He wraps her little hands in his big ones and waits.
“How can I teach you is you’re holding my hands?” Leilani objects.
“I won’t hold too tight, and I’ll follow your lead,” Waylen whispers.
The four hands begin to move. Leilani knows how to paint, and she finds that frosting isn’t terribly different from some of her paints. She quickly makes a series of beautiful blue roses. As they work, Robert quietly takes out his phone and photographs the warm, romantic scene.
Finally, they finish the cake. Although it’s ugly and slightly lopsided, they smile at it because they made it together. Waylen takes the icing bag from Leilani to add the finishing touches. He carefully pipes icing into words: I love you.
“Shouldn’t you write Happy Birthday?” Leilani asks.
“Leilani,” he sighs exasperated, “You’re smart enough to know why.”
Though she’s usually so bright, he kinds she becomes dull and confused whenever he tries to show her his feelings. Leilani bites her lip. At first, she assumed he unthinkingly copied the words from the pattern, but she begins to wonder if he actually means them. Her cheeks flush and her blood begins to boil. Waylen looks at her and smiles sadly.
“Don’t pretend you don’t know that already,” he says.
“Know what?” Leilani bites her lip.
She refuses to allow herself to believe it. He gently turns her to face him and stares at her with depth and sincerity.
“I love you,” he says, “Every time I see you get hurt, it hurts me more. I want to hide you in a place that only I can find. I love you so much that I want to keep you at my side forever. I can’t bear for anyone to take you away from me.”
Leilani’s mind goes blank. His sudden confession of love overwhelms her. For years he never gave her a second glance, and now he suddenly loves her. She wants to bask at the moment, but the rational part of her brain makes her stop.
“What about Diana?” she wonders.
“You don’t have to answer me,” Waylen says with a small smile, “You just need to know how I feel.”
He doesn’t expect her to answer him or return his feelings, he just needed to express the overwhelming love he’s started to feel for her. He looks at her again and kisses her soulfully, sliding his tongue into her mouth. The kiss is hot and lingering, full of all his repressed love. He pulls her firmly against his body and kisses her even more forcefully.
Thoughts whirl in Leilani’s head without fully taking form. She feels like she’s melting, and she can’t tell where her body ends and his begins. When he finally pulls away she realizes that the entire dining room has fallen silent. She can hear her own ragged breath and pounding heartbeat. Embarrassed, she buries her head in his chest, hiding her brightly flushed cheeks.
“Would you like to try the cake we made?” Waylen asks.
Leilani nods her head against his chest. Waylen cuts a small piece of cake for her, but she doesn’t move her head from its place on his chest.
“Do you want the cake or me?” Waylen asks teasingly.
With a reluctant sigh, Leilani lifts her head. She immediately feels something cool and slippery on her cheek. Waylen has dipped his hands in the icing and he’s playfully smearing it on her face.
“You’re so childish!” she complains.
“Maturity is for the outside world,” Waylen says with a playful smile, “Childishness is for my love.”
“It sounds about right,” Leilani grumbles.
“Only you bring out this side in me,” he says.
“What an honor,” she jokes.
“No! It’s my honor!” he thinks, “If it weren’t for you, I would still be serious and miserable. You make me so happy.”
She slowly reaches her hand to her face to wipe away the icing, but Waylen grabs her wrist.
“Don’t wipe it!” he commands.
He quickly grabs his phone from his pocket and snaps a picture of her. She takes his phone and finds that he’s written his name on her forehead. The blue letters seem to brand her more deeply than a tattoo.
“Wipe it off!” she demands.
“It’s so childish for him to write on my forehead,” she thinks, “Does he think I belong to him just because his name is there?”
Waylen lifts her face to his and slowly licks the icing from her forehead.
“Ugh, that’s dirty,” Leilani complains.
She reaches for a napkin and forcefully wipes his saliva from her skin.
“This was my present to you,’ Waylen says abruptly, “what about your present to me?”
“Your present isn’t ready yet,” Leilani says, “besides, we made the cake together. It’s not exactly the same as a proper present.”
“You think the cake is your present?” Waylen asks.
“Well, what else could it?”
“I’m your present,” he says, kissing her on the forehead.
She stares at him speechless.
“So when can I receive my present?” he asks lightly.
“Umm, in five days,” Leilani responds.
“Why do you need five days?” Waylen asks, “You can have one.”
“Don’t try to bargain with me,” Leilani says, “Otherwise I’ll ask for ten!”
In five days, she will have her appointment with Andrew. If Waylen can’t save Gabrielle by then, she knows she’ll have to find a way to escape and do it herself. If he thinks she’s working on his present, he’ll be less likely to keep track of her every move. Waylen pinches her chin between his thumb and forefinger.
“How dare you deny your husband like this,” he teases.
Leilani tilts her head to the side. She can’t understand why he’s behaving like this. Just days ago they signed the divorce papers, and now he’s acting like they are newlyweds. She wants to believe his confession of love, but she doesn’t dare.
“After all, I only bring trouble to the Bamford family,” she thinks, “The family desperately needs a woman who can continue the family line, but the toxins in my body makes it almost impossible for me to have children. I still don’t know if it can be cured, and I have no idea if someone is deliberately poisoning me. I want to tell Waylen, but he probably won’t believe me. Charles is the only doctor smart enough to detect it, and now he won’t return my calls.”
“What’s on your mind?” Waylen asks.
He straightens her chin and gazes into her eyes as if he wants to read her thoughts.
“I’m thinking about what present I should give you,” she lies smoothly.
His eyes are soft and flirtatious and she’s scared he’ll kiss her again.
“And please don’t say you’ll like anything I make,” she adds, “I want it to be good.”
She thinks for a moment.
“What about some paintings?” she suggests, “In five days, I could make five paintings for you.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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