7
________
ELLE
It was a rush to get back home and be ready in time for our date, but by four o’clock Friday afternoon, I was sitting in my robe, staring at my reflection in the mirror as I put the final touches to my makeup.
Colin was laying on my bed, my cell phone in his hand. He was reading my texts with Liam, and every now and then, he’d clasp the phone to his chest and wipe away an imaginary tear.
“Oh, my God,” he said. “He’s just the dreamiest thing ever. I want to go rescue him from his life and tell him he can be anyone he wants to be.”
I stopped, blusher brush in hand, and looked up. “Rescuing?” I asked. “Do you think he’s unhappy?”
“Maybe not,” Colin replied. “But reading between the lines, it doesn’t seem like he has much of a choice about things. I mean he has all that money and could literally fly to school in one of his daddy’s private helicopters if he wanted to, but I don’t believe he gets to make many of his own decisions.”
He hopped off the bed and came to stand behind me. “That’s why it’s a big deal he’s taking you out tonight, you know. And, I don’t get the impression that Morgana is too pleased about it either,” he said, chuckling at the new nickname he assigned to Catherine. I, too, couldn’t help but smile.
“I get the same feeling,” I said, as I wiggled the mascara wand at the base of my lashes.
I stopped to stare at Colin’s reflection in the mirror. “Oh God, Col, is this a stupid idea? Going out with him?”
Colin looked like he wanted to shake me. “Are you kidding?” he asked. “Don’t you see why that means you have to go? It shows just how much he really likes you! He’s giving everyone a glorious middle-finger and doing what he wants, which is taking you out. That’s huge. Ugh, the more I read what he sends you, the more I hate you for snagging a guy like that. God, he’s so perfect. I’m so jealous.”
He really did look a little envious, and I would never have wanted to admit it, but I was glowing inside. Colin made me feel better about everything, and his little pep talk had put my mind at ease, that is until I stood in front of my opened wardrobe.
“You’ve got to help me decide,” I said. “It’s too chilly for the dress I wanted to wear. I was thinking maybe jeans and a sweater?”
“Elle, it’s a romantic movie with a hot guy! You don’t want to go wrapped up like an Egyptian mummy, for heaven’s sake.”
He strode over to join me, reached into my closet and drew out a mini slip dress. “Okay, this is super cute and it’ll make your eyes look fiercely green,” he said. “Pair this with your ankle boots, pop on this cardigan and that scarf, and you’re good to go. You’re welcome!”
And he was right. By the time I put everything together, I liked the look. It was casual but chic. I drew my hair up into a messy bun, leaving a few loose strands to swirl down my neck. I hooked my purse over my shoulder and took my cell phone from my bed where Colin had left it. Just as I did, the doorbell rang and butterflies exploded in my stomach. “Shit!” I cried. “He’s here!”
“Now, be cool,” Colin said. “Deep breaths. In through your nose, out through your mouth.”
I concentrated on my breathing, and he left the bedroom and ran down the stairs so he could open the door before anyone else could do so. I stood on the landing, listening.
“Hey!” Colin greeted, and I could hear his hand slapping against Liam’s as the two men acted like they were eighty, not eighteen. “You found the place, then?”
“Yes,” I heard Liam reply. “I didn’t know you lived here, too.”
“Very funny,” Colin said. “Bit of a smart-ass, aren’t you?”
Liam laughed. “Is Elle ready?”
“She’ll be down in a moment,” Colin said. “I’m here to give her my support and tell you that I might be as camp as a row of tents, but I’ll still put you down if you hurt my best friend.”
I cringed, but Liam was surprisingly good about the whole thing. He didn’t tell Colin to fuck off and get over himself, but he didn’t laugh, either. Instead, he sounded pretty grave.
“I think it’s admirable you having her best interest at heart. I respect that, you being there for her as her best friend. I promise I’ll take care of her and have her back safe and sound by the end of the night.”
