One evening they were sitting on the porch, looking out at the sky. He asked her if she was willing to go on a trip with him.
“A trip? We just got back. Where do you want to go now?”
He told her that he had this special place that he wanted to take her to. He had tried to be patient and wait, but Vincent had never been able to claim those personality traits for his own. He was always too worried about what was coming next. He liked to make plans, and get it in writing, so that he knew what to expect.
The good and the bad about Mallory was just that. She came out of nowhere and as much as he wanted to believe he could control the situation, he should have learned a long time ago, that Mallory wasn’t a woman that could be controlled. She would barely take suggestion.
“I just thought that it would be nice if we went out. Just you and me. Maybe we could go as beasts and check out a place I saw the other day?”
“Why do I get the feeling that there is more to it than that? You have that look in your eyes. I don’t trust your motive.”
“Probably because it is more. But you're not going to know what it is, unless you come with me.”
“What about Ethen? We can't just leave from here.”
“You know that we have had people looking after us ever since it all happened. That hasn't changed. You know that. He will be just fine here for a little while.”
“You know that it's hard for me.”
He agreed, but he wasn't going to budge. The best way for her to get her mind off of everything that was going on, was for him to help ease her into another idea of something to do. She had had enough time. Vincent was convinced that he just had to get her away, alone, and it would all come to him.
“It sounds like you just want to seduce me in the woods. We don't have to go out there, you know. You can seduce me right here, and I won't have to spend a week getting pine needles out of my hair.”
She was so practical, and he was finding it more and more complicated to get her to do what he wanted. Why couldn't she just go with it?
“You're not making this easy, I mean, you know that right?”
“Was I supposed to?”
He told her that it would have been nice and she just kind of shrugged like it didn’t matter one way or another. Maybe she wasn’t bothered, but he was.
“No, I guess not. So, are you going to come with me or what?”
She finally agreed and Vincent tried not to be so worried about it. What if that's how he was going to have to ask her to marry him? What if that was the same ilk that he was going to have to take? He wasn't exactly sure why she was so against marriage, possibly because she had been forced into it when she was young, but Vincent didn't even like to think about that. It wasn't like he was trying to force her into anything. He loved her and wanted to marry her. He refused to believe that that was a bad thing. Mallory needed a reminder of that as well.
They shifted into their dragon forms, and the two of them took off from the rooftop and flew away from the lights of the city. London was bustling and busy, but at night it was rather pretty from the sky. They couldn't see the humans hustling in the streets underneath them, living their tiny lives. It sidetracked him for a moment, from the most important question that he was ever going to ask someone else.
By the time they got to the place he had set up for that very occasion, he still hadn't come up with the perfect words. Vincent had been so convinced that it would just come to him. He wouldn't have to think about it, it would just naturally spring forth and be the perfect words. That's what he had hoped for, anyway. Really and truly had hoped that it could be worked out. Fact of the matter was, that he had just been way too optimistic.
“So, what is going on here? You really went all out for a quick romantic trip.”
He motioned to the chairs that were set out for the two of them. “Why don't you sit down?”
Again, she had this look on her face like he was going to jump her at any moment. He wondered if she would ever stop looking at him that way.
“So, what happened here?”
“I thought that we could spend a little time going over some things. You know, just do some talking.”
“And what are we talking about that has you looking like that?”
“Well, I don't even know how to ask you. You've never been an easy woman to deal with, Mallory, and that certainly hasn't changed since I got to know you better.”
She looked at him, surprised. It wasn't at all what he wanted to say, but for some reason, that's what came out. He groaned inwardly and tried to ignore the ridiculousness of the situation.
“Look, this is coming out all wrong. I love you. I love our son. You know that, right?”
She agreed but still could not see where he was going with any of it and told him as much. It wasn't hard to imagine, considering that he was bugging it up so bad.
