I took the bouquet, unable to hide my smile. “Bit rough, isn’t it?”
He laughed. “It’s my proudest bouquet. I picked it.” It was my most cherished bouquet for the same reason. He wasn’t making this easy for me at all. What was I going to do? He didn’t need to be giving me flowers, he needed to be on his way back to London. Now.
27
Niall
My feet pounded the ground as I ran the trail through the grass. The sun was still a couple of hours away from setting, casting my shadow out long in front of me. I huffed, wiping sweat from my forehead as I ran back towards the village. I hated running, or at least I thought I did. I never really did it back in New York, but that might have just been because I was back in New York.
Of course, most people went to the parks to run but it was still not the same. Once you left the park, you were back in the unforgiving concrete jungle. There was air pollution, traffic, people who would knock you down walking and not even look back over their shoulder to make sure you didn’t die. I always kept my workouts to gyms when I was in the city. Belshire, as it turned out, to the surprise of absolutely no one, did not have a gym. That was okay though because I was making it work.
It must have been that fresh country air. The quiet and friendly people. The trails through unspoiled land where you could be alone with nature. The fact that Eddy was only a stone’s throw away might have also had something to do with how good I had been feeling lately. I had been here for a week and it was starting to feel like home. Since deciding to relocate, I had gone back to London once, only to formally check out of the hotel and grab the rest of my things. After shopping for a few essentials, I had settled into my new address above the tavern. I started running almost immediately. The peace and quiet that you got here was out of this world. I didn't realize it could be so quiet in the place that was still technically full of people. I slowed down as I came up to the tavern and then stopped, walking in.
“You alright?” Ben, the barkeep asked me.
“Never better, I told him. Any luck on the wine I ordered?” He pulled out the two bottles of red that I specifically asked him to get in for me.
“Lucky you asked me for these, otherwise I never would have been able to sell them.” I took them and thanked him, having made the payment in advance. They were for tonight. In addition to the new routines I was building out here in Belshire, seeing Eddy every day was one of them. If I couldn't see her, we at the very least talked on the phone. I remembered how surprised she was to hear from me the day after I moved in. I didn’t think she thought I was going last long living here. Maybe she didn't think I was serious, but that was the point, to teach her that I was. And besides, living without a fleet of staff at my beck and call seemed to be doing me some good.
What was better than getting out of your comfort zone and learning to be really appreciative of the things you had? I had a lot of things and I wanted to share every last one of them with Eddy. I walked into my little flat. I had done a little renovation since moving in. Ben didn't care what I did to the place as long as I didn't damage it irreversibly. I had replaced the stove, mattress, and the curtains. I had put in heating, so it wasn’t so blasted cold anymore. I had replaced some of the furniture pieces and next, I was thinking of redoing the walls. I wanted to show Eddy the progress that I had made on the place, but whenever we spent time together, she refused to come back to the flat with me, refusing at the same time to invite me to the estate.
It seemed almost juvenile, but kind of in a good way. We were like two teenagers who couldn't go to each other's houses and had to get creative in other ways. It had been a long time since I had dated someone like this. Usually, I wasn't that good with follow-up, but Eddy was worth it. I was done looking. It was Eddy or bust from now on. I was expecting her in a few hours in fact. She had finally agreed to a date at my place, on the condition that it would only be a dinner date and nothing more. I used the fact that I had been doing some renovations to lure her over. Whatever it took.
Seriously, whatever it took. Besides the wine, I had hired a chef to come in and cook our meal. No, there were no personal chefs operating in Belshire; I had checked and not many from the surrounding towns and nearby cities were willing to come all the way unless the money was worth it. I understood the sentiment; they were being handsomely compensated. They arrived minutes after I did, setting to work as I got into the shower and were done thirty minutes after I was finished. I was pulling out all the stops. Belshire left a lot to be desired in terms of romance. Nothing really in the way of restaurants or interesting couple activities. I wondered how children were born here. I wasn’t working with much, but I was doing my best. I had a good feeling that it was working.
Things were moving at a comfortable pace with Eddy, but I felt like she was holding things back from me. I didn't want the fact that we were in Belshire to make her feel like she couldn't get treated like the queen she was. I wanted tonight to be different. I told her not to
dress up since it was just the two of us but when I opened the door, she was in a beautiful black dress that just skimmed her knees and her hair was beautifully curled.
“Eddy, you look beautiful,” I told her.
“Thank you. I wasn't so sure about what to wear. I know this place doesn't have a dress code, but I was afraid of what I might see when I showed up.”
I stood aside to let her in. “Well then, I hope you're in for a pleasant surprise.”
The room wasn't much. It was little more than a sitting room, a small bedroom, and the kitchen. It was even sadder by way of furnishing even though I had made a couple of improvements here and there. I wanted to give her the best. I had the means to do that, but we were going to have to work up to that. The curtains were different and though I hadn't replaced the old sofa, it was amazing what a good thorough cleaning did. What I originally thought was a gray sofa was actually cream in color. I put a new rug on the floor and a little coffee table over it which upped the appeal of the room at least seventy-five percent. I had also used some of the space for a little dining area close to the kitchen since there hadn't been one before. The table was small but just big enough to fit two people. Our meal was ready, already set out for us.
“Wow,” Eddy said as I took her coat.
“And this is just the beginning.”
“You really are something, you know. You couldn't last even a week slumming it here in Belshire. You needed all your trappings of your usual life to cope.”
“What's wrong with that?”
“I'm just saying, it wouldn't kill you to be humble.”
“Luxury isn't a bad thing.”
“Living simply isn't a bad thing either.”
“I think more people should be able to enjoy luxury. Really, it's a shame that it's reserved for such a small percentage of the population. You deserve to enjoy luxury. I don't know why you keep pushing me away when I try to shower at on you.”
“I'm not spoiled. I don't need spoiling.”
“Unfortunately. Wasn’t that what your family intended for you when they let you marry Russell? A baron?”
She laughed. “I think they just wanted the prestige because the luxury was more so indicated on paper than in real life. But it’s fine. I didn’t need it. Still don’t.”