Three Thousand Miles - Forever, (book #3 of Three Thousand Miles, Series)

  Three Thousand Miles- Forever Book Three Three Thousand Miles Series By Deila Longford

  Author contact

  Blog: http://deilalongoford.blogspot.co.uk/

  Email: [email protected]

  Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Deilalongford/341582502598985

  Twitter: https://twitter.com/DeliaLongford

  Acknowledgements

  ~For my family~

  ONE

  The car drives slowly as the driver navigates through the mid-town traffic. My knees are beginning to jump as we stop, yet again at a red light. I nervously look down at my watch and my heart races when I see that I am thirty – minutes late. I lean forward to my driver as I tryto urge him to drive faster.

  “Excuse me sir, is there any chance of speeding up? I am late for…” I break off mid- sentence as I think of what I am late for. My heart begins to pound and I cannot breathe as I look down at my hand. A huge diamond occupies my left ring finger. The square-cut Cartier ring is absolutely breath taking and every time that I look at it, I start to feel a rush of anxiety. It has been almost three months since that night – on my birthday that Adrian asked me to marry him. The time between then and now has flown by and I cannot believe that the wedding is less than a week away.

  “I am late for my… wedding-dress fitting. A lot of people will be angry with me if I don’t make it there soon!” The driver smiles at me in the rear view mirror and then he instantly pushes his foot down onto the gas pedal. I fall back in my seat a little from the sudden acceleration and I try to compose myself as I gaze out at Manhattan. The streets are busy and the air is beginning to turn crisp once again. Autumn is approaching and I smile as I notice that some of the leaves are beginning to drop from the trees. I still am astounded as to how the time has passed. It feels as if my birthday was just last night and all this doesn’t seem real. I sigh as I remember that night. My party was stunning and my mom did an amazing job in planning the event. Everyone was there, all my family and all my friends. The masquerade theme was truly spectacular and I adored it.

  I close my eyes and I am back there in the moment of when I was dancing with Michael. His eyes were stunning and his beauty mesmerized me. My heart broke when he told me that he was moving on from me. I open my eyes at that thought and I take a deep breath. As I know that, I will have to see him later. I shake off my anxiety as I gently stroke my ring. Ismile as I remember the moment that I accepted Adrian’s proposal.

  “Alanna why have you let go of my hand?” Adrian asks as I move away from him. His eyes are saddened, but I can still see his deep rage that is buried underneath. He lunges closer to me as I hold the ring box in my hand. My heart is thumping and I know that I have to make a choice. I look up at him and I give him the box. He shakes his head at me and then he turns to walk away.

  “Adrian…” I shout after him. He turns and now he cannot hold back his anger. He runs towards me and he takes my hands firmly in his. “Alanna you can’t do this to me. You have to give me an answer!” He says in a very frim voice. He is starting to shake and I notice that his eyes are bolting. My heart is beating fast and I know that I have to tell him my answer. I cannot hold it in any longer.

  “Yes… I will marry you!” I shout at him. He looks at me and he cannot hold back his smile. He pulls me towards him and he kisses me roughly. I pull back from him, as I have a few conditions that he needs to be aware of.

  “I love you and I want to marry you and I will. But you have to agree to a few things first.”

  “What things?” He snaps. I roll my eyes at him.

  “Your temper for starters,” I snap back.

  “What are you saying, Alanna?”

  “You need to talk to someone about your anger.” I say firmly. Adrian runs his fingers through his hair as he considers my words. “Who do you want me to see?” I move closer to him and I take his hand. “A therapist, your mom…”

  “Alanna I told you how I feel about her and still you insist on bringing her into everything. Why do you do that? Why can’t you let it go?” “I only push you about Alice because I love you. I want you to move on from what happened. If you could just talk to her and listen to what she has to say then maybe you can forgive her.”

