Track 40
Lily awoke to an empty bed. Bright winter sunlight streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked Loch Linnhe. She sat up and curled her arms around her legs, resting her chin on them. She had always hated waking up alone.
There was a knock at the door, and she tiptoed across the thick, warm carpet of the Admiral’s Suite to open it. There stood a young man with a large bouquet of winter roses in his arms.
‘Hello, Madam. I’m from McCaig’s florist. Where would you like these flowers?’ the smartly dressed young man asked with a polite smile.
She gazed first at the huge display and then back at him. ‘Oh, wow, thank you, they’re beautiful. Please, could you put them on the table by the window?’
‘Yes, Madam… but… there are a few more to come.’ He gestured behind him where another three men stood, arms equally as full.
Her hand came to her mouth and tears welled in her eyes. ‘Oh… goodness… please, bring them in. They look heavy.’
The man smiled. ‘Yes, as you can see, I had to get extra help for this delivery.’
Her heart skipped as her senses were bombarded with beautiful colours and scents. ‘Just place them wherever you can.’
Following her instructions, the men placed vases filled with the most fragrant flowers she had ever smelled wherever there was an empty surface.
Their sweet, heady perfume permeated the air around her.
Once the deliverymen had gone, she stood in the centre of the room surrounded by a vibrant rainbow.
A calm serenity washed over her and a smile pulled at the corners of her mouth.
She pulled on the fluffy white robe and wrapped it tight around her body then stepped out to the balcony that overlooked the mirror-like sea loch with the majestic snowcapped mountains in the distance, she inhaled the fresh, crisp winter air and watched her breath cloud before her as she released it from her lungs.
As she stood there looking at the view out over the crystal-clear water, listening as it lapped at the shore beneath the hotel, arms encircled her waist. Kisses were feathered from under her ear down her neck to her shoulder, sending shivers tingling down her spine.
She closed her eyes and sighed. ‘Hmm, I wondered where you’d got to.’
‘Went out to get my beautiful girl a few flowers.’
‘A few? I think you bought all the flowers in the Highlands.’ She giggled, enjoying the closeness of her man. She turned around and gazed into his eyes, slipping her arms around his neck.
‘I called my folks to check on Monty. He’s living the life of Riley. He’s had a bit of steak, some chicken and some salmon, not to mention half a hundredweight of treats. He won’t want to come home with us when we pick him up to go to Glasgow.’
Lily sighed as she ran her fingers through Adam’s hair. ‘Who would’ve thought that we’d end up here?’
His eyes glistened. ‘In the Highlands? It seemed the perfect place. It’s ours. Just ours.’
Lily smiled. ‘Actually, I meant who would’ve thought we’d end up together.’
‘I think deep down I always hoped we would. Since that time on the tennis courts when I realised I’d fallen for you,’ he whispered as he rubbed his nose against hers.
Reaching up on her tiptoes, she kissed him gently on the lips. ‘Me too. I think there’s a good chance that I’m the happiest woman on earth right now.’
‘It stands to reason, seeing as I’m definitely the happiest man.
’ He removed his hands from her waist and laced his fingers in hers, pulling her back inside the plush hotel room.
The Holly Tree Hotel at Kentallen had seemed the perfect location when they had found it online and it hadn’t disappointed.
And Adam was right.
It was just theirs.
She willingly followed him to the bed where he removed his Fair Isle sweater, T-shirt and jeans, never taking his eyes from hers.
Pulling her towards him, he slipped her robe off her shoulders and pulled her white cotton nightie over her head. ‘God, I was right… you really are beautiful.’ He sighed as his eyes, filled with adoration, roamed her naked body.
She ran her hands over his toned stomach to his chest. ‘Any regrets about the decisions we’ve made?’
He shook his head slowly as a lazy smile took over his features. ‘Not a single one. We’d wasted so much time, Lily, and I didn’t want to waste another second. How about you?’
‘No. I just hope you’ll be happy at the new school.’
He kissed her forehead. ‘I already know I’ll love it, Lil. And I can’t wait to see more of you on the TV so I can brag about you to all my new colleagues.’ He bent to kiss her neck and a shiver travelled over her skin.
‘The kids at your old school will miss you so much.’
He smiled. ‘And I’ll miss them. But when you’re a teacher kids come and go. So long as I’ve had the best impact I can on their lives that’s all I can ask for.’
‘And you don’t mind that my mum will be a few miles away?’
‘Absolutely not. I was so happy when she agreed to relocate too. Monty’s going to love spending term times visiting Abuelita Lenora every day.’
Lily giggled. ‘Oh, I’m sure she’ll love being called that.’
Adam chewed his lip. ‘It’ll be good practice for her, for if we’re ever… you know.’
Lily’s heart skipped and swelled in her chest. ‘Yes… that’s true.’
He cupped her face in his palm and smoothed his thumb over her cheek. ‘I’m so excited for our future, Lily. New home, new location, I think it’s all just what we need.’
Sliding his hands into her hair, he pulled her into his embrace and kissed her gently at first. She returned the kiss with tenderness until his tongue danced with hers and the kiss deepened, becoming more passionate and filled with need. Her head rolled back as desire filled her.
Oh, the way he made her feel…
Tumbling backwards, he pulled her on top of him on the huge bed, the crisp, soft, white linens billowing around them like clouds, his mouth still locked with hers.
His fingers continued their sensual journey down her body.
Rolling her onto her back, he lay atop her, resting on his elbows. ‘I love you so much,’ he whispered.
She stroked her hands down his back, delighting in the feel of his muscles flexing under her touch. ‘I love you too… more than anything.’
Their bodies moved together as they made love slowly and languorously, kissing and caressing each other and whispering loving, tender words. Lily was once again overwhelmed with emotion and tears escaped her eyes. She would never get enough of this feeling.
Never.
Later, as she was lying on her stomach, he traced the outline of a heart gently on her skin, and told her, ‘I keep thinking I’m going to wake up and find it’s all been an elaborate, cruel dream.’
‘It’s all real. We’re for keeps,’ she whispered.
He grazed his fingertips over the inked script on her back. ‘I still can’t believe you did this for me… before I even knew… I always wondered what it meant… Gaelic was never a language I understood, even though it really is beautiful.’ He bent to kiss the words.
She paused for a moment. ‘The words are true… It was always you, Adam, and it always will be.’
‘I hope you know I feel the same… I’m yours now, and forever.’
She sighed as he continued to trace the script.
He pulled her into his arms and tilted her chin up with his finger, so that their eyes met. ‘Happy honeymoon, Mrs Adam Armstrong,’ he whispered as he lowered his mouth to hers once again.