One afternoon after she’d come in from food shopping, I couldn’t hold it in any longer.
I found her in the kitchen. “We need to talk, love.”
Felicity searched my face. “I don’t know if I like your tone. Is everything okay?”
“Yes, of course. I just want to talk about our plans for the coming months. Each day, I haven’t wanted to look beyond tomorrow, but I think the time has come that we need to discuss it.”
She placed her items in the cupboard. “I’m glad you brought it up. I hadn’t wanted to put a damper on things either, because we’ve been having such a great time living in denial.”
“You know I’ve always wanted to protect you from the stress of being in the public eye. The drama of my divorce with Darcie has tapered a bit, but the moment I show up in Westfordshire with another woman on my arm, the shite’s going to hit the fan. It was a miracle no one leaked anything to the gossip rags when you were there before. We dodged a bullet.”
“Are you feeling like it’s time to return to England?”
“Not quite yet. I’m definitely not ready. And when I do, it will be on a part-time basis. But when you come back with me, which I hope you will, it’s going to be like stepping into the fire, for a while, at least. Are you okay with that?”
She took a deep breath. “I ran away from you once in fear of what people would think. I’m not gonna do it again.” Felicity took both of my hands in hers. “Being apart isn’t an option. I’ll walk through that fire. Hell, I’ll dance through it with both middle fingers up. I’ll do whatever I have to, because I’m not letting anyone take this away from us again.”
There wasn’t anything sexier than hearing a woman say she’d walk through fire for you.
I kissed her so hard. “Thank you, my beautiful. I won’t let you give up your dreams for me. I’ll travel back and forth if I have to. I don’t expect you to live there full time. But in an ideal world, you and I would spend time in both places—Narragansett and Westfordshire—even if it’s not right away.”
“My goals in life aren’t what they used to be,” she said. “I’ll still practice law. But it’s going to have to be on my own terms, because I won’t take a job that’s going to require me to live apart from you for any great length of time. I’ve been there and done that. Career is important to me, but not as important as family.” She paused. “You’re my family, Leo.”
There was nothing more I’d ever wanted to be. For weeks, I’d worried about this conversation, worried that she might feel threatened by my mother or the prospect of returning to the UK with me. But I should have known better. I should have known my girl was tough as steel. That was something I’d always loved about her.
A week later, Felicity arrived home to find me in a seemingly precarious place—the kitchen.
“What’s going on, Leo?”
“Don’t be alarmed,” I said as I sliced some lemon. “But I’m cooking.”
She laughed. “Has hell frozen over?”
“I’m determined to learn so you don’t have to prepare every meal. You’ve been busier than ever with studying lately, and with the bar exam coming up, I want to ease some of the burden. We’ve had takeaway every other night.”
Felicity still seemed skeptical as she looked over at the laptop on the counter. “Okay, so tell me what you’re doing here.”
“Remember how I used to watch those Bob Ross painting tutorials?”
“Yeah…”
“Well, this is my new friend, Micheline, on YouTube. She’s teaching me how to steam clams without overdoing them. We’re having pasta and clams tonight in a lemon butter sauce. I figured boiling water and steaming clams sounded easy enough.”
“Did you tell Sig you’re cooking for me?”
“Yes. He suggested you have 911 on standby.”
She chuckled. “Well, I don’t know what to do with myself now. I was all prepared to spend the next hour cooking dinner.”
I put my knife down. “I have an idea. Why don’t you go take a bath instead, love?”
“That sounds like an amazing plan.”
“Let me show you to the bathroom.”
She narrowed her eyes in suspicion as we made our way up the stairs.
When we arrived, her mouth dropped. “What did you do?”
“Today is the three-month anniversary of the day I came back to you.”
“It is? I didn’t realize.”
“Yep. I’ve been keeping track.”
She took a closer look at the yellow flowers and candles strewn about the bathroom. “Are those…”
“Peeping Toms. Yeah. Just like my beauty.”
She covered her mouth. “I can’t believe you…”
“I figured they were more fitting than roses.”
Felicity picked one up and smelled it. “This is amazing.”
“You’ve worked so freaking hard lately. I just want you to have a nice evening. Relax, and I’ll call you when dinner’s ready.”