Summary: MC Elizabeth Richmond couldn’t wait to spend the day with Drake before she got a disappointing message.
With the morning light playing softly across her bedroom, Elizabeth Richmond woke up feeling unexpectedly cheerful. As her mind took a moment to adjust to the notion of wakefulness, she smiled, remembering the reason for her joy.
Today was Valentine’s Day.
More accurately it was the first Valentine’s Day that she and Drake would be spending together.
The thought of spending an entire day with the man she loved filled her with such a rush of elation and she couldn’t hold back a squeal of excitement, feeling like a teenager again. She toyed with the idea of calling him but after glancing at the clock decided against it, knowing he would probably be asleep at this early hour.
As Elizabeth prepared herself for the day, her eyes wandered to the pile of Drake’s clothes stacked on her dresser. He’d been spending most nights with her in her manor in Atlantea and lately she’d been toying with the idea of asking him to move in with her. However they hadn’t been together very long so this would be a big step in their relationship. She just hoped that she wasn’t moving too fast. Feeling her inhibitions creeping back in, Elizabeth eyed herself in the vanity, resolving ask Drake today over lunch. With a firm nod, she gave her dark locks a final brush before heading out to buy a gift for her Valentine.
Her first stop had been at the bottle store, knowing without a doubt that a good bottle of whiskey would never be turned down by Drake Walker. She’d smiled to herself when she saw a bronze flask in the window of the neighbouring shop, knowing it would fit perfectly into the pocket of his jeans at the next court meeting. After getting it engraved, she couldn’t help but feel a bit cliche at her choice of gifts.
Surely I could do better than that..
After almost two hours of searching, Elizabeth concluded that her boyfriend was the hardest person in the world to shop for. Everything was either too extravagant, too ornate or too impractical. She was just about to leave when something in the window of the jewellers caught her eye. Though Drake abhorred dressing up for courtly affairs, Elizabeth couldn’t resist the pair of emerald cufflinks that sparkled in the fluorescent lighting, already imagining how well it would compliment his dark eyes.
‘Good afternoon Fenya,’ Elizabeth cheerily greeted her housekeeper when she returned home.
‘Good afternoon Your Grace,’ the shorter woman replied, returning her smile as she pushed forward a chocolate croissant, her favourite pastry. ‘I trust the shopping trip went well?‘
Elizabeth marvelled for a moment at the perceptive ability of her staff. They had barely been in her employ for two months but seemed to know all her preferences so well.
’It was. Thank you Fenya. And please its just Elizabeth.’
The motherly housekeeper shifted, smiling politely. ‘Mr Walker came by this morning ma’am, he left a note for you.’
Elizabeth could feel herself brighten at his name and she immediately jumped up to take the cream envelope, unable to contain herself as she slipped out the pale pink card, eyes immediately recognising Drake’s scrawling script.
Richmond,
I know how excited you are to spend the day together but by the time you get this I will be on a plane to Italy. There was some important business that needed taking care of. I’m sorry. I hope you understand.
Drake.
As she read the letter, her elated mood seemed to deflate like an overfilled balloon, a deep sense of disappointment took its place. She knew Drake wouldn’t have cancelled on her if it wasn’t extremely important but some part of her selfishly begrudged the issue.
I mean, its our first Valentines together. Couldn’t it wait?
Her housekeeper’s voice cut through her brooding, bringing her back to reality. ‘Should I continue the preparations for lunch this afternoon, madam?’
She had planned to have a quiet picnic on the grounds of her estate and keeping the rest of the day free, knowing Drake’s penchant for spontaneity. In truth, she could be stuck with him in the middle of the ocean on an iceberg and she would still be happy.
‘That-that won’t be necessary Fenya,’ Elizabeth replied in a low voice, her shoulders slumping. ‘He’s not coming.’
The statement seemed like a final seal on the matter, closing off any avenue for intervention. Elizabeth briefly considered calling her best friend Hana Lee but abandoned the idea, knowing that Hana and Maxwell would probably be in the middle of their own celebrations.
At a loss of what to do, she spent the day in her office, answering correspondence, signing agreements and attending to her duchess duties in an effort to get forestall the unavoidable feeling of loneliness. To make matters worse, there had been radio silence from Drake and while she pushed herself to accept that he was probably caught up with courtly affairs, she couldn’t help feeling a little bit neglected. When the thought occurred to her, she mentally shoved it aside, chiding herself for feeling so childish. The clock had just chimed five when her phone buzzed from under all the papers strewn across her desk and Elizabeth lunged for it, hoping it would be from Drake but was perplexed when the screen displayed Kiara’s name.
