Three Thousand Miles - Forever, (book #3 of Three Thousand Miles, Series) (10 page)

“Alanna, I would like to see your house.” Adrian says he slows down the car. I
stare at him in confusion.

 

“Ah Adrian, we just came from my house.” I point out. Adrian laughs at me as if
I am stupid.

“I meant your house, the one that you shared with Sophie.” I laugh as I realise
how stupid my question really was. I can’t believeit, but I have forgotten all
about my house here in the Hamptons.

“We are not far from it; if you make a left here then it will lead us onto the
street. I can’t believe that I forgot about my house.” Adrian makes the left and
we turn onto the street. As we drive and as we getcloser, I begin to get excited
about seeing the house again.
“Slow down, its here.” I say as I point out the house. I smile as I see it. The
house looks the same as did before. My little brownstone cottage is beautiful
with its white picket fence and climbing roses. Adrian manoeuvres the car into
the driveway and he switches off the engine. I stare at the house until Adrian
grabs my hand.

“Shall we go in?” I smile at him and then I open the car door. I make my way to
front of the house and I rummage in my handbag for my keys. I unlock the
door and I push it open to reveal a pile of mail. I quickly begin to lift some of
the letters, as I make way for us to enter. The house is dark inside so I switch
on the light. I signal Adrian to enter as I throw the pile of unopened mail down
onto the dresser by the door. Adrian enters and he smiles as he takes in the
view of the house. He doesn’t say a word as he looks around the rooms. Adrian
is used to staying in luxury hotels and although I have never been to his house,
I am pretty sure that it is rather luxurious. I wonder what he thinks of my
humble house.

“It’s charming, Alanna. I like it.” He says as he pulls me closer to him. I look up
into his green eyes as he holds my face firmly in his hands. I lunge my head
forward and I kiss him. Gently at first and then our affection becomes stronger.
Adrian pushes me against the wall of the living room and now his hands are
sliding up my body. He moves his lips away from mine as he begins to kiss
along my collarbone. I remove his shirt and then I clutch onto his back. His skin
is hot and it feels like pure silk. I buckle at his touch and I adore the way he
makes me feel. His loving is like my own personal heaven and I feel safe every
time I enter those gates. His arms protect me and I cannot get enough of him. I
could literally stay in this moment - forever.

Adrian and I decide to stay in the house for a while, so I suggest that we watch
a movie. I quickly switch on the heating as the house is freezing and then I
make my way over to the TV cabinet and I begin to rummage through the DVD
collection. Meanwhile Adrian takes it easy as he stretches out onto the sofa.
However his slumber is disturbed when his phone begins to ring.

“Sorry baby I need to take this… outside.” Adrian bounces from the sofa and as
quick as I can breathe he is out the door. My mind begins to wonder why he
needed to take his call in private. I randomly select a DVD and I push it into the
DVD player. I make my way over to the sofa and I sit nervously until Adrian
comes back into the house. When he finally comes back in, he looks stressed
and I have to ask what’s wrong.

“Are you okay?” Adrian runs his fingers through his hair as he glides back over
to the sofa. He throws himself down onto the cushions and the sofa nudges
back from the force. As I look at him, I am positive that something is wrong. I
reach over and I gently place my hand onto his knee. He looks up at me and I
can see the sadness in his eyes. “Doll, what’s wrong?”

“Zara just called me.” My heart sinks at his words. Why was she calling him?
Had she finally agreed to the paternity test?

 

“I see and what did she say?” Adrian runs his fingers through his hair again and
his knee begins to gently tap.

 

“I called her first but she did not answer. Zara was simply returning my phone
call.”

 

“Why did you call her?” I snap. Adrian rolls his eyes at me.

“Why do you think I called her?” He snaps back. I am little stunned by his tone
so I pull my hand away from him in shock. My heart is now pounding and
Adrian’s vulnerability is alarming. When Adrian first found out about William
possibly being his son he was calm and relaxed about the situation. Adrian
thought that Zara would agree to the paternity test, but when she kept on
refusing him, I saw him change. The last few months have been hard on him
and I feel helpless as he won’t admit that he is hurting. Every time that I talk
about William, Adrian puts up a wall and I can’t seem to break through it. I can
see him hurting and I wish that there was something that I could do. But I
know that until Zara gives him the proof that he needs, Adrian will be
distracted. His mind won’t stop thinking about it and he won’t be able to hold
back his curiosity about William.

