Freed by You (22 page)

Again, Julian had thought of everything and there was a child seat ready and waiting in the back of the car. I sat upfront next to Julian as he drove. This was the first time I had seen him drive and there was definitely something strangely sexy about it. I watched his eyes as they danced back and forth, scanning everything in front of us and equally behind with his regular glances in the rear view mirror. His hands looked strong and masculine as they rested lightly on the steering wheel and the way his veins strained as his fist clutched the gear stick was somehow very arousing. I’m not sure how any of this could be remotely erotic but I found myself craving his touch. I shifted in my seat and tried to focus on the scenery out of the window.

“Why are you blushing, Miss Braxton?”

“How do you do that? How can you possibly know that I’m blushing when you’re watching the road?”

“I know you.”

“What car is this?” I asked in a desperate attempt to change the subject.

“It’s an Audi Q7. Why, do you like it?”

“I love it. Is it yours?”

“Unfortunately, no, it isn’t. I’ve just hired it for the weekend. Although I was thinking of buying one and considering the fact that you love it, I might just do that.”

“Hey, don’t be buying anything on my account. You’ve got a car.”

“I’ve got two, actually, but there’s always room for more.”

“Two? What else do you have, besides the Bentley?”

“An Aston Martin DB9, but that’s just for fun really. I like these; they come out far better off in an accident so it would be perfect for when Maia is in the car.”

“No, no, no. Don’t you dare even think of buying a car for any benefit of mine or Maia’s. Besides, Maia will not often be in your car; everywhere in London is easier on foot or on the tube, why do you think I don’t have a car?”

“So you can drive?” Julian looked astonished at my revelation as his widened eyes, complete with raised brows, flashed across to my face.

“Lose the look, Julian,” I warned. “Of course I can drive; I just have no need to. Anyway, what’s Ryan doing? How come you left him at the plane?” The fact that Ryan was no longer with us had only just occurred to me.

“He’s got friends that live close by, he’s staying with them.”

My dad lived in Gif-Sur-Yvette – a small town just a few miles from the centre of Paris. It had the look and feel of a traditional French town, with plenty of greenery and idyllic scenery and, as he worked in the centre of Paris, was the perfect location for him.

Julian followed the instructions of the navigation system and in just under an hour, he slowed the car and stopped outside a black, iron gate.

“Is this the hotel?” I asked, feeling a little bewildered.

 It didn’t look like a typical hotel. Behind the iron gates I could make out a long driveway, surrounded by trees and greenery. At the end of the driveway stood a small looking house, or maybe it was just further away than I thought and so appeared small.

“It’s where we’ll be staying, yes.”

He punched a code into the keypad situated next to the gates and they slowly opened. I was right, this was definitely no hotel. It was a small house, made up of stone rather than the typical brick that you so often see in London, and was covered in greenery that climbed up around the small wooden framed windows. It looked like something straight out of a fairy tale.

“Do you like it?” Julian asked as the car stopped.

“It’s beautiful, Julian.” I reached over and cupped his cheek with my hand. “Thank you.”

He smiled sweetly and leaned in for a kiss, which, of course, I granted him.

The house certainly didn’t disappoint on the inside either. It was traditional, to say the least. The furnishings were all of chunky oak wood, the walls were all decorated in an ivory colour and large paintings hung from every single one. Throughout the entire house were plush, cream carpets that felt warm and cushioned under my feet. The living room housed two large, chocolate coloured sofas that both faced towards a burning fireplace.

“Julian, I don’t know what to say,” I gasped. It was incredible; there were no words to describe its beauty. It felt like home – all warm and cosy and completely inviting.

“You don’t need to say anything. I’m glad you like it.” He pressed a single kiss to my temple. “Shall we go and surprise your dad? We can go out to dinner, I’m sure he will know the best places.”

Maia jumped up and down in delight. “Granddad, Mummy. Granddad,” she repeated.

“I think that answers your question,” I laughed. “Maia, let’s go and change.”

