Trust Me (66 page)

“
Bonjour Monsieur Ashford
,” the sweet voice said on the other end.

“Um,
hello Michelle? This is Sandra Dennis.”

“
Qui,
bonjour
Mademoiselle
Dennis
. How are you?”

“Good,
thanks. Creighton asked me to call you because he’s driving,” she said, blushing as she spoke; hoping she didn’t sound as stupid as she thought she did. “He’s heard back from his lawyer…er, solicitor and asked that you contact his designer and the contractor and have them get started on the house in Yorkshire.”

“
Tres bien
,” she said excitedly. “The house, it is yours?
C'est merveilleux
. I will call them right away. I will e-mail the details to Monsieur Ashford as soon as I have them; also, I will send the statement to him to review later today. I am very happy for you, Mademoiselle Dennis. Monsieur Ashford, he is very much in love with you.”

“Thank
you Michelle and please call me Sandra. I’ll let Creighton know you’re working on everything. Thank you again so much.”

“My
pleasure, Sandra; I look forward to seeing you again.
Au revoir
.” Sandra pressed the button and hung up, relaxing instantly.

“She
said she’ll send you the statement when it’s ready and that she will send the details of the house as soon as she has them.”

“I
think I may have to put you on the payroll,” he teased. “It’s nice to have someone around to make my calls for me and check my e-mails.”

“I
thought that was why you had Michelle?”

“True,
but I can’t shag her as an incentive. I’m sure we can work out a nice oddities package for your service.”

“You
are a deviate,” she said with a smile.

“Damned
right,” he said with a warm chuckle, reaching over and taking her hand, lifting it to his lips and brushing her knuckles with a touch that sent chills running down her spine to settle in the one place he knew so well.

They
arrived at their hotel in Lyon just before sunset. Supper had been ordered to the room and after eating, Aryana decided to lie down with Daniel for a nap, allowing Sandra and Creighton some time to relax. There were busy unpacking their clothes for the evening and the following day, when Creighton’s phone buzzed, causing Sandra to jump. She had placed his phone in her pocket in the car and completely forgot about it until now. She was amazed at how light and thin it was; if it had been her phone, her pants pocket would have been weighed down, and she would never have forgotten she had it on her.

“Answer
it,” Creighton said with a wicked grin. “Consider it your first assignment as my very private, personal assistant.” Sandra narrowed her eyes to the man and touched the screen, looking at the alert.

“You
have an e-mail from Michelle,” she said.

“So,
open it; I have nothing to hide from you.” Sandra sat on the edge of the bed and pulled up an e-mail.

“It’s
the press release,” she told him, glancing up when he sat down across from her, raising an eyebrow to her. With a deep sigh, she began to read it out loud.

“
New
Hope
Technologies
has
confirmed
the
engagement
of
owner
Creighton
Ashford
to
American,
Sandra
Dennis.
Mr.
Ashford
and
Miss
Dennis
met
in
America
and
have
known
each
other
for
two
years.
They
will
be
moving
to
London
this
summer,
where
Miss
Dennis
will
continue
her
work
as
an
aspiring
children’s
novelist.
The
couple
has
not
made
any
decisions
as
to
when
or
where
they
will
marry,
but
say
it
will
be
sometime
later
this
year.
New
Hope
has
no
further
information
at
this
time,
but
we
wish
the
young
couple
the
best
of
luck
and
our
sincerest
congratulations.
”

“Does
that work for you?” he asked her when she finished reading.

“Yes,
but why did you say we would be moving to London?”

“Because
I don’t want the press hiding out behind the bushes of our new house before we have a chance to set up proper security measures. Besides, if the house isn’t finished by the time we get back from our honeymoon, then we’ll have to stay at the flat; so it isn’t a lie.”

“An
aspiring children’s novelist? That is a lie.”

“No
it isn’t. You want to continue writing and I am going to support that decision.” Sandra smiled at the pride that echoed in his words, looking at the phone as it buzzed again.

“Michelle
sent another e-mail. Does she ever take a day off?”

“I
don’t know. I just know she is always there when I need her. I don’t know if I could even find the loo at the office if she weren’t there.”

“
Monsieur
Ashford
,” Sandra began with a chuckle. “
The
registrars’
office
has
approved
your
application
for
a
marriage
license.
A copy of the document
is
enclosed
and
valid
for
sixty
days
from
the date
of
approval.
Please
tell
Mademoiselle
Dennis
congratulations
for
me
and
I
look
forward
to
seeing
your both
back
in
London.
Maintenant,
allez
obtenir
attelé!
”

“It’s
been approved?” Sandra gasped. “I thought it would take time to get them?”

