Sold #2 - A Desperate Love

Chapter 9

While Michael let the dinner cook for another few minutes before calling Darcy inside to eat, he was happy to spend the time setting the table and lighting the two tall candles he had found in the cupboard. It was another of those buys that Darcy had to have made herself just to make his life easier, as he hadn't remembered that he didn't have any in the house until he'd found the brand new packet in the cupboard. And boy was he glad. They couldn't have a romantic dinner without candles, not when he had something so important to say. But although he was a little surprised to find Darcy already in the kitchen when he walked back through, washing her hands at the sink as though she instinctively knew that dinner was ready, he was happy with the smile she showed him as she stepped away from the units and over to the door. "Do you mind if I go up and change?" She asked softly, the quick glance he gave to the multiple grass stains and accidental pencil marks on her skirt, fighting away his nerves with the amusing thought of just what she had been getting up to for those three hours she had spent outside.

"Just be quick." Michael laughed, allowing her a few minutes to get herself cleaned up while he set out the dinner and added the few finishing touches. He poured the wine and set Darcy's glass down beside her cutlery and made sure to take the chocolate cake out of the fridge to thaw while they ate and he was glad to see that everything was just about perfect. All he needed was the girl. And after five minutes he had her, about to take a sip of his wine when the sight of her, walking through to the dining room in a stunning red dress, stopped him from doing so. Her face flushed in a slight embarrassment when he stood from his seat, crossing over to her as he handed her the glass of wine he had poured, unable to explain just how beautiful she looked. "You're a little dressed up just for dinner...there's no-one to see you but me." He smiled down at her teasingly, unable to find fault with either what she was wearing or why she had chosen it. When he saw the way she looked up at him with a soft yearning in her eyes, gently touching the tip of his tie that he had forgotten he was wearing and drawing her bottom lip between her teeth, he knew that she was well aware of what he was up to and all that he had planned for their evening.

"Good." She sighed softly, vulnerable to the strange butterflies she felt deep down in the pit of her stomach, when he kissed her, unsure of why they were there. "I bought this dress for you, not for anyone else." Her voice was nothing more than a gently whisper that seemed almost frightened of her own words. They had been alone before, they had sat down to dinner together and she had never looked so nervous before, after all what else did she have to be nervous about? He had been her first kiss, they had slept together and already fallen in love and admitted to that feeling, they had even talked about their future, and about names for the children they each had planned. There was little else for her to worry about.

"You're not trying to seduce me are you?" Michael tormented her, touching the tip of his finger to her chin in protest of the shy way she looked away from him. He wasn't sure why, but she seemed more nervous than he was and he was quite sure that she had no idea why he had planned their night as he had or of what he was about to ask her. "Because I'm afraid Miss Connor, I'm not available."

*****

Once Michael knew that his girl understood that he was only teasing her to ease both their nerves, he let her sit down at the dining table while he brought through the dinner plates, quite content with the natural way their conversation progressed to Darcy's plans for the garden as he did so. It was a nice change for them to sit together, all alone with no-one else to think about and no-one else's wishes or needs to cater for. There was nothing needing their attention, no work that needed done and all they had to do was sit and eat their dinner while Michael went straight into the many topics he wanted to discuss with her. "I'm glad you weren't upset this morning." He began hesitantly, too nervous about the things he had to say and how his girlfriend might react to them, to even look up at her confused frown. She wasn't quite sure of what he was referring to as she had been emotional all day, and when she added on the fact that he had made an extremely romantic dinner, with her favourite meal and candles, she felt that perhaps he was up to something or trying to apologise for something he didn't need to. "I just want you to know that I didn't explain what Greg meant about Paul because I didn't want to upset you. Greg was just trying to save you from the details but I always intended to tell you, I just wanted us to be alone first. I hope you understand that." Michael confessed, surprising her with his words and the nervous way he couldn't look at her as he played with his food. He wanted to tell her and knew that if they continued to let things remain unsaid between them then they would only be setting themselves up for heartache, before if there was one thing he was sure of, he couldn't go on any longer without both apologising for his unnecessary actions and his accusations and he couldn't last one more day without knowing what Marcus had said to upset her so much. It was eating away at him, more with every hour and he had to know.