Fated to be Yours (18 page)

I narrow my eyes at her, as much as I possibly can without major pain setting in. “What is going on in that brain of yours, Kara?”

“Hmm? Oh, nothing. Nothing at all.”

“Bullshit. I know you well enough to know when you’ve got your mind set on something. Spill it,” I say, giving her my feeble attempt at a menacing glare. It’s pathetic at best because let’s face it, not even a mouse would run away from me.

She shakes her head as she exits the bathroom. “Nope, not going to tell.”

I let out a frustrated groan and she laughs in response. She makes her way over to my desk and looks over the files before shoving them back into my bag.

“Everything still look okay with them?” I ask.

She nods. “Yep, everything is perfect. After we meet with Chris tonight, hashing out the final details, we’ll be completely set for tomorrow’s meeting. And Chris and I both agree that you do not need to attend, so you get to have the day off. Think of it as your reward for your hardass boss making you work late tonight.”

My eyes brighten and dance as I clap my hands together. “Really? A full day to myself in London? Are you sure you won’t need me?”

“Don’t worry about it. Chris is flying in tonight. He said he wanted to be there for the meeting tomorrow so I’ve got my backup.”

“When you said meet with Chris I assumed that we were doing this over the phone or Skype.”

She shakes her head. The smile on her face brightens even more. “Nope. He’s coming here.”

I have the sneaking suspicion that he’s coming here for more than just the contract signing and Kara is probably thinking along those same lines.

“A full day without work in London. I wonder what I’ll do with myself.”

Kara sticks her finger right in my face and her mouth turns down in a teasing scowl. “So help me God if you stay in this room and read I will kick your ass from here to Timbuktu.”

“Oh you know me so well,” I joke.

We both burst into a fit of laughter as I hear someone knocking on my door. I wipe a tear away from the corner of my eye but then another one threatens to form for an entirely different reason as Andrew stands in my doorway, looking as handsome as ever.

“Well, that is one way to answer the door love. Although yesterday was definitely better for a visual,” he says, bending down to lay a kiss at the corner of my mouth. “But I do love to see you smile.”

My cheeks flush as I move to the side, allowing him to step in. He pauses in front of me and I take the opportunity to stand on my tiptoes and brush my lips properly against his.

“Good morning, handsome.”

He lovingly sweeps his fingertips across my cheek before we walk further into the room. Kara is leaning against the desk, bracing herself on her arms and an amused expression still across her face. The scent of his cologne swirls around me, a scent that I’m starting to recognize and love. Somehow he always smells good first thing in the morning. Well, okay, not the first thing because obviously he’s had time to prepare and I have zero idea as to what he looks like when he first wakes up. Then that pleasant thought has my mind focusing on something entirely different as I move my eyes slowly up and down his body, wondering what it would be like to wake up to him every morning.

Andrew notices my stare and smirks. “See something you like, love?”

I flush a million shades of red and sit on the edge of my bed, gnawing on my bottom lip. He laughs and sits next to me, slinging an arm over my shoulders to draw me into his side.

“I’m just teasing. I love it when your eyes are on me,” he whispers so only I can hear.

Kara looks between the two of us. The same stupid smile is gracing her lips. “So how was the date last night?”

“It was perfect. Andrew took me to the London Eye and then we had a small dinner at this cute little café nearby,” I say, resting my hand lightly on his knee. I hope he doesn’t mind the intimate gesture but with his arm around my shoulder my mobility is limited. My options are his knee or further up the inside of his leg and I don’t think that would be appropriate.

“Oh! And we rode the Tube to get there,” I excitedly say.

Kara rolls her eyes. “Only you would get excited about something like that. But I’m glad you had a good time.”

Andrew’s thumb traces little circles on my shoulder, causing my body to relax and melt into him. My bones feel weak and I lean my head on his shoulder. The rumbling of his chest indicates he’s either silently laughing or making that low sexy noise of possession that I’ve noticed coming from him more and more. There’s just something about that deep rumbling noise that’s insanely hot. I’m all for women being independent and holding one’s own but when a guy feels protective of you, it makes you feel as if you’re the only person in the world that matters.

