***
Paige
This morning was a nightmare. The florist’s software crashed and the order for the wedding was lost. We had to go through everything again. Thankfully, Chloe is anal-retentive with things like this, so she knew everything and had pictures for most things. Still, it took forever, every bouquet, buttonhole; all the decorations for rooms, anything and everything had to be handwritten by the florist. Luckily, the flowers had already been ordered, they just needed to know how and whereto arrange them. As we walk out of the door of the shop, I take a look at my watch and realise it’s after lunch.
“Shit, it’s gone one already,” I mutter.
“That was a nightmare. I just want to be married already, I should have eloped.”
“That’s exactly what I’m going to do. Give me a beach, a sexy dress, my groom and a couple of guests and I’m done.” Why does Gray pop into my head when I think of the groom? Would he even want to get married? He’s in his forties and already has an adult son. He could be perfectly happy with his life, never wanting a wife or any more children.Stop. I need to stop thinking about him as anything more than a weekend affair. I barely know him, I cannot be picturing him as the groom to my imaginary wedding.
“We need to go straight to the lodge, the lady who is doing our nails is going to arrive at one-thirty, then we’ve got the hair and makeup artist coming to meet everyone and see if what we’ve discussed will actually work on each individual.” She unlocks her Range Rover and we climb in, heading straight back to Highlands Manor.
“Just feed me, Chlo. Feed me and you can do whatever you need.”
“You and me both, hun. Would you really elope?” It takes me a second to realise she’s questioning my comment from earlier. This is the thing with Chloe, her brain can hold on to things and then she’ll carry on the conversation minutes, hours, sometimes even days later and expect you to keep up with her. Thankfully, this time round, it’s only minutes and I can follow her train of thought.
“Yes, I would. I’ve never really wanted the big white wedding and with Mum and Dad gone, I just want something small. A beach, my groom and you and David as witnesses.”
She grabs my hand and squeezes, “I love you, Paige, so much.” I can hear the tears in hervoice, she misses them too.
“I love you too, Chlo. Want to ditch David and marry me instead?” Our laughter fills the car as we drive towards her happily ever after.
I walk into our bedroom with a little over three hours until we need to be at the dinner. Gray grabs me as soon as I walk through the door, kicking it shut behind me. He pulls me into his arms and carries me to the chair by the window, sitting me down in his lap, he cradles my face and lowers his lips to mine. The kiss is gentle and sweet, his tongue slowly sweeping inside my mouth. His tongue flicks my lips, my teeth, glides over every surface; I’m his to explore. Pulling back he looks into my eyes.
“Hey,” he whispers.
“Hi,” I whisper back.
“I missed you,” he pecks another kiss on my lips. “Sit with me for a bit. I just want to hold you.”
“You okay?” He seems different, like something happened today whilst I was gone. Almost like he needs the comfort of holding me. “Did something happen today?”
“No, nothing like that. I just want to hold you for a bit. Talk to me. How was your day?” I look at him for a beat longer, making sure I’m not missing something before I answer his question.
“It was a nightmare; we spent about four hours with the florist going over everything. I don’t want to even look at the flowers on Sunday. I know the bridesmaids don’t throw the bouquets, but this one is!” He laughs with me; his eyes sparkling down at me. He really is too handsome for his own good. I can see the smattering of grey hair at his temples, and rather than detracting from his looks, they add to his appeal. He is going to be one hot silver fox.
“I was saying to Chloe that I am never having a big wedding. This girl is eloping all the way.” His arms tighten around me.Ohshit.Did he think I was hinting at something? I shouldn’t be talking about what I want for my wedding with him, even if we are at a wedding, but before I can say anything he speaks.
“That’s what you’d want, a small wedding?”
“Mmhmm,” I hum my agreement. I don’t want to say too much.
“Where?” Okay, he’s asking the questions. That makes this conversation okay, right?
“A beach, somewhere hot. Just me, my future husband and a couple of friends.” His face nuzzles into my hair.
“That sounds pretty perfect.” It does? Does he want to get married one day? I don’t want to ask, it’s too soon, we shouldn’t be having this conversation, but I need to know.
“Would you, I mean, have you ever thought about getting married?” My voice is shaking, I’m ridiculously nervous about his response. Will he answer, will he shut me down and tell me it’s none of my business?
“Honestly, I’ve never seen myself getting married; never had the urge to settle down. My work has always been enough,” he pauses, and I feel him taking a deep breath. “But lately, things have changed. With the right person, if that’s what she wanted, yes, I think I could see myself getting married. Calling her ‘my wife’ hearing her being referred to as ‘Mrs Stone’, I could get used to that.”Holy shit.That’s hot, ridiculously hot. I want that; I want to be his wife. I want to be Mrs Stone. His hand comes up and sweeps a strand of hair from my face, tucking it behind my ear. His hand lingers, brushing against my cheek, travelling to my lips and pulling the lower one down. His eyes follow his fingers, hypnotised by the motion.
“Take a bath with me,” he whispers the words. Almost as if he doesn’t want to break the moment. I nod, words having escaped me since hearing him say ‘Mrs Stone’. He rises from the chair with me inhis arms, his breathing doesn’t change, as if I weigh no more than a feather, and walks us into the circular bathroom. He lowers me to the edge of the giant tub and starts turning on the taps. Water gushes out, quickly filling the Jacuzzi style bath.
“I’ll be right back.” He walks out of the bathroom, only to return a minute later with his phone in his hand. He passes it to me. “Put your number in here.”
I smirk at him. “Shouldn’t you get that before you fuck the girl?”
