In Time

2.

❇ Rachel's POV ❇

"Miss Williams, Miss Williams!" Ryan tugged the ends of my blouse. I squatted down to Ryan's eye level and wiped away the tomato sauce, stained on his pink puffy cheeks.

"What can I do for you Ryan?" I cooed and straightened Ryan's clothes.

"I want you to play with me!" Ryan whined as he clung onto my arm, looking at me with his adorable puppy eyes.

"I just did, sweetie." I could not hide the smile from my face and gave Ryan a hug.

"I want to play more," Ryan negotiated with me and swing my arm forward and backwards.

"Ryan, come here." Melissa came to my rescue as she carried a pouting Ryan.

"Miss Williams is going home now. You can play with her tomorrow. Alright?"

Ryan unwillingly nodded his head and sucked his thumb. He reached out his hands for me to carry. I have no reason to reject as Ryan was obviously on the brink of sleep. I patted lightly on Ryan's small back and hummed the tune of the A B C song.

Soon after, Ryan's soft snore could be heard. Melissa slowly carried Ryan over and mouthed a thank you. I smiled in response and walked out to the front door.

Gavin quickly unlocked the car door and came out to greet me. Before I could open my mouth to say a hi, Gavin embraced me in a tight hug. Stunned by his actions, it took me a while to wrap my arms around him.

Gavin's grin was so wide I thought it might break out of his face. He kept on grinning dreamily until I have to give his arms a pinch. Gavin finally snapped out of his daze.

"Ow! What was that for?" Gavin ruffled my hair playfully as he helped me open the door.

"Unless you suddenly find me very beautiful, if not you wouldn't be grinning like a fool."

"You are very beautiful, babe." Gavin looked like he wanted to say something but thought better of it.

"What are you going to say but changed your mind?" I asked when Gavin slipped into the driver's seat.

Gavin lifted up his head to meet my eyes after buckling the seat belt. Amusement flashed past his sky blue eyes.

"You'll see." That was all Gavin said as he drove us to our destination.

"So, what's so special about today that you asked me to take half a day off?" I questioned innocently as Gavin didn't like it when I asked too many questions. Seeing that his mood today wasn't that bad, I decided to try my luck.

Gavin's eyebrows slightly knitted together. I have a feeling he would ignore me, as usual. Surprisingly, his mood was good enough to answer me. "You are one of a kind, Rachel."

Well, Gavin did give me a reply, but he also didn't exactly reply to my question. Get it?

After a good fifteen minutes of silence, Gavin said. "Rachel, I have my own reasons for being this secretive. Just bear with me, okay?"

Gavin flashed me his heart-melting grin as he continued driving. What else could I do other than smiling and nodding?

The silence seemed to be our eternal friend, as it never left us. I played with my fingers as I finally realised something. Gavin and I aren't talking non-stop like we have endless things to talk about. We didn't even fight for anything and everything, like what many couples do. I didn't like this realisation at all.

Hold up. Why am I even having this kind of thoughts? I knew about Gavin's quiet and soft natured personality when I agreed to date him. Even agreed to marry him. I must be over analysing this small problem.
~*~*~*

"Here we are!" Gavin announced as he parked the car in front of a fancy restaurant.

Gavin passed his car keys to the valet and led me into the restaurant. I quickly looked down to check if my outfit suited this place. Thank goodness I have decided to wear this white dress that Nicole gave it to me.

"Gav, why didn't you tell me we're coming here for lunch?" I whispered into Gavin's ears, as the people here were talking really softly.

"Does it even matter?" Gavin whispered back to me as I sat down on the chair he pulled out for me.

"Of course! If I just wore a plain tee and shorts, I will look so out of place!" I explained in an agitated manner.

"Rachel, you don't have to worry so much. You will fit in anywhere with whatever clothes you wear!" Gavin reassured me with his easy-going smile.

We don't usually dine in this kind of restaurants, except for some special occasions. Speaking of special occasions, it was neither our birthdays. What could it be? Gavin seemed extra happy today. Gavin's big smile was etched on his face from the moment I saw him.

I was scanning through the menu and my mouth formed the letter 'o'. Oh my. The food here is much more expensive than I've thought.

Gavin received a decent amount of salary being a defense attorney. Well, of course, I didn't earn as much as Gavin. For the past year, we've been saving up for our wedding. My curiosity grows with each passing minute, like what the hell was happening.

I lifted my gaze from the eye-widening price to look at Gavin. I mentally gave him an eye roll as he was smiling dreamily at the menu. "So, have you decided what to eat?" Gavin asked while flipping over to another page of the menu.

"Um. I'll have a chicken salad." My tummy was protesting rather loudly as it was not happy with my decision. Fortunately, the growling sound was not audible for others to hear.

Gavin closed the menu and chuckled. What's so funny about my choice of lunch?

Gavin was still laughing when he signalled for the waiter to order.

"We'll have set A and B, with a bottle of champagne. That will be all." Gavin said as the waiter scribbled down our orders.

"Gav, since when I o-" My sentence was left hanging when Gavin raised a hand.

"Unless you're on a diet, a chicken salad will not be enough for your tummy." Gavin reasoned with me as passed the waiter our menu.

I was about to open my mouth, to argue that I am not a big eater. However, I felt my stomach vibrated rather violently and reluctantly closed my mouth.

"Babe, just relax and enjoy the food." Gavin shot me a wink. The hunger war in my tummy instantly turned into a butterfly garden.

I decided to take Gavin's advice and calm my jittery nerves down. This kind of high-class restaurants always made me nervous for no reason.
*~*~*~*

Gavin and I were having a great time when he wanted to give a toast.

"Here's a toast to our future." Gavin smiled warmly at me and I nodded in agreement.

I tilted the cup to take a sip of the expensive champagne. The liquid rolled inside my mouth as I savoured the taste of champagne. When I was about to swallow it down, something happened.

"We're moving to Los Angeles, Rachel!" Gavin announced and I choked on that sentence.

Therefore, I was caught in a terrible coughing fit. At first, I tried to cough gracefully and quietly which was impossible for my situation. Disregarding all the weird stares that were cast on me, I coughed hard and loudly. Gavin quickly called for a glass of warm water and made me drink it down slowly.

I drank the warm water gratefully and willed it to soothe the itchiness in my throat. Luckily, I did feel better after a while.

"Rachel, are you feeling better?"

I cleared my throat before answering him, "Yeah! By the way, why the sudden move to Los Angeles?"

Author's note :
Yo guys! I hope you're liking the story so far :) Thanks for reading! ♥ It'll be a great encouragement for me if you'll vote/comment/share the story. :P