I chose my berry coloured dress. I had no idea where my dad would recommend so I wanted to be dressed appropriately in case it was to be anywhere special – and knowing Julian, with all of his surprises today, it would be. The dress sculpted to my body and fell to just below my knees, effectively disguising their slightly bandy appearance. I slipped my feet into a pair of black stiletto shoes and added my black trench coat. With a final touch of make-up I was ready for the big surprise.

As I entered the living room, Julian’s eyes met mine briefly before wandering down the entire length of my body.

“Wow!” he choked.

I smiled shyly, my eyes lowering to the floor whilst he made his way across the room to where I stood.

“You look ravishing, Miss Braxton,” he whispered. “Although I’m not sure how you expect me to concentrate on making a good impression when you’re dressed like that. Maybe we should skip dinner,” he challenged as he stroked a gentle fingertip down my arm and eyed me wickedly.

“Behave, Julian,” I laughed, playfully smacking his hand away from my arm.

“Very well. Let’s just hope nobody wants dessert.”

His teeth nipped gently at my earlobe and my lower muscles tightened in response. I guess that now made two of us that would be struggling to concentrate for the entirety of the evening.

As the car came to a stop outside my dad’s house my stomach twisted with excitement. I couldn’t wait to see his face. I couldn’t wait to have him hug me tightly and tell me how much he had missed me as he always did. I had missed him so much. Life always seemed to feel absent of something without him around. I understood why he had felt the need to move to France, to run away, but that didn’t make it any easier.

I scooped Maia into my arms, resting her weight on my hip, and smoothed my fingers through my hair.

“You look beautiful, Emily. Stop worrying and ring the doorbell, would you?” Julian grinned almost from ear to ear before his face took on a more serious expression. “Would you rather I wait in the car, for now?”

“No, of course not.” His question shocked me. Was that the impression I was giving?

“Your dad won’t mind you showing up with a boyfriend?”

“No, Julian, he’ll be happy that I’m happy.”

“Great. Then what are we waiting for?”

I inhaled deeply, filling my lungs with the clean, crisp air and pressed my finger against the illuminated button. My heart leapt as I heard the sound of the latch releasing.

His eyes fixated on Julian first, his forehead creased deeply in confusion, before crossing to mine. His eyes widened and his mouth opened and closed rapidly as if he was speaking, but no words came out.

“Hey, Dad. Surprise!”

“Emily!” he sputtered, throwing his arms around Maia and me and squeezing firmly. “My god, I’ve missed you!”

And there it was. The moment I had been waiting for. I loved this man so very much.

“What...how...?”

“How about you invite us in and I’ll fill you in?” I chuckled, straining for a breath as he crushed me against him.

“Sure, sorry, Ems. Please, come in.” He held the door open wide and gestured us inside.

It had been over a year since I was last here but nothing seemed to have changed. It looked tidier and smelled cleaner but that was all. No dust appeared to be gathered between the photo frames filled with mine and my mother’s faces on the small cabinet. The throws on the back of the sofa and chair appeared to have changed and looked fresh. But every other detail remained the same. The large, incredibly old fashioned, red patterned rug still covered the oak wooden floorboards. The large, box-shaped television still stood on the same antique wooden cabinet. I didn’t realise these box televisions still existed – didn’t everyone have flat screens these days?

“Dad, this is my boyfriend, Julian.” I introduced once I realised I had spent too long examining my surroundings. “Julian, Dad. Although I’m sure he would prefer you to call him Henry.” I was desperately trying to show at least some humour to mask my nerves, but obviously humour wasn’t one of my strong points.

My dad eyed Julian curiously, seemingly studying his suit, right down to his shoes, before smiling politely at him. Although the smile didn’t appear to reach his eyes.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.” Julian stretched his arm out in my dad’s direction. “Mr Braxton, I assume?”

“Yep, that’s me. Please, call me Henry,” he replied as he returned Julian’s strong handshake, his eyes still narrowed slightly as he examined his fine face. “And how’s my little princess?” Dad turned his attention to Maia, taking her from my arms and hugging her tightly against his chest.

Watching them together – my two most cherished people – brought the familiar sting of tears to my eyes. Dad had struggled greatly to accept my choice of continuing with my pregnancy after my rape and I wasn’t sure he would ever accept Maia, but seeing them so close to one another, adoring one another, absolutely melted my core.

