Millie went back into the kitchen; she could get out into the back garden from the French windows by the breakfast table. She admired the flowers in their blue ceramic pots, and she could hear the sea now, she could listen to the waves rushing to the beach.
It was so warm, and it was only mid-morning, and there was still not a cloud in the sky. Walking along the curving path, Millie could see beautiful flower beds, a pretty tinkling fountain with drops of water which shone in the sun like diamonds. There were trees at one side providing cooling shade, and she could see wooden loungers, she would have to find out where the cushions were for them. Millie had never seen anything so perfect in her life.
Further down past the trees, she could see a large hedge. Not only was it very tall, but it was also curved, in fact from where she stood now she couldn't see where it stopped.
How exciting, dare she go into the maze. How very tempting she thought, even though
The pub was old, with low beams and whitewashed walls it wasn't too busy, and Nick and Gabriel were greeted with smiles and handshakes by the landlord."It's nice to see you both. We've all been wondering when you would come back down." The landlord said, "The girls have certainly missed you."Gabriel laughed. "It will be nice to see them again.""Go and sit down I'll send one of them with the menu," he said winking at Millie.Millie followed Nick to the dining room, Gabriel followed on behind her, his hand on her back. They still hadn't spoken since they were in the car. Nick pulled a chair out for her, and she sat down between them."Are you hungry, Millie?" Nick asked.She pulled a face, "Not really; it doesn't seem long since breakfast." she turned her head to look at the pictures on the wall. While she was looking at the sailing ship on the image, the calm was disturbed by squeals and giggles."Gabriel!" A young girl squealed a h
Gabriel went back down the stairs he felt more upset for sending Millie up there than he had when he realised she had lied to him. He knew Nick would have a drink waiting for him.Nick looked over the back of the sofa, "You ok?" He held his hand out to him, "Come and sit with me. I've poured you a drink."Gabriel squeezed Nick's hand. "That was hard. I felt like I was sending her to death row or something."Gabriel came to sit next to Nick he put a cushion behind his head on Nick's lap, and Nick put his arm around him, resting on Gabriel's chest."Did she say anything to you, Gabe?" Nick undid the button on Gabriel's shirt and slipped his hand inside. He could feel his heart beating."No, not really, just that she was sorry and asked me how I knew she had been in the maze."Nick frowned, "How did you know?""She must have sat down in the maze because she had blue dust on her skirt.""Unlucky." Nick took a drink. "She must be qu
"Gabe?""Mmm." Gabriel was dozing. They had made love for hours, and it was way past midnight now."You want more?" He joked, making to roll over.Beside him, Nick snorted in derision. "In your dreams, Gabe."Gabriel chuckled "What's up then?""What happens if it thunders?" Nick asked, he really couldn't bear the thought of Millie being terrified like that again.Gabriel sighed. "I'll go and fetch her, but only if it's overhead. If it's miles out to sea, she can tough it out." He turned to face Nick. His arm stretched out over his chest. "Go to sleep, Nick, stop worrying about her.""Can we have a look and see if she's alright? Nick asked.Gabriel moved closer to Nick. "No you can't it's nearly three am, and if she's not asleep by now, that's her bad luck.""You are such a bully."Gabriel laughed " If only she knew what a soft touch you are. She'd run rings around you. She thinks you're Mr Fierce and Ferocious and
Gabriel jumped onto his boat, The Drummer's Beat. He'd called in at the quaint shops on Harbour Lane the deli to be exact, and put the food for lunch in the fridge in the galley and went up on deck to start the engine. Messing about on boats had been his passion when he was teenager, and the harbour had always been his second home. He was always chatting up the boat owners, cadging lifts and gaining experience in handling boats like this one. Once the band had made money, this was the first thing he'd bought. He had even lived on it for a while.He sat at the controls and guided his boat from t
