When We Were

Seventy Seven: Because We Both Know How He Feels About You

Spitting the last of his toothpaste into the sink, Lionel let out a quiet sigh as he moved to wipe his face. The day had been a long one, between calls with both sets of parents and their wider families and their usual daily routine, it felt as though there had barely been a second to take a break, and whilst Lionel loved that the news of his and Emilia’s engagement was going down so well, he’d been looking for an excuse to duck out for most of the day, something which had only been afforded to him when Maisie’s bedtime had rolled around. He had run with it, with Emilia caught up in what felt like the hundredth phone call with her mother since they’d told her of their engagement, he had jumped at the opportunity to settle the little girl down for the night, and he had opted to stay upstairs, not entirely certain he had the patience to get drawn into another conversation with Marcella or any other cooing relative.

He loved that people were so excited. Despite their assurances that they would be, there had been a few lingering doubts that had been cleared away by the barrage of phone calls that they’d gone through, but still Lionel felt slightly overwhelmed. As silly as it was, he hadn’t expected that the news would be as big a deal as it had been.

Checking his reflection, he wiped the last trace of toothpaste off of his face before he heard a knock, causing him to turn around, his stare settling on Emilia who stood in the doorway, her arms folded over her chest as a slightly amused look shone in her eyes. Blinking a couple of times, he felt his cheeks warm before he glanced down at his feet. “Em...”

Emilia cut him off as she stepped further into the room, pressing her lips to his briefly. “I know” she whispered as she pulled away.

Lionel’s forehead creased a little. “You know what?” he asked.

Emilia’s fingertips gently traced the line of his jaw, a little smile on her lips. “That my madre is overwhelming” she mused “That you had had enough for phone calls hours ago. That you were so desperate to put Maisie to bed just so I didn’t hand you the phone again” she added.

“Em...”

“It’s OK” Emilia murmured, stealing another kiss.

Lionel leant into the kiss, basking in it for a moment, before he gently pulled back, his fingers brushing Emilia’s hair off of her neck softly. “I’m excited” he noted “And I don’t want you to doubt that. I asked you because I wanted to ask you” he insisted.

Emilia’s little smile widened. “I know you did” she mused.

Lionel gently brushed his thumb up the side of her neck. “Your mother’s already called 4 times, Em” he mumbled, only half teasing.

Emilia nodded her head knowingly. “I told her to rein it in a bit” she noted “I mean, we are getting married, but it’s not like we’re doing it tomorrow” she added as she pulled away from him slightly, moving to collect the pair of pajamas which she had left in their usual spot.

Lionel watched her for a few moments as she got changed. “When are we doing it, then?” he asked.

Emilia had started to pull her hair up, so looked back at him curiously via the mirror ahead of her. “What?” she asked.

“We’ve already ruled out tomorrow” Lionel answered with a shy smile which bordered on impish “So, when are we going to do it?” he asked.

Emilia fiddled with her hair quietly, the beginnings of a smile twitching at the corner of her lips.

Lionel stepped closer to her, his hands settling on her waist. “You’re smiling” he mumbled, kissing the back of her neck lightly.

“I’m happy” Emilia replied playfully.

Lionel laughed quietly.

“I thought you’d ask to take a break” Emilia mused after a couple of moments, answering the question that she knew that Lionel had really meant to ask her “I thought my mother would have destroyed your daily tolerance for wedding talk. I was surprised that you asked about a date, but pleasantly so” she added.

Lionel tipped his head forwards, kissing her shoulder gently. “I’d like to talk about it with you” he murmured.

“Yeah?” Emilia asked.

Lionel nodded. “Jordi gave me a couple of pieces of advice” he noted.

Emilia turned in his arms, gently placing her hands at the back of his neck as an amused smirk lit up her features. “You know that he was awful at wedding planning, don’t you?” she prodded “He kept getting overwhelmed and frustrated. He even started a fight with Samia about fonts” she added.

“That would explain why his first piece of advice was to elope” Lionel quipped impishly.

Emilia laughed. “I’m not that brave” she quipped.

“Me either” Lionel agreed “So, we should definitely hire a planner” he added.

“Absolutely” Emilia agreed “I might ask Sam for the name of the one that she and Jordi used. She was really good” she added.

Lionel thought about pointing out the logistical problem of having a wedding planner in Argentina, but opted against it, instead opting to offer Emilia a small smile and a nod. “That sounds like a plan” he noted.

Emilia’s already bright face lit up a little more. “What other advice did Jordi give you?” she prodded.

“The planner thing” Lionel noted “And he said to pick a date that was a while off, apparently, it sneaks up on you pretty quickly” he added.

Emilia nodded her head.

“He also said we should talk to Isaac” Lionel announced gently.

“Isaac?” Emilia asked.

“He’s worried that he could try and cause us some trouble” Lionel clarified.

“Why would he cause us trouble?” Emilia asked.

“Because he’s Isaac” Lionel replied “Because we both know how he still feels about you” he added.

Emilia wanted to shake her head, but knew that she couldn’t. As much as she had moved on, it was obvious whenever they were around Isaac that he hadn’t. There was still a way that he looked at her, a way too similar to the way that Lionel looked at her, and she knew that she couldn’t deny it. Lionel had seen enough to Isaac to know that it was true. “You said he knew that you were going to ask” she murmured.

“Luca told him” Lionel noted “But he doesn’t know I asked yet, or that you’ve said yes. I think we ought to tell him” he added.

“But ‘we’ you mean ‘me’?” Emilia asked.

“He’s not in love with me” Lionel replied, a half-awkward smile on his face.

Emilia felt her stomach twist before she let out a gentle sigh, nodding her head gently. “I’ll call him” she confirmed.
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Thanks to FootieJo for the comment :)