A Complicated Summer of Love (Complicated Love Series #3) (12 page)

He shakes his head and smiles at me. “Beautiful, I love you…you know that don’t you?” I nod my head. “I’m not sure whether I can do the whole long distance relationship…”

I knew it was coming and I can feel my heart breaking. “Okay.” What else can I say? I’m not sure what to say when I’m feeling like my world is coming crashing down, and I’m going to be left all alone with a broken heart again. My eyes start welling up and I hate myself for feeling like this. I see Karl’s reaction to my emotion.

“Beautiful, what’s wrong?” He brushes my cheek with his fingers and a tear escapes and dribbles down my chin. “Why are you crying?” He looks really concerned. I swallow hard.

“You don’t want me?”

He looks shocked by my comment. “What? Why would you think that?”

“You don’t want a long-distance relationship.”

I see something flash across his face. “Oh fuck, beautiful, I’m sorry, that’s not what I meant.”

I’m confused and he must see it on my face because he leans forwards and kisses me before explaining, “I don’t want a long-distance relationship with you. I want to be with you always, and I can’t imagine ever living apart from you. I’m hoping you’re going to agree this time, but I want us to move in together. I’m going to move to Los Angeles, get a job working with Brandon if he’ll have me, and then spend my life by your side. I love you so much Tracy. Please say yes.”

I’m shocked by his words.
He wants to move to Los Angeles to be with me?

“You would leave everything in Oxford for me?”

He laughs and wraps me up in a hug. “Beautiful you know I don’t have the company anymore, and that was the only thing that was keeping me in Oxford. I want to be with you, and I know how much your job means to you. Let me do this. I will be so happy if you just say yes to moving in together. It doesn’t have to be where you’re living now if you don’t want to. We could look at somewhere new if you like? Whatever you want, beautiful.”

I don’t have to think about it too long. “Yes Karl, of course, I want us to move in together!” He smiles and gives me a passionate kiss that leaves me breathless. I’m so happy right now that I just want to run out of the bungalow and scream at the top of my lungs. I can’t believe this is happening, and I’m amazed that he would do this for me.

“Beautiful, we’re going to have to start getting ready if we want to make this dinner.” I really don’t want to go now. I want to stay here and show Karl just how much I love him, so I kiss him and wrap my arms around his neck. He moves so that he’s hovering over me and I pull away and look into his gorgeous blue eyes.

“Do we have time?” I bat my eyelashes and Karl grins devilishly.

“Why Miss Campbell, I’m sure we can make time.” He kisses me again and we show each other just how much love we have for one another and how much we will cherish each other...always.

Uh, I’m not looking forward to this stupid, pathetic meal tonight. Why does Annabelle think that these get togethers are a great idea? I can’t stand half of these people. Tracy and Karl make me sick at how loved up they are. They don’t seem to acknowledge the real world. Lily is such a bitch and a miserable one at that. I don’t think I’ve seen her smile once this whole holiday. I’m not sure why she even came to be honest. I know she has a thing for Brandon, though. She pretends like she doesn’t, but it’s so blatantly obvious. It’s a shame that he’s chasing me around…I mean who wouldn’t? Poor Lily, thinking she has any chance with me on the scene. It’s quite funny to watch her mood swings. I find it rather amusing because I’m not even interested in Brandon. Yeah, we had sex and it’s was okay, but I love Joshua. I feel sorry for Annabelle because she doesn’t really know what her loving, perfect husband has been up to, or the fact that he loves me and not her. I can’t wait until she finally finds out what her precious husband is really like. That bloody bright, sunshine smile of hers will be wiped permanently from her face, and maybe she’ll shed a few tears.

Yes, that would make it that much more fun. I can’t imagine not going to this dinner tonight…I’m sure I can’t make it any more entertaining than the boring dinner it’s going to be. I bet Annabelle is arranging everything perfectly. She seems to love being the host. I’ve just had a shower and now I’m trying to decide what dress to wear. I have a red, knee-length one that ties around the neck and the other is a black, knee length which is strapless. It has beautiful diamantes threaded along the top. I’m standing here in my matching black bra and knicker set, and I have no idea which one to wear. I need to be a knockout tonight. I have to make Joshua finally want to take the plunge and be with me. I’m sick of seeing him with Annabelle, and it’s about time the truth finally comes out.

