Page 23 of Shameless
He nodded. “Done. Invite them all to London so they have their passports ready when we get back. However, the day we go to my parents estate, it’s better if it’s just us.”
Accepting Michael’s money was somehow easier than opening up in any sort of true way. We weren’t friends, and I wasn’t sure how to figure out how that was going to work, but I said, “Done. Michael, why are you nice to me?”
“Because your touch sends a spark in me that makes me want to live.”
That sounded sweet, but that’s how he was, really. I finished my kabob then said, “Hold onto that because the Smith house won’t be easy.”
The next day would be the first of our getting to know each other, and my family and his had to believe we were in love. If I could fool them, then maybe we had a chance to fool his parents.
That night, though, we were starting a new chapter to see what would happen next, and I needed to focus on that instead.
Chapter Eight
Michael
* * *
I had the herbal tea served, and the plane was ready for us. I’d spent the past few hours not sleeping as I spoke to my lawyers in England about the suit.
Soon, we would be there in person to handle it.
Sleeping on a couch, though, had me thinking a lot. Britney had been right the night before—cooling it down was the only way to move forward.
And Operation Romance began. She might have been pretending for the time being, but I wasn’t.
When she woke, I had breakfast and the ring she’d picked out ready and waiting for her.
She unlocked her door, fully dressed in a fluffy yellow dress with layers. It reminded me a bit of a giant yellow bird though I kept that to myself. She stopped upon seeing the ring and picked it up.
“You didn’t call your friends over to get their opinions on the ring last night.” I took it from her.
“I wanted to keep my promise and talk to you, but I passed out.”
She’d written her resignation message to her workplace, had a glass of mineral water I’d poured, and started snoring fifteen minutes later. I’d kissed her forehead and tucked her in her sheets.
“I put you in bed,” I said.
When I slipped the ring onto her finger, she smiled at me. “How did you learn to help so much?”
“I was motivated when I saw you.”
The time had come to tell her the truth though I did want to let her eat first.
As she finished her toast, she rubbed her head. “Sometimes you act like it was love at first sight for you.”
I stood with her and cleaned the plates quickly. “Don’t you believe in love?”
She followed me out to dry what I washed. “Not really. In high school, I thought coupling was all some sort of joke. I never really wanted to see anyone ever again when I finished.”
I offered her my arm as it was time to fly. “So you were rebellious even then.”
She stared at me and blushed. “Yeah. I watched a lot of TV then.”
We headed downstairs to the limo. “That’s interesting as you don’t have one.”
Once we were in the moving car, she smiled at me. “I can stream on my laptop, and I spent my teenage years wishing for the lives I saw.”
Interesting. We had such different lives. I’d had tutors and was supervised at all times by nannies until I left for college.
