“Yes. I never stopped wearing it. Wait. That’s not true. I did take it off for a while when I was angry with you. But then I put it back on.”
She reached out, took hold of his hand, turned it over, and studied how their fingers entwined. These were the hands of a ship’s captain, strong and sure, but they were also the hands of a gentleman. A husband. A father. An honorable man. These were loving hands, and she’d never forgotten the joy of his touch on that precious day in the rose garden. It had remained forever in her heart, a cherished memory like no other.
Somewhere in the distance, a ship’s bell rang. Oliver raised Emma’s hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. When her eyes lifted and she met his handsome gaze, the past came rushing forward. It coursed toward her like a fast wave and swept her off her feet.
This time, Emma surrendered to the incoming tide. She simply let herself float.
Epilogue
Three months later
“I can’t believe you made it.”
Joanna practically skipped across the floor in Gatwick Airport as she made her way to meet Garrett at the baggage claim. At the sight of him, after all this time, she felt a little dizzy. He wore a brown leather jacket and faded blue jeans, and his hair was cut shorter since she’d last seen him—which was from the air when the helicopter blades were blowing his gorgeous wavy locks in all directions.
Seeing him again was like some kind of drug. He was more handsome than she remembered, despite the fact that he’d just come off the red-eye.
Joanna held out her arms, and they embraced like two people who had known each other a lifetime.
“I can’t believe it either,” he said, burying his face in her neck. “Thank God there were no delays. I didn’t sleep a wink on the flight.”
“I couldn’t sleep either,” she replied, still hugging him. “I couldn’t wait for you to get here.”
Garrett and Joanna had written to each other using webmail every day since her return to London, and they’d spoken on the telephone once a week, usually on Sundays, taking turns with the long-distance charges.
During that time, Joanna had shared everything about herself with Garrett. She’d been as open and honest as anyone could be with another human being, and she felt as if she knew everything about him as well—his favorite bands, favorite foods, and, most importantly, his deepest values and his goodness. He had sent her photographs of his enormous, close-knit family, who lived in various towns all over Nova Scotia, and had made it clear that he wanted her to return someday and meet everyone, because he’d told them all about her.
In the airport that day, there was no point denying their feelings for each other. They’d fallen madly in love from a distance. And for Joanna—seeing him again at last, in the flesh, was better than Christmas.
They stepped apart, and he cupped her face in both his hands. “I can’t believe I’m looking at you right now.”
“Me neither.” Her heart was on fire.
Garrett pulled her into his arms again, held her briefly. He then took hold of her hand and led her to a tall potted tree fern next to a post, where they could hide from the crowds and finally kiss the way they wanted to.
When his lips found hers, the kiss was like heaven. All she wanted was more of it. More ofhim.
An alarm sounded at the baggage carousel, and the conveyor belt began to move. Flight passengers hurried to collect their suitcases, but Joanna and Garrett were not yet done saying hello to each other.
It was not until the carousel slowed to a halt, and most of the passengers had collected their bags and departed, that Garrett and Joanna finally moved away from the potted plant and picked up his suitcase.
“You’ll probably need to sleep for a few hours when we get back to my flat,” Joanna said. “I wouldn’t mind taking a nap myself. Then we can go out for dinner later. I made reservations for us at Rules. It’s that restaurant I told you about, in Covent Garden.”
“Sounds perfect.”
“And I can’t wait to show you around London,” Joanna said.
“I’d love to see where you work,” he replied as he wheeled his suitcase behind him.
“I was planning to take you to the clinic tomorrow. Then we’ll visit the horses at the Royal Mews.”
He reached for her hand. “I honestly don’t care what we do. I’m just happy to be here.”
“I’m happy too.”
They walked to the train station in the airport, moved through the turnstiles, and rode the escalator down to the platform. The next train was due to arrive in three minutes, so they found a spot to wait near the yellow line.
“How’s your grandad?” Garrett asked.