“You called about William.” I choke out. Adrian bites his lip as he replies.

 

“Yes, I called about the boy.” I move my hand back onto his knee as I try to
stop his nervous movement.

“Is there any progress?” Adrian shakes his head.
“No, none, let’s not talk about this anymore, okay?” There it is again, the wall. I
need to break through it. I need him to tell me how he is feeling and I won’t
stop until he does.

“Adrian, I know that you must be hurting, please talk to me.” Adrian sighs as he
places his hand onto mine. His eyes are full of sadness and I have to hold back
my tears at the sight of him. I can’t understand why Zara would want to punish
him in this way. Hasn’t he been through enough?

“I want to be honest with you, so if you really want to talk about this with me
then I would like that.” I smile as I alert him to continue- with a kiss. Adrian
pulls back from me. “She is still refusing the DNA test but, she has agreed to
think about it if I spend some time with the boy.” I narrow my eyes at him.

“How can she ask that of you? Has she no heart?”

 

“Alanna, please you said that you wanted to talk about this. Why are you
acting like a child?”

“I’m not acting like a child I am merely stating the truth. How could she be so
cruel to let you meet William, let you become attached to him and then rip him
away again. It’s not fair on you and it’s not fair on the child. Zara is playing
games with you and if you don’t realise that then I can’t help you.” Adrian
looks angry at my words and I can feel my body temperature rising as I await
his reply and I am surprised at his reaction.

“You know what, you’re right. Zara is playing games with me. She wants me to
bond the boy so that she can hold it against me. Thank you baby, for making
me see clearly.” Adrian lunges forward and kisses my forehead.

“Adrian, we will get to the bottom of this, trust me.” Adrian kisses me again
but this time on the lips. He leans back into the sofa and he pulls me across his
body. I huddle into his chest as I press play on the DVD. Adrian laughs when he
sees my random choice of movie.

“Bridget Jones? Really?” We both laugh and then we settle down as we watch
Bridget’s life unfold before our eyes.

By the time we arrive back at my parents’ house, it’s almost eight o’ clock and I
begin to realise that Adrian is going to leave me –again. He has decided to stay
the night at a local B&B as he doesn’t want to ruin the tradition of not seeing
the bride before the wedding. He quickly rushes into the house and greets my
parents and his. But when the ‘hellos’ are over Adrian makes his way back to
his car. I follow behind him as I want to make every second count. He is breathtaking as he leans against the black Mercedes. He reaches out his arms for me
to climb into them and when I grip onto him, I never want to let go. I inhale the
scent of his cologne as I make a memory that will have to last me until
tomorrow. His strong arms are wrapped around me and can’t help but cry
when he pulls them away from me.

“What are the tears for?” Adrian whispers as he gently caresses my cheek. I
feel stupid as I gaze into his eyes.

“I just don’t want you to leave.” Adrian places both his hands onto my face and
my tears flow again. He gently smirks as he positions his lips onto mine. He
kisses me tenderly until we are disturbed.

“Oh come on mate, let her go. You are marrying her in the morning, you
know?” I pull back from Adrian as I see Michael striding towards us.

“I know, now are you ready?” Adrian quickly says. Michael walks over to me
and gently kisses me on the cheek and then he climbs into the passenger seat
of Adrian’s car. I smile at him as he rolls down the window and pokes his head
out.

“Come on then,” he urges Adrian and I can’t help but wonder why he is so
anxious to leave.

 

“Am I missing something?” I say sarcastically. Adrian frowns as Michael
answers.

 

“Your boy here is late to his own bachelor party.”I gasp as I take in Michael’s
words.

 

“Adrian, you told me that you weren’t having a bachelor party?” Adrian sighs
at my question.

 

“I wasn’t going to have to one but the guys forced me into it.” I frown at him.
As if anyone could force him into doing something that he didn’t want to do.
“So I guess that you are in for a pretty wild night then?” Michael laughs.

