I’d still have to explain the situation to Juliette but she always went out on Saturday nights, so that’d give me at least a day to settle back in London, then I’d talk to her on Sunday.
That meant I had almost forty-eight hours to think about how best to break the news.
It wouldn’t be pretty, but it had to be done.
43
GABRIEL
After I wheeled our suitcases to the door, I turned back to take one last look at the villa.
To say that I was grateful that Nico and Cassie convinced me to come to the Love Hotel would be an understatement.
This trip had changed my life.
When I had arrived I was lost. Despite my riches I felt unhappy and empty.
Now I was leaving with a full heart and an exciting future ahead of me. All because of Laila.
Of course, I would have preferred if she told me that she was ready to come away with me straightaway. But I had to be realistic. She had been cautious from the start and she had responsibilities in London so I needed to be patient.
She could have said she was not interested in pursuing a relationship at all. But she had not. She wanted to try, so that was the most important thing.
Last night, once we had finished dessert, the driver had taken us back to our villa, where I had carried Laila to the bedroom to make love.
Now I realised that it could never have just been sex with Laila. But over the past few days I’d realised that the connection between us had intensified, not just mentally, but physically too.
Laila might not be ready to say that she loved me yet, but I already felt it. I saw it in how she looked at me and through her actions, like how she worked hard to organise a special evening for us last night.
And I felt it when she kissed me and when our bodies connected.
Laila was the one.
‘I can’t believe we’re leaving already,’ Laila sighed as she opened the villa door.
‘I know. But although this chapter has ended, soon we will be ready to start a new one.Together.’
‘I like the sound of that,’ she grinned before giving me a kiss on the lips.
Once we had said goodbye to Jasmine, the chauffeur loaded our suitcases into the boot and Laila and I spent the rest of the journey to Nice, the flight back to Paris and the taxi to Gare du Nord, where Laila would catch her Eurostar to London, with our mouths moulded against each other’s.
Far too quickly, the taxi driver announced that we had arrived at the station.
My stomach tightened. I was not ready to say goodbye to Laila yet.
‘Are you sure that I cannot persuade you to come back to my apartment?’ I asked, trailing kisses along her neck. I knew the chances of her agreeing were close to zero, but even if there was a 0.001 per cent chance of her saying yes, I had to try.
‘I wish I could,’ she said, as the driver opened the car door. ‘But I have work on Monday.’
I wanted to tell her to forget about work, but I had promised that I would not push her and agreed to be patient so I had to respect her wishes.
‘You cannot blame me for trying,’ I said as I took her hand and led her out of the car before wrapping my arms around her waist and kissing her slowly again.
If I had driven her back to Paris, perhaps we could have stopped off somewhere to be together properly one last time.
I had considered driving my car back home, but immediately dismissed it when I realised that would mean keeping my hands on the steering wheel and my eyes on the road for several hours, not on Laila where they belonged.
Laila’s hands caressed my back and just as her palm travelled down to touch my arse a piercing scream vibrated through the air.
