Three Thousand Miles (45 page)

“Because I am the one who does all the wrong things and I am the one that causes the drama. I need to say sorry for what I put you through.” I lean forward and grab onto Adrian he looks down at the floor and then he returns his eyes to mine.

“Adrian, don’t think like that, without you I am nothing. Without this smile, without these hands, without those eyes I am lost.”

“I don’t deserve you but… I love you,” Adrian whispers as he kisses me. I pull back from him.

“You deserve every part of me and I love you too.”

Twenty-Four

The next morning I wake to an empty bed. I sit up carefully as I have a twinge of pain from my wound. I gently hold onto my stomach area as I gaze around the room. Adrian is sitting by the window as he talks on his phone. Adrian did
not sleep much last night in fact I do not think he did at all. I tossed and turned as I waited for him to come to bed however, he did not and I fell asleep alone. I slowly get out of bed and Adrian notices that I am up. He ends his call as he signals for me to come over to him. I reach him and he pulls me onto his lap. I look at his face and he seems sad. His eyes are heavy and his hair is messy. He has not shaved and he is wearing a plain black t-shirt and his blue jeans. He places his phone onto the table and then he catches my face in his grasp.

“Good morning beautiful,” he says as he kisses me.

“Morning,” I say as I pull back from him. “What are we doing today?” I ask as I push my hair form my face.

“Brunch is first on the
list ,so
go and get dressed.” I touch his cheek gently as I rise from his lap.

I make my way into the bathroom and I quickly take a shower. I wrap my robe around me as I head back into the room. Adrian stares as I walk past him and I feel his eyes burning through me. My face flushes hot and I try to compose myself as I begin to rummage through my clothes. I throw a few things onto the bed and I sigh as I try to choose my outfit. I glance at him and he quickly gets up from his seat. He walks over to me and gently lifts a pair of white skinny jeans from the bed. He takes my carry bag from me and he begins to search through the clothes. I watch as he chooses a pink checked shirt and a short, green tweed jacket. He smiles at me as I gaze at him.

“Baby you will look amazing in this,” he says as he hands me the clothing. I briefly smile at him and then I take the clothes. I make my way back into the bathroom and I quickly change into the clothes that Adrian has picked out. I look at myself in the mirror and to my surprise I like what I see. The white jeans are flattering and the pink shirt looks sheer against their fabric. I fling my hair down my back and I put on my necklace from Adrian. I quickly apply some make up and then I walk back into the room. Adrian smiles as he sees me and glides over to my side. He gently touches my face as he wrinkles his forehead.

“Baby, you look amazing but I would like to take you in that bathroom and scrub off that makeup.” I roll my eyes at him and then I realise that he hates it when I do.

“I need to wear makeup after the night I had last night.”

“You are crazy now please wash it off.” I stare at him in amazement and I automatically think that he is joking. However, something in his eyes tells me that he is not.

“Are you serious?” I ask firmly.

“Yes, now please wash it off.” I resist the urge to roll my eyes as I give in and loosen myself from him. I march into the bathroom and I quickly wash my face. I scowl as I enter the room and see that Adrian is beaming.

“Now that is much better your beauty was hidden under that slap.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I say sarcastically as Adrian takes me by the hand. We walk out into the hallway and Emma is standing at the door of her room.

“Hey, I was just coming to find you; I think that we are late for brunch.” She says as she approaches us.

“No, we have plenty time,” Adrian reassures her.

We walk briskly down the stairs and into the large dining room. I nervously scowl the table, as I am yet to see Zara in the flesh. However, I am still waiting, as she is not here and neither is Chad. Mr Jenkins sits at the head of the table with Tabatha next to him. Michael sits further along and he is next to an older woman who I am guessing is his grandma. There are many other people at the table, extended family and friends. A few of them I met yesterday and the others remain strangers to me. Adrian, Emma and I take our seats at the grand table and my seat is directly facing Michael. Adrian is next to me and Emma is next to him. The server rushes over to us and quickly pours us tea. Adrian takes a massive swig as he focuses his eyes on Mr Jenkins.

