"Spen-cer." I breathed out on a sigh.
Planting a kiss on my stomach, Spencer's head appeared from beneath the covers, his eyes twinkling with mischief.
"Told you I'd be an efficient alarm clock." he grinned, biting his lip.
I sighed again, flopping back onto the bed, unable to stop myself giggling.
Spencer chuckled, pulling himself up and laying next to me.
He looked across at me and we both burst out laughing.
"So that didn't take much persuading, huh?" he smirked, cheekily.
I scowled at him, "Oh my gosh, enough!"
"You know I'm teasing." He chuckled, stretching out, "Have you worked up an appetite? I sure have, I'm absolutely starved."
I rolled my eyes, "Spencer, you're always hungry."
"Hey, come on," he nudged my shoulder with his, "You know my mum is going to be cooking up a storm downstairs. She even asked me last night what you'd want for breakfast this morning."
My heart melted. I really was becoming part of the family. Leah was so thoughtful.
Spencer squeezed my behind, rolling up and out of bed, "Come on you, let's head downstairs. I'm in the mood for bacon."
*
As Spencer predicted, Mum had laid out a banquet of a breakfast, fit for a king.
I thought this type of thing only existed in the movies, you know, where the dad comes downstairs to this huge table of breakfast, picks up a slice of toast and walks right out the door.
Leah had really outdone herself.
Fruit, pancakes, bacon, eggs, baked beans, hash browns, sausages, black pudding, mushrooms, tomatoes, delicate slices of toast, dainty blueberry muffins, yoghurt, cereal, and, my all time favourite: waffles, were all packed onto the table in what looked like something out of a magazine.
We were evidently late for breakfast as sat around the table were Leah, Richard and Serena, but with empty plates.
Richard, compared to when I had seen him last night, was casually dressed in loose fitting jeans and a polo shirt. Serena, comfortable and pink as ever, wore a giant fluffy dressing gown, and her unicorn slippers peaked out from under the table.
I stood at the threshold of the door, with my mouth open, practically salivating at the meal before me.
"Wow, Mum, this is some breakfast." Spencer remarked, squeezing my hand.
"You know what I say, Spencer. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day." Leah smiled, "Adriana, good morning, sweetheart. Please, please, sit."
"Good morning everyone," I replied, Spencer tugging me towards the table, "I hope we're not late."
Leah looked like the cat that ate the canary and it made me blush, thinking she might know what Spencer and I were up to this morning.
"Nonsense," she said, "You had a long day yesterday, what with the travelling and all this excitement. And besides, I've just served up."
Just then, Sebastian raced down the stairs, in a white long sleeved top, rolled up at the sleeves, and khaki pants.
He skidded into the kitchen, barefoot.
"Morning all," he nodded, grabbing a single slice of toast from the toast rack, "I am so incredibly late. Can't stop."
"What do you mean you can't stop?" Leah questioned, "Sebastian, you can hardly have a slice of toast for breakfast - that's nowhere near enough!"
Richard shook his head, "Oh Leah, leave the boy alone."
By this time, Sebastian had transferred the slice of toast to his mouth, and was pulling on hard-toe boots.
"Look Mum," he said through the mouthful, "I've got a construction site visit I should've been at at least a half hour ago. I don't have time to stop. I'll be back in a couple of hours okay?"
Leah sighed, exasperated, "Okay Sebastian. But pick something up on the way, will you? You'll starve!"
"Mum, I'll be fine," he rolled his eyes, crunching his toast, "Thank you for worrying. I'll see you all soon. Enjoy breakfast."
And with that, he was pulling on his jacket and out of the door.
Seconds later, as we began piling our plates with the delicious meal in front of us, Spencer's phone began to buzz.
Spencer frowned, pulling the phone from his back pocket.
"Sorry all," he said, "It's the office. I have to take this."
He turned in his chair slightly, away from the table, answering, "Haywood."
"What?!" he exclaimed, "When?"
I looked towards Spencer, whose shoulders had suddenly tensed.
He sighed, "Yes. Yes, of course. Aren't you bloody lucky I'm already here? Alright...Okay. Yes. 45 minutes. Thanks."
Ending the call, he sighed, squeezing my hand, "I've got to go."
Leah placed her knife and fork down, "Not you as well! Spencer, you've just sat down at the table!"
"I know, Mum, I know," he replied, "Something's happened in the London bureau. I've got to go and firefight."
"On your holiday, Spence?" Serena questioned, raising an eyebrow as she bit into a rasher of bacon.
"I told you, I know!" he exclaimed, "It can't be avoided. I'll be a couple of hours tops, I promise."
The Global's 'Fleet Street' offices were in the centre of the city. It would take just under an hour to drive there from what I remembered.
"Adri, baby, I'm sorry." he lowered his voice as the family continued to eat, "I won't be long, I swear."
