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“I’ll give Tyler a call. I won’t ask what you are up to, but please don’t do anything stupid on my and Daniel’s account. I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to you. Plus, I wouldn’t want the shit that Abigail would give me.”
Kye started to laugh before he spoke. “Don’t worry on both accounts. I won’t get into trouble, so you won’t have to worry about Abigail’s wrath.”
He got up from the chair, grabbed his laptop, and turned to leave.
“I’ll send this info over to you so you and Tyler can look at it.”
With that, he walked out the door, and I was left alone in my office again.
Chapter Twenty
Daniel
I’d had a very productive morning, despite the events of yesterday. Katherine was still in my thoughts, but I couldn’t allow her death to stop me from living my life. I had never loved her like a husband should, the same as she had never loved me, so although it was terrible what had happened to her, I was not going to wallow in sorrow because of it.
I had contacted my partner, Derek, at the business, and we had both agreed that it was probably best if I stayed away from the office for a while whilst the police were investigating Katherine’s murder. Derek had mentioned that the police had already contacted him to ask questions about me and my relationship with Katherine and admitted that he had to tell them everything he knew. He immediately said that he knew I would never have done it and was willing to help in any way that he could. I was grateful that I had been honest with him and my colleagues from the beginning. At least now they would be telling the police the same as me.
He did say that rumours were already going around the office, but he had called a meeting for the afternoon, and with my blessing, he was going to tell everyone what had happened. He wanted to make sure that they heard the truth and not some fabricated story from hearsay and conjecture. I had given him my blessing, of course. I wanted the truth to be known: that no matter how much I disliked my wife, I would never have hurt her, especially with only a few months left to go on our agreement.
I had also checked out of the hotel I was staying in. There seemed little point in staying there now after everything that had happened between me and Richard. He had opened both his home and heart to me in the past twenty-four hours, and I wanted to spend the rest of my life with this amazing man. For once in my life, I finally felt where I belonged. Finally felt the warmness in my chest that only came from being with a person you loved and who wanted to be with you.
I just hoped that Richard was feeling the same way. He had spent far too long living a lie, but unlike me, no one was around to share the real him. At least I had Derek and my colleagues at work. Richard had closed the real him from everyone, including his own family. Mine may not have believed me when I had told them I was gay, but I’d still told them.
I had just put away all my stuff in the wardrobes of the spare bedroom. I didn’t want to expect to be staying in Richard’s room permanently from the outset. We both needed time to adjust to the new life we were building together, and I wanted Richard to have his own space until he was fully ready. To me, it didn’t matter how long it took. I wanted him to be happy, and if that meant giving him time, I would give him all the time he needed. Just being able to hold him like I had last night was enough for me.
I grabbed the keys that Richard had given me and headed back out of the flat to get the ingredients I needed to make dinner this evening. Even though I could afford it, I had never had a cook or a housemaid come in to clean and cook for me. I’d always done everything myself. The only thing I didn’t do was my washing, as I was very particular about how I liked my suits and clothes to look. I always sent them out to be laundered and pressed every week. I guessed that may have to change now I was living in London. However, I was sure there would be the same service around here somewhere.
I loved to cook, especially Italian, and that was exactly what I was going to do for Richard this evening. I had decided on one of my favourites, chicken parmesan with spaghetti pomodoro and a baby spinach salad, along with garlic bread and tiramisu for dessert. I had found a lovely Italian delicatessen just around the corner from Richard’s apartment that sold everything I needed, including the tiramisu, as I didn’t have time to make one of those from scratch today. Walking out into the sunshine of a summer early afternoon in London, I immediately savoured the warm rays of the sun on my face. Placing my sunglasses on, I walked the short journey to the deli and walked inside. I was immediately greeted by the young lady behind the counter.
“Ciao, signore.”
Luckily, I could speak Italian, so was able to reply. “Ciao signorina.”
I saw a look of shock come over her face when I replied, which surprised me when she addressed me in Italian.
“I’m sorry I look shocked, sir. We just don’t get many people in here who speak Italian and aren’t regular customers. In fact, I admit to not realising I hadn’t greeted you in English. You must have taken me by surprise when you walked in.”
I gave the young lady a smile before I replied. “It’s okay. I speak quite good Italian, but I’m not fluent. I’m sorry if I startled you, that wasn’t my intent.”
“No, you are perfectly okay. I wasn’t paying attention like I should have been. Anyway, how can I help you?”
I explained what I was planning to cook for dinner this evening and Aria, as I now knew the assistant, showed me around the little shop to gather everything I needed to make the meal. I gathered everything up and headed over to the counter.
“I don’t suppose you have a tiramisu, do you?”
She gave me a beaming smile. “Only the best in London. Give me a second and I will get you one. We keep them out the back.”
She walked from behind the counter out towards the back of the shop and disappeared into a room. A few moments later, she returned with a tiramisu in her hand, which she placed on the counter in front of me.
“Someone’s a lucky girl to have a man cooking such a delightful meal for them.”
I chuckled before I replied. “It’s actually for my boyfriend.”
I saw the embarrassment come over her face.
“I’m sorry. I should never have assumed. Me and my big mouth always getting me into trouble. Anyway, he is still lucky to have you.”
“Thank you, and no offence was taken. I get it all the time.”