“Oh don’t get jealous there’s no girls allowed. Well expect for the odd stripper
of course.” My face falls and almost hits the floor. Adrian notices my reaction
and instantly tries to reassure me otherwise.

“Baby, there will be no strippers, I promise you.” Michael laughs again from
inside the car and I feel so angry with him. Why would he tease me like this? I
feel like rushing over and giving him a slap. He knows how insecure I am about
Adrian and other women so why must he annoy me in this way. His eyes are
ice blue as he maintains his annoying laughter, but then my feelings are
reversed when he notices my anxiety.

“Listen babe, I am only joking with you. Adrian is a good boy and he wouldn’t
let us have any strippers. So please there is no need to worry, I will look after
your boy for you.” I can’t contain my smile as I rush over to Michael – I kiss him
on the cheek instead of slapping him. Adrian makes his way over to me as he
kisses me again. I close my eyes as his lips collide with mine and I lose my
breath when he pulls away from me. His eyes pierce through me and I take a
deep breath as he walks away. He reaches his car and then he stops to look at
me, one last time.

“Until next time baby,”
Five
The wedding
Sunday 8
^th
September – 2013
(Alanna)

I wake early the next morning as Sophie and my mom rush into my room. One
of them pulls back the curtains to reveal blinding sunshine. I quickly close my
eyes to shield them from the light and that’s when it hits me, today is my
wedding day. Today I will become Mrs Black and today is my last day in New
York.

(Adrian)

I couldn’t sleep at all last night as I waited for morning to arrive. The hours
rambled on and I couldn’t escape my thoughts of her. Alanna, my darling
Alanna is never out of my mind and I am still shocked that she has agreed to
marry me. The time that we spent apart, has left me permanently scarred and I
never want that feeling to return. She is my ray of sunshine and I anxiously
wait for the moment that she becomes my wife. Until that moment, I won’t
eat, I won’t sleep and I will not stop worrying that she could have a change of
heart. My pure and beautiful Alanna could have any bloke that she wanted and
to my horror she has chosen me. My heart races every time that I look into her
massive brown eyes and within their darkness lies my soul. She gazes through
me and I feel as if I can share anything with her. Alanna has woven her way
into my heart and with her kiss she has stolen my soul. I belong to her and she
is my reason for breathing. I hate that I put her in danger and I cripple every
time that I have a new rule for her to obey. She deserves so much better than
me, but I cannot deny that for some strange reason, Alanna does love me. I
never thought that I was capable of love- until I met her. She completes me
and today she will be mine – forever.

(Alanna)

My mom and Sophie rush me out of my room and into one of the spare
bedrooms. I enter and I can see that the room has been transformed into a
dressing area. There are long, white dressing tables lined across the back wall
and each one of them has a fitted mirror. The surface of the tables is filled with
cases of make-up, hair dryers, curling tongs, flatirons and more hair spray than
I have ever seen. The dresses hang from the free standing wardrobe at the
back of the room, whilst a small lady guards them. Sophie, urges me to take a
seat and I choose the seat in the middle. As soon as my butt my hits the seat
my mom lunges a mimosa into my hand. This feels so unreal and I need to take
a sip of the drink. I glug down the beverage and my mom notices my urgency.

“Are you okay, Alanna?” She asks as she begins to pick through the different
bottles of foundation. I smile at her as I try to hide my nerves.

 

“Yes, I am fine. I think I better take a shower.” I say as I jump from the seat and
make my way over to the door.

 

“Are you sure that you’re okay? You seem a little… edgy.” My mom shouts
after me. I take a deep breath as I flash a wide smile in her direction.
“I’m fine,” my mom reluctantly smiles back at me.

 

“Sweetie, don’t take forever in the shower you need to start getting ready,
soon.”

I walk rapidly along the hallway passing many strangers as I do. I have never
seen the house so full of people and it hits me rather hard when I realise that
they are all here to witness Adrian and I getting married. My head begins to
race in a million directions and then a sudden flash of me walking down the
aisle hits me. I quickly close my eyes as I try to shake off my vision. I stumble
against the wall and one of the girls that is attending to the flowers notices my
actions.