“See ya,” she said, blowing me a kiss, and I could feel myself grinning like an idiot as I left.
My apartment felt empty when Emily wasn’t there, and so quiet without Maia. The one place that I had always loved to be and suddenly I couldn’t wait to get of there and get to Emily. Friday couldn’t come soon enough, Emily didn’t have any classes and I had booked time off work so we could move her stuff in to my apartment. I hadn’t told her this yet, but I had had a designer and decorator in since first thing this morning to make the spare room into a palace fit for a princess. I couldn’t wait for Maia to see it, I wanted her to have her very own room just how she would like it so she could feel completely at home here. I wanted Maia to want to be here, rather than just living here because she had to.
I showered and packed a bag with enough clothes to last me for a few days and raced out of my apartment, leaving it in the capable hands of the designer. I must admit, I was more than a little excited to see Maia’s new room myself. I had given only one clear instruction when it came to her furniture. The bed had to meet the floor. There couldn’t be any space beneath for her imaginary monsters to lurk.
Samantha let me into the apartment and I headed straight upstairs, where I found Emily neatly arranging the contents of her drawers into a large case. I couldn’t control the wide smile that spread across my face. “Hey, gorgeous,” I said, still grinning like a fucking moron.
I managed to drop my bag to the floor before she leapt into my arms, swinging her arms around my neck and slamming her lips against mine.
“What are you so happy about?” I asked, unsure if I had missed something obvious.
“Nothing, just had a good day, that’s all. And now I’m getting ready to move in with my spectacularly sexy fiancé who I love to pieces,” she beamed.
“Oh, that’s a shame,” I joked, putting on my best disappointed expression. “I was kind of hoping you were still moving in with me.”
Emily laughed softly before kissing me again and then spinning around to attend to the case again. I had no idea what had suddenly brought on her ecstatic mood, but I decided to take advantage of it while I could.
“I got these for you to look at,” I said, reaching into my bag and pulling out a small pile of magazines.
I handed them to her and, as her eyes registered what magazines they were, her mouth popped open. I wasn’t sure if this was a good sign, or a very bad one.
“I thought maybe you could get some ideas of where you’d like to do it.” My nerves were evident in my weak voice. I was praying she wasn’t about to freak out on me. After all, she had asked when we were getting married, and she had seemed keen.
“I don’t even know what to say,” she started, glancing up at me as I skulked towards her. “Thank you, Julian. God, I love you.” She dropped the magazines to the bed and flung her arms around my neck again, covering my cheek with her kisses.
“It’s just a few magazines, Emily,” I choked as her tightening arms began to restrict my breathing slightly.
“It’s more than just a few magazines.” She paused to ravish my neck, this time. “Thank you for being so thoughtful. I can’t wait to call you my husband.” She loosened her grasp on my neck and pulled back slightly, her thoughtful gaze locking on my no doubt humoured eyes. Her eyes twitched slightly and deepened. It was as though she was looking right into my soul. I felt my smile fade as sheer emotion took over. Her stare was so intense, so personal somehow; that I was starting to worry about what she was going to say. Had I freaked her out after all? Was this too soon? I noticed her chest expand as she inhaled deeply, as if she was readying herself for something big. Shit. I felt my stomach drop.
“Is it too soon to set a date?” Her voice was almost a whisper as it trembled with nerves. I blew out my breath, that I hadn’t even realised I was holding, and pressed my mouth to hers. I tried to show her everything I felt for her in that single kiss. All of my feelings that were just too powerful for words.
“I’m ready to marry you tomorrow,” I whispered against her lips.
We carefully scanned through each and every page of all four magazines before Emily settled on her favourite venue. I always knew Emily wouldn’t want the typical flash wedding at Claridge’s, or any other hotel for that matter. The place she had chosen was practically a derelict old castle. There was a picture in one magazine where they had decorated the main hall in simple, delicate furniture, surrounded by thousands upon thousands of tiny fairy lights that dangled from every inch of the vast ceiling and lined every wall. It was beautiful. It looked like a scene straight out of a fairytale. Exactly where Emily belonged.
