Page 139 of Falling for the Wife

After last night—the stint with Zara, Derek and Hugh—I knew I had to start paving our foundation. I didn’t want a shaky relationship with Stella. I wanted her to know that during our time together—the entire duration—I was hers.

Besides, I needed another excuse to see her smile. There was something about her smile that made me feel as if I was doing something right in my life. For some reason, a big part of me hoped that, someday, I wouldn’t be the man who would diminish that glorious smile of hers.

After what happened with Zara yesterday, I had so much to make up for. Apart from that little snide remark she mentioned last night, she hasn’t said anything else and based on my experience with past lovers, this was a bad sign.

Women would pout, act extremely bitchy, not to mention clingy atop all thewho’s prettierquestions and thewho’s better in beddrill of insanity. These were the most common epidemics of women needing reassurance that they were fine and secure on the relationship front.

Stella never did all that, so it was normal for a man to worry. I wasn’t sure if her reaction was based on the fact that she was above all of these petty, churlish acts and platitudes… or it could simply be because she simply didn’t care about me…

Both were fine, really, but I wasn’t going to deny that I was hoping that the first one was the most valid.

I cared for Stella. Atop the fact that she was Richard’s baby sister, I also started to care about the person that she was, the woman beneath the surface.

Stella was remarkable. She lost her brother and her parents and yet, she wasn’t one to dwell and make everyone’s lives a living hell because she was going through a tough time. She was wealthy in her own right, yet she didn’t flaunt that like other women easily did. Most of all, she had a heart. When she talked about her best friends, her work and other people she cared about, her face would light up, animated. These were all admirable things and I wanted to be a part of that circle later on. I wanted her to care for me the way she did with her friends.

I knew I wanted it, but the reasoning behind the very fact was still baffling to me. Pondering much about the subject didn’t get me anywhere. I wasn’t in love with her, but I wished for her to start caring for me.

It really was odd.

When Stella emerged an hour later, dressed to torture me all night long, my thoughts ceased to exist.

The tightening of my chest surfaced as I stared at her. Gray eyes infiltrated my thoughts. “Stella,” I uttered her name and the feeling in my chest intensified. The urge to kiss her senseless and take her to bed was so inviting that I had decided not to touch a bit of her in fear that I might not be able to control my libido. I was becoming a glutton when it came to her body. Each time I took her, the addiction sharpened. Magnified. How could a man stay away from a barely touched, nubile body? Let alone a very responsive, sexy, gorgeous woman that made moans that hardened me in a flash? Never in my life had I been this libidinous—body so unquenched that I was half-aroused most of the time—thinking only of Stella.

This was well and all, but I wasn’t bothered by it since it was all physical. The needs of the flesh could always be doused one way or the other, but the emotional and mental ones were the hardest to forget.

Tonight, I wasn’t going to allow the ghost of Zara to interrupt us. Stella deserved my one hundred percent attention.

Half an hour later, we finally reached our destination.

Let’s see how I fair in this test, I challenged myself.

CHAPTER60

Stella

A loud gaspcame from me when Callum parked and I saw where he was taking me. “Wow. You go all out, don’t you?” I was beyond impressed.

The man simply gave me a smirk before he let himself out, rounded to open my door and offered his hand to help me out of the vehicle. “It’s our first date. A man’s got to take extra care to make the first impression last a lifetime.”

He was guiding me towards the entrance of the London Aquarium. It truly was nice. “Well, you’ve definitely accomplished just that.” I leaned over and kissed his lips. It had been over twenty-four hours now from our first make-out session, and still, I couldn’t get over the fact that I loved kissing him whenever I felt the need to be close to him.

Two personal staff greeted us at the door. We were then escorted towards a dark room with several lit candles on a dining table with the large wall-to-wall aquarium next to us. The soft azure glow it gave to the room made it cozy, intimate and beyond a doubt enchanting. The heady smell of candles and their incandescent glow just added more to the effects of intoxicating seduction and romance.

Now seated, Callum took charge of serving the chilled Magnum. “I don’t think I’ve romanced anyone like this.” He grinned as he handed me a flute with the bubblies in it.

“I should feel special then,” I murmured before taking a lengthy sip of my drink.

“You should,” Callum mused, looking like a ravishing beast out on a hunt.

What did I say to that? Thank you? Breaking our eye contact, I decided not to respond to him. Callum was a difficult man to read and I’d rather not get into the habit of trying to break into his thoughts because I’d inevitably lose.

Nursing my drink, I focused on the soft sounds of Chris Botti echoing in the background while I watched the fish dance about their way in the large tank.

Callum remained silent and, before long, our servers carried out the first course.

We were on our second course when I noticed something different about Callum. In fact, he had totally abandoned his meal, much to my confusion.

What I found most disconcerting was the fact that he was leaning against his chair, staring at me with a whimsical look on his face.