  “No Alanna!” “Well that’s my condition to marriage. I won’t marry someone who… scares me.” I choke out. Adrian glares at me and I feel his grip on my hands loosen. I feel that I have hurt his feelings with my blunt honesty. I look up into his green eyes and I am lost in their beauty. I try to compose myself, as I want to maintain my firmness with him. I feel that he needs to move on from his past or we will never have a future together.

  “Alanna I will arrange a few meetings with a therapist, but I can’t promise that I will talk to Alice.” I roll my eyes at him and I briefly smile as he agrees to one of my conditions.

  “Okay,” I say in a low voice. Adrian breaks half a smile from his lips.

  “Is there any more conditions for me?” He says sarcastically. “Just one more,” I confirm as Adrian widens his eyes at me. “I need you to let Michael… be. He has told me that he is moving on and you need to accept that. He cares for your sister and maybe they have a chance to be happy. I love you and I want you, but Michael is my friend and he is your brother. We need to live in harmony with each other.”

  “Well if he says that he is moving on then I guess that I need to respect that. I know that you love me and I know that you care for him. I understand the connection you have with him and I do not want to take that away from you. By marrying me, you are committing -forever and I want you to be sure that is what you want.” I move closer to him and I wrap myarms around his neck.

  “Adrian you are all that I want, I love you.” Adrian smiles at me and then he pulls back, as begins he open the ring box. He takes out the ring and I reach out my hand. His fingers gently touch mine as he slides the ring onto my finger. It’s a perfect fit and I smile as I take in its beauty. The warm, night air is blowing through my hair as the ring sparkles in the starlight. I cannot hold back my smile as I look at my hand. I am engaged and I cannot believe it.

  “Come here… fiancé.” Adrian says he lunges towards me. I sigh as I conclude that this is really happening. I am going to marry Adrian and now its forever. “Alanna what took you so long?” My mom shouts as I rush into the dressing rooms of Vera Wang. I hurry towards her and I can tell that she is stressed to the max. Her forehead is creased and her eyes are raging.

  “Sorry Mom, traffic was crazy.” She shakes her head at me as she rushes me further into the room. I smile as I see Sophie and Amelia. “Darling you have lost so much weight. Come let’s get you into that dress.” Amelia says as she greets me with a kiss on each cheek. Amelia is one of New York’s most sought after wedding planners. My mom hired her as soon as she found that Adrian and I were getting married. I have to give credit to my mom for putting this wedding together, without her I would have been lost in the crazy world of planning a wedding. I am very grateful that she has taken control, as I know that there would be no wedding if the organizing were in my hands. My mom and Amelia have planned everything, from the flowers to the cake to the venue and even the goodie bags for our guests - all three hundred of them. I smile as I look at Sophie who is of course my maid of honour.

  “Hey Sophie, wow you look amazing.” I gush. Sophie smiles at me and I feel a jab of excitement as Sophie stands in her bridesmaids dress. My mom and Amelia both agreed that the colour scheme of the wedding should be black and white. Therefore, everything is matched in those colours
. The cake, the flowers, the invites and of course the dresses forthe bridal party, are all black and white. The dresses that we have chosen are black, strapless and fan out at the bottom. I have decided to have three brides’ maids and Penelope as a flower girl. Katharine and Emma have already had their final dress fittings, but I need to have my dress altered as I have lost weightin the run up to the wedding.

  “I know, I love this dress,” Sophie gushes as she twirls in front of the mirror. I laugh at her forwardness.

  “Alanna come on, we have to get you into the dress.” My mom says as she pulls me towards the dressing room. I quickly undress and with the help of the store assistant, I change into my wedding dress.

  “Darling you look wonderful, but you have lost a little too much weight!” Amelia says as I make my way out of the dressing room. I smile at her and I gaze at myself in the mirror. The reflection I seeis startling – is this really me?

  “Come on let’s get the measurements!” Amelia says firmly as she snaps her fingers at the assistant. I slightly roll my eyes are her rudeness and then I smile at the women who ushers over to me and begins to take my measurements.

  “Where is Adrian?” My mom says firmly as she types rapidly on her phone.