I arrived at the restaurant an hour before so I could make sure everything was perfect for this evening. I really want this meal to go well, it’s our last night here on this gorgeous island and I’ve really enjoyed myself and I’m pretty sure everyone else has too. I’m lucky to have so many people in my life that I truly cherish. I rang back home before coming here, to check on Aunt Sylvia and Ella. They seem to be having a good time together, and Ella sounds like she’s having a blast. I really miss my baby girl, but I’m happy that Joshua and I had this time together. I feel like we’ve reconnected with each other and now I can’t wait to get home and be a family again with our baby girl. I brought my chocolate cake with me, and I’m pleased with how it turned out. My baking is usually a disaster, so I’m over the moon with the fact it’s looking good and I hope everyone likes it. I gave it to the waiter earlier and they will bring the cake out after our meal.

“Hey, Annabelle.” I look up from the menu I’m staring at and see Tracy walking toward me.

“Hey.” She sits down beside me. “Where’s Karl? I’m shocked to see you two aren’t joined at the hip.” I smirk and Tracy slaps me on the arm.

“Oi you! We don’t have to be with each other all the time. He’s just finishing getting ready. He can’t decide what to wear.” She laughs. “I can’t believe he takes longer than me to get changed. I actually got annoyed with having to wait so long. But of course, he’s blaming me because apparently I was hogging the bathroom for too long.” She places her purse by her feet and sits back in her chair. She’s looking lovely with her blonde hair tied up in a French twist. It’s weird to see her in black skinny jeans and a green halter neck top. Usually, she wears dresses, so I’m always shocked when I see her in anything else.

“And of course, you’d never hog the bathroom?” She smiles and doesn’t say anything for a while. She sighs.

“Fine, fine.” I laugh. “Where’s Joshua then?”

“He’s still at the bungalow. He’s still getting ready as well. I came here a little earlier than everyone else, so I told him to get dressed and come down when he’s ready. I just wanted to make sure everything was done and I brought the cake for desert.”

“Did it turn out well? Is it actually edible?” Tracy knows about my mishaps in the kitchen when I’m baking. When we were kids, Aunt Sylvia used to let us make cupcakes. Tracy was always better at baking than me, so her cupcakes would always turn out way better than mine.

“Yes, thank you very much. Believe me, I’m as shocked as you are.” We end up giggling and talking about the past baking disasters I’ve had. We’re in a fit of giggles when Karl, Joshua and Lily turn up. Lily looks really confused by our antics and Karl and Joshua look amused. Joshua sits in the seat beside me, Karl takes a seat opposite. Lily takes a seat next to Karl, which leaves a spare seat opposite Lily and another on the end, next to Joshua.

“You two look like you’re having fun.” Joshua leans over and kisses me and I notice that Karl does the same to Tracy.

“Uh, please! No PDA at the table. I’m not sitting here watching this all night.” Lily has both elbows on the table and she’s holding her head in her hands. She looks disgusted.

“PDA?” Tracy looks confused.

“Public Displays of Affection, beautiful.” Karl smiles and places another kiss on Tracy’s lips. He drapes his arm over Tracy’s chair while he and Joshua strike up a conversation about football. They’re not big fans, but they did go to a few Arsenal games when they were younger, and Joshua still watches a match on the television when he has time. I look over at Lily and she looks pretty annoyed and grouchy.

“You aren’t going to be grumpy all night, are you?” Lily just glares at me but doesn’t say anything.

“Yeah, you’ve been a bitch for most of this holiday. Please tell me you’ll at least crack a smile tonight?” She turns her glare on Tracy.

“I haven’t been a bitch at all,” she mumbles. Tracy glances at me and as soon as our eyes lock, we both end up giggling. She doesn’t look happy with us, so she crosses her arms and sulks. A waiter arrives and asks us if we’d like to order. Brandon and Maddison still haven’t arrived yet, so I let him know that we’ll wait a bit longer.

Lily huffs. “Can I at least get a drink if we have to wait for them?” I know she’s in a mood so I agree even though I would rather wait for everyone.

“Fine, we’ll order our drinks now.” The waiter goes around the table and everyone places their drink orders. Karl and Joshua order beer, Tracy orders a Maldivian Lady cocktail. It was the cocktail that Karl gave her on the beach, on the first day of the holiday. It comes in a tall glass with a wedge of pineapple on the side and a cherry on top. As soon as Tracy orders it, Karl glances over and smiles before placing a kiss on her lips. They’re so loved up that it’s sickening at times. I order a glass of the house wine and Lily orders a vodka and coke, but I do hear her whisper that she wants a double.

Oh God! This is going to be some night.

