Page 104 of The Vow We Made
Victoria smiles and waves over to him. “I’m guessing you roped him into this?”
“Come on, get a move on,” he calls from the cab window and her smile leads the way. Will receives a kiss to his cheek when he gets out and opens the door for her, a role reserved for me, but today, I’ll let him off.
We hit some traffic, so our journey takes slightly longer than planned but we’re still in the cab less than fifteen minutes when Will announces, “Alright you two, here you go.”
Victoria stares at me as if Will’s gone mad, probably because she’s expecting a restaurant for lunch. “Out you get then,” I tell her.
“What are we doing here?” she asks stepping onto the residential street and scanning the row of white and cream terraced houses.
“I want to show you something.”
“I’ll pick you up in a couple of hours,” Will shouts from his cab.
“Thanks Will, see you later,” I shout while taking her hand and leading her through a waist-high, black iron gate. The grand doorway hosts a puzzle of black and white tiles leading up to the impressively large front with a lion-faced knocker. I take the key out of my pocket and enter.
“Whose house is this?” she asks, but I don’t answer and instead, lead her silently through to the kitchen-diner at the back of the house. There’s no furniture in this room, only the newly fitted and very high spec kitchen. There’s room for a dining table and maybe a TV area. The possibilities are endless, but right now, it’s playing host to a picnic blanket, hamper, champagne and two glasses.
“What’s going on?” she asks, giving me the side eye for the second time today.
“Lunch.” I pull her hand towards the blanket while she takes in the room around her. I pop the cork, filling our glasses while trying to stop a stupid grin spreading across my face.
“Aiden, what is all this and why are we here?”
Taking a large gulp of Champagne, I gesture for her to sit and she does in typical Victoria fashion, cross-legged.
I settle down beside her. “I’m thinking of buying this place.”
She appraises the room from her seated position and although there isn’t much to see just yet, she seems to be taking in every inch of it. “It’s beautiful, I mean someone has obviously spent a lot of time doing it up.”
“Someone we know actually. It’s a Georgie and Marcus development. They’re putting it on the market in the next couple of weeks, but they’ve given me first refusal.”
“And you want my opinion?” she asks.
I squeeze her hand. “You could say that.”
There’s a half smile to her face, maybe she’s guessing.
“How about we take a look around and you can tell me if you like it or not?”
A laugh falls from her mouth, her eyes are wide and she shakes her head. “You don’t need my approval Aiden. If you like it, go for it.”
I help her up from the floor. “I know, but your opinion is important to me.You’reimportant to me and I’m thinking about the future.”
“You are?” she says while following me into the lounge and taking in impressive sash windows that let in the maximum amount of light.
“I’m always thinking ahead, especially when it comes to you.” She tilts her head to the side and her eyes widen, but I continue with the tour. “There isn’t much to see, it’s a blank canvas.” I hold her hand while all the time, I’m thinking over exactly what to say.
She seems to be taking in every renovated ceiling rose and cornice as she dances excitedly around the three bedrooms and master suite which has its own bathroom and dressing area. “Since you’re in such a good mood, there’s something else I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Okay.”
“I’ve been approached about going into a new venture. It would mean my own practice and as I’ve been considering a move from the hospital for a while, it could make sense.”
Her brows knit together and there’s a slight pout to her gorgeous mouth. “What? No, Aiden, you love that hospital.”
“But if I carry on working the sort of hours I do right now, I’ll be burned out before I hit my forties, plus I want more time for us.”
She ponders for a moment. “I can’t argue with your logic but are you sure it’s what you want?” She continues to wander from room to room, fingering each door frame and eyeing every inch of space.
