Until I Met You (15 page)

His smile is what made up my mind up in the end.  It would be hard to ever so no to that smile.  “You can stay.  I don’t think my mother will ever forgive me if I sent you on your way.”  His reaction was one of quiet celebration.  I could see the gleam in his eyes and the force of it hit me full on.  “On one condition,” I began.

He sat up straight to attention.  He was happy, and looked like he would take about anything from me right now.  “Name it, Cookie.”

“No funny business.  No trying to kiss me or touch me inappropriately whilst we’re here.”  Because I knew that if he did, my heart would no longer belong to me.

“It will be hard.  Very hard in fact, but I can do that.  I want to be here and if it takes not kissing you, then so be it.”

“Good,” I smiled.  I was about to tell him that he didn’t know what he was about to let himself in for this weekend when there was a knock at the door.  “Aha!” I shouted.  “Let the games begin.  Just remember one thing, Seth.  You asked for this.”  I patted his knee for good measure.

“Oh, I love it when you say my name.  Say it again.”

“Stop it,” I giggled.

“Is he here?” I heard Julia shout.

“Yes,” my mum squealed.  You would think the queen of England was round for cup of tea the way they’re all carrying on.

I looked at Seth but he still looked as cool as a cucumber.  Nothing seemed to faze him at all.  The only time it really did was that time in the restaurant, his uncle, Paul asking me out, and that kiss.  Oh God, that kiss. 

Stop thinking about the bloody kiss!

Julia and Jack soon entered the room, but suddenly Jack was acting like a jerk, ducking all over the place.

“What the hell are you doing, Jack?”

With a smile, he just kept ducking and darting his eyes about the room.  “It’s just too much in here.  There’s so much chemistry bouncing off the walls I have to keep ducking to get out of the way of it.”

Shaking my head, I looked up to my sister.  “And you married him, Julia.”

Julia was about to retort, but Jack beat her to it.  “Aww, don’t be like that, Angelina.  After all, I was about to defend your honour last night.  I was ready to punch this guy’s lights out.  No offence mate.”  He smiled over at Seth and Seth just shrugged his shoulders.  “None taken,” he answered.  “It’s nice to know that Angelina has such close family and friends that want to take care of her.”

I rolled my eyes.  “Smother her more like.”

Julia sat down and looked all dreamy across at Seth.  “I’m Angelina’s sister, Julia.  So nice to meet you.”  She offered him her hand and he kissed it.  I saw her blush and act all shy. 

Oh boy.

Julia turned her attention away from him to me.  You could tell it was a major effort on her part.  “Angelina, where oh where have you been hiding this handsome man?”

Seth took a big deep breath and sighed.  “She hasn’t been hiding me anywhere.  She ran yesterday and I came chasing after.”

I huffed in his direction.  “What are you, Jack, and I’m Jill?” 

Seth smiled cheekily again.  “I believe she went down a hill and Jack came tumbling after.”

“Whatever,” I replied, trying to feign interest.

“I don’t know why you’re bringing me into this.”  Jack smiled at us.  I could tell they were all fascinated by Seth and I.

“Why do I feel like a goldfish bowl?” 

Julia slapped my hand.  “Now stop being a grumpy little minx.  Just ignore her, Seth.  She must be premenstrual or something.”

“Julia!”  My eyes bulged at her to shut up.  Seth thought the whole thing was highly amusing.

“So, Seth, let us know a little about yourself.”  Julia leaned in with her chin propped up on her hand.  She was even flicking her eyelashes at him.

“Not much to say really.  My mum and dad live in Kent, where I was born.”

“Really, what part?” my dad asked.  “We lived in Ashford before Angelina was born.”

“Same area,” Seth smiled.  “But they have moved to Sevenoaks since then.”

“Isn’t that a coincidence?”  My dad looked over at my mum, but she was too busy leering at Seth.