The phone dragged Gabriel out of his reverie. It was Nick."Hey gorgeous, is everything ok?""Gorgeous? I must have done something right last night." Nick chuckled. "So far, everything is fine. Lucy and Sophie have turned up on the beach, and they are all giggling over something. I'm in boathouse sorting the Jet Ski out.""I think you need to be on the boat with me.""Do I? What games are you planning now? Nick said grinning"No games, I just want you both with me," Gabriel said."How far out are you?" Nick asked, wondering if Gabriel was ok. He wasn't the kind to usually say things like that unless he was feeling upset."About twenty minutes. Get rid of the twins, ask them to tell their dad we need a table for this evening.""Are you taking me out for dinner?" Nick asked."Well, it's either that or a pizza.""Oh, decisions, decisions..." laughed Nick. "That's tricky, but if the love of my life wishes to buy me di
Did she see that? Did she really see Gabriel and Nick kissing? No, they were playing tricks, weren't they? Perhaps that wasn't what she saw, Millie thought. The two men stared at her. Perhaps Gabriel was being silly and larking about he was very good at that. Huh, maybe she was completely blind and stupid. Gabriel kissed Nick. There were no two ways about it."Plates are ready," she mumbled and turned back down the steps to the galley. There were two doors in the galley one at either end. Millie ran through both doors. The tears began to fall as she ran through the main saloon and the door. She ran down the stairs and ended up on the lower deck. She sat on the lower wooden deck, curled up small and squeezed in behind the dinghy. They could look for her, and she hoped they would think she had jumped overboard and was swimming for the shore.So were they gay? It certainly looked like it, what were they doing with her then? They had b
A lump was forming in the back of her throat, and she moved to the dressing room to find some clothes, she couldn't take much, but she got changed and piled tops and jeans and underwear - including panties - to the clothing on the stool, a skirt and top would do for now.Looking out of the window before she left the bedroom, she saw Nick sitting on the Jet Ski at the side of the boat he was taking to Gabe. She had better hurry up before he came up to the house. Grabbing her toothbrush and a few things from the bathroom Millie hurtled down the stairs and taking her bag from the kitchen table, sh
Millie finished her dinner. She was shocked to hear Gary's account of Sabrina's death. She must have loved Gabriel to go back to him or was it as Gary said she just loved the lifestyle of being with one of the most famous men in the world."Where did the crash happen, Gary?""On the way back to London, she had been living with me on my boat."
Christmas Eve"You disgusting little horror, I've never known anyone smell like you, Not even your handsome big brother." Nick held Aria Henderson-Swan at arm's length and took the stairs two at a time. "You gorgeous beautiful stinkpot, what are we going to do with you?""Shh, I've just got Arlo to sleep," Gabriel whispered, he sat in one of the two rocking chairs with his tiny son over his shoulder gently patting his back. "You'd better be quick, one of her legs has turned a strange mustard colour."Bloody hell what has your mother been feeding you?"Same as she has been feeding this one, Google says breastfed babies have mustard pooh.""Great." Nick sighed, "Oh my
"What do you think?" Millie twisted around to look over the back of the wedding dress in the full-length mirror. The twins shook their heads, "Looks great at the front, you can hardly see the bump, but the back is a mess, far too many frills. I'll go and have a look, see what I can find. Pearl and Ruby wandered off. "What do you think, Mum? Rene shook her head, "No the girls are right, it's too much,""It looks as if you have a crumpled bed sheet attached to your bum," Lucy said. "Lucy!" said Claire, try not to upset the bride.""We are not having our gorgeous step-mum, looking like a complete clown, she can hardly see her feet, nevermind her bum. She needs us to tell the truth."Millie went back to the changing room and waited for the next dress, Pearl and Ruby came barging in."Try this Millie, I know its not the right colour, but the style is perfect."Millie wasn't going to argue, right now she was so fed up with trying frocks on, she w
