Chapter 6
The sound of the teakettle brought me to consciousness. The smell of bacon penetrated my nose, ensuring I was awake. At least something was getting penetrated. Bradford’s side of the bed was cold when I ran my hand over it.
I smiled, loving that he let me sleep in, but also a little frustrated that he didn’t wake me up. Bradford had been gone for too long, and for lack of a better term I was horny.
Hornier than the unicorn on the website Jules showed me.
After finishing my morning routine, I sauntered into my kitchen wearing a tiny tank top and even smaller shorts.
“Morning, babe.” Bradford leaned over and kissed me before handing me a piece of crispy bacon.
Almost better than sex.
Almost.
“Morning, how long have you been up?” I asked, sitting at the island munching on the deliciousness that was bacon.
He was dressed in a light blue button-down and grey slacks. He looked like he was going to the office and not planning on lounging around with me naked for the rest of the day.
“I’ve been up for a couple of hours.”
My stomach clenched around the bacon I’d just devoured, hoping it didn’t make an appearance.
“What’s going on?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
Bradford’s beautiful face fell. He sighed and folded into himself. “Work just called, they want me back. My flight leaves in two hours.”
How can two tiny sentences ruin the perfect effects of bacon?
“Oh,” was my brilliant response.
“Babe, I’m so sorry. I thought I’d have at least a week before I had to go back.”
“I understand.” I did but I hated it.
Bradford turned off the stove and stepped toward me, his beautiful eyes never straying from mine. “I wanted to do this somewhere special. I wanted to plan something spectacular because you deserve it, but I can’t wait.”
“Wait for what?” My heart hammered in my chest, and I worried the fat from the bacon was going to clog my heart with its incessant beating.
Bradford went down on one knee and produced a small, black box. “Rachel, you are the sun and moon to my universe. Will you please do me the honor of marrying me, and not hate that I’m doing it in your kitchen with the smell of bacon lingering in the air?”
My mouth hung open as I stared at the man I loved in front of me with a beautiful, huge diamond ring clenched in his hands.
“Rach?” Bradford prodded.
I still hadn’t answered him.
“Yes,” I expelled with more force than necessary. My body had shut down when he went on one knee and I had now rebooted. Although it seemed as if the reboot had taken my system offline and my volume wasn’t fully working yet.
Bradford blew out a breath and gave me his most dazzling smile. The smile that made me fall in love with him all those years ago on a sunny college campus.
“You scared me there,” he admitted.
I fell to my knees and kissed him deeply. He tasted like mint and safety. He tasted like home.
Bradford peppered my face with kisses. “I love you so fucking much.”
“I love you, too. I wish you didn’t have to go,” I whined.
“I know. I don’t want to go, either, but now we have a wedding to pay for.” His smile somehow got even brighter.
“Since I never seem to be home, and when I am, I’m normally here, I was also thinking I might as well move in. There’s no point of paying two mortgages, and we can decide where we want to move later.”
Jules’ words came back to me and I giggled. “Jules will kill us if we move far away from her.”
Bradford shook his head, kissing my forehead. “We will figure it out. I’m going to call the movers when I get home.”
“And when will that be, fiancé?”
“Hopefully in a couple of days. It shouldn’t be too long. The deal is in the bag. I just need to schmooze a tiny bit more. When we get this deal, my promotion will give you the wedding of your dreams.”
“My dream wedding is marrying you.”
Bradford kissed my forehead again before glancing at the clock behind me. He sighed, and I blinked back the tears burning my eyes, banishing them to the cavern they were produced from.
I wasn’t going to be the whiny girlfriend … oh wait, fiancée. I understood having to work. When Jules and I started Marketing Madams there were nights Jules and I slept at the office.
This was what you did when you were a young couple. You scrounged and clawed until you were where you wanted to be and together you got to reap the rewards of your hard work. I needed to pull my big girl panties on and stop being selfish. Of course, those panties would be pink and sexy as fuck.
“The car will be here soon to pick me up.” Bradford helped me to my feet before going into the laundry room to get his clothes out of the dryer.
I put the food away. There was no way I would be able to eat with the disappointment taking residence in my stomach.
This should have been one of the happiest moments in my life, and instead of elation I felt lost and sad. I plastered on my fakest smile when Bradford kissed me before walking out the door, his suitcase rolling behind him.
As soon as I heard the car accelerating down the road, my knees collided with the tiled floor and I sobbed. I wasn’t exactly sure why I had such a visceral reaction to Bradford leaving, and I refused to analyze it. I needed a distraction.