"It's okay Spence." I replied, "You've got to do what you've got to do. I'll be fine here."
He leant over and kissed my forehead, "God, you're too good for me. I'll be back before you know it."
Spencer clapped his hands together, "Right, time for me to throw on a suit and be out of here in the next 15 minutes."
*
Breakfast was divine.
And having such great company in the Haywood family made it even better.
Despite Spencer's absence, it was just like having a normal family morning.
Serena, of course, chatted my ear off about the engagement, Leah got in a few hints about grandchildren which I managed to successfully field, and Richard had asked me my opinion on a case report he was looking over, which swelled my ego - I mean, the fact someone as successful as him was asking for my opinion?
I helped Leah to clear the plates, which Richard insisted on washing up, so I was left to pad back to Spencer's room for the rest of the morning.
I decided I would Skype with Alicia. It was about 7am New York time, but Licia was an early riser and I missed my best friend.
Setting up Spencer's Macbook, I sat down at the desk near to the window and waited as the screen buffered.
Suddenly, and instantaneously as a magic trick, my best friend's face popped up on the screen, and I immediately felt homesick.
She sat crossed legged in her pyjamas at her desk, with her braids pinned up into a bun, grinning at me.
In the background, I could see her unmade bed and the morning light streaming in through her curtains. Evidently, she'd just woken up.
"Hello future Mrs Haywood, how's England treating you?" she beamed
My smile was involuntary, "It's a dream, Licia, honestly. Even better than I imagined. How's my Cookie?"
Spencer and I had left Cookie, my beloved cat, with Alicia, who was only too happy to babysit.
"He's fine," she grinned, "Curls up at the bottom of my bed and sleeps soundly most of the time. No trouble."
I breathed a sigh of relief. It was good to know he wasn't causing Licia any issues.
"So," she smirked, "How was Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?"
I rolled my eyes at the comparison, "Nothing like the movie, that's for sure. They were overjoyed. Mum even started crying."
"Mum?", Licia looked impressed, "Look at you, getting comfy with the in-laws! That's great though, Adri, seriously. I'm glad they're happy about the whole thing - I knew they would be, both they and their son are getting a gigantic catch."
I shook my head with a smile, "No way, I'm the lucky one."
"Right," Licia rolled her eyes, "So how are you?"
"Enough about me!" I exclaimed, dismissing her with a hand, "What about you? How are things? How's my brother?"
Licia grinned like the cat that got the cream, "It's a long story."
"I've got time." I insisted, "Spencer's gone off gallivanting to the Global offices for a few hours. Spill the beans."
She sighed, smiling nonetheless, "Well we hadn't spoken in a while. We texted back and forth, but since the whole...thing with Spencer...well, it was awkward. I tried to put it all out of my head. And I thought he was, too. You know your brother, he's not exactly shy with women. But I digress. It was two days ago. Late at night, hot and absolutely pouring with rain. Torrential. You know, how the city gets. I was working on some case files right here at my desk while eating Chinese food out the box. Then suddenly, there's a buzz at my door.
"I'm wondering who this could be, given the weather outside and the fact both of my best friends are off drinking tea and eating crumpets. But when I hear the voice on the other end there's no mistaking it. I run downstairs in my sweatpants and vest top and there Antonio is, standing in his trademark leather jacket and jeans absolutely soaked to the bone, hair sticking to his forehead and everything. And he's carrying a gigantic bouquet of roses."
"Oh my God," I interjected, "Seriously?"
"Yep." she nodded, "And he's begging me to let him come in and talk. So I did, and we do. We talked about everything. Laid all our sh*t out right there on the table. It felt like we talked for hours and hours. And we resolved so much. Anyway, we were talking, and flirting. And...well....one thing led to another and--"
"La la la!!!!" I interrupted, fingers in my ears, "Stop right there, that's enough."
Licia giggled, all at once my badass forensic scientist best friend, and a boy-obsessed teenager, "It was the best."
"Okay, no more please!" I insisted, "I'm happy for you, Leesh. I'm glad you could talk things through."
"We did more than talk." she teased
"Alicia!" I whined, "Please!"
"Alright, alright!" she laughed, "Listen, sweetie. I've got to go. I've got to be in the lab in an hour. But call me again soon okay? We have a lot to catch up on, and you've got to tell me more about the UK!"
I nodded, sad to lose my best friend to work already, "Okay, I'll let you go. Have a good day."
"You too!" she grinned, "And tell Spencer I hope he's behaving otherwise I'm coming out to London to kick his ass."
"Oh don't worry, I'm keeping him in check." I joked
Alicia blew kisses, and just like that, my friend was gone.
It was strange to say how much I missed Licia already. But I also missed my fiance. When would he be home?
*
Rinsing my toothbrush, I yawned, padding back into the bedroom and climbing underneath the covers. Spencer's alarm clock harshly flashed 11:23pm, cruelly reminding me of how long he'd been away.