  “He is at the office; I am meeting him later for dinner.”

  “I see, Alanna please tell me that he has sorted his tux out for the wedding?” “Yes I am sure that he has it all under control.” My mom rolls her eyes as she takes in my words. She was a little annoyed when Adrian told her that he did not need her help in choosing his wedding outfit. He has been very relaxed about my mom taking control of the planning and he is grateful for everything that she and Amelia have done, but I still feel that he gets a little furious with their constant fussing. Adrian didn’t want to have a massive wedding and if I am honest either did I. However, this is New York and my mom has been planning my wedding for as long as I can remember. At least the wedding is being held at my parents’ house in the Hamptons and not in Italy, where my mom tried to convince Adrian and me to get married. It has been a tough few months and I feel that everything is starting to take its toll.

  As soon as I accepted Adrian’s proposal, I was thrown into planning the wedding whilst he went back to London on business.We have spent the last month apart and I have missed him so much. My daysconsist of rushing all over town with my mom and Amelia, although I don’tsee why they need me to approve everything as they don’t listen to anythingthat I have to say, anyway. I wait around – bored while they discuss flower arrangements and appetizers all the while two massive bodyguards guard me and that’s how it’s been ever since I received the warning note in London. I feel trapped in my own life, but I know that Adrian is just trying to protect me. The threat of the Marshalls is high and I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t scared. Some nights I lie awake and think back on that dreadful day when Michael and were shot. I have vivid nightmares about the event and every time I think of it, my skin crawls. I desperately try to put it out of my mind and to not think back on it, but every now and then it creeps up on me, when I least expect it. When it does, I am reminded of just how much I owe my life to Michael.

  “Okay Miss, we are all done.” I breathe a sigh of relief as I make my way back into the dressing room. I unzip the dress and throw on my jeans and sweater. I rush back out into the room and I notice that Sophie is also changed out of her dress. I walk over to her and she looks as if she has something that she would like to say.

  “I need to talk to you ,” she says in an anxious voice. I smile at her.

  “Let’s go and get some coffee.” I make my way over to my mom. “I have to go right now, is there anything that you need me to do?” I ask as I rummage in my bag for my phone. My mom creases her forehead at me and then she begins to talk rapidly.

  “The guest list for the bachelorette party needs confirming, you and Adrian need to head over to Saks and register for your wedding gifts and please Alanna, make sure that he has his tux sorted out!” I laugh lightly at my mom as I feel that she is so passionate about planning my dream wedding. I smile at her, as I lean in and give her a gentle kiss on the cheek.

  “There should be no more than ten for the bachelorette party and I will talk to Adrian about his tux and the wedding gifts. Mom, are you okay?”

  “Of course, I am okay.” She snaps.

  “Are you sure? You are working yourself to the bone, planning the wedding maybe you should take a time-out.” My mom looks insulted by my words. “Alanna the wedding is less than a week away. There is no time for breaks!” “Alanna, you ready to go?” Sophie says as she makes her way over to us. I smile at her and then at my mom.

  “I am just worried that you are stressing yourself out.” My mom reaches out to me and takes me in her arms. “Oh sweetie I am fine. Now go and please tell Adrian that I said ‘hi’.” I break free from my mom and Sophie and I head out of the doors of Vera Wang. My bodyguards greet us.

  “Miss,” body guard no: 1 says as he heads over to me. I have decided not to get involved with my security, therefore I simply name them body guard no:1 and body guard no:2. I don’t want to become friendly with them as Adrian changes my security every two weeks. He feels that it is better to have fresh people around me, as he doesn’t want me to been seen with the same people all the time. The constant security and my lack of privacy do annoy me, but I know that Adrian will not have it any other way. The only time that I don’t have security around me is when I am with Adrian and I savour those moments as I know as soon as leaves, the body guards will appear once again.