“So, Andrew, do you think you can show my girl another good time tomorrow since I gave her the day off?”

My eyes widen at Kara. Damn her and her meddling ways. I should have known there would have been a hidden agenda behind giving me the day off.

Andrew’s arm tightens around my shoulder, pulling me almost onto his lap. “I’m sure I can think of some way to keep her occupied. Charles informed me during our meeting yesterday that I will not be needed tomorrow. So it appears that I am at your disposal to do with as you please.”

I swallow past the lump in my throat, unsure if it’s from nerves or something else on a more primitive level. But the thought of spending an entire day with Andrew has my insides dancing. No interruptions, no work, nothing. Just the two of us, playing the happy couple as we spend time together. Well, as happy as a couple who only has one day to spend with each other can be. I shake off the negative thought, determined to be happy with the remaining time I have left here with Andrew. I’ll worry about what happens next when we reach that point. His cheek rests upon the top of my head and I sigh. This is going to be hard and I’m not as convinced as he is that I’ll come out of this unscathed.

Kara stands upright and claps her hands. “Okay, enough of this lovey-dovey shit. I’m hungry. Let’s blow this pop stand and get something to eat.”

The three of us make our way down to the restaurant. On the way down, Andrew’s hand never once leaves the small of my back. The heat of his hand permeates my sweater, igniting my skin once again in the way that only he’s able to do. I’ve never had a reaction to anyone as I have with him. It’s scary but comforting at the same time. It’s a feeling that I’ve become accustomed to in this short period of time and I know that I’ll miss it when I leave.

We’re seated near the bay of windows and Andrew takes the seat to my right. I suspect it’s because he wants to be as close to me as possible. Another thing that I’ve noticed is that he never sits across from me, always next to me, touching me in some way, shape or form. Not that I would ever complain about that. I’m like a starving person at a buffet. I crave his touch more than I should, but I can’t help myself.

We chat idly about nothing and everything all at once. Kara is, of course, being her usual self, reciting story after story that leaves us in stitches. I hardly notice the waiter when he brings us our food. Heck, I didn’t even remember ordering. But judging by the amount of food on my plate it must have been Andrew that ordered for me. Apparently he doesn’t want to listen to my stomach growl today.

It is the most enjoyable breakfast that I’ve had in a long time, even more enjoyable than yesterday when it was just Andrew and me. But Andrew’s hand has taken a permanent residence on my knee while I eat. He must know that I’m incapable of doing anything with my left hand though I’m not sure how he would know that unless he’s been watching me that closely.

I turn my head to Andrew, placing a hand over my stomach. “I’m so full. Why on Earth did you order so much food for me?”

He looks down at my plate, noticing that I’ve only finished about half of it. He pins me with his blue eyes and a smile that doesn’t quite meet them. “Because you don’t eat enough as it is. Your stomach is always growling, telling me that you’re constantly hungry. So I decided to fix that problem the best way I know how. By ordering your food for you.”

Kara laughs and wipes her mouth with her napkin. “Finally! I’ve been telling her that for years and she never listens to me. Maybe now she’ll actually take the advice.”

I look down at my lumpy body and cringe. How can they not see what I see? “You both are crazy. I’m fairly positive that I need to lose a few pounds and gorging myself on food is not the way to do that.”

Andrew’s hand lifts from my knee and traces the contours of my cheek. “You are beautiful just the way you are. I wouldn’t change a thing about you.”

“Aww, you are just too good to be true, Andrew,” Kara says. Then I see it, the familiar gleam in her eye as she looks at me. “So tell me, Andrew, do you enjoy elevators?”

I spit my water across the table, leaving a fine mist among the plate and centerpiece in front of me. Once again, Kara has me embarrassing myself in front of him. He pats my back while handing me a napkin to wipe the water dripping down my chin.

“It just so happens that I love elevators but only if I’m in the company of this beautiful woman to my left,” he says.

I give him an incredulous look, unable to believe that he’d like to be stuck in an elevator with me, especially since I almost drowned while on dry land in front of him. Twice.

