Single Dad on Top (Complete Series Boxed Set) by J.J. Knight

Author:J.J. Knight [J.J. Knight]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-05-31T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 37

Dell

The inn starts to empty out at dusk. Arianna and I watch them head out, car by car, from a porch swing at the front of the building.

“Look at the dresses,” Arianna says. “Look at the hair!” She seems stunned by all the elegance and beauty walking by. She has no idea she has them all beat.

“I didn’t even get to see the gown Paul-Simon and Michel chose for you,” I say.

Arianna feeds Grace her last bottle of the evening. She’s been sleeping better, long stretches of six hours. Even on the plane she only woke once.

“Well, she’s out,” Arianna says, setting the bottle between us.

“No sailor burp?” I ask.

“She’s doing better on this formula,” she says. “I’ll pat her a little but try not to wake her.”

Another problem solved. I assume others will arise. This teething thing everyone talks about. It sounds abominable. Walking. Falling. Nursery school. Her first boyfriend.

I’ll kill him. Murder him with my bare hands if he so much as touches her.

“What’s got you so worked up?” Arianna asks. She gestures to my balled-up fists.

“Nothing,” I say. “I arranged for dinner in our room. Might as well make it a nice night since we’re missing the big soirée.”

“That sounds wonderful,” she says. “I feel like we’ve been on the run for days.”

She hesitates, then asks, “So if the Duke doesn’t know about you and the Duchess, why did he kick you out?”

“He wanted me to buy a business he had plunged into fatal debt. I refused.”

“So just business?”

“Just business.”

A young woman with a white apron steps out. “Your dinner is in your room when you are ready,” she says.

We stand up. “Thank you,” I tell her.

I take the baby from Arianna. We head up the back stairs.

The room looks magical, just as I asked. White lights are strung throughout it. The window is open wide to the approaching night, the breeze blowing the curtains. A table is set nearby, two chairs and candles.

“I thought this might be the best we can do since we’re miles from anywhere and have a baby,” I say.

Arianna turns to me. Her sundress whirls in pale yellow. It makes her look like a goddess. The curls she meticulously straightened at the hotel in Paris this morning have fought back and won, framing her face with tendrils.

“It’s beautiful!” she says, slipping into a chair. “Oh!”

I set the baby in her bucket on a small sofa in the corner of the room. It’s definitely no suite, with little space for walking around. But it’s not an impersonal hotel either. The walls have blue and gold wallpaper. The frame around the window is hand carved.

Women like these details, I know. Especially someone like Arianna. She appreciates everything. I want to give her things that make her feel that joy.

I pour each of us a glass of wine.

Arianna’s face is awash with happiness. “This is the best night I’ve had in a while,” she says. “Everything looks perfect.” She picks up her knife and fork.

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.