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The pilot says on the speaker, “We’ll reach Heathrow Airport in two hours, sir.”
He mumbles a curse. “That was supposed to be a surprise.”
I cup his face and place my forehead to his. “You’re the best surprise of my life, Kieran. You are enough, and all I want is you.”
Is he crazy to think anything can top this? What’s a surprise when I have him doing all he can to make me happy? What more can I ask for than a man who would do anything to keep me content?
He keeps caressing my back until I fall asleep in his arms and wake up to his lips pecking mine.
“We’re here, sweetheart.”
I rub the sleep away and, hand in hand, we step outside. In the sullen weather, I rub my arms, and he places his jacket on my shoulders. There is a cold bite even on a summer day, clouds already gathering.
Daniel drives us to a hotel, and when he leaves, Kieran says, “I thought we could start with a date night right now.”
This man of mine. This man I was so keen on not letting in has now taken root so deep, no one could ever come close to reaching inside to cut him out.
We have dinner at a rooftop restaurant, where the city of London lights beneath us.
The next morning, we visit museums, strolling through the city, checking out all the tourist attractions. On a poster, I see my favorite band playing, and he catches me staring at it.
“I can arrange that.”
“Kieran, I don’t want any special treatment or VIP seats. We can just go as two very normal people going to a concert. But the tickets are sold out.”
He makes one call, and he gets us tickets.
He looks mouthwatering in a three-piece suit. But dressed casually in a shirt and jeans, draped in a leather jacket, looking so free, so like every twenty-something-year-old should look, makes him look so hot.
He’ll never have that freedom, but tonight he’ll have a glimpse of it like he so generously offered to me in Italy. Thethought alone has heat spreading in my core. I wear a top, jeans, and one of his hoodies.
“Like it?” I ask.
“I like everything about you.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to say he has me. It physically hurts me to even think about losing him. He takes my hand, and we get lost through the masses of people.
We drink, dance, and sing along with the band onstage, hands raised and swaying to the music blasting from the giant speakers. He lifts me on his shoulders so I can get a better view. Others around us follow suit. We link hands, enjoying our new vantage point, and I relish the carefree atmosphere.
The night flies by in a haze of alcohol, sweat, music, and fun. When we reach the hotel, I’m still high from one of the best nights of my life. It feels like a dream. We both smell like spilled beer and sweat and the happy memories we made.
Our mouths only separate when we undress and slip into the shower. Our bodies collide together, as he says, “Thank you, sweetheart, for bringing joy to my life. And I mean you.”
Words so full of emotion. I wrap my arms around him and I almost fall asleep in the shower. He washes me and when he wraps the towel around me, the last thing I think before I hit the bed is that I love him.
***
In the car, on the drive to St. Mary’s School, I fidget in anticipation. I didn’t lie when I told Kieran it gave me peace, but what I failed to tell him is how hard I worked to find peace there at the all-girls school. The feelings of helplessness rattle my newly gained confidence. A part of me will always be fettered to these grounds. If it wasn’t for Chiara, the books, the garden, and Sister Theodora, I don’t know if I could have survived all those lonely years.
“Sweetheart.”
“Hmmm.”
“You’re coming back home with me.”
A smile breaks through my corded facial muscles, and I slap his chest.
“Really? And here I thought you’d get bored.”
