“Don’t worry, tomorrow I will give her a call to find out why she’s looking into her, and I will let you know,” Sonia promised, and Celsie sighed as she gave her a nod.
“Alright. Thanks. I should go to bed now. I have to go to work tomorrow,” Celsie said when she saw that it was past almost midnight.
“Sure. We will be leaving for Heden tomorrow. I need to take care of my business with my editor. I will call to let you know how it goes, and also tell you about my conversation with Jade,” Sonia promised.
“Thanks. Give my love to Bryan, Desmond, and Evelyn. Love you,” Celsie said, and Sonia blew her a kiss before hanging up.
Celsie sighed as she stood up and returned to the bedroom to meet Benne. How did her ordinary life become so complicated and entangled in so many webs and dramas? She mused as she lay on the bed.
She smiled when Benne opened his eyes sleepily and pulled her to himself before turning off the light in the bedroom, “Sweet dreams, Jewel,” Benne murmured in a husky voice as he kissed her forehead.
“Good morning, Jewel,” Benne greeted with a twinkle in his eyes as he watched Celsie’s eyes slowly flutter open when her bedside alarm bell went off.
Celsie smiled when she opened her eyes and saw Benne’s face hovering above hers. He was lying on his right side with his body propped up on his elbow.
Benne kissed her eyes making her laugh as she weakly pushed him away, “Good morning, Ace. How long have you been up? Why didn’t you wake me up?” She asked, turning her mouth away from his face so that he won’t be disturbed by her morning breath.
Benne smiled when he noticed what she was doing, and turned her face towards him. He wanted them to be completely comfortable with each other in every state they found themselves in.
“I’ve been awake for some time now. I didn’t wake you up because I didn’t want to rush my favorite morning ritual,” Benne said, and Celsie looked at him with confused eyes.
“What ritual?”
“My favorite way to begin my day is to watch you wake up. It’s like watching the rise of the morning sun. It gives me the same kick,” Benne said making Celsie’s heart flutter, and a blush stained her cheeks.
“I wonder where you get those cheesy lines,” Celsie said, and Benne wiggled his brows.
“You won’t believe me if I told you,” Benne said, his eyes twinkling with both amusement and mischief, and Celsie raised a brow.
“Try me,” she challenged, and Benne grinned.
“Your eyes. When I look into those beautiful diamond-like gray eyes of yours, I’m like a lost man. I’m devoid of every rational thought, and the only words that come to me are expressions of your beauty, virtue, and worth. I could say you are my romantic muse,” Benne said, and this time Celsie giggled.
“Now you’re being too much. Let’s go get ready for work,” Celsie said as she tried to get off the bed, but Benne held her back.
“What’s the rush for? I’m not in a hurry to face reality. The moment we get off this bed and walk out the door we are going to be faced once again with all the unpleasant things we pushed aside yesterday. So let’s just give ourselves this few minutes,” Benne pleaded as he sat up on the bed and pulled her back to himself.
He was right. Who knew what other problems they would have to face today? These days they barely spent enough time talking about themselves. It was always about other people and how to take care of problems.
“We are going to be late to work,” she reminded him lazily in her last attempt to maintain her workaholic reputation.
“No one is going to query you, I assure you,” Benne said, and Celsie sighed, not wanting to tell him it was an abuse of power. If everyone stayed in bed that way with their partners no one would show up at work.
“Besides, it won’t be the first time you will be late because of me,” Benne reminded her, and Celsie smiled as she sat between his legs and let her back relax against his body.
“So what do you want us to do?” Celsie asked, and Benne shrugged.
“Let’s talk about us. Pleasant things. Tell me about the fun places you would love to visit, and those things you have always wanted to do but haven’t been able to do,” Benne said as he nuzzled her neck, making Celsie’s eyes feel heavy.
“I can’t think when you are doing that,” she said, and Benne chuckled as he paused to give her room to think.
Celsie narrowed her eyes as she thought about it, “I would love to visit Paris and Maldives,” Celsie said with a soft sigh when Benne kissed the spot behind her ear.
“For someone who didn’t want to be in a romantic relationship, what did you plan to do at such romantic getaway spots?” Benne asked in a teasing tone, not wanting to mention that those were his ideal honeymoon destinations.
Celsie grinned, “I’m sure there is not a single law that states that those places are only meant for romantic getaways,” Celsie said defensively as she turned to look at him.
“Who knows? Perhaps going there would have been all you needed to change your mind. You would have been swarmed by lovers everywhere you turned, and would have no other choice than to find yourself one,” Benne said, and Celsie looked at him for a moment.
“That would have happened only if you were there. I’m sure it was going to be you or no one else,” Celsie said, and this time it was Benne’s heart that skipped a beat.
“Is it normal for a man to have butterflies in his belly? Cause I can swear I feel so many butterflies fluttering in my belly right now,” Benne said as he raised a hand to his abdomen, and Celsie laughed out loud.
“I suppose you’re allowed to have butterflies. You are human just like the rest of us after all,” Celsie said with a teasing smile.
“Damn, Celsie! You made my heart skip a beat,” Benne said, still feeling very touched by her declaration.
“You do that to me all the time,” Celsie said with a wide smile on her face as she watched the man she had come to absolutely adore.
“So now that I’m in a relationship with a big shot like you, there is no reason why I shouldn’t go there. I will flaunt you and throw our love in all their faces,” Celsie said with a wide smile, and Benne found himself smiling back.
“Sure. I’d love that very much. Let’s do that after everything is over. Let’s go on a vacation alone…”
“What about the family vacation your mom talked about? We can’t go separately for ours and then go for that too…”
“Sure, we can,” Benne countered.
“Mr. CEO, we can’t take leave from work twice in a year,” Celsie reminded him, and Benne groaned.
“C’mon, Jewel. Please don’t ruin this moment with your workaholic tendencies,” Benne pleaded.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.