57. Chapter Fifty-Seven
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Ali
Three months later.
“If this is what turning thirty feels like, then I will happily turn thirty every day,” I announce as I settle into the velvet chair in the relaxation room.
“Right, I’m gonna need one of those pregnancy massages tomorrow because, holy hell do I feel as light as a feather, and that’s not an easy thing when I am carting this bump about.” Ria chuckles as she rubs her very pregnant belly. She’s not too far away from giving birth to her baby girl and I can’t wait to be an auntie again.
Gabby walks over with a tray of glasses, dressed in a white fluffy robe like both of us, and her hair in a slick bun. “I got us some cucumber waters. Are Kate and Harley out?”
“Not yet. I reckon Kate fell asleep again during her massage.” Ria huffs as she tries to pull herself up to a seating position.
“Gabby, babes, cucumber water, no margaritas? It’s my birthday.” I ask her.
“Ali, it’s a spa, they only serve healthy food and drinks. It helps flush out all the toxins in your body,” she answers handing me a glass tumbler with a cucumber floating in it. I wrinkle my nose and look up at her.
“There is a lime in a margarita. That’s healthy.”
“Not really the same thing,” she says, rolling her eyes. I sip the water and wince.
Shit, that tastes bad.
Harry arranged for me and the girls, including Kate and Harley, to go to New York’s top spa. One-of-a-kind treatments and a rooftop pool. I haven’t felt this relaxed in a long time. It’s been three months since the court case and my life finally feels back to normal. I’m back at work, and I even got a promotion to junior stylist.
Harry and I haven’t spent a night apart. He either stays at mine or I stay at his when Gabby is working. I don’t like the thought of her being alone or truthfully, living away from her. We’ve lived together for the last eight years and the idea of not living with her makes my heart ache. I know one day it needs to happen, but Harry understands and has been more than patient with me as I heal.
Kate and Harley walk through the large archway and head towards us, dressed in the same robes and a rosy glow to their cheeks.
“Is this heaven, because I think it is?” Kate says flopping down on the couch.
“Did you fall asleep again?” Ria smirks.
“What makes you ask that?” Kate questions.
Harley laughs, rubbing her finger along Kate's forehead. “Ermm, the indent on your forehead from the couch.”
Kate lifts her hand to her forehead, her eyes widening when she feels the mark. “Oh great, that better go before tonight.” We all laugh, mine light and carefree. God, it feels good to laugh, to be happy, to just be with my friends. Tonight, will be my first night out in months. The girls and Harry have been planning something and honestly, as long as I spend it with those I love, I don’t care what we do. I take another sip of my gross water and smile, watching my friends laugh and chatter. I think my thirties will be my best decade to date.
“Oh, my god, that dress was made for you,” Gabby squeals as I twirl in our front room.
“Thank you, perks of working for a fashion magazine.” One of the designers at work designed a one-of-a-kind pink sequin, strapless dress with silver Swarovski crystal heels. I feel like a million dollars. I went to a salon for a blowout and even had my make up done.
You only turn thirty once right, and after this year’s events I wanted to go all out and celebrate because if this year has taught me anything, it’s that life is short, and for living. I spent so many years in the dark, I finally want to embrace the light.
“You two look stunning, Ri. You and that baby girl doing okay?” She rubs a hand over her bump. She’s in a black fitted dress and she may be the most beautiful pregnant woman I’ve ever seen.
“We are good. I think she will be cooking for a little while longer.”
“I rub her belly and feel a little kick. “Oh, my god,” I chuckle. “She kicked.”
“Let me feel, let me feel,” Gabby yells, tottering over on her sky-scraper heels, her red dress clinging to her curves like a second skin. She looks fire and will no doubt be turning heads tonight.
She places her hands on the other side of Ria’s bump and we all gasp when we feel the baby move again. I clear my throat, a lone tear falling down my cheek. “I need to say this quickly before I ruin my make up, but…” I take a deep breath. “I love you both so much, and like everything else in my life, I wouldn’t have got through it without you both…”
“Ali…” Gabby sniffs.
