Chapter 28
Mac
Being back in London is different this time. Having Eliza here makes this place feel different in a way that I can’t quite put a finger on. I enjoyed watching her take in the city on the drive here. I want to know what she thought.
When she comes out of the shower wrapped in a towel with another on her head, I can tell she’s ready to head straight to sleep. I always forget how tiring travelling can be even when you’re just sitting on a plane.
I leave her to get settled while I take her place in the bathroom.
When I return, she’s already passed out, her Kindle lying beside her on the bed.
I move the Kindle to the bedside table and pull the blankets up to her shoulders.
I take a few seconds to take in how at peace she looks while sleeping before moving to the other side of the bed and slipping in behind her.
I should be able to fall right asleep, I didn’t nap on the plane, but instead I find myself thinking about how this is the first time in nearly three weeks that I’ve been able to spend time with Eliza.
She’s been busy with work ,and while I understand that, it also feels like she’s been avoiding me.
I have to work while we’re here, but I want to take her out sightseeing and to all my favourite places.
A very selfish part of me wants us to make memories that she’ll never have with anyone else.
If I only get six months with her, I want to own those six months.
She fills my dreams, images of her in a sundress in places I haven’t visited in years ,and my heart feels like it’s going to beat out of my chest with the joy those images bring.
My phone ringing pulls me from my dream, and I run a hand down my face as I reach for it.
I groan when I see my father’s name and answer.
“Hello.”
“Are you still in bed, Mackenzie?”
I check the time and see it’s only eight thirty. I look over and see Eliza still peacefully asleep beside me. I quickly make my way out of bed and into the living room, hoping to let her sleep some more. “We are. We got in late last night.”
”Well, there’s work to be done. Meet me in the office in thirty minutes.”
I sigh and lean against the wall outside the bedroom. “Yes, father.”
I hang up and drop my head. I was at least hoping to have today to take Eliza out, but it seems my father has foiled that plan entirely.
Eliza cracks her eyes when I return to the bedroom.
“I have to head into the office for a bit. There’s a great café around the corner for breakfast, and I’ll make sure to stop at the shop on my way back and grab some food.”
She rubs her eyes as she rolls on her back and then stretches. “I can go to the store.”
“Don’t feel like you need to. I’m going to try and finish with my father as quickly as possible so I can join you.”
She tucks the blankets under her chin as she rolls back to face me, and I can’t help the smile that hits my face as I stare at her. She looks perfect right now in a way that I can’t even put into words.
“I’ll be fine.”
I know she’s right. She’s proven she’s independent and can take care of herself, but that doesn’t change the fact that I want to be there with her.
I grab a pair of trousers and a shirt out of my suitcase and change before quickly brushing my teeth and putting shoes on. I look at Eliza one last time before I head for the office.
I hail a taxi and give the address of the office.
The sky is grey as clouds cover the city; one thing London and Vancouver have in common is the weather.
I check my emails during the short ride and notice my father has sent a few that he claims require my immediate attention.
I glance over them, unsure of why they need attention on a Sunday, let alone my first day back in the country.
I pay the driver and step out of the taxi as I take in the building.
It’s not as tall as the one in Vancouver, but for some reason, it feels more daunting.
This is the same building my father was in when he started this business.
He’s now expanded his company into seven different countries and several more cities and has offices in all of them, but this is where it all started.
The building is locked, and I have to pull out my keycard, sliding it across the reader until the door click open. I take the lift to the top floor and find my father in his office reading something on his computer.
“Good morning,” I say as I take a seat in a wingback chair across from his desk.
He jumps straight into business, skipping all pleasantries, and I should be used to it even though we don’t see each other in person often, but it still has me shaking my head slightly. Not all people are meant to be parents, and my father is one of them.
After hours of reviewing different things with my father, he looks at me and asks, “Do you have better places to be?”
I sigh. “I left Eliza in a city she’s never been to, all alone with zero food in the flat. I had thought I’d at least be able to help her get settled today.”
He looks at the time and starts gathering the papers that are now spread out over his desk. “Very well, get back to your girlfriend and we’ll pick this up tomorrow.”
I stare directly at him. “Might I remind you that you’re the one who insisted I find a serious relationship, now that I have that means changes.”
“When your mother and I were dating I was in the office every day building this business you hope to take over one day.”
“Yes, well, mom is from here and that relationship didn’t exactly last.”
“It was for the best, she couldn’t keep house the way she was supposed to.”
It takes everything in me not to sock him in the face, the bloody wanker. No matter his opinions of her, she’s still my mother. I stand and leave, not offering him a single word of salutation.