“Well, I had planned on spending our first day visiting themany parks and gardens nearby. St. James’s Park and BuckinghamPalace are within walking distance from here. Then I was hoping tohead over to Hyde Park to see Kensington Palace. But with the rain,I don’t see the point.” She spoke with such finality in hervoice.
“Go figure, rain in London?” Crispin teased. “What’s planB?”
“Well, I don’t know now. I’ll have to rethink the wholething.”
Before Crispincould respond, their breakfasts showed up and at his expression,she forgot her woes and started to laugh. Clearly, he had notexpected so much food. Both plates were filled with fried eggs, twothick sausages, smoked bacon, fried mushrooms, baked beans, grilledtomatoes, and toast!
“Well, don’t just sit there.” He winked at her, enjoying thereturn of her smile. He then grabbed his knife and fork. “Geteating, cheeky monkey. We have sights to see.”
Followingbreakfast, they made a quick stop in their room to grab theircoats. While it was warmer than it was in Canada, it was rainingand the temperature was only supposed to reach a high of 8°Celsius.
“Gwen, what’s the matter?” he asked when she sat on the edge ofthe bed, her itinerary open on her lap. She was staring at it buthe could tell she wasn’t focusing on any of it.
“I’m at a loss,” she admitted breathily, averting her eyes fromhim. “It’s all a jumbled mess. None of it makes sense. I’msorry.”
“Is this you talking?” He sat down beside her and took theitinerary from her. “Or your anxiety?” Her notes were meticulous,and as far as he could see, they could simply swap tomorrow’s planwith today’s. This must be her fear of the unplanned andunrehearsed kicking in, he realized. The poor thing was a rightmess for no reason at all.
Gwen shruggedunable to answer at that moment. If she did, she might just end upa blubbering mess at the unexpected empathy in his voice. He took afew minutes and flipped through the many pages. At his calmdemeanour, she rested her head on his shoulder while he studied hernotes. Weird as it may seem for someone who had wanted for so longto visit London, she would rather hide in their room all day.
After anotherminute, he closed the folder and wrapped his arm around hershoulders. “No worries, Gwen. Come on, we have places to go, thingsto see.”
“Where, though?” She hesitated.
“Let me worry about where.” He encouraged her onto her feet.“Go on, grab your camera and your coat.”
At theconfidence in his voice, Gwen’s mood lifted and she willingly putall her faith in him. Once again, thank goodness for Crispin, shethought with a sigh.
Chapter 15
Breathtaking…it was the only way to describe London’s National Art Gallery. Somuch history, so much talent, all under one roof. Both Gwen andCrispin were rendered speechless in the presence of works by VanGogh, Caravaggio, Rubens and countless other European Masters fromthe 13th to the 19th centuries.
“Awesome, simply awesome…” was all Crispin could say whilemeandering from room to room. At his side, Gwen could only nod inagreement. The place was huge and filled with so many paintings,hours had gone by before they sat down for coffee in the gallery’sclassy espresso bar.
“You okay?” Crispin asked, returning with their beverages tothe small table.
“More than okay. I’m just overwhelmed by what we justsaw.”
“Incredible, isn’t it?” he agreed. “Here, I assumed you’d wanttea. Correct me if I’m wrong.”
“Earl Grey, my favourite,” Gwen said with a smile of gratitudethat went straight through to his heart. “Perfect,thanks.”
“It’s what you were drinking that first day we met in thecafé.”
“You remembered that small detail?”
“No detail too small,” Crispin said with a wink.
Gwen couldn’tcontain her smile. To say Crispin was charming would be a hugeunderstatement. They’d had such an awesome time so far. It wasn’tlost on her how they hadn’t said much to each other while in thegallery. They hadn’t needed words. Or rather words hadn’t beennecessary.
“So many beautiful paintings in one place,” she said wistfully.“I can’t get over it.”
“Yes, and the day is only half over.” He checked hiswatch.
“I’m glad we came here today. Thanks for taking charge likethat. Sometimes I lose focus.”
At her choiceof words, Crispin leaned forward in his chair, gazed into her eyesand quirked a perfectly plucked eyebrow. “No worries, taking chargeis my specialty.”
Gwen couldn’tsay why his phrasing had her squirming in her seat but then againeverything about the man turned her insides to jelly.
“How do you feel about that?”
“I… I quite like the sound of that.” She giggledplayfully.
He smiledwickedly in response. “Keep that up and I might just have to takeyou back to the inn.” He reached across the table and took her handbefore adding, “…lock you up.” He scraped his teeth across hisbottom lip. Holding her gaze, he traced lazy circles into her palmwith his fingers.
At his intimatetouch, she felt her cheeks flush and an undeniable heat coursedthrough her veins from her heart to her core. “Is that a threat ora promise?” she teased him, playing it cool although she hadn’tmissed the predatory gleam in his eyes.
“Quite playful, aren’t you? I like that.” He gave her hand asqueeze before letting it go. “Go on, drink your tea. We’ve gotplenty more to do and see.” At that moment, he couldn’t care lessabout sightseeing. He’d much rather take her back to the inn andtest his theory, especially since she seemed quite willing. Yet heknew it would be unfair. He’d be taking advantage of herinfatuation