“I lived there until I was eighteen, when I inherited a trust fund.  I wondered for a while what to do with the money and then I came up with the idea to invest it in property.  I seemed to make a few wise choices and soon found myself in the very wealthy areas of Belgravia and Chelsea.  I like it there, and so does my family.  My parents and their brothers and sisters have all bought property there.  My parents still use the Kent home as their main residence, and we all use it as many weekends as we can.  London can get a bit claustrophobic at times.  Sometimes it’s nice to get away from all the people and fumes.  I can see why Angelina wanted to come here.  It’s quite beautiful.”

My mum gushed and everyone else hummed their approval.  I tried busying myself, making cups of tea and gathering biscuits as everyone fired questions at Seth.  I was actually feeling a little sorry for him, despite the fact he brought it all on himself.  He seemed to take it all in his stride and answered everyone when asked.  He even looked like he was enjoying himself.

“There is one thing I would really like to know.”  My father looked over at Seth once he was satisfied everyone had asked their questions.  I was feeling a little nervous about what he wanted to say.

“What’s that, Mr Bradshaw?”  Seth straightened, ready for whatever my dad had to give to him.

“Please call me Clive,” he asked, smiling.  “What I really want to know is, when are you going to take me out for a little spin in that F-Type of yours?”

Seth and I relaxed and everyone laughed.  “Right now if you want to?”

“Son, you don’t have to ask me twice,” he said, standing to attention.

Off they went, leaving me with twenty questions from everyone.  My head was still reeling from him being here.  I just couldn’t believe that he had followed me, after everything that I have done to try and keep him at arm’s length.  There’s certainly no way of doing that here.  My whole family will make sure of that for me.

“Why didn’t you tell us about him?” Julia asked.

“There was nothing to tell.”  They all looked at me with interest.  Jack had a massive grin on his face.

“It didn’t seem that way last night.  You know she had her hands all over him.  In fact, she couldn’t keep them off him.  We had to pry her away when it was time to take her home.  She also had a thing about his stubble.  She couldn’t stop trailing her fingers up and down it.  It was quite funny to watch.  I’ve never seen Angelina like that with anyone before.”

Julia and my mum looked more than a little pleased at this.  “Come on, Julia.  Admit it.  You really like him, don’t you?”  Julia pulled a little on my sleeve, trying to get the answer she was so desperately looking for.  What they were all looking for.

“If I told you yes, would you leave me alone?”  They all eagerly nodded and said “Oh yes” and “of course, definitely.”

“I do like him, okay?  He just drives me a little crazy.”

“That’s because you like him so much,” my sister chimed.

“Okay, whatever you say.  Just don’t let him know I said that.” Their expressions were sad.  I knew they wanted me to be happy.  That’s why they were causing so much fuss, but I have always managed in life.  I have been happy.  I’ve been safe.  Now I don’t feel safe.

“Why is it so hard to let someone in, Angelina?  He seems like a really nice guy.  What happened was in the past.  You can’t take it back, but you have to move on now.  He might be the love of your life—the best thing that’s ever happened to you.”

I felt a lump forming at my mum’s words.  “Please don’t talk about it, Mum.  I don’t want to hear it.”  I got up and walked out.  I didn’t want to hear what they had to say.  It was all getting a bit too close for comfort.  This was the whole reason why I didn’t want anything to do with Seth.

I could hear them all talking in the kitchen and I knew it was all about me.  Soon, Jack came in the living room, where I was huddled, clutching my sides.

“Hey, kiddo.”

“Hey,” I said back.

“Listen; don’t be mad at your mum.  You know she’s only trying to help.  She wants you to be happy.  We all want you to be happy.”  He shifted his weight a little on the sofa, ready to offer any comfort if I needed it.  Jack was my best friend and we had been together through thick and thin.  Literally.

“I know, Jack, it’s just—none of it had been mentioned before now.  As soon as Seth enters my life, it’s practically thrown back in my face.  I don’t want to re-live it through him.  I just want to be left alone.”

“Come here,” he said, wrapping his arms around me.  “Look, one day you’re going to have to trust someone enough to let them in.  Not every guy out there is an arsehole.  Even though I was protective of you last night, it doesn’t mean he isn’t a decent guy.  Once I knew you knew him, I let my walls down and accepted him.  On first impressions, it looks as though he really likes you.  I can see the way he looks at you.  It’s certainly not the look of a man just out to get into your knickers.  He followed you all the way here for goodness sake.  Despite the fact you’re a little bitch to him.”