No phone calls, no texts - nothing. And I was starting to worry.
Of course, Spencer spent a lot of time at the office. But we were meant to be on holiday, no distractions, just the two of us. It was freaking me out that he hadn't at least dropped me a text to say he was alright.
And then, just as my eyes were drifting shut, the door creaked open, a beam of light streaming in from the hall.
I sat up in bed, rubbing my eyes at the figure in the doorway, "Spencer?"
"Hi Angel," he whispered, creeping into the room and flicking on the sidelight, "You're still up?"
He looked beat. His tie was crooked, his suit crumpled and his blue eyes rheumy. But that didn't change the fact he'd disappeared without a trace today
"Spencer, I was worried sick about you!" I exclaimed, simultaneously trying to keep my voice low and not wake the Haywoods, "You just vanished. No calls, no texts, no checking up - nothing! What if something had happened to you?"
He sighed, pulling off his tie and unbuckling his suit trousers, "I know. And I'm sorry. I really am. Things just got carried away with me, and I didn't even realise the time until it was stupidly late. I left my phone on charge in my office and I've been running about the London bureau all day, non stop."
My lips pressed into a thin line, and I laid back down on the pillow, turning away from him, "Good night, Spencer."
"Oh come on baby, don't be like that." he whined
I refused to answer him. I was so mad! Mad that he would make me worry about him like that, mad that he didn't even text me today, mad that his mother was worried about him too when he didn't surface for dinner.
"Sweetheart, please?" Spencer was in his boxers now, sitting on the edge of the bed and running a hand through my hair, as I looked at him over my shoulder, "Please, please forgive me, I've been an arse, I know."
I turned towards him fully looking into his eyes and my heart immediately melted. I couldn't be angry at this man even if I tried.
"Spence, I'm not mad that you were at work all day. I know how demanding your job is, and I'd never take you away from that. But for the love of God, call me! Or at least respond to my texts. I've had no idea how you are all day!"
"I know, I'm sorry." he leant down and kissed my forehead, "I love you."
I craned my neck up to meet his lips, despite myself, "I love you too."
Spencer sighed, flopping down onto the bed, "I'm shattered."
"Come on you," I said, lifting the covers, "Get in here and get to sleep."
He crawled under the covers, reaching over to flick off the light and then wrapping an arm around me to pull me in closer, "Why are you so perfect, hm?"
"Whatever," I rolled my eyes, "I'm just glad you're home now."
Pressing my back to his front, I turned on my side and snuggled into his embrace
"Home is wherever you are," he kissed the top of my head, "I'm just glad I get to be home for the rest of my life."
I relaxed into his arms, "Sappy. Don't ever scare me like that again, Spencer Ethan Haywood, do you understand me?"
"Yes, ma'am." he responded earnestly, then with a sigh added, "Marry me Adriana."
I frowned, perplexed, not bothering to turn my head as he was being silly, "I'm already wearing your ring, player. And I said yes already."
"I know," he replied, "But I'm impatient. I want you to be mine already--and no before you say it, really mine. So I was thinking on the drive home..."
"I'm always nervous when you start thinking, Haywood." I responded, smirking, knowing he couldn't see me in the dark.
"I was thinking...what about if we got married here? At my parents' house?"
I mulled over the idea in my head for a while. A London wedding some time next year, maybe in the spring. It could work. And it wasn't as if Spencer's parents didn't have the space. In fact, it would be a picture perfect venue. We'd take some time to plan the logistics and it could be perfect.
"Sure, if they're happy with that," I lowered my voice, "We've got all the time in the world to think about it."
"No," Spencer replied, "That's not what I mean. I mean how about if we got married here, at my parents' house...before our holiday ends."
I couldn't help but snicker. Now he really was being silly.
"Yeah right," I rolled my eyes, "Spencer and Adriana get married in a week and a half. Go to sleep, Spence, you're delirious when you're tired."
Spencer let me go and sat bolt upright in bed, and although I couldn't see his facial expression, I knew he wasn't smiling.
"Adriana, I'm being serious." he responded, his voice lowering an octave or two in the way that he did when he wasn't to be argued with, "I'd like for us to get married. Here. And I can give you the wedding of your dreams in a week and a half if you'll let me."
I blinked, once, twice, three times, waiting for the punchline. But it never came.
"So?" he questioned, "What do you think?"
***************************************************************************************
[Author's Note]
So, what do you think? Should Spencer and Adriana be getting married so quickly? And does Spencer have an ulterior motive?
It's so good to be writing more frequently again, and I wanted to upload this week as I've been putting it off for a while. This chapter came pretty naturally, though, which is always a positive sign!
The song attached was my immediate first thought when writing this chapter, so I hope it goes well.
I'll be back very soon hopefully with a new update.
Love always,
- Bex 'xo.