The Girl He Marked by Laila Callaway novel Chapter 1

Book 1 Chapter 39

Slowly, I’m forgiving him and for some crazy reason, I feel safe with him. I know he won’t hurt me; kid nap me, yeah probably, but not hurt me. Here I am, being offered a guy who will love me unconditionally and protect me with his life, who is made to be mine, and I’m saying no?

Why the hell am I saying no?

I decide to stop being cold to Eli and give him a chance, as if he were a regular human that has asked me on a date. Eli turns on the radio and doesn’t try to make conversation again, I think he senses that I have a lot on my mind and wants to leave me to it. I’m grateful to him for being so respectful, besides, he has all day to talk to me. So, I just sit and look out the window, trying to collate my feelings and make some sense of them

I know as soon as we’re close to our destination, seagulls circle hungrily in the sky, the landscape flat tens out, and the tell-tale azure horizon of the sea comes into view. I instantly feel better, and my happi ness increases as we get closer and closer to the coast.

He drives through the coastal town, I’m like a little kid, pressed up against the window so I don’t miss anything. He follows a winding road down to the beach; it passes alongside it and then over a vast hill. When we come down on the other side, there is a smaller, deserted beach with an extensive, two-story beach house, covered in pale blue wooden boards with cute white shutters.

‘Oh my god, that’s beautiful, I admire the house, feeling another bursting sense of excitement when he presses a button on a fob and the gate to the driveway opens.

‘This is my family’s beach house, we come here every year in summer for a few weeks, have done since I was a kid, he informs me, and I have to lean forwards to take in the full height of the house as he pulls down the gravel path and parks outside. I step out of the car and stare up at the stunning building, I wish my family owned something like this.

Eli retrieves our stuff from the boot and carries them up onto the porch, I wait patiently as he unlocks the front door and gestures for me to go in. My sandals tap quietly on the shiny oak floorboards as I step into the foyer.

‘Do you want me to give you a tour?’ He offers, still holding our cases, I bet they weigh next to nothing for him.

‘Yes please, it’s gorgeous, I can’t hide my awe, I eagerly follow him as he puts down the bags by the spiral stairs and leads me through an archway into the kitchen. The skylights let in all the sunshine, illumi nating the marble countertops and pale blue cupboards to match the outside of the house. Adjoined to the kitchen is the dining room with a whitewashed wooden table set. A set of glass double doors open onto the wrap-around porch, which has steps that lead down to their private beach.

Next, he shows me the living room, with a giant L-shaped sofa and a T. V so large I think my dad would faint at the sight of it. I follow Eli through a door, down a flight of stairs into the basement, which has been made into a games room.

Finally, he grabs our things and shows me the bedrooms, of which there are four, for himself, his par ents and his siblings.

‘You can have Lucia’s room, she doesn’t mind, Eli tells me as he puts my suitcase on her bed.

Thank you, this house is amazing Eli, you‘re so lucky. I gush, taking in Lucia’s room, which is almost identical to her one at home.

“Yeah, I feel lucky, our parents treat us very well, he replies, and I feel glad that he knows how lucky he is and doesn’t take it for granted.

Book 1 Chapter 30

‘I was thinking we could go into town, have a look around and grab some lunch, then come back here and have a swim and go for dinner this evening, Eli suggests and I feel touched, he really has thought this out.

Sounds great,’ I reply, I grab my handbag and we get back into his car. He parks in town and takes me to the high street. The town is adorable, there are cafés and fish and chips shops everywhere, bunting is hung across every street and despite being close to the end of the summer season, there are a lot of peo ple around

Eli leads me down cobbled streets, patiently waiting whilst I do some window shopping and take pho tos. As well as there being many families here, there are quite a few couples as well, they walk past us, holding hands, laughing, and I catch Eli watching them a few times, envy in his eyes. Realizing that this must be hard for him, I decide to do something bold on my part. I fall in step next to him, casually reach out, and slide my hand into his.

The look on his face makes it completely worth it, he looks like a kid on Christmas Day, and my heart clenches at the wonderful sight. He grins at me and squeezes my hand; I think it’s going to take a while to get used to the tingles.