Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 103050 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103050 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
She blushes, and I have to resist the urge to crawl over her and kiss her into next week.
“How’s Darcy?” I ask, as I pull out the food.
“She’s Darcy,” she replies. “It was good to see her for sure.” She frowns at me still bringing out packages of food. “Are you expecting more people?” she asks. “There’s a lot of food here.”
“My assistant understands that we all have to under-promise and over-deliver.”
She laughs and it lights up every cell in my body. God, her laugh is like the warmth of a fire or the light in the dark. Every place she is, she makes it better.
We unpack the parcels of food to find stuffed rolls and cold meats, cheeses and salads. There’s enough food for a dozen people. Finally, I pull out plates and cutlery and divide them between us.
“How often have you done a picnic on your lunchtime?” she asks, transferring some salad onto her plate.
“You’re bringing a lot of firsts into my life, Aurora,” I say. “And I’m better for it.”
“That’s a nice thing to say,” she replies.
“I mean it.” I pour us some old-fashioned lemonade into the paper cups that my assistant has packed.
She gives me a shy smile, but doesn’t respond.
“So you grew up with the Westburys,” I say. “That must have been…interesting.”
“It was fun.” She looks at me like she thinks I’m stalling. She’s ready to get down to business.
“So you have a permanent job offer,” I say, like it’s new information.
“Yes,” she says. “Which is flattering. But New York was never meant to be a permanent thing.”
I nod. She’s always been clear about that.
“Right, but it could be,” I say. “And I really like you, Aurora. I think you like me too.”
“I do,” she says. “I really like you, Deacon. But that doesn’t mean—”
“I’m not ready for things to end in less than a month.” I want to be clear with her.
She sighs. It’s not the engagement ring that Ryder told me to present her with, because we didn’t know each other three months ago. But I can’t end things with her. It doesn’t make sense.
“That’s when my current contract ends.” She says it carefully, like she doesn’t want to give away any more than is necessary.
“With everything that’s going on with Gabby and her engagement and then Willow moving between our homes, things are shifting all the time.”
“I understand,” she says, with a finality in her tone that’s difficult to hear. It’s like she’s resigned to our breaking up.
“I can’t control what Gabby does,” I continue. “I can’t stop Gabby getting engaged. I can’t stop her insisting on different custody arrangements.” I take a breath. Because everything after what I’ve just said is newly formed in my brain. It’s only since Ryder’s party that I’ve even entertained anything more with Aurora, and I don’t want to say too much—to over-promise and then not be able to deliver. I can’t wrap everything up in a neat little parcel and finish it with a bow. “Willow is dealing with everything really well so far. As much as I can tell. We’re due to tell her about moving between our houses in a couple of days. I’ll know more then.”
Aurora nods, waiting for me to say more.
“You said that you gave up your job at the hotel in Chilternshire, right?”
“Yes.”
“So it’s not like you’re going back to anything?”
She shifts on the blanket. “No, but I know they haven’t filled my job. They know I’m due back in Chilternshire at the end of the summer. I’ve worked there a long time, and I’m pretty confident of getting my job back when I leave New York.”
When I leave New York.
The words feel like squeezed lemon juice on a bleeding cut. I can’t bear the thought of her going back to a life where I didn’t know her, but she seems to be resigned to it. Anyone looking at our situation would think this was some summer romance, but that’s not it for me. Aurora is special to me. She’s more than special, she’s…
I’m just not prepared to give up on what’s between us.
I need to rescue this situation. I need to take a leap of faith.
I wasn’t expecting her to say she had a job to go back to. I didn’t realize she’d have an incentive to get back to the UK as soon as possible.
I thought she might be open to extending things in New York without any promises from me. But it’s more complicated because everything’s more complicated.
“I can see myself being with you, for a long time, Aurora. Like I can picture a life with you,” I say.
Her mouth falls open a little and her eyes widen a fraction. It wasn’t what she was expecting.
“Seeing you with Willow at the townhouse, well…it gave me hope that one day maybe I’d be able to move forward and give Willow more than just me. That I’d give her a family. Like I said, now, there’s lots of change in Willow’s life. I don’t want to add to that. And I don’t think you and I are in a place where we can make a lifetime’s commitment to each other…” I pause, trying to read Aurora’s reaction. Does she agree? Was she expecting a proposal?