Soon
Soon
While Gael perused the electronics section with serious consideration and things for his own home office, Angela excitedly picked out high-quality linens, filling out their carts. He shook his head with a smile on his face when he saw the mountainous pile, finding her so adorable.
"It's so much fun playing house, don't you think?" She beamed. "Except we're not playing. Wow. I've been a grown-up for a while now but this makes me feel especially grown-up. Am I making sense?"
He chuckled, placing an arm around her waist and pulling her closer as they waited for the cashier to ring all their purchases. "Yes. It's pretty fun."
Who'd have thought that Gael actually enjoyed doing something like this? He certainly wouldn't have before. Granted, the two had to slightly wrestle when it was time to pay, both of them wanting to take care of the bill. "Let me take care of this today, and you get the next one," he told her as he insisted on his card to the lady.
"Tch." Angela playfully poked his side, giving up the fight. "You always say that every time and then when it's time for me to pay, you'd already taken care of it. Stop scamming me."
He threw his head back and laughed. "You already got the house, remember? This is nothing compared to that."
"Hmmm… Let's agree to stop making this a big deal starting from now on. What do you say?"
"That I can agree." He dipped his head and kissed the tip of her nose and then the two of them curled their lips into a smirk, their eyes glinting as they stared at each other. Both of them were certain that they'd revisit the same ridiculous paying game in the future.
Over the following days, Gael used Angela's office for the meantime to work. She couldn't concentrate on writing there during the day when construction was happening outside because she was easily distracted, so she set a couple of hours in the evening before going to bed to work on her book.
Gael didn't mind the outside noise that much, knowing the pool would be finished in a few days, though he'd have to move to another area of the house when he had important calls and zoom meetings to take. He was also looking forward to the opening of the new satellite office in Mayne.
In the afternoons, when they had free time, they'd find something to work on around the house like painting the spare rooms and decorating.
As much as Angela enjoyed doing housework with Gael, she found him distracting. He'd wear overalls when they painted. When he'd get so hot and all that, he'd strip the top down and tie it around his waist, his torso glistening with sweat, making him look yummy—and super distracting. She'd rather just stare at him than paint the walls.
And let's talk about him lifting or moving furniture here and there, his muscles all coiled and flexed. What the hell was he doing looking so hot and handsome? Her ovaries were about to explode.
Gael had caught her staring one time and he smirked. "Like what you see?"
"Mhmm."
"What's going on in that pretty head of yours?"
She chuckled. "You know those cheap porn videos with different scenarios. I imagine you, a maintenance guy, coming over to fix my pipe."
He laughed, shook his head, and strolled towards the kitchen to get himself a bottle of water. But then he stopped, looked over his shoulder, and flashed her a panty-dropping smile, "You need help with your pipes, Ma'am?"
Angela's smile widened as she sauntered towards him. "You know… I always find those types of porn icky. But you… you just turned me on."
See? He was such a distraction. With him looking like a snack all the time, how could she ever concentrate?
But then again, this was all valuable writing material. So who was she to complain?
***
"Thank you. I'll see you this Saturday," said Angela before ending the phone call she received on Friday morning.
"Who was that?" Gael asked.
"The orphanage. They're hosting an appreciation day on Saturday and they're inviting me over. The kids apparently prepared something."
"That's sweet of them." He kissed her cheek. "You ready to go out in a few minutes? It looks like the weather is nice today."
Angela looked outside the window and nodded. One of her favorites was when they'd jog outside, following the trail that Gael took when he used to live here last year. He'd shown her the lake he'd found and she gushed about how beautiful it was.
Yesterday, they found a river about less than a mile from their backyard. Angela thought back to a time when she thought she had heard a flow of water. Really, the distance made it impossible for her to hear so she settled with just having a gut feeling.
Today, they followed the flow of the water—rather, the source of it, and about three miles ahead, they found a hidden gem.
There, not too far from their house, was a stunning waterfall in the middle of the rainforest. It was probably about eighty feet high and plunged into a pool of bright blue water—such a contrast to the lush shades of green of the forest. They could not believe what they were seeing. It looked so ethereal.
Angela and Gael got excited over their discovery of what looked like an untouched oasis that they stripped out of their clothes and took a dip in the cool fresh water. The whole forty-five-minute walk from the house was all worth it.
Sometime later, they put on their clothes again and relaxed under a shade, not caring about the wet rock they sat on. They were too blissful to care about anything else other than enjoying nature at the moment. Here, they found peace and forgot about the gruesome and violent world they knew.
Gael reached for her hand and threaded their fingers together. "Are you happy?"
Angela nodded. "Very much, yeah. The house… The lake… This friggin' waterfall! I mean, holy…wow. Things just keep getting better and better. And I'm glad I get to share this with you."
He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. "Me too, baby."
"Really? You don't miss New York?"
He shrugged then squeezed her hand. "I miss my family, sure. But I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be."
"You just keep being romantic like that, De Luca, and you'll get very lucky tonight."
Chuckling, he pulled her against his chest and wrapped his arms around her. "I can already see our children growing up in this place. We'll have picnics by the lake and dips here when they're old enough to hold their weight and not slip and fall on their ass."
That got her laughing and she slapped his arm. "Hey! The rocks are really slippery okay?" She pouted as she rubbed her left butt cheek, still sore from falling earlier.
Gael lifted her chin and pressed his lips to hers. "I can't wait to make you my wife, Angel."
"Neither can I. Let's do it."
A grin crossed his face. "Yeah? When?"
Angela bit her bottom lip. They hadn't talked about a date yet, but there really was nothing holding them back to get married now. She brimmed with excitement at the thought of their new life ahead. Smiling at him, she stroked the side of his face. "Soon."