Love By Design, page 44
August sighs in content as he pulls me closer to him, the familiar scent of his cologne washing over me. I nose the soft texture of his silk shirt, liking the way it feels on my cheek as I bury my face into his chest. He presses his lips on top of my head before tucking my head under his chin.
“Long distance is pure agony,” He adds.
“I know,” I reply, jutting my lip. “I missed you too.”
It’s been a little over a month since August and I last saw each other in person. Though we speak every single day, preparations for my debut presentation at London Fashion Week had taken up my entire schedule for the season so it had been almost impossible for me to free up any time for August. Similarly, August had been inundated with work in New York resulting in very limited opportunities for us to meet in person.
Over the past six months alone, we’ve seen each other a total of four times.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” I gaze up at him. “I thought they were going to keep you longer at the studio.”
“And miss my little tinkering talent’s debut?” He tuts. “Now, that’s ridiculous.”
After handing over and stepping down from his role as Director of Communications at Holmes, August began work on opening up his own photography studio in New York. He’s still a board member at Vante and loosely involved with projects in Grayson but he’s fully focused on his photography work under Jean-Luc.
Over the past few months, he’s started working on collaborative projects with indie publications in New York as well as the odd freelance work for magazines here in London.
“I know how important this is for you, loveheart.” He adds. “I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”
A surge of emotions courses through me.
The pressure of my ‘dreams’ debut presentation at Fashion Week has been a nightmare organising for the past month and I’m grateful for August who has been nothing but supportive. Staying up with me during sleepless nights, listening to my breakdown over calls.
“Thank you,” I say. “For the flowers. For coming to London. For being here.”
“Pour toujours, mon cœur.” He responds.
The three little words are on the tip of my tongue but I swallow them down, feeling them flutter around in my stomach.
“There’s something I want to talk to you about.” August leans back to look me in the eye, his expression shifting back to nervousness. “I’m considering moving to London.”
I blink. “You are?”
“Temporarily,” He adds. “Well, semi-permanently. MODUE reached out and they want me to do contractual work for the magazine. They like the fashion editorials and celebrity shoots I’ve been doing lately. I’ve also spoken to Chaewon about possibly doing some freelance work for the agency. LIFT also contacted me to do photography seminars at the university so I’m looking at being based in London for the next year or so.”
The possibility of August relocating to London sets off a flurry of emotions inside me. No more long-haul flights, no more late-night conversations due to different timezones, no more attempting to dissuade August from using his private jet whenever I had separation anxiety.
“Nothing’s set in stone yet,” He continues. “But I wanted to know your thoughts.”
The nervous tick of his jaw followed by the hesitant brush of his palm on the back of his neck betrays the nonchalant front he’s masking.
My hand reaches up, fingers gently caressing the side of his face.
“You moving to London would be a dream come true,” I say quietly, tracing the line of his jaw. “But I know how important New York is to you and how much you’ve fallen back in love with the city since dedicating yourself there. Your photography, your studio— all the work you’ve been doing for the past year, it’s all in New York.”
The last thing I would want is for August to give that up, not when he’s invested so much of his time and energy to establish it independently from Vante.
“That’s true.” August kisses my palm before leaning into my touch. “My work is in New York. But my heart is in London.”
His eyes scan my face, grey eyes brimming with a tenderness that tugs on my heartstrings.
“I want to be here, loveheart.” He affirms. “With you.”
His smile is gentle, his gaze soft.
God, I love him.
My vision blurs and my throat constricts at the overwhelming wave of emotions that pull me under. I struggle to articulate myself but I feel it. Those three little words rising back to the surface.
“Unless…” He interprets my silence as uncertainty, his own hesitation seeping into his voice. “If you think that’s moving too fast, we can slow down. It’s not as if we’ll be living together. We’ll just be in the same city. It’ll be like how it was before– how they are currently– if that’s what you want. I know you’re busy with MAHALIA and I would never expect you to put anything on hold or to prioritise—”
I stop his ranting with a gentle kiss.
“I love you.”
The words flow effortlessly from me, the warm gush of emotions that follow surging throughout my entire body.
August stares at me, wide-eyed, mouth opening and closing in surprise. He’s frozen to the spot and I can almost see the gears in his mind turning, the cogs in his brain working overtime to make sense of my not-so-little proclamation of love.
“Yes,” I look up at him, smiling.
He blinks at me owlishly and I lean up to give him another peck on the lips.
“Yes?” He questions.
I nod. “To everything. To London, to you, to us. To being together now and to living together in the future. Yes.”
August looks at me, eyes flickering with different emotions before he picks me up and twirls me around. He showers my face with loud, hurried kisses, his face beaming as he grins up at me.
“I love–”
“Mahalia!”
Both August and I turn towards the door as we hear Gigi’s voice and the familiar clacking of her heels against the floor.
“In the office!” I respond aloud as August gently sets me down. “I should probably go back out there. Gigi wants to do a quick interview for MODUE.”
“Again?” He retorts with a playful huff. “What does a man have to do to be able to spend time with his girlfriend?”
I beam at him. “Move to London.”
A loud knocking resounds against the door, August and I turning towards the noise.
“You both better be decent!” Gigi yells. “I do not want a repeat of last time.”
August chuckles before interjecting loudly, “You might want to wait then! We’re still–”
“Behave,” I prod his chest, scolding him with a mock glare before giggling.
He leans down for another kiss, smiling as I wrap my arms around his neck. Pulling away, my heart flutters in my chest at the sight of August’s smile.
“Mahalia Aurora Hartt,” He whispers gently. “I love you.”
His gaze holds mine as he utters those three little words, the sentiment stitching itself onto my heart.
I lean up to press a kiss on his lips.
“I love you too,” I beam, exhaling a breath. “August Jean-Luc Vante.”
About the Author
Yinnie Lin is a fashion fictionist, romance reader and lover of literature.
You can connect with me on:
https://linktr.ee/yinnielin
https://twitter.com/yinnielin
https://www.tiktok.com/@yinnielin
https://www.instagram.com/yinnielin
Subscribe to my newsletter:
https://tr.ee/aRAyt5w42w
Yinnie Lin, Love By Design
