I sat nervously in the car as Stanford drove me to the city.
I watched as the buildings blurred into each other, my stomach was full of flutters and I was excited about what the night would hold.
And nervous.
Would tonight be the night? I wondered if I was really ready, but when I thought of his warm touch and kind eyes, the way he made me feel , I knew I was and as the car pulled in front of Phillips office building, I felt my excitement grow and I knew I had the biggest smile on my face.
It had been a very stressful two weeks.
I had finished my last exam that morning and had listened to Simmi talk endlessly about this new club her brother was the new DJ of over lunch
I wasn’t as happy as I thought I would be.
The exams were done and I was no longer a university student, whose life revolved around lectures, exams and assignments. I was now an unemployed job seeker and it scared me.
It was also my birthday but unlike my parents and brother who had called early in the morning, my dear husband said nothing, he had done nothing and even Martha and Stanford were silent.
I had gone home in a listless state, thinking that all the people who had become my world had forgotten my birthday.
True to his word, Phillip hadn’t touched me since the day after his birthday. If I fell asleep in the study he would carry me back to my room and I would wake up alone.
He had been caring and considerate, making sure that I wasn’t disturbed at home and that my meals were nutritious.
But he hadn’t touched me in the same way again which was driving me insane and I wondered if he had lost interest in me but I shook that thought out of my head.
I wasn’t paying attention as I walked into my room, but I sure as hell noticed that the room was empty – all my belongings were gone!
Everything except for a cobalt blue box on the bed.
My hands shook a little as I opened the note that was attached to the box.
‘ Happy birthday my love,
No, I haven’t forgotten!
I have moved you back to our room.”
I picked up the box and walked down the hall back to my old room and as I turned the handle and opened the door I was met with the most exquisite scent of flowers.
There were huge bouquets of flowers spread out all over the room.
22 of them.
A bouquet of flowers for every birthday I had ever had.
Hanging on the wardrobe was a garment back.
‘ I think this will look stunning on you. Get dressed, Stanford will drive you to your next surprise” said the note attached to the garment bag.
I stood there in shock. I card, a cake or a balloon would have been enough but now I was standing in what was like the middle of a florist, the blue box unopened in my arm and I felt very special.
He was certainly putting in a lot of effort .
Excitedly I opened the box and looked inside and smiled excitedly when I saw what was inside, then rushed to get dressed so I could see Phillip just that little bit quicker.
I didn’t notice that Stanford had parked outside Phillips city office.
“ Ma’am , Master Phillip as requested that you join him in his office.” Stanford said with his usually formalness. “ Have a great evening.”
If felt so strange being back here after so many weeks.
Everything was still the same yet somehow ,it all felt different. I was no longer walking into this place unsure and scared. This place was part of my life, like Philip was.
As I stepped out of the car , I was nervous, the outfit I had on was something that my mother would have never let me out of the house in – a red wide leg halter jumpsuit with a deep cut front and a low cut back. I had felt so exposed that I used a tailored black blazer to cover myself up, but the most impressive item of my outfit was the red, Swarovski crystal encrusted heels that that made my feet look like they were on fire with every step I took.
He had had them custom made for me and I loved them.
I held my breath as the lift went up and the doors opened. I didn’t know what to expect. I memories that it would bring back, bit as I stepped into Phillip’s office, I got the shock of my life.
It had completely changed.
The old hardwood furniture was gone, replaced with sleek modern furniture, the carpets had been pulled out and replaced and the drapes had been changed.
It didn’t even slightly resemble the old office I was used to.
As I stepped into the office, the door shut quietly behind me and his hands crept around me.
‘ you look amazing.” He said , ‘ What’s this?’ he said pulling the collar of my blazer.
‘ I got a bit cold.” I said, which wasn’t entirely a lie, as I turned to face him and wrapped my hands around his neck.
He smiled as he leaned into kiss me, it was soft at first but his hands slid down and cupped my arse and his fingers slid up into the blazer and his fingers caressed the soft skin in my back, I moaned as that the feeling of desire flushed all over me, the heat building up in me, that tug and pull that I felt, and I pressed myself into him as I opened my mouth, inviting his tongue in.
It got intense, as he pushed me back onto one of the walls and lifted my leg to almost straddle him and he pushed himself back onto me, I could fell the hardness in his pants but was lost as he sent kisses down my neck down the front of my low cut outfit.
I was lost.
I didn’t care where we were, all I wanted was him and as I moved to remove his jacket, he stopped me.
‘ If I let you start that here then I wont be able to show you all the surprised I have planned for tonight.” He said , breathing hard. ‘ Trust me, this is harder for me than you know.’ Giving me a quick peck on the lips.
