Chapters (92)
- First
- Love Connection
- Zero
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- One Month Later
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Six Months Later
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-one
- Twenty-two
- Twenty-three
- Twenty-four
- Six Months Later
- Twenty-five
- Twenty-six
- Twenty-seven
- Twenty-eight
- Twenty-nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-one
- Thirty-two
- Thirty-three
- I Have Never
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-one
- Twenty-two
- A Christmas Date
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-one
- Twenty-two
- Note from the Author
- Sneak Peek – To the Stars and Back
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Also by Camilla Isley
- About the Author
Outside, Richard’s waiting for me next to a black cab, wearing a tux. He looks dashing. As I throw my arms around his neck to kiss him, he hands me a white rose.
“You’re beautiful.”
“Thank you.” I take the rose and smell it. “You’re not too bad yourself.”
“Shall we go?”
As I step into the cab, nerves attack me. Richard has gone to a lot of trouble to organize this night and I have a feeling the surprises aren’t over yet. Suddenly, a horrible thought pops into my mind. He wants to ask me to move in with him. Dylan asked Amelia a while ago and she’s moving out of my apartment soon. But Richard and I are definitely not ready for such a big step; we’ve been dating for as long as they have, but it’s been casual dating, nothing too serious. I throw a side-glance at him and he smiles.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
“Be patient, we’re going to get there soon.”
“Haven’t I suffered enough?”
He buffets my nose with a finger. “Poor you, look at the state of you,” he mocks me.
“Okay, I’ve definitely had worse days. But you know how curious I am.”
The cab stops in front of The Dorchester.
Richard gives me his hand to help me out of the cab.
“You’re joking,” I say as I stare at the building. “This is the most expensive restaurant in London.”
“It’s a special night; it called for a special place.”
“What’s so special about tonight?” I ask, the nagging worry poking again at my stomach. This whole thing is screaming serious relationship, commitment, moving in together. And I’m definitely not ready for all of that. Not yet.
“I got a promotion today; I wanted to celebrate with you.”
So this is it. We’re celebrating his promotion. I relax at once. Oh, Richard. He has style.
The restaurant’s amazing, dinner’s amazing, and Richard’s amazing. We eat a seven-course meal with wine pairing, and by the end of the night, I’m more than a little tipsy. My head’s spinning a bit, so when Richard suddenly gets incredibly serious, I don’t immediately grasp the meaning of what he’s saying.
“…these have been the best six months of my life. I love you so much, Gemma, I couldn’t contemplate spending a day away from you.”
I nod my head in assent. This is all very nice. A bit over-dramatic, maybe. But hey, who am I to complain?
“And this is why I want to make sure I don’t… have to spend a single day away from you.”
I keep nodding. Where’s he going with this speech? And why is he being so melodramatic? The penny drops when he gets up, rounds the table, and drops to one knee.