“Are we expecting anyone else?” Adrian asks in a rough voice. Mr Jenkins quickly responds.

“Chad, Zara and William will be down soon.”

“Who is William?” Adrian asks firmly.

“William is their son,” Adrian scowls at Michael as he tries to process this information.

“I didn’t know that they had a child.” Adrian reassures Mr Jenkins.

“You and me both, they he just showed up with the boy yesterday and surprised the life out of us.” Tabatha adds. I am sensing that Adrian is a little uncomfortable about this subject and I fear why.

“How old is the child?” Adrian asks firmly.                      

“William is almost five,” Adrian exhales and I watch as the colour drains from his face. I feel that something is wrong but I don’t know what. I stare at him, hoping that I can figure it out. My eyes instantly draw away from him as Chad and his family enter the room. My heart is pounding at the sight of them and at the sight of Zara. She walks in with her head in the air. Her grace is impeccable and her dress sense is magnificent. She is dressed in a tight black skirt and red blouse. Her dark blonde hair is perfectly draped down her back and her dark blue eyes have a sparkle to them. Her face looks stressed and she seems older than thirty-six. Chad is dressed in black and I gasp when I see the child. He is a small child with light brown hair, his little round face is plump and his clothes are extra smart. He is dressed in light brown chinos and a black Ralph Lauren sweater. However, it is not his hair or his clothes that made me gasp, it was his eyes. They are bright green and glowing. I stare deeply into the little boys eyes and then I gaze at Adrian. His face is white as he stares at the boy.

“Welcome, please sit.” Mr Jenkins instructs his son and his wife. They sit and I try not to make eye contact. The servers begin to dish out the food and I carefully begin to eat. The table is silent but Mr Jenkins has the courage to break it.

“Now, how is everyone?” Michael is the first to answer.

“Well, I am doing
great,
don’t know about the rest of you.” I shoot him a little smile and he quickly returns my gesture.

“I am also good, but may I ask who our guests are?” My heart races at the sound of Zara’s posh voice. Mr Jenkins nervously clears his throat as he tries to answer her question.

“These are our American friends from New York, Alanna and Emma.”

“Yes dear, the dark haired one is Adrian’s sister and the blonde is his girlfriend.” Chad quickly informs his wife. Zara smirks as she stares at us. She briefly smiles at Emma and then she focuses her eyes on me. She tilts her head to one side as she takes in my looks. She briefly gazes at Adrian and then back to me again. Her eyes are dark blue and have a sense of evil in them. She smirks deeply as if she knows some private joke that no one else does. I feel uneasy as her eyes fix on mine. I conclude that Zara might be trying to intimidate me so I desperately try to show her that I am strong so I break the silence between us.

“I don’t believe we have met, I am Alanna and you must be Zara? I have heard so much about you.” Her smirk fades as she takes in my bittersweet words.

“You have? That’s funny I haven’t heard a word about you.” She quickly fires back. I am stunned by her forwardness and now I am beginning to get angry with her.

“Really?
Can’t think why, after all I am Adrian’s girlfriend and Michael’s close friend. Did your husband not tell you that we met yesterday?” I say harshly. She tries to search for something to say but she cannot. Chad is glaring at me and I feel Adrian’s hand on mine. The tension is building and Mr Jenkins tries desperately to clear it.

“Now that we have all met, let’s talk about the party tonight.”

The next half hour of my life consists of mindless chitchat between family members and, on my part, pure hatred of Zara. I can honestly say that I have never met anyone like her - and not in a good way. She is rude and obnoxious, she seems ultra-selfish and she does not even feed her son even though he asked her four times to help. She talks freely about her family and their trips. Her designer clothing and her sports car and it
is
obvious that she cares about no-one but herself. She never mentions her little boy when she talks about all
the wonderful things that she is doing. One would think since she is a mother she would surely give her son a mention when she talks about her passions in life. However, she claims that Art is her main craving and she could not live without it. This woman sickens me to the core and I despise her. I gaze at William as he nibbles at his food. His huge green eyes are glowing like a little lost cat. His plump cheeks are rosy and have dimples on them. He smiles at me and I cannot take in this child’s beauty. I look at him again as I try to conclude who he looks more like – his mother or father. He has similar features to his mother but he does not share her eye colour. I quickly look at Chad and I try to see what features the child got from him. However, I cannot find one. His hair is so dark and his eyes are a darker shade of blue. Chad has very strong features - his nose is quite large and his lips are very full. But as I stare at him more I soon realise that the little boy does not resemble him in anyway.