Millie lay on the bed, as the ultrasound technician covered her tummy with gloop. The room was in semi-darkness, and Nick and Gabriel stood at the bed's side, Nick holding her hand and Gabriel's hand lay on her thigh."Just let me do my measurements, and then I'll show you the baby," Said the sonographer wielding the ultrasound wand over Millie's lower tummy.It only took a few minutes to get her measurements."Well, this is interesting," she said, "Which one of you is the father?" the sonographer asked."We don't know yet," Millie said, "and we don't mind all our family will love the baby.""I apologise, I thought you were a surrogate for these two gentlemen."Millie laughed, "No, we're just a very unusual family, and there is plenty of love for our children.""Do any of you have twins in the family?" The men shook their heads, "I have twin sisters" Millie said."Well, you're having twins, let me
It was so wonderful to be home, and Millie revelled in Nick and Gabriel taking care of her. Nick could hardly bear to let her out of his sight. He followed her around like a lost puppy, especially on that first evening.Claire brought Katie home after work. Katie glanced into the sitting room and realised Millie was there, "Mama"! she yelled running into the room and throwing herself onto Millie's lap.Millie breathed a sigh of contentment, how could she have abandoned this sweet little girl because of her hurt feelings. How ridiculous she was.Katie held tight to Millie's neck, "I'm sorry for leaving you, Katie," she whispered in her ear, "I'll never leave you again."Millie put Katie to bed after dinner, and they all sat and talked about the things they had been doing."So How are you doing Millie?" asked Claire.Millie glanced up at Nick and Gabriel. They were smiling at her like Cheshire cats.&
Jess and Lucy stared wide-eyed at Amelia's message, they both let out a sigh, "Thank god for that, so, shall we call Smokey?""No, let's ask Gabe if he will take us, Millie will need someone to be with her. Someone who loves her."Lucy said, "Not like we love her.""Okay, what about Dad?"
"Tell me what Angus said again?" Nick could hardly believe what Gabriel had told him, that he was suffering morning sickness, it was unbelievable, he'd never heard of this before, he didn't have this when Jess's mum was pregnant."He doesn't think there is anything wrong with you, he said to look up Couvade Syndrome, you read it yourself, Nick." Gabriel was holding on to his patience,
Three Weeks Later.Millie lay in her bed. She had left the curtains open, and from her position, she could see the trees across the river. The birds were tweeting and doing aerobatics among the branches, and the sun was shining. For the first time in weeks, everything was peaceful. Millie sighed, a feeling of contentment rose within her, and all she needed now was... No! She could not think of them. The lump in her throat stopped her breath, and her eyes stung with unshed tears. Jumping out of bed, she marched to the bathroom, determined that she would carry on with her new life. She leaned over the bath and turned the shower on, no massive shower with a million jet streams here. She would be lucky if the hot water lasted until she had washed her hair. The agent had promised they would repair the thermostat as soon as, but she hadn't heard from him for two weeks. God another Monday morning on the phone to him, She had never had any trouble in London with repairs t
The cottage was idyllic, it was a fairytale cottage, with a drystone wall at the front and garden full of flowers. If the inside were as pretty as the garden, Millie would take it. The Derbyshire hills surrounding the picturesque village were beautiful to look at, and just across the road, the river Derwent rolled peacefully along.The peace that Millie felt was incredible, and no one would bother her here. All she could hear was singing of the birds. The cottage was on a back road in the village, the only people who would come down this road were the people who lived in the other four ho
Gabriel watched the girls cook tea. He enjoyed being with them. They were funny, and they both explained many things to him about his life."Gabe, would you like to go and tell Nick dinner's ready please?""Do you know where he'll be?" he said, standing and stretching."Up two flights of stairs, first door on the left. That's your bedroom. He's probably sulking."Gabriel sighed, "Does he often do this, sulk, I mean?"Lucy rolled her eyes, "What you have to remember Gabe, is that although my brother is the outwardly dominant member of this family, you are usually in charge. Nothing happens in this household without you saying so and giving it your approval."Gabriel's navy blue eyes opened wide, "Are you sure?"Both the girls nodded their heads. "He just talks and shouts a lot," Lucy said. "But you are the one we all go to, and especially Nick. If you didn't realise it, Nick has said something to Millie, not meaning to hurt