“Well, okay then,” Colin said. “I guess I’m satisfied. Elle!”
He called up to me and I came downstairs, shaking my head. “I hope he hasn’t been making it difficult for you,” I said.
“I was expecting a grilling from your parents, but this took me by surprise,” Liam said, and as I joined him at the door, he leaned in and kissed me on the cheek.
“You look beautiful.”
“So do you,” I whispered, returning the compliment.
He was tall and striking, wearing dark jeans and a bomber style leather jacket, making him somehow seem older than eighteen.
With Colin being satisfied, and a quick hello-and-goodbye to my parents, that meant we could leave. We walked down the driveway to Liam’s large black Wrangler. He opened the door for me and, as the Jeep was a bit elevated, he took my hand to help me hop into the passenger seat. Then he walked around to the driver’s side and got in with one smooth movement, sliding his tall frame into the seat next to me.
“Good to go?” he asked.
“Yep,” I said. “Ready to go.”
He grinned and my heart melted. Then he reached over to help me click my safety belt into place. He was so close that I could feel his breath warm against my cheek.
“You smell nice,” he said, softly, a small smile playing on his lips as he lingered close before sitting back again and starting the car. When we left, I saw Colin talking to my mom, no doubt telling her that he’d given Liam the once-over and had found him acceptable.
The car smelled like Liam, like sandalwood and nutmeg. He turned down the music so that we could talk. He asked me how I was, and what I was planning to do for the rest of the weekend. It was so strange to be sitting there next to him, the first time we’d been alone since that night at the party.
Somehow, it always seemed that we were surrounded by someone while at school, and most of our brief conversations were strangely interrupted, either by his friends or by Catherine or by one of her friends. Despite the constant intrusions and short exchanges, our texts had become long discussions by now, it being the only way we could talk freely without interruption.
Liam kept the conversation flowing so naturally that it made me relax and, after a while, I even started to feel less self-conscious as I was too busy concentrating on our conversation, on the questions he asked me and the way he made me laugh.
“So where’s this movie theater?” I asked. “I didn’t know Albany had any old-style cinemas screening retro movies.”
Liam smiled. “They don’t, and we’re not going into Albany.”
“Wait, I thought you said we were going into the city?”
“I did,” he grinned. “The city.”
I was surprised and confused at the same time. “Liam, it’s a three hours’ drive to New York. I don’t understand.”
“We’re not driving all the way,” Liam said casually, and a moment later, all was revealed. We came off the highway, and I recognized the airfield where my dad used to bring me when I was little, where I would watch with great excitement as the small planes took off and landed again.
I acted like the clever monkey and didn’t let my mouth fall open in astonishment, trying to appear cool, although it became impossible to hide my growing excitement as we approached the airfield.
Liam parked the Jeep at the side of a large hangar where a pilot was waiting for us standing next to a jet-black helicopter, the distinctive Wilde Family Crest inscribed in white on the side of the craft.
“What? Are you serious? You have got to be joking,” I stammered, as I got out of the car, unable to contain my elation any longer. “There’s no way I’m going in that. L
iam!”
“Come on,” he said, laughingly and he reached for my hand. “It’ll be fun, trust me. Besides, it’s the fastest way into the city. We don’t want to miss the movie, right?”
Nothing could have prepared me for that evening. He’d given me no hint that we’d be flying into New York City for a date. I was trembling with nervous excitement as he helped me put on my headset and showed me how the microphone worked so we could talk while up in the air.
Once we were securely strapped in and the door was shut, the blades above our heads started turning, whooshing loudly. We were airborne in seconds, zooming through the late afternoon sky toward the kind of date I’d only ever read about in romance novels.
8
________
LIAM
Taking the chopper to New York was a stroke of genius, and I was pleased that I was able to pull it off. It so happened that Mom and Dad were away for the weekend in Bermuda, and I knew exactly whom to speak with to get everything arranged.
