Giovanni sat at his desk in the quiet room of his London flat. He had received the plans for Olivia’s nursery and was trying to decide whether to alter them or not. It was, of course, princess related with pink walls and hardwood floors. The room was three times the size of any flat they had lived in since her birth, but she would find use for every corner. He smiled, thinking of all the toys she would have, all the clothes and the friends she would make. She had Aryana’s three children to grow up with. Dantae was the eldest, just two months older than Creighton’s son Brandon, and the twin girls, Elina and Mia who were very close to the same age as Olivia. Demarco and Demetrio would start having children, so she would have a number of cousins to keep her occupied. Perhaps in time, he would find a good mother for his daughter. He had always wanted a large family and who knew what the future would hold. Perhaps one day he’d be able to hold onto hope and move forward, but he doubted th
Twenty minutes later the story was finished, and the child was sound asleep on her father’s lap. He set the book aside and switched off the light, snuggling the child to his heart as he breathed in the clean fragrance of her damp hair. Life may not have turned out the way he had once dreamt it would, but he knew he wouldn’t have changed having this little girl. She was his pride and joy, his life and his salvation. She was the only thing that made facing a new day worthwhile.“I promised my family you would be there,” Sabrina snapped, as she paced the floor of her office. “I don’t know why you can’t spend time with them. They are my family and we are very close.”“I didn’t say I wouldn’t spend time getting to know them, I just don’t want to waste four days in an amusement park with a bunch of screaming children.” Andre crossed his legs as he sipped his cappuccino. The argument was an old one and he was growing tired of having it every time they got together. “You better get used to
Seven fifteen, Sabrina thought as she looked at her watch. She promised Andre she would meet him and his client for supper at seven and she was not only late, but she hadn’t taken the time to freshen up. Her design was finished though, so there was some progress made that afternoon, but not the kind that would satisfy her future husband.Sabrina pulled her purse out of the bottom drawer of her desk. She touched up her lipstick and ran a comb through her long dark hair before powdering her nose to dim the shine. Not horrible, she thought, but she could do with a fresh outfit. The one she was wearing was wrinkled from the long hours of sitting and kneeling at the feet of mannequins. Fortunately, she had several designs that had just been turned into three dimensional products. Even though she was not quite ready for the public to see them, she really didn’t have much of a choice. She hadn’t anticipated meeting Andre’s client for supper and hadn’t considered packing a bag when she left
Sabrina’s head was pounding, nearly as loud as her heart, as she waited under the covered partition for her car. Three arguments in one day. That had to be a record, even for them, she thought. The closer she came to making wedding plans with the man, the further away she pulled. Deep down, she knew she wasn’t ready for any of this. They were complete opposites and had nothing in common whatsoever. How was she expected to spend the rest of her life with a man who refused to let her have a career, refused to allow her to have an opinion, denied her time with her family, and only wanted an heir as opposed to children?The young valet arrived with her car, and smiled, as she slipped him a folded bill before climbing behind the steering wheel. So many questions echoed in her mind as she drove to Creighton’s flat in Versailles. A large glass of wine, a hot bath and nobody around to fight with was exactly what she wanted, after the kind of day she had had.Those thoughts kept her company a
After warming the water up once again, she sunk down beneath the steam and closed her eyes. Memories of Giovanni fought their way into her mind and she unwillingly surrendered to them. A smile curved her lips as she thought of the times they came to this very flat between breaks at school, unknown by its owner or their families. In fact, it was here, after soaking together in this very tub, that they had become lovers. Visions of romantic suppers and long walks along the Seine, drifted around her as she breathed in the warm fragrance of the bathroom. They had been the perfect couple. Everyone who knew them, thought they would be married by now, with at least one child…and not an heir. She fought the giggle that threatened to steal her composure at the thought of their love life, and the awkward way they moved past the first stages of intercourse.Susan Griffin, Sabrina’s best friend at Oxford, had drug her to what she called a specialty party, where she was subjected to an eye-openin
Sabrina turned and padded quietly back into the bathroom where she drained the tub and looked in the mirror. Much to her surprise, there were tears running down her cheeks. Five minutes talking with the man and years of confusion seemed to melt away. She turned off the light and walked into her bedroom, moving to the bed. She lifted the pillow he once laid his head and buried her face in it as she spread out across the mattress. She felt alone and sad and was actually missing his embrace. For the first time in many long years, Sabrina allowed herself to shed the tears of her heartache, as she sobbed uncontrollably into the pillow until sleep overtook her.Sandra listened to the click of the phone and the man on the other end whisper a quiet, I love you, before the line went dead. She smiled as she hung up the receiver. Sabrina hadn’t realized she didn’t hang up after their conversation but rather put them on a three-way call, allowing her to act as an unknown observer to the private
“I know this is none of my business,” Marie said, as she stepped up behind her and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, “but if it were me, I’d keep my plans. Your family is expecting you and his mother doesn’t even know anything about the arrangements. That makes your family first in line for your attention.”“I’d better not,” she said sadly. “I don’t want to cause any more problems.”“To hell with the problems,” Marie said boldly. “You’ve turned your family down time and again, and for what? For him to tell you what a waste of time your hobby is. You have the world looking at you, waiting for your next show. Are you going to throw everything you’ve worked so hard for away, just because of a self-centered, egotistical…”“Hello?” a man’s voice called out from the outer office.“Man,” Marie finished as Giovanni stepped through the door. He removed his sunglasses to adjust to the dimmer lighting and smiled at the two women who stared at him blankly. Marie nearly choked as she tried to s
Sabrina spent two hours packing and repacking the night before her trip and was now pacing the floors, wondering what the hell she was doing. She was engaged and yet she was running off with a man from her past. Okay, maybe running off wasn’t quite the right terminology, she assured herself. But she was going home to see her family for the first time in over a year, with a man who had once been her lover. “You look great, stop fussing,” Marie said stepping up behind her. Sabrina was standing in front of the mirror - again - comb in hand and a lipstick tube ready to meet her well painted mouth for the third time. “I’m not fussing,” she lied, tucking everything back into her purse. “I’m just excited to see my family.”“Liar,” Marie said as Sabrina’s cellphone began ringing.Cautiously she picked it up, seeing Andre’s name displayed on the caller ID. With a deep breath, she steered herself into the excuse she had formulated over the course of a long, restless night, and answered the p