“Are you okay, baby?” Julian whispered, placing a firm hand at the small of my back.

“I’m fine, just ridiculously happy. Thank you!”

Julian’s answering smile almost made me weep. I swallowed hard against the lump that had formed in my throat. It was a smile that looked as if it came directly from his heart, and most certainly reached his intense eyes. He gazed at me adoringly, how a mother would gaze at her child at her first sight of him or her. In that very moment, I briefly allowed myself to believe that Julian Scott may actually love me.

As I watched Dad with Maia still firmly in his arms, I examined him more closely. He looked like he’d put on some weight. He had always had a strong, athletic build but since he had moved away I had watched him grow thinner and thinner with each visit. But now his face seemed fuller, younger somehow – even though his hair now seemed to be more silver than black. His arms and shoulders looked strong again under the thin material of his T-shirt. I smiled to myself. Maybe Dad had finally found his own happiness.

“So, how comes you’re here, Ems? Are you in some sort of trouble?” He sat down in the single grey armchair whilst offering me and Julian the sofa with his hand.

“No, Dad, no trouble this time,” I grinned. “I thought you’d like the surprise.” I tried to hide the disappointment in my voice as I spoke and masked my threatening frown with a smile.

“Of course I’m glad you’re here. I’m just shocked, that’s all and wondering what’s brought it on?”

“I was telling Julian how you lived here and how I hadn’t seen you in a while so he offered to bring us here. He wanted to meet you in person.” I blushed slightly as I realised I had just shifted the awkward focus onto Julian – unintentionally of course. I glanced at Julian with sympathetic eyes and he smiled warmly in response.

“You two are serious then, are you?” Dad’s eyes flicked to Julian, then back to me again.  

Shit! How was I going to answer that without making a fool of myself? I opened my mouth to speak but Julian beat me to it.

“I think very highly of your daughter, Mr Braxton. She is an incredible young woman, and yes, I am certainly serious about our relationship. I just wanted to meet the man in her life and hopefully gain his approval. Then I’ll know she’s happy.”

Whoa!
I released my held breath and glanced over to Julian, desperately trying to hide the obvious joy from my face. I had no idea Julian was serious about me, and he had chosen his moment to reveal this information in front of my father – where I couldn’t run to him, couldn’t wrap my arms eagerly around him.

My dad simply smiled tightly and nodded in response to Julian’s declaration. If I didn’t know him better I would say he was embarrassed by the honesty in Julian’s statement.

“How long have you known you were coming? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“We only decided this afternoon.”

“This afternoon? You sure got here quickly.”

“Yeah, um, Julian flew us here.”

“I thought it might impress her, but instead I scared the life out of her,” Julian added, grinning widely.

“Flew her here, hey?” Dad muttered quietly, more to himself than anyone else. “So why the sudden visit? You got something you want to tell me, Ems?”

“Dad! No! I told you, Julian wanted to meet you, that’s all. And I’ve missed you.”

“So, no babies? No marriage?”

My mouth dropped open in sheer humiliation.

“No, Mr Braxton,” Julian laughed. “At least, not yet, anyway.”

Dad’s eyebrows shot up in astonishment, as did my own. What? Babies and marriage?

“Relax, I’m joking.” Julian squeezed my knee gently as his mouth turned up in amusement.

“Well then, any man who can fly my daughter to another country in an afternoon just to meet her old dad certainly gets my approval.”

Thank goodness for that! I hadn’t noticed Julian’s unease until his tensed posture visibly relaxed at my side.

“We were hoping you might join us for dinner, Mr Braxton.”

“Ah...um... Well I wasn’t expecting you so I kind of already have plans. Let me just make a quick call and I’ll see what I can sort out.”

As Dad left the room, with Maia following closely, Julian’s strong arm snaked around my waist, pulling me closer and against his turned chest. He smelled divine. I inhaled deeply as I pushed my nose against his shirt.

“You smell lovely,” I murmured.

“Thank you. And you smell and look more than lovely.” He nestled his nose into my hair before nipping gently at my ear, sending a shiver down my spine. “I can’t wait to get you into bed this evening,” he whispered close to my ear, his sweet breath rasping against my cheek.