'Sure. Do a right and an immediate right again. Knock yourself out.'
'Pardon?' Mum blurts.
I laugh.
'I'm sorry.' He smiles, flicking his eyes to me, then back to my Mum. 'Go for it. Like I said, right and right again. By the gym.'
'Oh, thank you.' Mum gives me an oh-the-gym look and grabs her purse from the worktop, leaving me, Jesse and my Dad to make small talk.
'So, what do you drive?' Dad starts, and I groan. Dad's passion for big, expensive cars is going to be fed good and proper now.
Jesse pulls me back onto the stool. 'A DBS.'
'Aston Martin?' Dad asks.
'That's it.'
'Nice.' Dad nods and does a rubbish job of showing disinterest. 'And the hotel is in the Surrey Hills?'
Jesse must feel me go rigid because he squeezes me slightly. 'It is. I'll show you one day, perhaps on your next visit.'
Never come to London again!
'Sure, Elizabeth loves anything luxury.' Dad rolls his eyes. My Mum is certainly high maintenance. 'It's a nice place you have here.' Dad looks around the kitchen and then back at Jesse.
'Thank you, but your daughter is responsible for that.' He starts curling a lock of my hair around his finger. 'I just bought the place.'
'So, this is the big project that stole all of your time?' Dad muses. 'You did a good job.'
'Thanks, Dad.' I'm more than relieved when I hear the front doorbell. Dad and small talk are not a match well made.
'Do you want to get that?' Jesse pats my bum and I stand.
'Who is it?'
'I don't know. Go and see.' He pushes me away, and I leave Dad and Jesse to continue small talk as I make my way to the front door. No one can come up without knowing the code, so it has to be Clive.
I swing it open and find Dan, Kate and Sam, all stood in the penthouse foyer and my first thought is; Dan and Kate within a mile of each other? Bad news. But then Dan steps forward with a big smile on his face and I all but throw myself on him, forgetting all back pain and awkward tension between him and my best friend.
'What are you doing here?' I squeeze him to me and he laughs.
'I'm doing as I'm told,' He fights me off and holds me back. 'You look good.' he says on a bright smile. 'Where's this new bloke who I need to give the 'if you hurt her' speech to?'
I wave of fear flies through me at the thought of Jesse accepting any such speech. 'In the kitchen, but you don't need to do that.'
Please don't do that!
He eyes me warily. 'It's my job.' he states firmly, and then looks past me into the penthouse. 'F*cking hell!' he whispers as he cops a load of the space. He drops me and saunters off.
Kate steps forward with a clear look of trepidation of her pale face. She wraps her arms around me. 'This has to be the most awkward situation I have ever put myself in,' she whispers in my ear. 'F*cking hideous.'
I laugh. 'Ease up on your grip,' I shrug her slightly. 'Does Sam know?' I whisper back.
'Sorry and no. I thought he might have made the connection after you landed Dan's visit on me at lunch that time, but he's f*cking oblivious.'
'Hey! Where's the love?' Sam removes Kate and throws his arms around me gently. 'You are one mad woman.' he says quietly.
'I know.' I agree. F*cking crazy mad.
'Don't do that again.' he scorns me. 'Where's my man?'
'Kitchen.'
He drops me and heads for the kitchen. I look at Kate, and she shakes her head. 'If I could've got out of this, I would have.' She lets out a stressed breath. 'Come on.' She takes my hand and we go back to the kitchen, finding Jesse making the introductions. Dan's cautious eyes flick between Jesse and Sam for a whole lot of different reasons.
Cathy appears from nowhere with Luigi and three waiters and Jesse leaves the kitchen island chatter to have a word. I watch as he lets Cathy kiss his cheek, shakes Luigi's hand and then points around the kitchen and through to the terrace. Cathy shoos him away and gives me a happy wave.
'What's happening?' I ask him when he joins me back by the island.
'We're having dinner.'
'Here?'
'Yes, I arranged for Luigi to come in and do the honours. We'll eat on the terrace. It's a nice evening.' He places me in front of him and brushes my hair away from my face.
'I can't believe you did this.'
He cocks his head to the side. 'Whatever it takes, you know this.'
My hands slide up his jacket sleeves to rest on his biceps. 'You might get the loving brother speech,' I smile apologetically. 'Do you think you could humour him?'
His lips press into a straight line. 'You mean another man telling me how to look after you? I don't think so.'
My shoulders sag slightly. 'Whatever it takes?' I whisper his words. I can't even begin to imagine how much it pained him to have to talk to my parents. It goes against all of his natural instincts.
He rests his finger under my chin and drops a light kiss on the corner of my mouth. 'Whatever it takes.' he confirms. 'Come on.'
He proceeds to direct everyone out of the kitchen and onto the terrace, where I find everything has been set for a meal. The outside dining table has been superbly laid, the patio heaters have been lit to take the edge off the cool evening air and bottles of wine and beer are chilling in the drinks fridge by the huge built-in barbeque. I throw Jesse a questioning look. How did he manage all of this? He smiles and gives me a gesture of sleep. While I was snoozing most of the day, he has been busy meeting my parents and preparing all of this? I'm still in shock.