“Nope, I’m gone. Damn hormones,” Ria chokes, fanning her face.
“We love you so much, and we are so proud of you,” Gabby sniffles.
“What she said,” Ria sobs. I open my arms, pulling them both in for a hug.
“I love you both so much. Thank you for always holding me up.”
“Always.” They say in unison. The moment is broken with a knocking sound.
Needing a second to get myself together, I walk towards the door, dabbing underneath my eyes, conscious of smudging my make up. I open the door, brows raising, surprised to see the guy’s driver at my door.
“Hi, Graham. You’re early.”
“Harry asked me to pick you up a little earlier.”
“Oh, oh okay, let me just get my stuff. Girls, we need to go...”
“No. No, just you. Another car will collect them shortly.”
I scan his face, trying to read his expression, but I can’t. He has the best poker face. I rush to pick up my clutch bag, forgoing a jacket, my body heating in anticipation of seeing Harry. I hug the girls goodbye and head down to the waiting car.
The New York December air hits me, and I instantly regret not bringing my jacket. I get in the backseat; thankful the heating is on full. I look out the window as we drive through the city. New York in December may be one of the most beautiful places, Rockefeller Centre, Central Park, every part decorated in twinkling lights and seasonal décor. It’s one of my favorite times of year, not just because it’s my birthday or Christmas, but because it’s the end of the year, a new one is around the corner, and I have a feeling my next year may be my best yet.
We arrive, the journey taking a little longer than I had anticipated. Graham opens the door and I step out onto the street. He gestures to the door, and I am so keen to get out of the cold I don’t register where he has taken me.
I push through the glass revolving doors of the building, not taking notice of the name of the place. A man dressed in a black dinner suit greets me and leads me down a dark corridor covered in pink flowers. There is a Parisian vibe to it, and it takes me back to my time in Paris.
He opens a set of white French doors to a giant room, and I gasp. The ceiling is covered in pink and white balloons. A table lines the wall to my left with champagne flutes, trays of all my favorite French foods are laid out and there in the corner, looking out over Central Park stands Harry, looking as hot as sin in a black tux and white shirt that opens round the neck.
He lifts his head, that sexy Walker grin spreading across his face, midnight eyes lighting up as I walk toward him like I’m headlining a catwalk. He whistles, biting down on his lower lip as he scans my body, drinking me in.
“I know it’s your birthday, Ali Cat, but damn, it should be illegal to look that fine.”
I do a little twirl, placing my hands on my hips, feeling like the old me again.
“Well, you better cuff me and punish me.” I wink.
“Fuck.” He groans, pulling me towards him, our mouths inches apart. “Let’s forget the party. I want to take you home now.” I let out a little laugh, and he presses his lips to mine, wrapping his strong arms around me, holding me close. And it’s my favorite place to be.
“I missed you.”
“I missed you too.” I smile against his lips. “Look at us being all soppy.”
“I know right.” He grins. “I have a present for you. I wanted to give it to you before everyone arrived.”
I pull away and eye him curiously. “I thought you gave me my present earlier.” My tone is playful and suggestive. Our sex life has amplified in the last few months. We can’t get enough of each other, but our relationship has become more than that. We may have started out as a physical thing, but he gets me, sees me and I do him. We connect on so many levels. I never really got the whole other half thing, how someone can feel like the other half of you, but now with him. I get it.
“There’s more of that later, but I have an actual gift.” He takes my hand in his and leads me to the table where there is a large white box tied with a silk pink bow. “Open it.”
Nerves and excitement dance through my body. Gently I tug at the silk ribbon, watching as it unravels and falls either side of the box.
Lifting the lid, I am met with pink tissue paper that matches the ribbon, and a white envelope with my name written in gold ink. I lift the card, peeling back the tab and pulling free the matching white card, taking a deep breath before reading the words written on the page.
The secret, Alice, is to surround yourself with people who make your heart smile. It’s then, only then, that you’ll find Wonderland. – Lewis Carrol.
