Blaze (Virtues & Lies 3)

The Soho eatery isn’t too far from the loft. Somewhere between our place and the Opera House. When Cassie mentioned doing something with everyone, I tried to humour it. But sharing has never been my forte. And sharing Fleur with anyone except our daughter is never going to be something I’ll pay much mind to.

She takes a sip of her champagne after she finishes her food, and as she licks the residue off her lips, my dick throbs harder.

I’ve been hard since I watched her in the bathroom at home. With no idea I heard most of her conversation, she’s got no idea what I’m about to propose to her. It was the whole point of this dinner on our own. I wanted her focused solely on me. There’s been no doubt that she’s on edge. Fleur’s barely sleeping. Today is the first time in days that she’s cleared her plate. That she looks genuinely happy.

And happy looks so good on her that I want to make sure it’s a constant thing.

“Have you given much thought to the offer Leo’s mum made?” I take a sip of the top-shelf Russian vodka I’m swilling around the ice-chilled glass.

Wide eyes dart to mine, smile fading to a worried line. “Ummm…”

“I’m game for whatever you want. You don’t have to be a full-time mother and wife. You can do anything you want. Like I said, I’m game.”

“You’re game?” Her face tilts to the side, stare narrowing on mine.

“Yeah. Whatever you want, Trouble. This city isn’t the whole world.”

“I know.” She finishes what’s left of her champagne. Her flushed cheeks are enough to tell me that she’s feeling the effect of the alcohol even if her big eyes are as clear as the sky after a storm.

“You can be anything and everything you want.”

Fleur opens her deep ruby lips to speak, but the waiter comes to refill her glass. Once he’s gone, it’s as though she bottles whatever she was going to say and takes another sip of her drink. Maybe I need to give her a small push.

“You know what I want?”

She eyes me, teeth sinking into her lip.

Fuck. When she does that, all I can think about is the way her mouth feels around my cock, when her teeth graze the length of my erection…

Fuck. Adjusting myself in my seat, I lean back, relaxing my posture.

“I want to see you happy. Like you were in our cottage and in Spain.”

“I’m happy now.” Her hand reaches across the table and pauses over mine.

“Not as happy.”

There’s a beat of silence before she says, “This doesn’t feel like home anymore. I don’t want to be like my mum, but everything is so busy all the time here…”

“Well, I’ve been thinking about what my father said about the loft. It’s okay now that Grace is still in our room, but eventually she’s going to need her own. Technically we’ve outgrown the place already.” I reach into the inside pocket of my tux jack

et and pull out the envelope I’ve been saving for tonight and hand it to her. “London is work for me. It’s not where I particularly want to raise our children. I’m not going to pretend that I can walk away from here and never come back. I can’t.”

Fleur takes a quick drink before she opens the envelope and pulls the papers out, unfolding them to read.

“Eventually, I’m going to take over from Francis. That’s always been the plan. One that I’m happy with because it’s what I’m good at. I’m not a politician or any of those fucking public faces.”

Our waiter starts to clear our table for dessert, giving her a chance to look through the pages in her hands. I’m watching out for her reaction with my heart in my throat, holding my breath.

“None of these homes are in London.” Fleur looks up at me from the papers in her hand.

“They’re close enough that I can commute on a daily basis if need be.” I finish my drink. “If you want to go farther out, I can get the estate agent to find other options, but it would mean that at times I would be away from you and Grace. It’s not what I want. I don’t want to spend my nights away from you, but…”

“These are all wonderful.”

“I made sure there are decent schools and nurseries. A good hospital nearby.”

“I don’t know what to say.”