CORAL - Fallen (A Romance Trilogy, Book 2) (50 page)

I frown down at my empty plate.

“
You don
’
t wan
t to?”
he says.

“
No…it
’
s not that…
” I
whisper, frowning at my empty 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 neve
r 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, wi
ll 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 an
d lonely, eating junk food –
No!

“
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 clear
s 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 y
our 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,
”
h
e 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, t
hat’
s if you
want a family one day?
”

“
Are you trying to
tell me something?
”
I whi
sper 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.

“
Was that fun, or
was that fun?
”
he laughs.

“
It was great fun
,”
I chuckle, squeezing him tight.

“
So what would you
like to do now?
”
Tristan
asks as we pull out of the car park. “
I don
't know about you, but I'm starving,”
he
adds.

I roll my eyes at him.
He’
s always hungry!
As I think that,
inspiration hits.

“
How about the
beach
?”
I say, feeling last night
’
s shenanigans and this morning
’
s racing catching up with me. My muscles
are sore
and aching, and I feel like I could sleep a
good couple of hours.
What better way to do it than soaking up some
Vitamin-D!

“
The beach?
”
Tristan questions, glancing at me behind
his aviators –
Damn he looks sexy in those!

“
Yeah, I know this
great little cov
e. Hardly anyone ever goes down there,
it’
s a right little suntrap
.”
Tristan is silently nodding in approval –
Hmm Tristan in nothing but a pair of swimming trunks,
I hope their tight fitting!

I shake my head at my wayward thinking. “
We could take a picnic
,”
I say a little high pitched and clear my throat.

Tristan glances across at me and smirks. “
A picnic?
”
he says
his voice low and husky.

I grin like a fool. “
Yes,
”
I chuckle.
“And I’
ll
need my
bikini, from my studio,”
I add, wondering if my place
will st
ill be in one piece.

“
Do you own one?
”
he asks.

“
Yes,
”
I giggle.
“
Why would you ask that?
”

“
Because you
’
ve never been abroad,
” he simply says.

“
Oh,
”
I say.
“
Well, it
’
s pretty
ancient…it might not even fit me anymore,
”
I mus.. Last time I wore it?
…I can't
remember the last time?

“
I
’
ll buy you a new one,
”
he says, smiling down at me.

“
You will?
”
I squeak in delight.

“
Yes,
”
he chuckles
. “
Where should we go to get one?
”
he adds.

I think about it for a moment, then I
remember a few years ago, Gladys, Debs and I took little Lily down to the beach
for the day, we actually had a sunny Saturday. I remember Gladys mentioning
that she’
d got this ready-made picnic hamper from
M&S, and I know the one I
’
m
thinking of is open on a Sunday.

“
I have an id
ea,”
I say.

“
You do?
”
he teases.

“
Yes,
”
I chuckle
. “
Head
back towards the Marina baby,”
I say.

“
What
’
s your idea?
” He
asks.

“
Well, I thought we
could pop into M&S and pick up one of those ready-made picnic hampers,
”
I say.
Tristan
lets go of my hand and very slowly, starting at my knee, he starts to slide his
hand up in the inside of my leg.