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“You didn’t have to cover Robert, did you?” Isobel asked as she took a seat at the worktop. She had a pout on her expression and she knew she had been caught by Luke’s cleverness.
A boyish grin spread across his face as he glanced over at us. “Nope.” He popped the p and he reminded me of a little boy that had been caught stealing a cookie from dinner and not caring at all.
I just shook my head at him as I took a seat next to Isobel.
She narrowed her eyes at him. “That was very sneaky, Luke.”
He just shrugged his shoulders dismissively. “I am occasionally.” He gave her a wink before he grabbed the Chinese menu from the drawer. “Freddie is working late so how about we order some food?” He tossed it back on the worktop after only flicking his eyes over it for a short time. “I’ll go and change. You two choose what you want and behave while I’m gone.”
We both looked at each other and as he walked away, we both burst out laughing.
“Busted!” she joked. She leaned closer to me and pressed her lips to mine, humming against my lips before she pulled back.
CHAPTERNINE
ISOBEL
Today had been like a date out of a fairytale novel; absolute perfection, magical and nothing could’ve gone better in my eyes. I’d been such a nervous wreck wondering what Christopher’s reaction to my plans would be but it was like I’d planned the day of his dreams, especially when he realized that Central Park could have a calming presence away from the hustle of the high rises. I’d never been a more nervous ball of energy about to explode when he agreed that he didn’t want the day to end. I thought I was reading the signals all wrong as I let out a sigh of relief, allowing the bubbles that were popping away in my stomach to settle.
It felt like the day had passed too quickly and with every touch and smile we shared, it had caused my libido to be racked up to an all-time high. I wanted to let loose with him but I knew it was in our best interest to keep on with our plans of going slow and steady. We both needed time to really understand each of our quirks without jumping into something deep and heavy which would end up with one of us hurting our hearts in the process. It happened too often and I didn’t want Christopher and I to become the latest victims of heartache because we’d lost the sense of patience.
I was glad Christopher managed to keep our public display of affection to a level where it wouldn’t mean being arrested for public indecency. That wasn’t a tick I wanted adding to my list of life goals to achieve but I couldn’t wait until we were alone.
As the day progressed, it became clear that Christopher and I couldn’t wait to have some time alone. When we got back to Freddie’s, it was as if the stars had aligned that Luke and Freddie were both busy tonight but it wasn’t to be. Luke thought he’d played the pair of us well but honestly, he’d done us both a favor as I took in Christopher’s features. He was struggling as he attempted to battle his inner emotions. It was like I’d pushed him to a level in which he didn’t know if he could come back from.
“I should have known Luke would’ve been up to something,” Christopher muttered as he took a long pull of his beer. He didn’t tear his gaze from mine as he placed the bottle down. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, soldier boy,” I whispered. I grabbed the takeaway menu and scanned through the various dishes, mentally listing the numbers of my favorite dishes. “We said we would go slow and that…” I waggled my finger between the two of us before I reached for his hand. “That was moving toward anything but slow.”
“It wouldn’t have taken long for me to snap and finally have my wicked way with you, pretty girl.” He squeezed my hand and gripped my chin between his forefinger and thumb, stroking gently before he turned my face up a fraction to look at him. “You’re irresistible.” His mouth covered my lips and as I wrapped my hands around his neck, I became lost in the moment.
I didn’t even hear Luke re-enter the room until a beer bottle hit the table in front of me and the pair of us pulled apart as we watched him drinking his beer, not fazed by the two of us kissing. He acted as if it was the most natural thing in the world, to see the two of us together.
“I take it you didn’t pick what to order yet?’’ Luke chuckled before he grabbed the menu and tore a piece of paper off the note pad. He noted down a couple of numbers and raised a questioning eyebrow at us. “Well?” he asked impatiently. “What would you like to add?”
“Luke gets touchy when he’s hungry,” Christopher joked.
“Number twenty-two, please. Spare ribs,” I said. “If you’re happy to share that is? You’ve already picked some of my favorites.”
“Of course. It’s the best way to eat Chinese. A little bit of everything.” Luke chuckled and threw the menu at Christopher to scan.
“Got to have some crispy chilli chicken, too,” Christopher said as he reached for his beer.
We spent the next half hour listening to Luke and Freddie regale me with tales of them from London. It was nice for me to hear about them. It also made me want to visit all the places they were telling me about. Maybe if things with Christopher worked out how I hoped, we’d be able to take a trip there and I could meet his family.
“Where is this food?” Luke complained.
“It shouldn’t be too long. I hope this crispy chilli chicken will be as good as the one I get when I go out with Thomas and Lauren.”
“Missing them?” I questioned as Luke grabbed his phone and began typing something out. “I don’t hear you talk about them much.”
“I do but I need this…” He paused and glanced at Luke as if something had passed between the two of them that I wasn’t aware about. I wasn’t about to pry and ask questions as the buzzer rang and Luke went to answer the door. “It’s different being here with you…”
I gazed up at Christopher and furrowed my brow. It felt like he’d punched me in the chest.Different? Was that a positive or a negative thing, I wondered as he opened his mouth like he could read all the thoughts running through my head.
“Food’s here. Grab some plates Christopher and take them into the front room,” Luke interrupted.
Christopher held his finger up between us and placed it over my lips. He nodded at Luke and after they pulled away, he grabbed the cutlery and plates Luke had asked for. It was as if he was asking me to hold those words just for the moment and let him explain what he meant by them.
