Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 85135 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85135 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
“I like you kissing me,” she replies.
I press my lips to hers again and our tongues slide together, the sensation something like the feeling I had when I summitted Kilimanjaro or saw my first blue whale. I want to capture this moment in time and relive it my entire life.
We pull apart but our gazes stay locked. Neither of us needs to speak. It’s like we both know that something between us has shifted here in Norfolk. I’m not sure if she’s dropped her guard since being out of London or if I’m slightly different when I’m with my family, but things have turned from fun to…kinda beautiful.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” I say.
“I’m so glad you invited me.”
“Let’s walk back to Blakeney.”
“Can I confess something?”
Excitement swirls in my gut. I’m not quite sure why.
“When we passed in the car, I spotted a shop I’d like to stop in.”
I laugh. “Okay, let’s go and find it.”
Vivian knows exactly where the shop is. As I follow her inside, she pulls off her gloves and starts browsing the glass cabinets full of jewelry. “Is it too much if I buy your mom and the girls something?”
“I don’t know. What did you have in mind?”
“This necklace,” she says, pointing at a gold necklace with a sycamore leaf pendant hanging from it. “Can I take a closer look at this?” she asks the shopkeeper, whose hair is piled on top of her head so abundantly, I think there’s an eighty percent possibility there’s a bird nesting in there.
“Of course.” She pushes her red-framed glasses to the top of her head and grins like we’re her favorite people. She takes the necklace from the cabinet and places it on a flat blue cloth on the counter.
“It’s lovely. Heavy. I love the detail.” Vivian turns her head to me and I nod in agreement. “And it’s gold?”
“A solid nine carats.”
“Is it your only one?” she asks.
“Let me check.” The shopkeeper crouches and starts rummaging in the drawers beneath the cabinet. “I have more.” She stands and puts a small box on the counter.
“I was actually hoping you had…four.” Vivian slides her eyes to mine. “That’s right, isn’t it? Your mom, Madison, Sutton and Kate.”
“It’s very generous,” I say. “And completely unnecessary.”
“But they’re so lovely. The women and the necklaces…and I’d really like to treat them. You think it will look too flashy?”
My reply sticks in my throat. I’m so moved that she sees what I see in my family and that she’s considering them. She’s generous, but not just in monetary terms. Her care for them is a gift. I shake my head in reply. “They’ll love it.”
She beams back at me and turns her attention back to the jewelry. “Do you have four?”
“I think I do.” She disappears again as she crouches. “Yes. Four and the one on display, so that’s good luck.”
“Fantastic.” Vivian gasps. “This. This. It’s so beautiful.” She points at a ring under the glass that looks like a thin leaf of a weeping willow has been dipped in gold and wound in a spiral. Glancing back at me, she says. “Do you like it?”
I nod. “Yeah, it’s pretty. But anything would look pretty on you.” I drop a kiss on her temple and the shopkeeper lets out a quiet awww.
“You two on honeymoon?”
“Not quite yet,” I answer, and Vivian laughs.
“Can I try it on?” Vivian asks.
“You can, but I need to warn you that it’s the only one I have. I only got one in.”
She hands it to Vivian, who tries it on her middle finger, but it’s too small.
“I think it would look prettier on your ring finger,” the shopkeeper says.
Vivian tries it on her right finger and then pauses before she tries it on her left.
“Does it fit?” I ask.
“On my left ring finger,” she replies.
I nod. “Then I should buy it for you.”
A grin unfurls on her face. “Really?”
I shrug. “Absolutely.”
“Can I wear it right away?”
I chuckle. “If you want to.”
She slides it onto her left ring finger, then holds her finger out, looking at it admiringly. “I love it.” She stands on tiptoes and presses a kiss to my cheek. “Thank you.”
I pay for her ring and she pays for the necklaces for my mother and sisters-in-law, and we head back to the car.
“You know, people might start to think I’m more than just your boyfriend, what with you sporting a ring on that particular finger. You okay with that?”
She narrows her eyes. “I’m okay with that. Are you okay with that?”
Sensation blooms in my chest and I’m not quite sure what it is. Pleasure? Happiness? Contentment?
Maybe it’s all those things mixed together.
I shrug. “I’m okay with that.”
Vivian grins. Her rosy cheeks get a tiny bit rosier.
“You did such good peeling yesterday, you’re bound to be put on potato duty today, fair warning.” I scoop up her hand while we walk.