Chapter 46
Elizabeth
The morning slips away before I can even register where it has gone. I rush around packing things I should have done yesterday, overwhelmed by the chaos of getting ready to go. Theo enters the bedroom buzzing with energy, his excitement filling the bedroom.
“Nigel is ready for us,” he pauses at the door, watching me for a moment.
“Elizabeth. What exactly are you doing?” I look around the room and suddenly see what he sees.
It looks as if a bomb has exploded. There are clothes and toiletries everywhere.
I hear a chuckle leave Theo’s mouth, and I turn to glare at him.
“I didn’t know what to pack.” He strides towards me, and my anxiety immediately fades. He cups my face in his hands and kisses my nose.
“You could wear a bin bag and you’d still look stunning. Close the suitcase, Sunshine, and stop panicking.” Travelling always makes me nervous. I haven’t done enough of it and it always feels so big. So daunting.
Theo loads the suitcases into the car, and Nigel drives us to Biggin Hill airport, where our private plane is waiting for us.
We have flown on this plane several times in the last year, yet it still blows me away that this is our life now.
The engine roars along the runway, vibrating the stairs as we climb to the door, Theo’s hand gently placed on the small of my back.
We sit in our seats and strap in. Theo rubs my knee from opposite me, trying to calm my nervous energy.
The flight attendant brings us both a glass of champagne.
We clink glasses, and I gulp mine down in one go while Theo watches on, wide eyed, taking a slow sip of his drink.
Once the plane is in the air and sailing through the sky, the captain tells us we can remove our seatbelts, so Theo leans forward and unclips my belt.
“Come sit with me,” he says, tapping his knee in invitation. I lift out of my chair and make my way to his lap, the feel of his arm around my waist calming my mind.
“This is going to be the most perfect weekend,” I whisper in his ear. He rubs his hand up to the hem of my dress, twisting it around his fingers as he kisses me on the lips.
“You deserve it, baby,” his voice is deep in my ear, causing me to shiver in delight.
My mind suddenly slips away from me as I play with my necklace.
The plane’s engine sounds fill my ears, and I look out of the window, watching the London skyline disappear, replaced by clouds floating by.
I imagine Nellie asleep in one of the clouds, the fluffiest, whitest, and most beautiful one of them all.
Theo gently rests his hand on my leg and rubs it in the way I am so familiar with.
“She would want you to enjoy your life, Elizabeth.”
“I know.” I whisper. As the silence stretches between us, I sense Theo’s foot tap.
“What is going through your mind?” He slowly moves my hair from my cheek so he can see my face more clearly. “Something is bothering you.”
I lift myself off his lap and move back to my chair.
“Theo, I need to tell you something.” Theo calls the flight attendant over to refill our glasses. I wait for the bubbles to settle while I attempt to calm my racing heart. My breath catches in my throat. “I don’t think I’m ready to try again.”
I say it quickly to make the words seem easier than they really are.
Theo unbuckles his seat belt and kneels in front of me, placing both of his hands on my cheeks.
“Elizabeth, that’s ok. You don’t need to be ready. You don’t ever need to be ready if you don’t want to be.” My eyes become teary, and he pulls me in for a hug. “Listen to me. As long as you are happy, I am happy.”
I chuckle, and he makes his way back to his seat. He winks at me and raises his glass. “To us, Sunshine.” I smile at him, watching him through my eyelashes.
The plane lands an hour later, and I breathe a sigh of relief as it slowly rolls along the runway.
There’s a car waiting for us. Jack and Callum are there, holding the doors open for us.
They flew out early this morning to make sure everything was prepped and ready for our arrival, whatever that means?
We check into the penthouse suite at the Four Seasons hotel and are shown to our room.
The first thing I notice as Theo opens the door is the view from the balcony.
The Eiffel Tower is directly in front of me, sparkling like the most enormous diamond I have ever seen.
I make my way out to the balcony as Theo grabs us both another glass of champagne from the bar in the suite.
He heads out behind me, placing the flutes and bottle on the table, and I notice the lights glistening in his eyes.
The Theo that stands in front of me now is completely different to the man I met in the coffee shop.
He has an air about him now, easy and carefree.
He wraps his arms around my waist, and we watch the lights together. I turn, placing my lips on his, biting his bottom lip just firmly enough that he flinches.
“That champagne on the plane has gone right to my head,” he chuckles and kisses me again with a hunger I haven’t felt from him in such a long time.
He lifts me up and I wrap my legs around his waist, just like I used to.
