Rory swallowed hard, and Gemma knew instantly there was something else. She waited for Rory to tell her and was upset when Rory brushed it off.
“I just wondered if being in a smaller firm would be better.” Rory shot her a tight smile.
A knot formed in Gemma's stomach, and she wondered what Rory was holding back. She debated between pushing it with Rory and letting it go. She worried a lip and wished she were better at relationships than she was. The silence in the car stretched between them, with only the radio providing any respite.
“People are going to be arseholes everywhere,” Gemma eventually said.
Rory hummed noncommittally, and Gemma sensed her girlfriend wanted to move the conversation on. She couldunderstand why - she hadn't said much about her altercation in the loo since their initial talk. Gemma had been fuming on Rory’s behalf but had just about kept a lid on her emotions for Rory’s sake. She had worried about Rory for the rest of the week but, fortunately, there were no other incidents. More worrying now was this revelation that not only had her father interfered with their relationship before it had even started, but also that Rory had considered taking him up on his job offer. If Rory moved home, what would that mean for them? Could their relationship survive if Gemma was in London and Rory was back in Sussex? Her stomach fell away from her as she realised she didn't want that. She didn't want to be away from Rory but wanted to be closer to her. She bit her lip and looked out of the window. How had this happened so quickly? She had said she was falling for Rory but hadn't realised quite how far or how fast.
Gemma trailed behind Rory as they walked into the hotel. The tension stretched between them, and Gemma wasn’t comfortable with how they had left things from their talk in the car. She sensed Rory was holding something back from her. Determined to talk to Rory as soon as they were in their room, she stood next to her as they checked in. The rest of the family were due to arrive tomorrow lunchtime, and they would travel together to the opera early evening. Rory had suggested that she and Gemma get there a night early to have some time to themselves as a couple before the family descended upon them and they would have to pretend not to be a couple. Gemma massaged her forehead. This was all getting a bit too complicated, and part of her wanted toshout to the world that this wonderful person was her girlfriend.
“You are in the Alhambra suite.” The receptionist handed Rory a key card. “Would you like a second key for your room?”
“Yes please,” Rory replied deftly and handed over her credit card for the room.
“Can I confirm we have a dinner reservation for 8pm?”
The receptionist tapped on her computer and confirmed with Rory that dinner was indeed booked. Rory turned to Gemma.
“Fancy a walk around the garden before we change for dinner?” Rory asked. That adorable eyebrow quirk returned, and Gemma felt her stomach flip at the sight. She mentally scolded herself. Was she falling for Rory so much that everything the other woman did made her gooey? Gemma had never been ‘gooey’ with a girlfriend before. Sexy, yes. Horny? Definitely. But never this gooey, soppy person who melted every time her girlfriend smiled or cocked an eyebrow.
“Sure, that sounds good.” Gemma noticed how effortlessly Rory spoke to the staff and with a few quick words had arranged for someone to take their suitcases to their room whilst they walked around the gardens.
The late summer sun was doing its best to warm them, but Gemma felt a slight chill as the evening breeze gusted around the gardens.
“I hope it’s going to stay nice tomorrow.” Rory cast an eye to the sky as if warning it not to rain.
“How did you persuade the families to stay at a hotel rather than at home?” Gemma looked at Rory. Her girlfriend blushed and looked sheepish. She rubbed the back of her neck.
“Well…” She moved closer to Gemma. “I certainly didn’t say that we wanted to stay in a hotel so I could trail my tongue over your body and make sweet, sexy love to you all night, until you’re hoarse from screaming my name.” She trailed her fingertips up Gemma's forearm and stopped at her elbow. Shivers of another kind flashed over Gemma's skin. It was almost criminal how Rory could turn her on with just a look or a touch.
“All night, you say?” She hooked a finger in the belt loops of her trousers and pulled her in for a gentle kiss. Rory was wearing her new chinos and a shirt that Charles had altered for her, and she looked deliciously elegant and very fucking hot.
“All night,” Rory confirmed as their lips grazed each other. Her arm wrapped around Gemma’s shoulder to pull her in and kissed her harder. Gemma's stomach flipped, and the familiar buzzing and fizzing she felt over her body whenever Rory kissed her was in full effect. Rory’s mouth on hers was so familiar but at the same time exhilarating. The familiar velvet swipe of Rory's tongue had Gemma opening herself to Rory. All concepts of time and space were lost to her as she kissed Rory. Their breasts pressed together, and Gemma suddenly wanted there to be far fewer clothes between them.
“If we go back now.” Gemma gasped between kisses. “We might have time for a shower before dinner.” Rory's brows knitted together for a second in confusion before realisation dawned. Almost at a run, she grabbed Gemma's hand and propelled them back to the hotel. Laughing, they burst into the foyer only to come face to face with their parents.
“Oh, hello you two.” Rory’s father turned to them. “Seems we all had the same idea to arrive early.”
Cursing under her breath, Rory snatched her hand away from Gemma, and Gemma felt its lost almost immediately.
Fuck, whatever this was, it would not get her and Rory naked together in the shower any time soon. Cursing whichever deity was pissing on them right now, Gemma plastered a smile on her face and turned to greet her parents.
“Oh my God, Rory!” Rory’s mother’s voice was shrill across the foyer of the hotel. “What on earth have you done to your hair?”
28
RORY
Rory felt sick. Her stomach tied in knots, and her legs felt like lead.
“Oh, my darling.” Her mother’s voice cut through the fog surrounding her thoughts. “What on earth possessed you to cut off your lovely hair?”
Rory sent a pleading look to Gemma, hoping that her girlfriend picked up on her unease. Every argument with Darcy rampaged through her head. Every disparaging look that she’d had over the past couple of weeks danced through her mind. The disgusted look of the woman in Spike’s office pressed on her brain. Blackness swam around the periphery of her vision, and for a horrifying moment she thought she might black out. She felt Gemma's fingers curl around her bicep and was grateful for the grounding touch of her girlfriend.
“Oh, hello you lot.” George appeared from the bar. “Drinks are in, what’s holding you up?”
He looked over at Rory and Gemma. “Ahh you’re here as well, lovely. Gin and tonic okay for both of you?”