Jordan Ashdene had been my father’s pilot for five years, and I’d spent many an hour talking to him about how the chopper worked, while Dad had taken me into the city for meetings. He’d long made it an enforced hobby of mine to accompany him onboard when flying to New York during school holidays, where he would explain to me exactly where he was going, with whom he was meeting, and what they were to discuss. While I’d never been allowed into the boardroom, he kept me up to speed with the inner workings of the company. So, while he disappeared behind closed doors, I’d spend that time with Jordan.
Needless to say, Jordan was a little wary when I asked him to fly me into the city on a Friday afternoon, as Dad knew nothing about it. But, after having turned eighteen earlier that year, I was now considered an adult in the family, and Jordan wasn’t really in any position to question my request. In case he felt the need to report back to Dad, though, I offered him five hundred bucks for his silence.
I’d never liked the way my family handed around cash so readily in order for people to do things for them, but it was then that I realized, maybe for the first time, how having the money we did, made some things in life a little easier. Jordan was immediately onboard and arranged to be at the airfield at five p.m., where he’d be waiting to fly me to wherever I wanted to go.
Any guilt I may have had about our off-the-record exchange evaporated as soon as I saw the way Elle’s face lit up when I explained the plan. As we stepped out of the car and it was clear that we would be flying into New York, for a moment, I thought she was going to refuse to get in at all. But as soon as I took her hand, she relaxed, and a journey that would have taken us more than three hours by car, took only forty minutes by air.
She was nervous at first, reaching for my hand, and didn’t let go until we were safely back on the ground. Her fingers were slim and dainty, and they curled around mine as if they were made to fit into mine.
Once the chopper landed on top of the Wilde M&A high-rise, we got out and hurried away from the whirling blades. I knew my way from there down to the foyer. When we passed the security desk, I think Garth was more than surprised to see us, but he tipped his hat to me, nonetheless. “Young mister Wilde,” he said. “Good to see you.”
I grinned and said hello. As we left the office building, a bustling Friday night street greeted us. Elle looked at me, her excitement clear. “I still can’t believe it,” she said. “Thank you for arranging all of this. It’s just amazing.”
“You’re welcome. Being the son of a very wealthy man has its perks.”
“True,” she said and smiled. “So it’s not all that bad, being a Wilde.”
“No, it’s not. It’s just that sometimes I think that people only see me as the rich kid standing behind his rich dad,” I said, while we slowly strolled along the sidewalk. “But that’s not what I want them to see. That’s not all that I am.”
“I know,” she said as she took my hand, and I knew it was the truth. I could have kissed her right there in the middle of the street, but we reached the entrance to the coffee shop I wanted to take her to before we had to go to the cinema.
We went inside, and from the minute we took our seats and placed our orders, we started talking, properly, like we should have since the first time we’d met. She again told me about her love of fashion and her eyes lit up with enthusiasm as she talked about her passion for design. She was so earnest and interesting, her emotions not easily hidden on her beautiful face.
God, she was gorgeous. At times, it was impossible for me not to recall the curve of her breasts or the taste of her lips against mine as we sat there, totally enthralled with each other.
Later, seated at the back of the cinema and watching the movie, we giggled at the old acting style, the posh British voices, and their odd way of kissing. Old movies always had the hero wrap the girl up in his arms to simply have him mash his lips to hers in, what seemed to be, a very uncomfortable kiss.
Nothing like the way I wanted to kiss Elle, though. I glanced over at her once or twice; saw how her green eyes were transfixed to the screen as she watched Laurence Olivier wooing Greer Garson, a soft smile touching her lips.
After the movie, we went for a late dinner at a little Italian bistro my mom loved. The waiting staff was attentive, giving us the best table in the house. Elle glowed as they brought her one course after another, and we were both so full that we had no room for dessert. But, they still insisted we take some with us, all neatly wrapped up in a dessert box tied up with a bow before they sent us on our way with their best wishes and their regards for my father.