He carries me into the bedroom and presses my body against the wall.
I lower one leg to steady myself, and he holds my wrists above my head with one hand, the other exploring every inch of my body.
He undresses me slowly, teasing me with every touch, kissing me the entire time.
My breathing grows heavy with anticipation.
I have missed this side of him. The past months have been filled with careful sex, the kind where he has been scared to break me.
Careful, delicate. All I want is the fire back.
“Don’t be gentle with me, Theo,” I beg, and as I do, I feel his erection twitch, tucked in his trousers.
I take my hands back from him and slide my hands to his belt, undoing the buckle with an eagerness that I can’t seem to control.
I unzip his trousers and stroke his erection.
He moans in my ear and my knees go weak with the sound.
He lifts me off the wall and throws me on the bed. I push him off and straddle him before he can resist. I remove his trousers and slowly lick from his pant line up to his mouth. My hair drapes on either side of his face. Just me and him.
He flips me over, and I giggle as I am suddenly looking up at him. His eyes have gone dark, and I recognise the look he’s giving me.
“I love you, Elizabeth Marlowe.” His lips land on my neck as he slowly enters me, making me breathe in sharply. His hands explore me as he starts slowly. My back arches as I attempt to get him deeper.
“Harder, Theo,” I breathe into his neck.
He does as he is told and pumps in and out of me until we both unravel between the bed in twisted sheets.
He kisses my forehead, and he rests on his forearm, as we catch our breath together.
He lays down next to me and strokes my hair. I can’t help but just stare at him.
“I’ve missed that,” I whisper to him. I rub my fingers delicately up and down his arm until we both fall asleep.
Late the next morning, I wake with the Paris air filling the room, a slight chill blowing across my naked body. The balcony doors are open, and Theo’s side of the bed is cold. The sun is shining, and the warmth of the winter sun is on my face. I smile contentedly.
I sit up and look out to the balcony where Theo sits with a coffee in one hand and his newspaper in the other. My smile grows the longer I watch him. With only his suit pants on, his abs on show and his messy hair, he looks dreamy. Theo raises his eyes to meet mine.
“Good morning, Sunshine. Sleep well?” He’s teasing me. I never sleep in, but with the late evening, I couldn’t help but spend a little longer than usual in the beautiful cotton sheets.
I pick his shirt up from the floor, the one I ripped off and threw across the room last night.
I button it up to cover my breasts and step out onto the balcony.
He closes his paper and places it on the table, patting his knee with an invitation.
I sit down on his lap and kiss him lightly on the lips.
He looks at me like there is something unspoken between us.
Like he wants to say something but unable to reach the words.
He looks nervous, and there’s an energy about him that I can’t place.
He unexpectedly lifts me off him and drags a hand through his hair.
“Sit on that chair for a moment. I need to speak with you.” My energy switches to nervousness. My hands shake a little and I have suddenly gone cold. Why is he suddenly so serious with me?
Theo moves himself forward to the edge of his chair and puts both hands on my knees.
“Sunshine, you know I love you. From the first moment I saw you in that coffee shop, I knew you would change my life.” He looks away from me, focusing on the ground a little too long.
His voice is quivering, but the smile on his lips confuses me.
“We have been through so much together, and I will always admire your strength and power… but lately, I haven’t been able to control the change in my feelings.
” My eyes fill with dread. This can’t be happening. No, I won’t let him leave me again.
He stands from his chair as my heart pounds against my ribs. My ears are ringing as his frame towers over me.
Slowly he kneels on one knee, and my brain takes a moment to process what he’s doing. My hand flies up to my mouth as I gasp.
“Elizabeth Marlowe, all my life I have believed that true love was never an option for me. That I would never find the love of my life, yet you were always there ready to love me the way I never even knew I needed. I’m here, staying…
forever if you’ll allow me.” He pulls out a blue suede box from his trouser pocket, and I notice his hands are slightly trembling.
He opens the lid to reveal a gold band with a diamond surrounded by a cluster of smaller leaf shaped diamonds set around it.
My tears spill out as I look at the magnificent man in front of me.
“Elizabeth Marlowe, will you marry me?”
My words fail me. Nothing comes out. I nod and grab his face in my hands. I kiss him through my tears and, with my lips pressed to his mouth, whisper,
“Yes.”
Theo takes the ring out of the box, and he places it on my ring finger. I throw my arms around him as he lifts me from the chair.
“I’m never leaving, Elizabeth.”