Perfect Strangers

“I’m jealous. He certainly outshines Brody in the sexiest body department,” Cass added.

Clapping her hands sharply, Myla began clearing away the table, “It’s a good job that I love you two because if those words were coming out of any other female’s mouths, I’d be slashing them to death.”

“You want a lift to see Lector?” Cass asked as she maneuvered her bump from under the table and rubbed her hand over her stomach.

“That would be great. So, you thought of any names for him yet?” Myla asked while she began ramming the dirty dishes into the dishwasher.

“We still have four months to go, so not officially but Brody wants to call him Damien,” she replied nonchalantly.

“With you two as parents, it would probably suit him,” laughed Avery and Myla joined in, hysterically.

“Oh, ha fucking ha. When are you and Stavros planning on producing some mini Greek God? Let’s face it you’re not getting any younger,” Cass snapped.

Myla stifled another laugh when she turned to see Avery’s face turn several shades of crimson then huff out a pissed off sigh. “It’s not for the want of trying.”

“Come on let’s get out of here before one of you kills the other,” said Myla. She grabbed her purse and headed towards the door.

*

“You have reached the voicemail of Kai Baxter, I’m sorry I am unable to take your call. Please leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.” Incensed, Myla slung her cell phone across the bedroom onto the bed. She hadn’t seen Kai since this morning and as promised, she had called him with the low down on her recent session with Dr. Greco, unfortunately she had received his voice mail every time she had called. It was now 6.55pm and she began to nervously pace around the bedroom. Where the fuck is he?

The impending feeling of dread washed through her and her guts coiled up like a snake when Avery’s earlier words came crashing into her head, do you think he’s cheating? That thought had never crossed her mind until today. Now frantically thinking back at his behavior over the last few weeks all signs pointed that way. He’s not cheating. He loves you too much.

The sudden shrill of the doorbell rang, piercing through her thoughts. With a sharp breath, she headed downstairs. She was greeted by a man in chauffeur’s dress, he tipped his hat to her and silently handed her an envelope.

Juliet. The car is here to pick you up. I’m sorry I got held up. I’ll see you soon.

No, I love you, no kiss, no signature? With a scowl, she grabbed her keys and purse and followed the stranger out to the waiting Limo.

Her breath caught in the back of her throat when it pulled to a stop at the entrance to the London Tower Bridge. Before she had chance to think, the door was swung open and the chauffeur stood waiting patiently for her to move from the back seat. “Do you know what’s going on?” she asked as she stood up straight next to him and ran her hands awkwardly down her tight, black knee length dress, that was seemingly restricting her movements.

“No, Miss. I’m just following my orders,” he dutifully replied. Before she had chance to respond another man approached her, holding out a single rose and another envelope.

Juliet. You must by now wonder what is going on. I’m not far away. Follow the signs.

Bringing the rose to her nose she inhaled it sharply and a small smile played on her lips. What is he up to? “This way, Miss Fox,” encouraged the second stranger. With shaky legs and an eagerness to get to Kai, she followed him up to the bridge and out through the door. Her chest grew tight, her eyes became blurred and a loud inhale of breath flew from her mouth as her hearing took in the low sounds of their song; the slow ballad version of Perfect Strangers. The glass walkway above London was lit up by pink and purple lights and before her, through the walkway stood several beautifully wrapped canvases on easels. The stranger behind her handed her another envelope.

Juliet. Each of these canvases holds a special memory in our journey together. I’ll be waiting.

With uneasy baby steps towards the first canvas, she carefully peeled back the wrapping to reveal a photo of her alongside her lam

inated Shots advert and a photo of Kai alongside his laminated reply. It was captioned ‘Step One in Our Journey’. Tears blurred her vision and she fought to keep her composure. Carefully, she made her way towards the next canvas.

Peeling back the wrapping she found their boarding passes to Florida alongside drawings of their passports, a postcard of Florida and a photo of her family home. It was captioned, ‘The Day I realized I Liked You’. A small sob fell from her mouth and she frantically tried to stem the falling tears rolling down her cheek. Opening her clutch, she fished out a tissue and dabbed at her eyes. He wasn’t cheating, stupid! He was planning all of this.

Slowly she headed towards the next canvas. Peeling back the wrapping, she found a film sleeve of Gone with The Wind, a Chinese menu, and a photo of the bedroom they shared in Florida all decked out in fairy lights. It was captioned ‘The Night I Told You I Loved You’.

She hunched herself over as her body became a trembling wreck. She couldn’t see straight through the tears and finally she gave up trying to stem them. Her heated face was streaked with black mascara as the small sobs continued to fall from her mouth. Standing upright and shaking her shoulders in a bid to calm herself down, she tried to swallow past the egg-shaped lump residing in the back of her throat and pant through the soaring ache that was prominent in her chest. There was one more canvas left.

Carefully she headed towards the last one and with a shaky hand, she peeled back the wrapping. There she found photos of all the paintings he had done of her in their separation all incased in a giant red heart. This one was captioned ‘The Day You Came Back to Me’. Her unsteady hand reached out and trailed over the heart. Pure happiness radiated through her at the thoughtfulness of this whole thing, that he had done for her. She felt pride swell in her heart at the enormous effort he had gone to set all this up.

A clearing of a throat brought her attention away from the final canvas and she turned, finally seeing Kai, dressed in a black tuxedo heading towards her. All manner of emotions washed over her as she took in how handsome he looked. She wanted to run to him but found herself immobilized as she watched his gorgeous face break out into a nervous, wavering smile.

Before she had chance to smile back or say anything verbally, he dropped to his knee and held out Pat’s ring. Her hand flew to her chest and her tear-filled eyes grew as wide.

“Myla Fox. You are my whole life and a life without you by my side is a life I wouldn’t want to live. I love you with every fiber of my being. You are my perfect stranger. So, for the third and final time, I am asking you again, please will you marry me?”

Words failed her as she stood, glued to the spot. She rubbed her eyes with the backs of her hands, not giving a shit what she looked like, to clear her vision. She nodded her head and a squeaky yes tumbled from her mouth. With a huge shit-eating grin on his face at her answer, he rose to his feet and raced to her, enveloping her in his arms, he held her tight and swung her around. She let out a tearful laugh and mumbled incoherently in his ear.