Chapter Ten
Evan found himself changing into his sleepwear when he suddenly remembered something: Lord and Lady Martí hadn't announced the exact date of Gabrielle and his wedding…
He frowned in confusion. They should have set a date back in the formal dinner he had on his first day in Avevia, shouldn't they? He wondered if this was some sort of trick of the Martí family, they were certainly full of surprises…
Like earlier on that night, they simply expressed a remote kind of worry when they saw him joining them for dinner so late and with a bleeding lip.
Gabrielle on the other hand was clearly concerned, not being able to conceal it —but then again, she was flawlessly trained to imitate their parents' behavior and not show negative emotions in excess… Another thing Evan disliked about her.
He wondered what the raw, authentic Gabrielle (or as Lord and Lady Martí liked to call her, "Belle") looked like, how she'd actually react at the sight of her husband coming back home hurt or simply really late. He'd have liked to see her whole concern right at that moment.
He heard two knocks on the door suddenly.
"I'm coming." He raised his voice from inside his room.
He headed to the door, expecting it to be Adelyn or some other staff member. But he was surprised when he saw Gabrielle standing on the other side of the door, a shy smile printed on her celestial visage, her brown eyes shining in anticipation, like quietly expecting something from him. Like she was possibly hiding something.
"Gabrielle, what are you doing here? It's past midnight." Evan inquired, looking both ways down the corridor, fearing someone would notice her late-night visit.
The noble lady chuckled, amused.
"Don't worry, I asked my parents for permission to spend the night in your room —I mean, only if you want to, of course." She quickly corrected herself. "I'm really sorry we haven't had much time to get to know each other well… Life as a noble is hectic for sure, but that doesn't mean we can't sneak out our duties from time to time to spend some quality time together." She sketched a wide, rather sweet smile across her gorgeous face.
Evan swallowed a heavy lump on his throat, nervous.
"It's… okay, I guess. What do you want to do?" He asked, trying not to look her in the eye.
Gabrielle was dressing a creased babydoll as a nightgown. It was of a pale yellow color and it had delicate, translucent frills on the edges. It also had a faint roses design printed in an almost white hue. The cleavage revealed a small portion of her bosom, and her skinny, flawless legs were completely bare. She looked irresistible for sure. Irresistible for any man, except for Evan, of course...
"Do you like movies?" She asked with enthusiasm. "You have a wide variety of Blu-rays in the console beneath your television, we can watch something, what genre do you enjoy watching the most?"
Evan hesitated silently for a moment. She wasn't expecting any type of romantic action, was she?
Who was he trying to deceive? Of course she must have been expecting something of the sort…
"Um… what genre do you usually enjoy watching the most?" He replied with another question.
"Oh, that's so chivalrous of you!" She giggled and blushed faintly, she was clearly smitten with him… "I really like romantic comedies or dramatic films."
Evan's eyes opened wide for a fleeting moment, surprised at the coincidence in their taste.
"Awesome, I like the same, shall I pick one myself? Or did you have something specific in mind?"
Gabrielle grinned.
"Pick one yourself, I love surprises." She replied, her voice sounding cheerful and flirty. "I asked Adelyn to make some caramel popcorn, I think you might know her already, she's really a lovely girl, my favorite maid in the manor."
"Yes, I met her earlier this morning, she's really kind and interesting." Evan said, averting his gaze and smiling shyly.
"Well, I won't keep you waiting. I'll bring the popcorn and drinks, you choose the movie meanwhile." Said Gabrielle, turning around on her heels and leaving with a cheerful walking.
Evan closed the door behind him and sighed. He really didn't want to do this. What exactly was Gabrielle expecting to happen? Should he have been scared? He highly doubted she'd want to have premarital sex, that was not an idea she was raised with for sure.
But still, what if she did want to…?
A flurry of thoughts, possible actions and outcomes crammed Evan's mind as he rummaged through the large catalog of Blu-rays. He wasn't able to think straight, even less pay attention to the titles in front of him that he was swiping through so nonchalantly.
His hands reached the last cover in the extensive pile: "The Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind". It was a movie he had heard of before, but unfortunately never watched.
He heard two knocks on the door again. With the Blu-ray in his hand —not even noticing he was holding it in first place, he headed to the door and proceeded to open it, still feeling a bit hesitant about this event happening so suddenly.
On the other side, a joyous Gabrielle smiling at him. A pretty country-styled glass bowl full of caramel popcorn being held by her arm, four plastic paper cups in her left hand, and a glass bottle of some fizzy drink in her right hand.
Evan took a look at the drink: it was red at the bottom and faded into orange as it reached the top of the bottle.
"Don't worry, it's not alcohol," Gabrielle reassured with a sweet, soothing voice. "If you're wondering, it's just a fizzy cranberry and mango drink. Nothing to worry or be scared about."
Evan smiled timidly at her.
"Let me help you, I'm really sorry you had to carry all of the food." He said as he took the bowl in his hand. Some pieces of popcorn inevitably fell off to the floor.
Gabrielle took a look at his other hand, eyeing the movie her fiancé had picked.
"The Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind? It's a good movie, a bit surrealistic at some point, but it's still good." She gave her simple opinion. "Did you choose it for any reason in particular?"
Evan let out a confused sound, not even knowing what movie his hands had picked.
"Not really. I just saw it there and thought I had never watched it, so it could be fun if we watched it together." He said, half making things up and half telling the truth.
Gabrielle sketched a toothy grin.
"That's really sweet of you." She murmured, her voice was as dulcet and soft as honey. "Okay, shall we start now? You play the movie, I'll pour the drink in the cups and place the bowl on the coffee table."