Chapter 22
GAbrIEL
I was worried about Laila.
As she finished another glass of rum and Coke, I scrubbed my jaw. She thought my concern was because I was trying to tell her what to do, but I was sure that if she mixed her drinks, she would regret it in the morning. But it was her choice.
‘This is so hard.’ Laila squeezed her eyes shut.
‘I don’t want to ruin my friendship with your mum so I know I need to leave, but I don’t want to go home without seeing more of Paris either.
It was great to see the Eiffel Tower tonight but I want to visit it properly. Surely, we must be going there soon!’
‘Probably,’ I said.
‘Once I’ve been there, I’ll leave. Actually, I should just go there tomorrow instead of waiting for it to be a scheduled location.’
I ground my jaw and fought the urge to call my mother and tell her myself that Laila and I had been matched and to just deal with it.
Here she was finally in a city that she’d dreamt of visiting for decades and her enjoyment was being ruined because of some misguided loyalty.
In case it was not already obvious, I did not have a very high opinion of my mother.
But for good reason.
‘We should look through the photos,’ I said, not wanting to think any more about those difficult times.
‘Okay,’ Laila slurred. ‘I’m not sure how good I’ll be though. I’m feeling a bit dizzy.’
‘Would you like some water?’
‘Boring!’ she replied.
Laila was clearly drunk. And knowing that it was because of my mother made anger bubble in my chest.
I was not ready for Laila to leave. I had enjoyed finding out more about her tonight.
When she shared things about herself, there was so much more that I wanted to say, but I did not.
I wanted to tell her that one of the other reasons that I enjoyed watching Columbo, just like she did, was because I found it relatable.
Not the detective part, of course, more the fact that just like Columbo, people underestimated me.
My mother, my teachers, many of my friends.
I could count on one hand the few people who helped and believed in me.
Just like Columbo always solved his cases, I always believed that I would become a success if I persevered and I was right.
That is why I also watched documentaries and read non-fiction books: for inspiration.
I enjoyed reading about other people’s success stories and how they made the impossible possible.
I wanted to learn from them. Not just about how they made money, but also how they learnt to be resilient and deal with setbacks.
Perhaps that was another reason I was attracted to Laila. Although she did not believe it, she was strong and resilient. Life had not been easy for her, but despite the challenges, she did not complain or run away from her responsibilities, she worked hard to overcome them.
And if her strength and beauty was not enough, now I had learnt that she gave up the little free time that she had to help other women who had been in a similar situation that she had.
If she wanted me not to like her as she insisted, she really should not have shared that with me. It only made her more appealing.
I also wanted to tell Laila that volunteering was something that I wanted to do.
But I stopped myself because perhaps that was premature.
I needed to think about my next venture.
And although it would be easier to start this business than it was with my first because I had more experience and money in the bank, it would still take up a lot of time.
There was also the chance that Laila would have asked more questions about my app and I was trying to avoid talking about that.
Whilst I appreciated the fact that she was interested in my progress, I was enjoying this period of ‘anonymity’ with her when it came to my career, and I wanted to stay in this comfortable bubble for a little longer.
I was glad that at least the hotel had been discreet. I was sure that the management must know about my circumstances but if the Love Alchemists knew, they had not mentioned it, which I appreciated.
But I had to tell her at some point. Hopefully she would stay long enough for me to get the chance.
I took a deep breath to try and calm myself down, then laid out the photos from the trip to Notre-Dame in front of us on the bar.
‘Which ones do you like?’
‘They’re a bit stiff!’ she said, grimacing a little. ‘Where are the funny ones?’
They were all selfies of us standing several inches apart in front of the famous cathedral.
When we had got in the car to the Notre-Dame, Laila had reminded me that we had to keep our distance so we could only go to the required location, then leave.
‘You said it would not be appropriate to stand close together or take any funny photos, remember?’
Laila frowned like she was trying to think.
‘Oh yeah, so that your mum wouldn’t think I was trying to jump your bones. Nearly did that on the boat earlier though, didn’t I?’ She picked up her drink and drained it dry.
I would be lying if I said that I was not disappointed when we did not kiss. It was something I had dreamt about doing for years and I thought that finally it was about to become a reality.
On reflection, it was not a bad thing. When Laila kissed me for the first time, I wanted her to want it just as much as I did.
I wanted her to crave me like someone drowning craves oxygen.
Because that was the way I felt about her.
That was how much I’d always wanted to kiss her.
And notice that I said when Laila kissed me for the first time.
Not if.
I was now certain that the attraction, the chemistry and the pull I felt was not one-sided.
Patience was what I needed. I knew that something would happen between us. It was just a question of when.
‘Do you have any preference for the photos?’ I steered the conversation back on course.
‘They’re all more or less the same, so choose whatever you want,’ she shrugged.
‘D’accord,’ I nodded, then picked up the envelope with the photos from Montmartre and laid them out on the bar.
‘Awww, now that’s what I’m talking about!
’ Laila grinned, her eyes glazed from the effects of the alcohol.
‘We look so cute together. Well, mainly you, because you’re basically hotter than a crate of chillis.
Why do you have to be so good-looking? Why?
’ She poked my chest with her finger. ‘Why do you have so many muscles? And why are you so nice? If you looked like a monster or were an arsehole, this would be so much easier. Why can’t you be an arsehole?
’ She tilted her head like she was expecting me to answer.
I would be lying if the fact that she had called me good-looking and ‘nice’ did not stroke my ego. Although, if she knew the things that I had fantasised about doing to her in the bedroom, I am not sure how ‘nice’ she would consider me to be.
‘I am sure that my ex would happily tell you that I am.’ I flashed her a small smile.
‘I don’t believe you! I can’t believe anyone ever kicked you out of bed. Look at you, for God’s sake!’ Laila squeezed my bicep and the barman grinned at me, clearly entertained by her loose tongue. ‘Why’d you two break up?’
‘We wanted different things. We should choose the photos.’ I looked at my watch. ‘We only have ten minutes until the deadline.’
‘Spoilsport,’ Laila huffed. ‘I want to hear about your relationship.’
‘Maybe another time,’ I replied.
‘Good. How many photos do we have to choose again? I can’t decide.’
‘Four, I think. Two each.’
‘Impossible!’ She slammed her empty glass back down on the bar. ‘They’re all amazing. I love the portrait you drew of me, I actually look pretty.’
‘Because you are,’ I said, still unable to believe that she could not see how beautiful she was. ‘Have you been saying “I love you” to yourself in the mirror every morning like I said?’
‘Of course not!’ she scoffed then continued going through the pictures. ‘Oooh, I love the one by the I Love You Wall where you say you like my laugh. And I love the funny ones at the Sacré-C?ur… It’s too hard to choose!’
‘Let us go with the first two that you said.’
After we’d chosen all of the photos from all of the trips, I picked up the envelopes then stood up.
‘I will take these to reception, then I will come and take you to your room.’
‘Gabriel!’ She slapped my arm playfully. ‘We can’t!’
‘I will take you to your room so that you can sleep. By yourself. You have been drinking. When you decide to invite me to your room to do more, I want you to have a clear head.’
‘I won’t do that.’
‘Laila, sooner or later you will realise that your loyalty to my mother is misguided and your concerns about the age difference between us is also not the issue that you imagine it to be. And when you do, there will be nothing to hold you back from acting on this attraction between us.’
She opened her mouth to speak then closed it again.
I suspected it was because she knew that I was right…