Needless to say, we didn’t get much packing done. Emily had showed Samantha the picture of her chosen wedding venue and Samantha had burst into tears. Between the pair of them, they had already chosen flowers, arranged dress shopping and selected Emily’s bridesmaids. Maia, of course, wasn’t even in question. Samantha would be her maid of honour. And then Emily had actually asked me if I minded if she asked Natalie to be her third and final bridesmaid. Like she even needed to ask. My heart felt as if it had literally swelled when she asked me, and I found myself, yet again, having to fight against my threatening tears of joy. The fact that she thought enough of my sister to want her as her bridesmaid was one thing, but the fact that she had felt the need to ask me, as if it was my honour to grant, was something different altogether. It had absolutely melted me.
Christmas break had started. Emily had no classes, Maia had no nursery. Yet I still had to be at work for 9a.m. It had nearly killed me to drag myself out of Emily’s bed this morning, but I knew I had important matters to deal with that simply couldn’t be done in front of Emily - her Christmas present. It was a little extravagant, but I knew she’d love it once the anger subsided. The wheels had been set in motion a long while ago, now I just needed to make a few calls and finalise the arrangements. I called Emily’s father first. I had spoken to him a number of times in secret in the past few weeks, and he had been only too happy to help.
“Julian, how’s it going, son?” It didn’t matter how many times he had called me Son in our recent phone calls, it still made me smile, every damn time.
“Really good. The deal’s gone through, it’s hers.”
“That’s fantastic news!” he interrupted, his voice raising an octave. “She’s gonna love it.”
“I was thinking of bringing her over this afternoon. We could probably be there by five. Is that good for you?”
“Fine by me, son. We’ll be there. I’ll go over this morning and get it all ready.”
“Thank you, Henry. I’ll have someone drop a key off. We’ll see you in a few hours.”
I hung up the phone with my stomach in my mouth. Emily was going to flip, I knew it. But I couldn’t contain my excitement, there was no way I could wait until Christmas to give her her gift. For the first time in years, Emily would have a proper Christmas Day with her father. Whether it was the 25th of December or not.
I scrolled to Emily’s name and wrote a message:
‘Pack your bags, baby. We’re going to France x.’
I had debated on whether to whisk Emily away and have her and Maia to myself for the one night we’d be staying in France, but then I thought better of it. My mother was still in the hospital, with a police guard, plus my security, so I knew she would be safe just for one night. Natalie, on the other hand, I wasn’t so sure of. So, that had made my decision for me. We would all go to France for a family Christmas. Natalie and Ryan were joining us, as were Samantha and Michael. I had invited Adrian, as much as I hadn’t wanted to, for Emily’s sake, but thankfully he had other commitments. I was surprised by Samantha, I honestly thought she would have let something slip to Emily by now, but she had been true to her word and managed to keep our surprise trip to herself. I hadn’t told anyone about my gift to Emily though, other than Henry. That absolutely had to be a surprise.
I drummed my fingers nervously against my desk as I waited for my final meeting of the day, worried that I hadn’t yet had a reply from Emily. I felt my lips stretch into a wide smile when my phone buzzed against my thigh. I peeked at my phone screen, one eye closed and the other squinted, preparing myself for her reaction.
‘What? When? Why?’
I pictured exactly what her face would look like as she said those words and chuckled to myself as I pressed reply.
‘We are going to France! In about two hours time! To see your father! Ps, Henry says it’s cold, pack something warm.’
‘You’ve spoken to my dad?’
‘Yes. Is that a problem?’
‘I could kill you right now!’
‘Please don’t. I’m looking forward to tomorrow!’
‘What’s going on tomorrow?
’
I grinned even wider as I sent my last text:
‘You’ll see. Love you, baby x.’
I pushed my phone back into my pocket as the usual ringing buzz sounded from my desk, informing me that my next meeting associates had arrived.
As I rang the doorbell to Emily’s apartment, I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. I wasn’t sure whether it was a happy smile or a nervous one, I couldn’t tell. Samantha opened the door with a humoured expression. “You are so dead,” she said, giggling as I passed her.
“Where is she?”
“Upstairs, packing.” That wasn’t so bad, at least she was packing, which obviously meant she was coming.