“Well if you ever happen to be in our neck of the woods, you should definitely ride an elevator with Tessa then. She has a thing for them.” She smirks and resumes taking a drink of her coffee.

With extreme mortification still present on my face, I turn to look into Andrew’s amused one. “Okay, the whole story is I’m usually packed into the elevator and cannot reach the button to hit the right floor. And I can’t ask anyone to press it for me because, well, I’m me. So to avoid any further embarrassment, I ride the elevator until I can reach the buttons and choose the next floor before riding back down. It’s really not that big of a deal,” I say, twirling a lock of hair around my finger.

Andrew taps his lips with his index finger. “So you’re telling me that you’re too shy to ask for help? My poor damsel in distress.”

He thinks it’s funny? Can the ground just please swallow me up right now? He leans over, pressing his lips against my temple. The softness of his lips calms me down, and I feel the tension in my shoulders ebb away slowly. My eyes fly over to Kara, who just shrugs her shoulders and finishes her coffee.

“Bitch,” I mouth to her. She blows me a kiss in response.

Kara decides to even the score by telling an embarrassing story about herself. I suppose I can forgive her now for the earlier stunt. Andrew links his hand with mine, pulling it into his lap to rest on top of his thigh. My breathing picks up slightly and I try to focus on anything other than the appendage my hand is near.

After Kara pays for breakfast, not without major grumbling from Andrew, the three of us climb into his car and begin our journey into the late morning traffic. Kara’s cell phone chirps behind me and I don’t have to bother turning my head to ask who it could be.

“Christopher?”

“I swear that man never sleeps. He says he’s on his way to the airport so he can catch his flight over here.” I can hear the giddiness in her voice as she quickly types out a response to the text message.

I reach over and lace my hand into Andrew’s, having the dire need to have skin on skin contact with him. Kara and Chris have such an enviable relationship. Yes, it’s mostly in secret but the way they are when they’re together, it is borderline magical. I’ve never seen two people more in love with each other.

Andrew gives my hand a gentle squeeze before bringing it to his lips, kissing each of my knuckles in response. He must know my thoughts. The twinkle in his eye tells me so.

It’s a bit longer of a drive than yesterday to get to the building. It’s a similar structure except there aren’t as many children running around that I can see. He parks his car next to Charles’ in the nearly empty parking lot before rounding the car, holding open the doors for Kara and me.

He rests his hand firmly on my lower back as we stroll through the front doors where we’re greeted instantly by Charles and Priscilla.

“Good morning, ladies. How are you feeling today?” Charles asks with a smile.

Kara shakes each of their hands and smiles. “We’re doing well, thank you. It’s been a very eventful morning already, but we’re both eager to see what you have in store for us.”

She’s fidgeting more than usual. I’m guessing it has to do with her anxiety over Chris coming here tonight, although I’m not sure why. Then again, I don’t know what it’s like to be in love with someone and then have to be separated from them for any amount of time. Love is just a confusing lie in my experience, but somehow it hasn’t jaded me. What happened with my parents and my relationship with them hasn’t deterred me from believing that love is possible for people like me, the nobodies of the world, the unloved and unwanted.

Andrew’s hand slides easily around to my hip, pulling me in closer to his side. It’s as if he has a direct link to my thoughts because he always knows exactly when I need to be held tighter. Or when I need him to gently caress me in the way that he does. Or when I need to be left alone with my thoughts even though he does it reluctantly. But each and every one of those things does not go unnoticed and it makes my heart ache with an unquenchable need for him.

And like Alice, I feel as if I’m falling further and further down the rabbit hole, unsure if I will find my way back to reality or even if I want to.

“Excellent to hear. I’m sure you and Tessa will be most impressed with this facility. This one is more of a schoolhouse than a center like the one we saw yesterday. Because we’re more on the outskirts of London, we decided to have a school for the children who are orphans. This is a quieter area and not quite as developed, which is why we need a facility like this one.”

We walk through the hallway and the faint sound of voices can be heard in the distance. Artwork adorns the halls, beautiful bright pictures obviously done by the hands of the children who live here.