Marshall: Mayfair Model Series by Castle Claire

Author:Castle, Claire
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-03-12T16:00:00+00:00

19

MARSHALL

I contemplated how my whole mood had changed simply by being in Stuart’s company. My demeanour had improved and it felt so good to make each other laugh. The banter flowed easily, and it was unlike anything I’d ever experienced with another person.

Walking in the fresh air and being away from the city was refreshing; though having Stuart at my side but not holding his hand was pure torture. We strolled together while Jess trotted along on a small path that wandered parallel to the road.

“It’s lovely out here,” Stuart said. “So peaceful. It reminds me of Inverochtie a bit. I love the city, don’t get me wrong, but this is nice too.” His hand brushed mine and I jumped to the side.

“Sorry. Sorry. It’s not you. Well, it is, but … Fuck, I’m so shit at this.”

“I just need to know one thing?” He turned to face me. “Do you want to … Do you wish you could hold my hand?” Stuart’s gaze didn’t waver as he asked me.

“More than anything,” I told him.

“Okay, then that’s all that matters.” He strutted ahead with Jess and I stared at the two of them. They were both so important to me, but at what cost? No, I wasn’t going to answer that, because they were worth it all, at any cost.

“Come on, let’s go.”

I took a few larger strides and caught up to them. “I’m going to, I mean … I want to be ready, you know, to be the true me. I know you don’t realize it, Stuart, but you’re making me need, no want, to be true to myself. I’ve been hiding because I’ve been scared. I am scared. But as the days go by, I’m starting to care less and less. One day, it’ll happen. I know it.”

“Well, I never thought I’d be spending all this time holding out for a moody model, so that makes two of us.”

We reached the town shop and I stayed outside with Jess, moving foot to foot as Stuart ran into the store. I was being ridiculous. If anyone did come up to me, I could just try and ignore them and speed up as usual. No, I knew that wasn’t my issue. I was afraid they’d know exactly what I’d gotten up to with Stuart, which was ridiculous since I wasn’t ashamed. I sighed as Jess let out a whimper. “It’s okay, Jess.” She licked my hand when I bent down to pet her.

Just then, Stuart walked out armed with a large bag. “This,” he looked around and lowered his voice, seeing no one around, “is our stash. And we can work it off later. I got your favourite and mine—liquorice allsorts, always has to be Bassett’s.” He winked and started to walk towards the cottage.

How could I not smile at his joy? I couldn’t even remember the last time I had laughed so much and took part in humour and whimsy. “Wait, did you get mint chocolate chip ice cream,” I called to him.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.