Making Love (Destiny Book 1) (25 page)
Read Making Love (Destiny Book 1) Online
Authors: Catherine Winchester
For our honeymoon we were staying at a hotel in a former castle on one of the Orkney Islands, but there was a plane from Edinburgh Airport to mainland Orkney, then we would catch a ferry to the island our hotel was on.
We were surprised to find a paparazzi with a hand held camera at the airport, they generally only harass people at larger airports, where the chances of seeing someone famous are greater, but there were quite a few famous faces coming through here during the Edinburgh Festival, so perhaps that explained it.
“It’s too early for this,” I muttered to Will. We had got to the airport for 7.30am so that we had plenty of time to check in and go through security.
“Just be nice,” he told me, placing a protective arm around my shoulders. “He won’t bother us for long.”
“Hey, Will.” The man had an American accent, which was odd.
“Hello.”
“Where you headed?” he asked as we got close.
“I don’t think anyone needs to know that,” Will replied.
To his credit, the pap didn’t press. “Hey, congratulations on your wedding.”
“Thank you.”
“Did you have a good time?” He was walking backwards through the terminal, keeping the camera on us.
“It was a wonderful day.”
“What about you, Elle?”
“It was amazing,” I answered. I could see that he was trying to get a close up of Will’s left hand, which was resting on my shoulder.
“Can you tell me who some of your guests were?”
“I’m sure my mother will do that soon, and in much greater detail than I have time for.” We had reached the ropes that delineated the queues for the check in desks.
“Sorry, man, but we need to check in now,” Will said.
“Sure, of course. Thank you for your time,” he said.
“No problem.”
“Have a great honeymoon.” Then the pap turned to leave, without a second glance.
“Why are you so nice to them?” I asked Will.
“Why not? He’s just doing his job.”
“I know, but doesn’t it bother you?”
“Of course, but getting upset doesn’t stop it from happening. In truth, if you react angrily, it might inspire more attention, since they can sell that more easily than a calm exchange.”
“You must have the patience of a saint.”
He smiled at me. “Today, I have the patience of all the saints combined.”
Once we were through security, we found somewhere to have breakfast and Will got his tablet out, so we could look through the pictures from yesterday and choose some to release to the press.
The photographer had only sent the best pictures (I knew that because normally in at least one in every five photos, I looked like I’d had some terrible botox accident that had paralysed parts of my face) so I was pretty relaxed about which ones to release.
“We should release one with Mum in,” I said as we browsed the ones which included the guests. “It’ll make her decade.”
“You still care after everything she did?”
“She’s the only parent I still talk to, so I kind of have to. Besides, the older I get, the more I feel like I’m the parent, and I think when you change to that mind-set, it’s harder to stay mad at your child. Why, are you upset with her?”
With everything that had happened, I hadn’t really stopped to think that Will might also be angry. He’s so easy going and polite, that it’s sometimes hard to tell when he doesn’t like someone.
“She’s not my favourite person,” he admitted. “She’s far too narcissistic for my tastes but my only anger stems from her treatment of you. If you can forgive her, I can too.”
We chose the pictures and sent them to Lee, then browsed the shops. I bought some perfume (not that it was duty free because we weren’t leaving the country) and Will bought a bottle of Jameson.
We headed to a newsagents to browse the books and I was stunned into stopping by a sign in the window.
“Exclusive! Will Braxton’s Wedding Pictures” proclaimed the Daily News poster.
Will’s arm came around my shoulders.
“It’s okay,” he said gently.
I turned to smile at him. “I know.”
“Come on,” he tried to guide me away.
“I still want a book,” I said, continuing to the shop.
“Are you going to look at the pictures?” he asked.
I stopped and turned to him. “No,” I tried to reassure him. “I don’t care if they’re good pictures or grainy and blurred or if people tear me to shreds. I’m not going to let this stuff bother me any more, I’m going to ignore it and get on with living my life. Our life. And I haven’t had a chance to sit down and read for ages, so I’m going to look for a book.”
“Well said, darling.” He visibly relaxed and grinned at me.
I picked out the latest James Patterson. I wasn’t an avid reader of his work but the few of his books I had read had all been entertaining. Will picked out the latest Dan Brown book, not his usual fare but I might borrow it from him when he was done.
Will was recognised a few times and posed for pictures, which I offered to take. Everyone was friendly to me and those who knew, congratulated us on our wedding.
We flew to the Orkney mainland, then caught a ferry over to the island of Shapinsay. It was home to fewer than 400 people and with no cinema, we were relatively anonymous there.
The hotel was lovely, luxurious even and while we enjoyed our bed frequently, we also ventured out often. We played tennis, tried clay pigeon shooting, enjoyed the spa facilities, went seal watching and walked for miles over the island, taking in the scenery and some of the historic sites.
We dined mostly in the hotel restaurant but we also ate at the local village pub a few times.