“I’ve
told you, money speaks. This just means we have the license for whenever we can get things arranged.”

“But
what about our families?” Sandra found herself nervous, excited and afraid all at once; unsure which emotion was going to win out.

“When
you’re ready, all I have to do is send my plane to Kansas. It will take a few hours to bring my family to us, or us to them and once your family arrives; we just need is the pastor.”

“This
is all going really fast,” she said softly, setting the phone back on the bed.

“Sandra,
stop worrying about it. The license just means we can get married when we’re ready. It doesn’t mean we have to do it tonight. We have two months before it expires, so there is plenty of time to work out the where and when.” She drew a deep breath, feeling slightly more at ease when he reached out and touched her hand, holding it gently in his. She nodded softly and found her mind racing to the many items necessary to plan a wedding.

“I
only have one week until my cycle is due, two weeks until June and another two until the nineteenth. If I’m already pregnant, that would make me between five and six weeks, by the time we get married.”

“We
can find out now if you’re pregnant,” he suggested, interrupting her private conversation with herself. “It’s a simple blood test. When Kristine found out she was pregnant this last time, she was barely two weeks along.” Sandra looked at the man for several long moments as though in a trance, before she blinked and shook her head.

“Let’s
just get through the next few days without adding anything else to the growing itinerary, alright?” Creighton pulled her into his arms, kissing the side of her head.

“One
step at a time?” Sandra nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

A
knock at the door put a stop to the conversation as Daniel poked his head around the barrier. He smiled apologetically, shuffling into the room hesitantly and cleared his throat.

“I’m
sorry to disturb you Mr. Ashford,” he said very formally. “Aryana is getting anxious again, being so close to home. I was wondering if we might go for a walk to take her mind off tomorrow.”

“Why
don’t we go shopping?” Sandra said suddenly causing Creighton to turn and stare at her in surprise.

“You
don’t like shopping,” he said with an amused smile.

“No
I don’t, but Aryana does. If we can keep her occupied with something she finds an interest in, then she’ll relax. A little shopping and she’ll be exhausted, so we can all sleep tonight. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to stay awake all night playing body guard.”

“No
offense Miss Dennis,” Daniel began with wide eyes. “But you don’t know Aryana. Once she starts shopping, there’s no stopping her until the stores close down.”

“Trust
me?” she asked. Creighton stood from the bed, taking Sandra by the hand and pulling her to her feet.

“It’s
the best suggestion I’ve heard. I don’t relish the idea of sleeping in front of the door, just to make sure she says in her bed.” Daniel frowned, stepping back into the living room, followed close behind by Creighton and Sandra.

Like
all the other hotels they had stayed in, this one too was large; two bedrooms, two baths with a private balcony and hot tub, kitchen, living room and dining room. Aryana was sitting on the sofa looking very much like a little girl in time-out. Her arms were folded across her large belly; her head lowered as if pouting and she was tapping her foot on the floor. Sandra glanced to Creighton and nearly laughed when he rolled his eyes.

“Aryana,”
she began. “Let’s go shopping.” Three words and the girl instantly came alive; her eyes wide and her mouth turned up into a broad smile.

“Creighton
and I would like to buy the baby something special, so we thought we would get the things you haven’t been able to. Anything you want, it’s on us.” Sandra smiled at the expression the man next to her gave.

“Oh,
si
, this would be very great! I like shopping.” The girl jumped up and hugged Sandra around the neck, before hugging Creighton and hurrying into the second bedroom to change her shoes.

“I
think it’s a mistake,” Daniel said with a heavy sigh. “You really don’t know how much money she can blow in a single day.”

“I
have a feeling we’re about to find out,” Creighton grumbled.

“Just
think; this way maybe we can find some things for the house as well,” Sandra suggested, watching the wicked grin cross the man’s face.

“Nice
try, but I’m not buying into it.” He leaned closer to Sandra so only she could hear and whispered in her ear, “This is going to cost you my love.”

“Bring
it on,” she whispered back with a secret smile.

Aryana
proved Daniel correct and shopped until Creighton and Sandra were the ones exhausted. They stopped long enough to eat a late supper and then continued the girl’s favorite sport. Creighton bought everything she asked for; new shoes, new makeup, baby clothes, stroller, toys and wall décor for the nursery, before placing an order for a rocking chair, ottoman, changing table, play pen and jungle gym to be delivered to their home in Paris. This baby had enough of everything, to never have to wear the same outfit twice.

Creighton
complained of a headache; Sandra's feet hurt and Daniel insisted his back would not survive another package. Aryana finally got tired enough to slow down around ten o’clock and announced she was starving…again. They went back to the hotel and ordered pastries to be sent up to the room, along with a tray of fruit.