I still couldn’t even begin to understand why she got so mad with me every time I spent any money on her. I had the money, so why shouldn’t I spend it on her? Samantha wasn’t complaining, neither was anyone else for that matter. I had promised the entire trip was on me. For everyone, not just for Emily. Hopefully once she realised everyone was coming, she may forgive me just a little bit. I crept as quietly as I could manage up the stairs and stopped in her doorway, watching her folding clothes into a small case.
“You’re coming then?” I grinned, although I actually felt a little sick.
“You,” she said, pointing a finger at me but trying to mask a smile, “are a pain my arse!” I breathed a sigh of relief and pulled her into me, kissing her madly as if my life depended on it.
Emily said her goodbyes to Samantha and Michael as I secured Maia into her car seat, completely unaware that she would in fact be seeing them both again in less than an hour, and then we headed for the air strip.
“I should’ve known.” Emily grinned as I pulled the car to a stop at the edge of the Tarmac. “You’re flying, I take it.” I flashed what I hoped was my most dazzling smile. The answer to that question was obvious; I didn’t need to say it. I was looking forward to Samantha’s reaction when she found out, though.
I had only just managed to remove our cases from the boot before Ryan pulled up behind us. Emily span around quickly - causing Maia to giggle in her arms - as Ryan and Natalie joined us on the tarmac, her eyes wide and questioning.
Samantha stepped out of the back of the car, closely followed by Michael, brushing her hands down her top to smooth its creases. “What are we doing here? I thought we were going straight to the airport,” she huffed. “I need a wee!”
I burst out laughing; Emily just stared at me looking completely bewildered. It was adorable.
“Yes, they’re coming, too.” I smiled. After about five seconds, she seemed to click onto what I had just said. She lunged herself at me, throwing her arms around my neck and almost jumping up and down.
“I love you! Thank you!” she squealed in a voice not too dissimilar to a cartoon mouse.
Samantha’s face was priceless when she saw the plane. Her eyes widened and her mouth hung open in the slightly gormless manner that I was starting to get used to seeing. “I am not going on that thing,” she complained.
The rest of the group simply looked at her, amusement on every one of their faces. And obviously Emily couldn’t wait to stick the boot in. “Just wait until you find out the best bit.” She laughed.
“What bit? What are you talking about?”
“Julian is our pilot,” Emily said matter-of-factly as she turned, grinning ridiculously, and headed towards the plane.
“Did you just say pilot?”
I twisted to wink at Samantha. I had never seen so much horror in one expression. It was brilliant.
My stomach twisted with excitement when we arrived at the same cottage we had stayed at last time we visited. There was a soft glow of lighting coming from the front window, and I knew Henry had done what I had asked. Samantha was still complaining she felt sick after she had spent the best part of the plane journey emptying the contents of her stomach in the toilet. I did feel a little guilty now, maybe I should’ve pre-warned her. I had kind of assumed that Emily would have told her all about my favourite hobby after last time. But, as soon as I had realised she hadn’t, I had decided to keep quiet. I was beginning to enjoy surprising people.
Leaving the cases in the large seven-seated car I had hired, I rested Maia on my hip and took Emily’s hand. My stomach was twisting and churning almost painfully as the anticipation built up inside me. As we reached the porch, I took out a single key and handed it to Emily. She didn’t seem to notice the gesture as anything significant. She simply took the key with a “thanks” and opened the door.
“Welcome home, angel,” Henry yelled as we stepped through the door. I shook my head at him, making sure to lower my eyebrows into a frown, hoping he’d get the picture that I hadn’t told Emily yet.
“Dad! What are you doing here?” Emily threw her arms around her father’s waist and hugged him tightly. And then she stopped. And gasped. “Oh my God!” she whispered. She twisted slowly, turning to see the room from every angle. Her mouth was open, her eyes wide. I couldn’t help but smile. She liked it.
In the corner of the room was the biggest Christmas tree I had ever seen filled with gold and red baubles, bows, and every other Christmas decoration you could think of, robins, cherubs, stars, it looked incredible. Shimmering tinsel danced as it reflected the twinkling lights. All around the room were fairy lights and reindeer and Santa dolls. I had never seen anything like it. I was completely gobsmacked. I quickly snapped my mouth shut, realising I looked like a moron.