We have been here nearly thirty minutes already and Brandon and Maddison still haven’t shown up. Deep down I hope they’re not together. My mind is jumping to so many different conclusions that I’m going insane. I can’t stand them being close, but I know that it’s my fault because I was confused and I didn’t know what to do with these feelings. I really like him and I’m afraid to tell him or even act on the thoughts racing through my head. I was dreading coming to this meal tonight because I wasn’t sure what to expect. The only thing I could think about was getting a drink in me. I turned up in jeans and my favorite black, strapless top. It's plain black, but it’s completely see through and shows off my sparkly black bra underneath. I didn’t want to go to too much trouble, but at least I’m looking half decent. Tracy is looking lovely as ever, Annabelle is a knockout in her purple maxi dress, and the boys are dressed in jeans and shirts. I’m starting my night with double vodka and coke because I’m trying to be good and not start on the heavy stuff too early, but my main goal tonight is to get pissed. I think it’s the only way I’m going to get through this night.

“There you are. What took you so long, mate?” I hear Karl’s voice and look over to see my worst nightmare coming toward us. Maddison and Brandon are hand-in-hand as they make their way to us. Unfortunately for them, they aren’t sitting next to each other which makes me extremely happy. Maddison sits down on the end next to Joshua, and Brandon sits next to Annabelle opposite me. We make eye contact with each other for a brief second before Brandon pulls his gaze away from me. He starts speaking to Annabelle and I’m left feeling like there’s no hope. I grab my glass and down it before signaling for the waiter to order another.

“Whoa, slow down, Lily. We have all night you know?” Tracy smirks and glances over at Brandon before giving me that knowing smirk again. “This isn’t the way to deal with it you know?”

I hate that she knows why I’m grumpy. The waiter places my drink on the table. Grabbing it, I take a gulp before replying, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Okay…sure you don’t.” She turns around and starts a conversation with Karl and Joshua. I notice that Maddison scoots her chair closer to Joshua.
What’s that all about?
She isn’t involved in any conversation. Instead, she’s making eyes at Joshua.
What’s going on there?
The waiter returns and asks us if we’re ready to order our meals. We go around and place our orders. Annabelle, Tracy and I order a green chicken curry, the boys all go for beef in spicy coconut cream while Maddison goes for a spicy papaya salad. Everyone seems to be having a good time and I feel like I’m the only one that isn’t. I can’t seem to get out of this funk I’m in. And I don’t have the energy to make small talk with anyone.
Why did I agree to this tonight?

The meal arrives in around thirty minutes and I’m so glad I have something to do. I must look like I’m starving because I start shoveling food into my mouth. I’m feeling more and more uncomfortable by the minute and I need to get out of here soon.

“That must be good, Lily.”
Uh, I hate her voice.
Maddison is smiling at me.

“Yeah, it’s pretty good.”

“No one would have guessed…did you even chew any of the stuff you just put in your mouth? Gross!” She giggles. I really can’t be bothered to get into anything with her, so I ignore her ridiculous comment. Feeling eyes on me and when I look up, I notice Brandon is staring at me. He smiles and my heart starts beating furiously and I must have huge butterflies fluttering in my stomach the way it’s reacting. He has a gorgeous smile and before I know it, I’m smiling right back at him. It feels like we’re in our own little bubble. We don’t have to speak but the looks we are giving each other are explosive, and I can see something in his eyes that I wish right now is real.

“Brandon, baby?” We’re pulled out of our bubble by the whiny bitch. I glance at her and find her glaring at me. I can’t help but smirk because I know she’s seen the moment between Brandon and me. I look at him and he’s still staring at me with this look I’ve never seen before. He clears his throat and turns toward Maddison. I like to think that the smile on his face is fake, but I can’t be sure.

“Yeah?” Maddison puts her head in her hand while leaning on the table. She flutters her eyelashes at him and I roll my eyes watching her fakeness.

“Let’s do something after the meal. Maybe we could go back to my bungalow later...” She flutters her eyelashes at him again.

My God is she for real?

“Umm…” he coughs and looks uncomfortable, having this conversation across the table. Karl and Joshua are still engrossed in their chat about football, so they don’t seem interested in what’s going on around them. I notice Annabelle and Tracy are quiet and they are sitting there with their heads down, eating their dinners.

“You sure know some…moves.” She winks at him and I’ve suddenly lost my appetite. “Maybe we could go for round two. You sure left me feeling satiated before dinner.” She smirks at me and I feel like a knife has stabbed me right through the heart. I’m suddenly angry and it explains why they came in together earlier. They’d been together. I stare at Brandon and he’s not looking at me, so I try to catch his eye but he’s avoiding any eye contact at all.

“Maddison…come on.”

She giggles. “What? We’re all friends here. Does it really matter that everyone now knows that we were late because you were banging my brains out.” She giggles again and I see her take a gulp of her wine.

“Maddison cut it out now!” he barks. Brandon looks exasperated. I know it’s only because he’s been caught out.

Well, fuck him!
I don’t care one bit.