“Hey,” I said, swatting him.  He let go of the hug and placed his arms on my shoulders.  “I didn’t say you were a bitch, I said you were acting like one to him.  There is a difference.  Now, why don’t you just stop being so nasty to the guy—accept the fact that he is here, and enjoy yourself?  Don’t think too much, just enjoy your time with your family.”

Looking into Jack’s sincere brown eyes, I smiled.  “Okay, I can do that.”  He visibly relaxed, sinking down further into the sofa.  “Good.”

I watched as Jack sighed, and it was then I remembered.  “Aren’t you supposed to be going to the doctors today?”

He looked at his watch and smiled.  “Yeah, the appointment’s at two.  We both wanted to take the day off work together and find out the news.  I’m feeling quite nervous and excited about it actually.”

He was already acting like a proud father and they didn’t even know if they were pregnant yet.  I could understand it though.  They’ve known each other for years, and starting a family only seemed like the next big step in their wonderful future together.

“Let me know the minute you both know, please?” 

With a push of his knees, he got up and held his hand to me.  “Don’t you worry, the minute we know, we’ll be round here ready to celebrate—if it’s good news of course.” 

Taking his hand, an idea came to me that I wanted to put into action straight away.  I wanted to wait until Seth got back before I could go through with it though.

When I heard the sound of the Jaguar pull up, my heart skipped a little beat.  I found myself wanting to run to the window and take a look outside.  It was silly, but I couldn’t help it.  I tried strolling over so that I didn’t look too obvious, but who was I kidding?  I could see the others smiling and looking at each other.  “It’s a really nice Jag,” I said, trying to explain my actions.  I could tell it wasn’t working.

I didn’t think my heart could beat faster, until he got out the car wearing a New York baseball cap.  Suddenly, everything burned, including places that shouldn’t—when I’m here—standing in my parent’s kitchen.  I could feel my face flush and my body practically quivered at the sight of him in something so normal.  My mouth was hanging open, and I was almost dribbling onto the sink.  When he looked up, he caught my stare, and winked as he came closer to the door.  I noticed my dad was all smiles, so I could tell he had a great time in the car.

I could hear them both laughing as they got through the door.  I was hoping that once he was inside, he would take the baseball cap off, but alas—no.  He walked behind my father into the kitchen with a big cheeky grin on his face.  I didn’t know what my face was doing, but if lust was an item of clothing, I was wearing it now.  He seemed to spot my change and his cheeky grin turned into something more serious—more intense.  It just made the burn that more powerful.  My God, he was sexy.

“That car is a beauty.  I must say I’m a little jealous of you, Seth.”  My father smiled and Seth reluctantly dragged his attention from me and onto my dad.

“I need to go out,” I said, breaking any conversation.  They all looked up at me and Seth’s grin was back.

“I’ll take you wherever you need to go.”  He placed his hands in his chino pockets, jiggling his keys as he stood.

“You’ll have to go in that Jag, Angel.  I promise you’ll be impressed.”  My dad looked up at me from the table and nudged his head in Seth’s direction. 

I smiled back.  “Okay, I won’t be long.”

“Take all the time you need,” my mum said, winking at Seth.  I couldn’t believe how obvious my mum was being.

Grabbing my coat and bag, I said my goodbyes to everyone.  I hugged Julia deliberately and whispered good luck in her ear before I left.  It was now lunchtime, so I would assume they both would be gone by the time Seth and I got back.

Once at the car, Seth quickly edged around me and opened the door.  “I see chivalry hasn’t been lost on you.”  He leaned in close, one arm on the door and the other on the hood.  I was pinned, with nowhere to go.  Not that there isn’t any other place I’d rather be.

“My parents brought me up to be courteous.  It’s only the polite thing to do.  Besides, you’re the sort of lady that should have doors opened for them.”  He leaned in a little closer and I could feel his hot breath on mine.  I know I said no kissing, but I knew that if he leaned in that little bit more, I would accept it and to hell with the consequences.