I'm in a half trance as the people I love the most in the world converse, chat, laugh and drink at the table, while Luigi and his staff prepare and serve a luscious Italian feast. Jesse keeps his hand firmly on my knee, choosing to eat one handed, squeezing every so often, particularly harder when Dan commences his older brother speech. I watch Jesse struggle to remain polite and gracious while they chat, and when my mother catches the line of conversation, I'm immensely grateful for her intervention. She admonishes Dan and smiles sweetly at Jesse before picking up her conversation with Kate, who has eased up slightly after a few glasses of wine inside her, although you can't ignore the tension that is bristling between her and Dan. Sam, however, is completely unaware and doing a good job of making my Dad laugh hard with God only knows what stories.
'Kate's not her normal self.' Jesse observes quietly, as he tops up my water glass. 'Is she okay?'
'She and Dan have a bit of a history.' I reply, equally as quietly and out of earshot of Dan. 'It's complicated.'
Jesse's eyebrows rise in surprise. 'I see. Did you enjoy your pasta?'
'It was lovely.' I rest my hand over his on my knee. 'Thank you.'
'You are more than welcome.' he winks. 'Nothing stands in the way now, does it?' He gives me an expectant look.
'No, the path is clear.' I smile and then melt when he gives me his smile, the one reserved only for me, his eyes twinkling in contentment.
'I'm glad you said that.' He stands, halting all conversation at the table, all attention turning to him. He pulls my chair out. 'Up you get.' he instructs, and I stand on a frown. 'Excuse us for a few minutes.' he says to our silent guests, before leading me away by my hand.
'Where are we going?' I ask his back.
He halts, turns and drops to his knee in front of me, only a few feet away from the table. I hear my Mum's sharp intake of breath and mine that follows shortly after. I look down at him with a gaping mouth and wide eyes as he takes my hand and looks up at me with crystal clear green.
'Shall we try this the traditional way?' he asks quietly.
I start to physically shake. 'Oh God.' I breathe through the melon sized lump in my throat. I turn slowly and drink in the table and the occupants, all watching intently. My Mum has her hand over her mouth and my Dad has a small smile on his lips. Dan is expressionless and Kate and Sam are relaxed in their chairs with matching grins.
My heart commences gallop in my chest as I return my body to face Jesse, my glazed eyes to his. He's only just met my parents. He can't land this on me - not in front of them.
'I've trampled them all.' His eyes twinkle. 'delicately...ish.' he adds. 'I've even asked your father.' The corner of his mouth lifts into a half smile and a small sob escapes my lips. 'You must know how hard that was for me.' He drops my hand and glides his palms around the backs of my legs to pull me closer, prompting my hands to rest on his shoulders. 'Anything it takes, Ava.' he whispers.
My hands drift up to find the back of his head and my fingers thread through his dark blonde hair as he looks up at me.
'Marry me, baby.'
'You're crazy mad.' I sob, bending to kiss him, my hands moving to the side of his face. 'You crazy, crazy man.'
'Will I be crazy mad and married?' he asks into my mouth. 'Please tell me I'll be crazy mad and married to you.' His hands pull me down to my knees and he holds my shoulders firmly, his eyes swimming as he searches my face. 'It's all about you and it always will be. For the rest of my life it's only you. I love you, beyond crazy. Marry me, Ava.'
I fall forward onto his chest in a sobbing mess and hear my Mum burst into tears.
'Is that a yes?' he asks into my neck.
'Yes,'
'I can't breathe.' he murmurs, falling back, taking me with him so we're sprawled on the terrace floor. He takes my mouth, kissing me adoringly. Once again, my challenging, neurotic ex-playboy will have me wherever and however he pleases, and he's completely unashamed of it. 'I love you so much.' He pulls my hand up and slips my ring back onto my finger before dropping a kiss next to it and engulfing me in his body again, squeezing me hard.
'I love you too.' I whisper in his ear.
'I'm so glad. You're the best birthday present I've ever had.'
What?
I pull up and gaze down at him through my glazed eyes. He smiles, almost embarrassed. 'It's your birthday?'
'It is.' He starts nibbling his lip. He's concerned.
'Today?'
'Yes.' He nods as he answers.
I narrow playful eyes on him. 'How old are you?'
'I'm thirty eight.' He doesn't hesitate.
I break out in a full beam. 'Happy birthday.'
He blesses me with his smile, reserved only for me and pulls me back down to his chest, sinking his nose straight into my neck.
I melt into him.
I love this man, in all of his perfection and in all of his challenging, unreasonable ways. He took me hard and fast. He made me fall in love with him. He made me need him.
He was so unexpected, so passionate and so absolutely irresistible. And now he is wholly mine, and I am undeniably his.
I finally understand him.
I've finally got beneath this man.
The End.