  “My friend and I are just going to get some coffee.” I say as Sophie and I turn and head towards the nearest Starbucks. “So what do you need to talk about?” I ask as I take a sip of my latte macchiato. Sophie seems flustered and I can tell that she is uncomfortable. I take a deep breath as I hope that everything with her and Dr James is okay.

  “It’s James,” Sophie confesses. My heart races as I wonder what is wrong. “Is everything okay?” I ask through gritted teeth.Sophie takes a swig of her latte and then she exhales.

  “I don’t know, I can’t really say what I am feeling - out loud.”

  “Sophie I am starting to worry, please tell me what James has done?”

  “He hasn’t done anything. It’s me, I am the problem.” I stare at her in confusion. “Sophie you need to be more specific.” Sophie exhales as she nervously plays with her hair.

  “I don’t know how to say this, I am totally freaking out.” I reach over and grab Sophie’s hand as I notice that she is trying to hold back her tears.

  “Do you not love him?” I ask quietly. My heart races as I await her response. She shakes her head at me.

  “I love him so much and I know that he is the one for me.” Now I shake my head.

  “Sophie I can’t help you, if you don’t tell me whatis wrong.” I say firmly. “Alanna I am pregnant!” I gasp at her revelation and I don’t know what to say. I look at her face and I cannot believe what she is saying. Sophie is pregnant. “I um… don’t know what to say. Are you sure? Like,have you taken a test?” I scowl my face at my words, as I feel very uncomfortable talking about this. Sophie cannot hold back her tears as she confirms.

  “Yes I am positive; I don’t know what to do, Alanna.” I take a deep breath as I take in Sophie’s pain. She genuinely looks upset and I don’t know what I can say to make to her feel better. I try to compose my confusion as I reach for Sophie’s hand once again.

  “Have you told James?” “No, I can’t bring myself to tell him. I am so scared, Alanna.” I gaze at her and I watch her tears stream down her face. Seeing Sophie like this reminds me of when Adrian found of about William. I try to focus on my friend.

  “You need to talk to him; you can’t hide this from him.”

  “I know I can’t, but Alanna I am terrified of his reaction. What if he gets mad at me and I don’t think I cope if he left me.” “Sophie he won’t leave you. James is a decent guy and I know that
he will support you through this.” I pause as I say my next words. “Sophie have you decided what you’re going to do?” She shakes her head at me.

  “No I wouldn’t decide anything without James. Alanna you are the first person that I have told about this, please promise me that you won’t say anything?” “Of course my lips are sealed.”

  “I am so scared of what my parents will say. They are going to be so mad at me.”

  “Sophie I hate to say this but, how did it happen?” Sophie looks stunned by my words.

  “Hmm it is pretty standard I think!” Sophie snaps and I feel that I need to rephrase my words. “I get it, but I always thought that you were very responsible with things like that. I guess I am just in shock, this is unbelievable. You are going to be a MOM.” Tears begin to fill my eyes and I reach over to Sophie. She pulls me close for a hug and I feel her clutching onto me. Her breathing is heavy and I can tell that her whole body is shaking. I feel compassionate towards her but I need to convince her to talk to James about this. My mind again rushes back to Adrian and William. I shake my head as I think of how stubborn Zara is being. She is flat-out refusing to give Adrian a paternity test. He has been trying for months, but she is unresponsive. He finally managed to talk to her the other day but she rather rudely declined his suggestion. The longer this goes on the more I start to believe Michael’s views on this matter. If Adrian were William’s father, then there would be no issue in giving him proof that the child belongs to him. I really feel that she has something to hide and it is only a matter of time before we found out the truth.

  “We are careful but mistakes can happen and it has. I am pregnant this is real.” “Sophie you really need to talk to James. Would you like me to give you a ride over to his apartment?” Sophie nods in agreement and we make our way out into the street once again. We hurry towards the car, closely followed by the bodyguards. We slide into the back seat and the driver quickly pulls away. I turn to Sophie as I feel her grip my hand. I smile at her and then I hear my phone buzzing from inside my bag – a text from Adrian.