Tempie had an answer for me. “Obviously, that means shopping trip to Paris, and perhaps Milan. Equally obviously, I’m going with.”
Hmm.
I’d never had anything designer that wasn’t pre-loved.
No, strike that.
Both my wedding outfits had been found by Tempie, and as such, they’d both been designer.
Fortunately, there wasn’t a quota on that.
“I’ve never been to Milan,” I said. “After I finish my book, we can go there, and Paris, and then I’ll go home for however long I have to go home before I can get another visa to come back and stay for a spell.” I missed the shift of the vibe of the room and started talking to myself. “I need to make a note to look into the rules about that.”
“Go home?” Battle asked.
I turned to him.
And…
Whoops!
“Honey—”
“Go home?” he repeated.
“My visa is only good for”—I did a mental calculation—“less than four more months. I have to leave. I’ll figure out when I can come back and maybe you can come out and visit while I’m in The States.”
Bartholomew’s head shot up because, immediately when I was done talking, Battle pushed back his chair, got up and strode out.
I stared at the door.
Then I looked between Prue, Tempie and Hamish, mumbling, “Okay, I probably should have finessed that better.”
Prue and Hamish kept their silence.
Tempie said, “Dear.”
Eep!
I started to get up. “I’ll go talk to him.”
“Think you should give him a bit, lass,” Hamish advised.
I sat back down and bit my lip.
His bright blue eyes shifted to Tempie, making his point eloquently, and then he said, “Just a bit. Aye?”
I nodded but said, “It isn’t like I told him I was going to go home forever. I said I’d come back.”
“Do you want to go home?” Prue asked quietly.
“No. Yes,” I answered. “No, not without Battle. But yes, for a visit. I want him to meet my grandparents. And just see where I lived before I came here. But I don’t have a choice. I don’t have leave to remain here.”
“The law can be rather inconvenient at times,” Tempie remarked in her cool tone that was meant to be soothing.
It usually worked.
Now it didn’t.