“Alanna are you finished eating?” Adrian says quietly. I finally manage to tear my eye from the child as I turn to Adrian.

“Yes,” I all I can say. Adrian takes me by the hand as he gets up from his seat. Emma quickly follows us and so does Michael.

“Charles, Tabatha thanks for a lovely brunch.” Adrian says smartly to his adoptive parents.

“Wait, are you not joining us for shooting?” Charles asks in a firm voice. Adrian looks at me and he briefly shakes his head.

“No sorry, I am spending the day with Alanna,”

“Don’t be sorry you kids have fun and we will see you tonight at the party.”

Adrian and I quickly walk out of the room and I make sure that I do not look at Zara. However, I can feel her eyes burning through us so I tightly hold onto Adrian until we are out of the room. We walk along the hallway, followed by Michael and Emma. Adrian notices them and he soon pauses.

“What are you doing?” He asks rather bitterly and I feel that he is angry again. Michael rolls his eyes at him, as Emma stands motionless.

“I don’t know where to go, I don’t know anyone.” Emma says in a weak voice. Adrian quickly smiles at his sister and then he looks at Michael.

“Michael why don’t you show my sister around,” Michael eyes dart to Emma and she wrinkles her face at the idea.

“I am sorry I haven’t introduced myself, I am Michael.” He says in a sexy voice. Emma narrows her eyes at him.

“Yes, I know who you are,” she says in a harsh tone. Michael is surprised by her reaction and he quickly tries to respond.

“Well that’s saved time, now would you like to accompany me today?” Emma looks at me and I give her a gentle look in the right direction. She sighs and then she gives in.

“If I must,” Michael smiles at her and then he tries to take her arm in his. However, Emma pulls away from him and flashes him an annoyed look. Adrian smirks at her reaction and then he leads me along the hallway once again. I look back at Emma and Michael and I smile.

“Do you like horses?” Adrian asks as he walks me over to a beautiful black horse. I smile at him as I gently begin to stroke the animal.

“Yes I do,” Adrian, laughs gently at me.

“This is Diamond; she is my prize winning horse.” I move closer to the horse and Adrian moves closer to me. He stands behind me and he gently takes my hand and places it onto the black skin of Diamond.

“Feel her coat, isn’t she wonderful?” I gaze at the animal and I agree. Her coat is so soft and shiny and her eyes are sparkling.

“She is beautiful,”

“Would you like to ride her?” I turn around to him and I smile.

“Only if you do too,” he laughs at me and then he lifts me onto the horse. Adrian quickly climbs onto the horse and he gently wraps his arms around me.
I lean down and gently stroke the coat of the animal as Adrian instructs her to move.

Diamond slowly begins to walk and then her pace builds. We are now gently galloping through the trees of the country estate. The cool air is blowing through my hair and my cheeks are numb from the temperature. The view is amazing and with Adrian’s arms around me, this truly feels like magic.

Adrian instructs Diamond to halt as we come to a small, stone built bridge. Adrian jumps from the horse and then he reaches out for me. I lunge into his arms as I get off the horse. I blush a little at his touch and then I compose myself. I stare at my surroundings and the beauty stuns me. The trees are light green and I can hear the birds singing. Over to my right is the bridge and I hear a steady stream of water. The sun breaks through the trees and Adrian is standing in light. His eyes and face is so beautiful that I almost lose my breath. He moves closer to me and he gently places his hand onto my neck. He peels back my hair and he kisses my skin softly. I close my eyes at his touch and I lose myself in him.