me.

  “I think your suggestion is good,” I replied. “We’re having fun.”

  “And we’re using condoms and I’m still on the pill.”

  I tried not to choke. “Do we have to get into that much detail?”

  “Hollie is terrified I’ll get pregnant before I ‘fulfil my potential.’ I used to get lectures about it all the time back in Oregon. And to be fair it’s not like she didn’t have reason. There were so many girls back home who you’d think were going places before bam, they’d get knocked up by their boyfriends. Before you knew it, they’d be behind the registers at Trader Bob’s, working night shifts so they could look after their eleven kids during the day.”

  “Wow. That’s an image.”

  “Maybe not eleven, but you get the picture.”

  “I do,” I replied. “But we’re not in Oregon. And—” I stopped myself before I said I didn’t want eleven kids. We couldn’t have that conversation. Because that was about the future. And we didn’t have one. We were having fun. We enjoyed each other’s company.

  “Okay, so we have birth control covered,” I said.

  “And I’ll just tell her that Bethany doesn’t know. We’re not hurting anyone.”

  “Right,” I replied.

  She exhaled what seemed like a long-held breath. “Right,” she said. “Ultimately, it’s no one’s business except ours.”

  “Except that Dexter is one of my oldest friends. And I like Hollie and would hate to upset her.”

  “I’ll handle her,” she said with a sigh.

  “We’ll handle them both,” I said and took her hand. “And in the meantime, we’ll have fun. And enjoy each other’s company.”

  She laughed. “Well that’s a guarantee coming from you, Gabriel Chase.”

  I smiled despite the kernel of unease settling in my chest. I didn’t know what it was about Autumn, but despite me doing my best to stay in the here and now, when I was with her, my mind couldn’t help wandering to the future.

  Nineteen

  Autumn

  We looked up at the ceiling of the huge ballroom and tried to count the number of lightbulbs in the ornate glass chandelier. It must have been at least three hundred. “Just the name Dorchester sounds fancy,” I said.

  I’d never stepped inside a fancy hotel before I came to London, and not only had I stayed in one in Rome that was at least a thousand times bigger than the trailer I’d left behind in Oregon, I was now checking out all the best ones in London. Not to stay in, but for Hollie’s wedding venue.

  “This is almost overwhelming,” Hollie said. “It’s just so big.” She sighed as if she was sizing up the prison cell she was going to call home for the next twenty-five to life, rather than her wedding venue.

  “We’re just looking though, right? It’s not like anyone is going to force you to have a big wedding,” I said, trying to reassure her.

  “Right. Can you do me a favor and take photographs?” she asked. “I’m bound to forget. I can barely think straight. And you have such a good eye for detail.”

  “Sure,” I replied, pulling out my phone. I tipped my head back to see if I could get the entire chandelier in one shot. In the end, it took three.

  The room was all huge mirrors and silk wallpaper and baby blue drapes that looked so fu
ll, they might be able to cover all of London if they were straightened out. The entire room was like being on the Bridgerton set. I took a handful of shots, trying to make sure I captured the scale of the room. “It’s beautiful,” I said, turning a full three hundred and sixty degrees to make sure I hadn’t missed anything.

  “So it seats up to five hundred and ten people,” Beatrice, the woman from the hotel who had shown us in, said. She came up behind us out of nowhere, making me jump like I’d been caught stealing candy from Trader Bob’s.

  “But the huge advantage is the private entrance from Park Lane.”

  I recognized that name from the Monopoly board—it was smack next to Mayfair, the second-most expensive property on the board.

  “You said you had smaller rooms as well,” Hollie said. “Can we see those?”

  “Absolutely,” Beatrice replied. “If you follow me to the lifts, I can show you our penthouse, which can seat up to thirty-four guests.”

  Hollie nodded. “Yes, that sounds like a more manageable number.” The green tinge to her face began to fade and she smiled.

  “So where is Dexter?” I asked as we got into the elevator, which had walls covered in green silk. I wasn’t sure if fabric on the walls was a British thing or just a rich-person thing. But I took a picture just in case we needed to remember the elevators. “Shouldn’t he be here today rather than me?”

  She sighed. “He had some crisis at the store in New York. A security incident, whatever that means. He said if I narrowed it down, we could come back together and look at the rooms I liked best. But we don’t even know how big to go. He knows far more people in London than I do. Although he’s said he’ll charter a plane to bring people over from Oregon.”

  “A plane? But who would you invite from there?”

  She shrugged. “Exactly. I just don’t know. Mom and Dad obviously. Anything else feels uncomfortable. Like I’m trying to show off or something.”

  It was typical of my sister not to make a fuss, even when she was going to be a bride. “Well, like it or not, you’re going to be the center of attention on the big day.”