‘when did you do the renovations?” I asked as I tided myself up in mirror.
‘soon after Melissa visited me here. I couldn’t stand it any more, I didn’t want any trace of her in here, I wanted to eradicate any memories, I kinds hoped that by getting rid of them I would get you back.”
He looked up at me with a mischievous grin. “ besides, I thought we could make our own memories in here..”
That look, it sent tingles down to my feet and I felt hot all over again and I swear I blushed hard.
‘ ok are you done? I need you to sign these before we head out.” He said opening a file on his desk.
‘ what’s this ?” I asked curiously. I never had had anything do to with his business dealings so there was no real reasons I needed to sign anything.
‘ this gives you power of attorney over my accounts and businesses if something ever happens to me.”
‘ Phillip, that’s not necessary! That’s a huge responsibility!”
‘ babe, there are heaps of people out there who would tear my empire up piece by piece the minute if something ever happened, and I know you are smart enough to keep this place going. So please just sign, I am getting hungry.” And he handed me his pen.
The next surprise of the night was a limo. I squealed in excitement when I saw it parked outside and the driver opened the door for us.
I had never been in a limo before.
Phillip was laughing quietly at my foolishness but I didn’t care.
It was a limo!
Phillip helped me in then handed me a sparking wine. I sniffed at the bubbling liquid and look a sip. It was sweet and the bubbles tickled my nose. I couldn’t help but giggle.
The limo look us on the scenic tour and for the second time that night I saw something new. The lights of the city as the sunset faded into night. I sat there in silence captivated but the beauty of the scene in front of me while Philip talked on the phone.
The restaurant he chose tonight was an absolute surprise and I was absolutely giddy with joy when I saw the name. It was the Grand Taj Haveli. The hottest Indian restaurant of the year known for fusion cooking.
I looked at Phillip with the biggest grin on my face. He was smiling back.
“ I thought you'd like this place" he said.” I’ve been wanting to bring you here for ages, but things were never right, but tonight is your night to celebrate so I thought it be the perfect place.”
He hopped out of the car and held out his and to help me out .
My heart did a little flutter.
This was too perfect and I felt like a movie star.
A waiter led us to out table and Phillip helped me with my jacket. I heard him hiss a bit when he saw my backless outfit and I shuddered in pleasure when he traced his fingers down the length of my back.
“ This outfit should be illegal" he whispered into my ear as he pushed my chair towards the table for me. l and sat opposite me and I couldn’t help smiling, I was on cloud 9 and for the moment, the past six months, the fights, the dramas , university and exams, none of it mattered in this moment and it was all too perfect.
We talked about a lot that night and I learned so much more about him in that hour than I had in the enter six months we had been married.
“ How did your patents end up calling you Phillip?” I asked, sampling some pan fried fish that had been marinated in tamarind. We had decided on a the chiefs special shared platter.
“ Well, mum was obcessed with Sleeping Beauty. She had miscarried twice and promised herself that if she had a son she would call the baby Phillip- like the prince.”
I nodded. It made sense. Just a Disney princess obsession but in reverse.
“ What about you? How did your parents end up calling you Victoria instead of a traditional Indian name?"
“ Mumma and Papa came here when they were young. They thought giving their children European names would help as first generation born immigrants in a country that can be hard on foreigners. They named me after the queen Victoria. It was pretty cool growing up. People didn’t expect to see an Indian girl rock up with Victoria as a name. A lot of people thought I was half caste.
How come you don't eat Indian food? Both your parents live in India.”
“ When I was little my parents sent me here to boarding school. During the holidays they would come over and when I went to university I stayed in the hostel. Indian food wasn’t exactly common on the menu and I never got used to it. But this, I have to admit, is delicious “ he said biting into a dumpling filled with spiced prawns.
I was amazed how the conversation flowed easily between us that night. The past few months had made us familiar with each other but tonight we talked if we had known each other a lifetime.
“ I have a present for you.” he said half way between our mains and brought out a deep red velvet box from his jacket. “ consider it an early graduation present.”
“ what is it?” I asked nervously. This man had given me so much already. What more could he possibly give me now?
“open it and find out"
I pried open the jewelry box, slowly, almost afraid of what was inside, and there, nestled in the rich velvet where a pair of the most beautiful bangles you could imagine. They were intricately designed with floral patterns and studded with diamonds and gemstones. At the center of each bangle was a red glass bangle.
“ The jeweler said that these were made for someone special, and you are someone very special Victoria” he said taking the box from my hand and slid the bangles onto my right wrist.
I felt so bad, remembering how I had smashed each and every glass bangle right after the wedding, it was supposed to be bad luck to break them.
These ones would never break.