‘Hello Kiara,’ she answered. ‘This is a surprise.’
‘Bonjour Elizabeth! Comment ça va?’ Kiara’s musical voice flowed from the speaker. ‘I was just calling to confirm that you will be attending the luncheon I am hosting next week?’
‘Yes I will be there. Thank you so much for inviting me,’ she replied, trying and failing to match her friend’s enthusiasm.
‘Excellent! I can hardly wait!’ Kiara’s enthusiasm contrasted greatly from Elizabeth’s own mood and when she didn’t reply, she could hear the concern in the skilled linguist’s tone.
‘Pardon but Elizabeth are you alright? You don’t sound like your usual self.’
Elizabeth released a weary sigh. ‘I’m fine.. Its just that Drake and I were supposed to be spending the day together but he got called away on business this morning and won’t be back in time. I know it sounds silly but I even had the perfect dress picked out.’
‘Mon dieu!’ Her friend exclaimed. ‘You must join Penelope and I for dinner then! We can’t have you sitting alone in that manor by yourself on Valentines Day. We will have a… how do you say it… Galentine’s day at my place tonight!’
Elizabeth hesitated. ‘Are you sure Kiara? I wouldn’t want to intrude on your evening…’
‘Non non, absolutely not. I simply won’t allow you to say no.’ Kiara protested in a tone that brooked no argument.
In spite of herself, Elizabeth chuckled slightly even though technically Galentine’s day had been the day before.
‘I must admit that does sound better than eating alone tonight.’
‘Trés bien,’ Kiara declared. ‘I will have a car sent around in one hour to pick you up. I can’t wait to see that new dress, mon cher!’
After hanging up, Elizabeth pondered Kiara’s invitation, wistfully eyeing the scarlet bandage dress in her closet. It was a very sexy dress, strappy and off the shoulder, the fabric had a slight shimmer to it with a low back and silhouette that hugged all her curves perfectly. Ideally she would have liked to wear the dress for Drake but since Kiara had insisted, she reached for it. With her hair styled in soft waves, she was just applying a final coat of lipstick when she heard the car arriving. Slipping her feet into black stilettos, she glanced at her reflection once more before heading out.
She had never been to Kiara’s family estate before and was surprised to find that she was being driven in the direction of the Cordonia’s national park. Before her concerns could be voiced however, the vehicle drew to a stop and a knot of anxiety bloomed in Elizabeth’s chest.
Surely Kiara wouldn’t…
Her suspicions died in her throat when the door slid open to reveal a pathway scattered with rose petals. By the looks of their surroundings, she was correct in assuming they were in national park. Glowing lanterns lined the trail, leading further into the trees, their glow supplementing the fading rays of sunlight. Excitement and anticipation mingled together in her chest as she followed the rose petals, emerging into a clearing at the top of a cliff. A candlelit table set for two stood under more lanterns hanging from the branches of a giant tree. A cool breeze ruffled her curls as she took a deep breath in, her eyes surveying the view of the setting sun on the forest below her, absorbing the tranquility of the scene.
‘Happy Valentine’s Day Richmond.’
Drake Walker stood a few paces behind her, smiling widely, a pink rose in his hand. With his broad figure clad in a black suit and white collared shirt, the first two buttons undone, he’d never looked more handsome. Elizabeth had seen him dressed up on rare occasions in the past but there was something about this outfit that send a thrill of pleasure through her body. Unable to contain herself any longer, she closed the distance between them, her lips finding his in a searing kiss. She felt his arms encircle her waist as he pulled her closer, her hands wrapping around his neck.
‘You did all this for me?’ She murmured when they finally pulled apart for air.
He offered her a playful smirk. ‘I’m not all rough-around-the-edges you know.’
‘You’re a total marshmallow, this confirms it,’ she teased, her face breaking out into an uncontrollable grin. ‘So Italy was just a diversion..?’
‘No, that was real,’ he assured her, entwining their fingers as he lead her to the table. ‘I was supposed to be there and back in time but there was a delay because of the holiday so I had to improvise a little.’
‘And I’m assuming thats where Kiara came in?’