Tears pool in my eyes, a droplet falling to the card and I sniff. I can’t look at Harry, I’ll fall apart. With shaky hands, I peel back the sticker that holds the tissue paper together.
I fold it back and my hands fly to cover my mouth, eyes widening at what I see lying in the box.
With a hesitant hand, I reach and lightly dust my fingers over the gold edges and outline of the face that is displayed in the center. There, in this beautifully crafted box, sits a first edition of Alice in Wonderland. Just like the one my dad left me, the one I have been saving for the past twelve years in hopes that one day I would have enough money to find one and buy it. I carefully lift it out of the box, admiring the red cover and its worn edges. I open the first page and I can’t fight it anymore. A sob escapes me as I read the same quote written on the card, a handwriting I’d recognize anywhere, one I’ve spent my life memorizing.
To my Alice,
The secret, Alice, is to surround yourself with people who make your heart smile. It’s then, only then, that you’ll find Wonderland.
All my love, Dad x
He found my dad’s book. The one my mom sold. The only piece of him I had. Its purchase value never mattered to me. It’s what this book represented and the memories that held the most value.
I blink away the tears and turn to face Harry, his own eyes filled with unshed tears.
“Thank you,” I sob. He opens his arms and, like always, he catches my fall, allowing me to be vulnerable. I never thought I could be this open and raw with someone, but with him, it feels so natural.
I lean back, wiping away the tears. “How… why would you get me this?”
“The how took me some time. I know a few people and we tracked down the buyer and I made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.”
“I’ll pay you back, I have—”
“No, you won’t,” he interrupts, “it’s my gift to you. I wanted to get this for you.”
“Why?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” He smiles.
I shake my head. Both wanting to hear the words and scared to hear them.
“Do you remember what I said to you in Paris?”
Shaking my head, I’m unsure what he’s referring to.
“Je Pense que je tombe amourex de toi. I told you to ask me when we were back home, so… ask me, Ali Cat.”
With everything that went on after my return from London, I had forgotten all about the words he said to me. “W-what did you say…” Words fail me as my stomach flutters in anticipation.
“I think I’m falling in love with you.”
“You can’t.” Panic, excitement, fear, all the above flooding my body. I clutch the book like it's my life raft.
“Why, tell me why.” He carefully removes the book from my arms, places it back in the box, and takes my hands in his.
“Tell me why I can’t be hopelessly head over heels crazy in love with you.” I gasp, hearing those words fall from his lips. “Because I am, and I don’t think anymore. I know I am.”
“B- B- Because I’m a lot,” I choke.
“True.” He winks
“I’m wild.” He nods. “I don’t know when to shut up.”
He laughs. “Also, true.”
“I’m sarcastic.”
“You sure are.”
“I’m messy and chaotic and…” I stop, running out of reasons why because truly, this moment is more than I could ever imagine.
“And, for all those reasons and because you are kind, you are loyal, your strength is inspiring, you make me laugh, you make me feel alive. You, Alice Hart, make me feel a way no one else has. You get me. You are my perfect match, the only one for me. I love every version of you, and all the parts you think that make you unlovable. I love those parts that little bit more.”
All I can do while I get my words together is kiss him. I kiss him like it will be the last time; I cup his face and hold him so tightly for fear he will disappear, that maybe this moment isn’t real, and it’s all a dream. That maybe I am still falling, making my journey to Wonderland and any moment now I’ll hit the ground and wake up and none of this will be real. But I don’t hit the ground, I don’t wake up. He’s still here, kissing me back with the same passion as I am.
I break the kiss, resting my forehead against his, needing a second to catch my breath. Meeting his gaze with mine, needing him to know I mean these words that fall from my lips.
“I love you too, H. Every part, every version of you.”
“Thank god,” he breathes, and we both laugh, a delicious light laugh. His mouth finds mine once again, and we get lost in each other. I no longer feel like I’m falling. I finally feel like I’m flying and it’s all because of him.