Blake's arms tighten around my body as I snuggle into his side. He gently brushes his fingertips over the tender skin on my arm. The light touch sends goosebumps trickling through me.
"Please don't tickle me, I'm sleepy," I mumble.
"We need to get up and dressed," he replies.
"No." I wrap my arms and legs around Blake, forcing him to stay in place.
He chuckles, then easily breaks out of my weak hold. I sigh with dismay as I watch him climb out of bed. Although, he looks pretty damn good with the sunlight trickling in through the cracks of the curtain.
"Don't make me drag you out of this bed," he sternly comments.
"You'd probably enjoy that." I poke my tongue out.
"I would indeed." Blake nods.
He swiftly lifts the blanket up and tosses it to the vacant side. Blake grabs my ankles, then yanks me towards him. My bottom slides over the end of the bed and he wraps my legs around his waist.
"Cheeky," I comment.
Blake looms above me, a bright mischievous smile plastered on his face. His arms slide under my back and I'm lifted into the air. I hook my arms around his neck to secure myself to his body.
"We've got time before we need to be at the venue viewing," he says.
"Okay, fine, but if we're late, it's your fault."
"I'm okay with that." Blake shrugs his shoulders.
As he walks to the bathroom, I hear the rattling sound of the front door being opened. He freezes mid-stride in favour of placing me on the ground. I'm pushed behind his back as he creeps towards our bedroom door.
"If they're still asleep, I'm going to jump on them," Kyle says.
Blake roughly exhales, then turns to face me. The frown on his face says it all.
"Whose idea was it to give him a key to our house?" he asks.
"Ops, I thought it would be a good idea." I nibble on my lower lip.
"You jump in the shower, I'll start on breakfast. If I catch you in bed, you're not getting bacon and eggs," he threatens.
"Harsh, Blake, harsh." I sigh.
Without another word, Blake leaves the bedroom and I head to the shower. The thought of crispy bacon plays on my mind as I go through the motions of stripping out of my comfortable pyjamas.
The warm water is enough to shake the sleepiness from my body, only to then leave me starving for food.
I step out of the shower, quickly dry and then rummage through my wardrobe for something to wear. I end up dressing in a pair of jeans and a comfortable t-shirt.
When I get into the kitchen, Blake is cooking, Charlotte is chopping fruit and Kyle is setting the table.
I sneak into the kitchen and grab a small piece of bacon to satisfy the growing hunger pain. Blake notices the missing piece but he doesn't question it.
He offloads the remainder of the food onto a serving plate and Kyle places it on the table. The two take a seat and wait for us to join them.
Before Blake leaves the kitchen, I hug him from behind.
"Thank you for cooking." I kiss his shoulder.
Blake and I join them at the table and begin dishing up the food. There are bacon and eggs along with a fruit salad and yoghurt tubs.
I pile some food on my plate and quickly begin consuming the delicious food. Partway through breakfast, I hear the doorbell ring.
"Don't move, I've got it." I point at Blake.
He stays seated while I race towards the door. I yank it open and find Nora grinning at me.
"Sorry, my Uber got canceled and then it took a while for a replacement to come." She sighs.
"Don't worry about it!" I shrug.
I step to the side and wave Nora in. She tugs her small suitcase into the house and then I lead her down the hallway.
When we step into the main room, everyone says hello.
"The layout of the house is pretty simple. I've already checked the wardrobes and they don't lead to magical places, so you should be fine." I laugh.
"Thank you for letting me stay," she says.
"Of course! We're happy to have you here." I smile.
Nora and I walk down the hallway and I show her to our newly decorated spare room which consists of an old bed Angela is letting us borrow while Nora is staying here.
"Everything you should need is here – fresh linen for the bed and some towels. Help yourself to the food, the bathroom is practically all yours, just be careful with London, she likes to play dress-up," I explain.
"I've got some money to put towards food and bills while I'm here." Nora goes to grab her purse, but I wave it off.
"We're not going to take your money. You're my family – our family – and that's what we do. Besides, I'll come and visit you in Sydney so that you can repay the favour." I chuckle.
"Sounds amazing." She nods.
"Hungry? There's heaps of food on the table."
"Thank you! I'll be out in a moment."
"No worries, Nora."
While Nora remains in the bedroom, I return to the table and plate up some food for Nora, otherwise, Kyle might just end up eating the rest of the bacon.
A few minutes later, Nora wanders out and takes a seat beside me.
"Thanks for the food."
"We're going to look at venues today, did you want to come?" I ask.
"If it's okay, I promised to catch up with some friends today."
"Totally fine."
"You can have Kyle's key while you're staying here." Blake grins.
Kyle scoffs something under his breath, then grabs the key from his pocket. I pass it to Nora to which she places on the table.
After breakfast, Charlotte and Kyle clean the mess while Blake and I change. We leave Nora behind and pile into my car.
Blake gives directions, a few wrong turns here and there, but we make it there.
I park beside Angela's car and we climb out. Blake apologises for being late but by the sound of their car, they just arrived too.
I hug our mothers and then we walk towards the venue. It's a beautiful building on the outside with pretty flowers scattered around. The inside is supposed to be rustic which is something Blake likes.
Angela leads the group inside the front door and gasps with awe. Kyle shakes his head and walks out the door.
"What are you doing?" I call out.
"It's hideous, let's go somewhere else."
"You're not giving it a chance." I pout.
Kyle drags himself back inside the building and stands beside Charlotte. She grabs his hand and continues to tug him through the lobby. He grumbles under his breath which earns a scolding from Charlotte.
We meet the receptionist who calls for our tour guide. The woman appears from an office located to the right with a bright smile splashed across her face.
"Is everyone here for the viewing or are you waiting for more people?" she questions.
"No, this is everyone," Mum replies.
"That's great! Hello, my name is Ash and I'll be giving you a tour. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!"
Ash leads us through another door which opens to a large hall. I look towards Blake and he smiles. Although, I'm beginning to sense he doesn't like the look of this place either.
Regardless, I trooper forwards with a sense of adventure because sometimes the most unlikely of places tend to be the most exceptional.
Because if we hadn't given each other a chance, we wouldn't be here looking to celebrate an important commitment to each other.
Since I've had a lot of time to scheme, do you still Nora is here to do evil?