Drake’s broad shoulders shrugged lightly. ‘Ehh she offered to help out when I told her I still needed a way to get you out of the house.’
Though Elizabeth knew that Drake and Kiara’s friendship would only ever be platonic, she still pulled him to her in another deep kiss, well and truly claiming him as her own.
‘Happy Valentine’s day, Drake,’ she whispered against his smiling lips.
He was about to reply when his stomach beat him to it, issuing a loud growl to herald meal time and she laughed in response.
‘Guess all this planning was hungry work hmm?’
After chivalrously pulling out her chair for her, Drake produced two steaming plates of spaghetti but before she could dig in, something occurred to her.
’This isn’t…’ she began, regarding him suspiciously.
Drake’s eyes glinted mischievously. ‘From the same restaurant that we had our first unofficial date at?’
Elizabeth shook her head as she smiled, filled with amazement at the lengths he had gone to for her.
How did she get so lucky?
As they finished their dessert, the opening notes of a slow song began to flow from an unseen speaker. Drake got to his feet and they shared a smile as she took his outstretched hand. His hands found their place on her waist, causing her skin to spark with pleasure as they began to dance the Cordonian waltz. Their bodies swayed elegantly to the music and Elizabeth found herself getting lost in his dark eyes. It was as if they were suspended in time and the rest of the world faded away, intimately encasing the two of them in this tender moment. He twirled her once, twice, three times, bringing her back to his chest and she shivered ever so slightly as his warm breath tickled her ear.
‘You look stunning by the way,’ Drake murmured softly, not wanting to break the spell.
She grinned up at him. ‘I take it you like the dress?’
He hummed lowly, twirling her again to face him and she caught a glint of something in his eyes.
‘Its nice but I can’t help thinking how much better it will look on the bedroom floor.’
Elizabeth’s breath hitched in her throat, feeling her cheeks warm slightly. Before she could formulate a response, a thought burst to the forefront of her mind and she remembered her earlier resolution. Bringing her gaze back up to his, she searched his eyes for an answer to the question she was about to ask him, her features unconsciously growing serious.
Drake, of course, noticed this and drew her into another twirl before inquiring.
‘Something on your mind Richmond?’
She gulped slightly, feeling her stomach spasm a little. Why was she so nervous?
‘Yes actually…,’ she answered carefully, watching concern spread across his handsome face. ‘Speaking of bedrooms and the like… I was wondering… um would you like to move in with me?’
Drake’s expression morphed into one of surprise and as he made no immediate move to respond, Elizabeth cursed herself inwardly, suspecting that her proposition was too fast.
‘I mean you don’t have to… If you don’t want to,’ she quickly attempted to backpedal, dropping her arms to her sides. ‘I know we haven’t been together very long… And I know you said you wanted to take this slow…’
‘Richmond…’ he started to say but Elizabeth barely heard him over her ramblings, eyes roving in all directions except towards him.
‘I just thought since you already stay over so often… It might be more practical but now I see that maybe that was a little fast…’
‘Elizabeth.’ Drake’s voice was a little more forceful and she started at his use of her first name. Feeling those earlier doubts come racing back in, she awkwardly dropped her gaze to the grass under them until he tipped her chin upwards, compelling her look at him. When she did, Elizabeth found an remarkable tenderness in his eyes as he gazed down at her.
‘Elizabeth,’ he began again. ‘I would love to move in with you.’
Her face broke out into a massive smile as a rush of relief filled her person.
‘Really?’
Drake drew her closer. ‘Did you actually think I would say no?’
Elizabeth bit her lip as she glanced downwards uncertainly. ‘Well…’
Sensing that she was going to launch into another bout of babbling, he silenced her with a passionate kiss, pouring all the entirety of his emotions into the action, banishing any shred of doubt she still had. He could feel the tension in her figure release as she reciprocated, her arms encircling his neck as she pulled him in closer. In turn, his hands roved her body and she moaned at this, opening her mouth, granting his tongue entrance.
Her voice was thick with desire as he trailed his way down her neck.
‘I want you.’
‘I know a better place to do this,’ he whispered, coming back to her lips.
‘Is that so?’ She teased when Drake pulled back, eyes gazing deeply into hers as his thumbs gently stroked her cheeks. Elizabeth swore she could have exploded with happiness at his next words.
‘Let’s go home.’