Then it was back to Albany, as Elle took my hand once more and we flew off above the New York skyline. We touched down just after eleven and got back into my car.
We still had some time left before she needed to be home, so we stopped a little way up the street from her driveway and decided to have a quick taste of the dessert. It was panna-cotta, rich and creamy, and we could hardly manage more than a spoonful each before wrapping it up again.
It was so good having her sit there beside me, but Elle was strangely quiet, and she seemed troubled. “Is something wrong?” I asked.
She took a deep breath and turned to look at me. “I’ve had such an amazing time,” she said.
“But?” I prodded.
“But, nothing.”
“Elle, your expression tells a different story. What’s going on?”
She sighed again before answering. “I just don’t really get why you felt you had to do all this,” she said.
I was confused. I had no idea what she was talking about. “What do you mean?”
“Well, the helicopter ride, the fancy restaurant, the movie. It’s a lot for a first date and, maybe I’m just not used to all of that, but I feel like you’re trying to tell me something. I just don’t know what, really.”
By now, I was more than confused. I was flabbergasted. “The helicopter was the quickest way into the city,” I said. “I didn’t use it to tell you anything. The restaurant is my mom’s favorite, and the movie is something I thought you’d like to see. You know, after the conversation we had that night at the party.”
She looked at me for a second and I could see the questioning look in her eyes. “It’s just that it doesn’t add up,” she said. “It’s not as if I didn’t exist before the night we met at the party, Liam. Why the sudden interest in someone that clearly doesn’t have the approval of your family, your sister’s more so than anyone else. She’s made that crystal clear.” She stopped, but I let her finish, not saying a word as I wanted to understand her sudden hesitation.
“What I’m trying to say is that I’m not stupid. After what I’ve seen the other night, how you live and then tonight… we’re worlds apart. Much like Darcy and Elizabeth, right? I just need to understand why you’re interested in someone like me. What’s really going on?”
“What’s really going on?” I repeated her question. “Look, Elle, I know we’ve known about each other before, but seeing y
ou that night and getting to know you better over the past weeks just made me realize that what I’ve really been looking for might just be outside of what I’m used to or allowed. Tonight was about me wanting to get away from it all. Away from Albany to have some time alone with you, where we weren’t hiding behind our phones or being interrupted by God knows how many people. I just wanted to have you to myself for a couple of hours. Is that so bad?”
“No, it’s not, but why?” Elle asked, infuriatingly. “Because you want to see how it would be dating down?”
Finally, I understood what she was saying, but I was a little annoyed. I was about to tell her just how wrong she was for even thinking that, but rather than finding the words, instead I leaned forward, cupped her face with my hands and kissed her in the way I wanted to for so many weeks.
She didn’t resist, our mouths moving together, and as her lips parted, I tasted her tongue against mine. God, she tasted sweeter than the dessert we just had. She moaned against my mouth as my tongue searched hers again, desperate to have our kiss tell her just how much I needed to be with her, how much I wanted to know her.
“That’s why,” I said, finally, when I broke away. “You’ve captured my attention like no one else I’ve ever known had done before. I needed to be with you tonight, just us and nobody else around. You’re so beautiful, Elle.”
She bit her lip. “You think I’m beautiful?” she whispered, and I was amazed that she even asked the question. “What about Amy and Erin, they’re stunning. I don’t really look like them.”
I shook my head and sighed. “Those girls, they’re pretty,” I said. “And they act like they have everything a guy could ever want. But it’s mostly superficial. You’re beautiful to me because you’re full of beauty, Elle. Both inside and out. I can’t tell you how it’s been for me these last few weeks, talking to someone who doesn’t give a damn about money, or parties, or labels. You’re like fresh air to my soul. You just want to know me. And I want exactly the same thing. Is that all right?”
FIRST LOVE_A Single Dad Second Chance Romance Page 5