We were pretty blessed with the weather, having sun almost every day, and it was on such a glorious day that we were returning to the castle, having walked to the quayside of the Harbour to see the old cannons there.
“You’re quiet,” Will said as we walked.
“I was just thinking,” I smiled at him, reaching out to take his hand.
“About?”
“Wondering what I did in a past life to have been so lucky in this one. I think I must have been a miracle worker of some description.”
“Well that’s funny, because I feel like the lucky one.”
“How do you work that one out?” I asked.
“Well, as lovable as I am, as far as I can see, all I’ve done is disrupt your life and force you into a world you had no desire to be a part of.”
“Yes, but that makes me the weirdo, you’re supposed to aspire to fame these days.”
“Well, I don’t know about that,” he chuckled. “But I certainly don’t think you’re weird.”
“Maybe we’re both weird,” I suggested. “We’re just each other’s perfect idea of weird.”
He laughed. “Maybe,” he agreed. “Do you ever regret taking part in that study?”
“I think I can honestly say, that if I’d been given a choice of who to love, I would have picked you… had I known you. Well, no, I did know of you, but I didn’t know you, know you, if you know what I mean.”
He nodded. “I know what you mean, and if your career doesn’t pan out, I think you have a promising future writing greeting’s cards.”
I elbowed him gently in the ribs for being mean.
“What about you?” I asked.
“‘
The very instant I saw you, did my heart fly to your service
’. I wouldn’t change a thing, love.”
Historical Romance
Short Stories
A Merry Little Christmas (a companion story to Northern Light)
Contemporary Romance
Past Series
Urban Fantasy
by
Catherine Winchester
Peri Young's book is being made into a mini-series, starring the drop dead gorgeous Tom Easton, one of Britain's hottest actors. After a disastrous first meeting, Peri is determined to dislike him while to win a bet, Tom is equally determined to win her around.
Tom finds himself the subject of intense media scrutiny due to a burglary and as a consequence, his personal information and photos are being leaked online. Not long out of a bad marriage, Peri's self-esteem has never been lower and thanks to her malicious ex and the paparazzi, she's not sure she can handle dating someone like Tom, no matter how wonderful he seems.
Is dating Tom worth the intrusions into her private life? Can she get some of the confidence back that she used to possess and accept him into her life, or will she give into her fears?
International best seller!
by
Catherine Winchester
A series of seemingly inexplicable deaths at Locke Abbey causes house guests to speculate that the sinister events have a supernatural cause, prompting William Cole to call on the services of renowned detectives to help solve the mysteries.
When Lady Thea Copley arrives with her detective father, Cole is immediately taken with her. He soon realises that she is not a typical lady, and that her beauty is only surpassed by the sharpness of her mind.
As they work together and expose the secrets and lies at the heart of his household, Cole is left reeling from the revelations. Can Thea overcome her past hurts to be his anchor, or will she hide behind her intellect, afraid to take a chance?
International best seller!
by
Catherine Winchester
Countess Damaris Wellesley has suffered more loss in her 25 years than most people suffer in a lifetime and to protect her shattered heart, has closed herself off from Society and taken refuge in her books. When the remains of her long missing father are discovered though, she is determined to see justice for him and ventures out into the world once more.
As Justice of the Peace, Nathaniel Copley views it as his duty to discover what befell her late father but she is too wary of his intentions to help.
Thinking him arrogant and superior, she flatly refuses to cooperate with his investigation. Finding her behaviour to be impertinent and abrasive, he tries to dismiss her from his thoughts.
It doesn’t take Nathaniel long to realise that she is something special and worth fighting for but even although she agrees to help him investigate, her heart proves far harder to secure than her help.
International best seller!
by
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An unusual proposal and an intriguing whodunit set in the sumptuous Regency period, with a passionate love story at its centre.
Under the terms of his father's Will, widower Alexander Cavendish must remarry before he turns 30, but the suspicions which surround his first wife's death mean that his choices are limited. On impulse, he picks a stranger, offering her security and protection in return for marriage.
Helen Norton has few options in life and accepts the proposal, but she quickly comes to realise that everything in Alex's home is not as it seems. When attempts are made on her life, Helen realises that if she is to stand a chance of surviving, she must solve the riddle of his first wife's murder.
Is Alex a killer, or is he Helen's devoted husband? Was his first wife an adulteress or simply a loving mother? And if not Alex, then who among this family of aristocrats had the motive to kill?
International best seller!
by
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Threatened with being cut off by his father, womaniser Maxwell Stark is forced to marry and he chooses the woman he secretly loves, Lucy Steed, his family's ward.
Lucy has been desperately in love with Max ever since she first moved in with the Stark family, but she’s convinced that he only loves her as a friend.
Although both are too afraid to admit their true feelings, the marriage is a happy one, until Max’s spurned mistress, Marie, decides that if she can’t have Max, then no one can.
They say that ‘hell hath no fury like a woman scorned’, and Marie is furious!
