My heart jumps.
It’s Mark.
I blink, scared I’m imagining him. But when I open my eyes he’s still here, in the gorgeous flesh.
I run to him and he picks me up in a hug.
‘I can’t believe you’re here,’ I say, my face buried in his neck.
He puts me down but keeps his arms tight around me.
I link my hands behind his neck, my elbows resting on the soft wool of his black trench coat. The colour brings out the amber in his eyes, and his smile sparkles against his stubble.
Lord, I’m going to faint.
He looks indecently good for a man just off a trans-Atlantic flight, and I can’t stop grinning.
‘Yan said you’d be happy to see me,’ he says.
‘You planned this with him?’
He gazes at me. ‘I didn’t want to presume …’
‘You think I didn’t miss you every single day?’
He plants a soft kiss on my lips.
It’s not enough. It’s not nearly enough. I stand on tiptoe and deepen the kiss. It feels familiar but as wildly exciting as a first kiss.
‘I wasn’t sure you’d bethishappy, though.’
We stand toe-to-toe, his forehead bent to mine. ‘How long do I have you for?’
‘For however long you want me. But if you’re asking how long I’m in London for, then that’s easy. I’m back for good.’
I gasp. ‘What happened?’
‘You happened.’
I shake my head. ‘You can’t change your whole life for me. Eventually, you’ll resent me for it.’
‘No, what I’ll resent is being back in London in two or three years and seeing you all loved-up with some lucky prick whenever I catch up with Theo and Tig.’
‘I don’t know what to say.’
‘I’m not asking for a commitment right away. I’m happy to take things as slowly as you’re comfortable with. Maybe you’ll get tired of me in six months, or six years, or, if I’mreallylucky, sixty years. I can live with anything except being too scared to tell you how I feel. And Ihatebeing afraid of anything.’
‘But you’ve always craved action and danger in far-off places.’
‘What I’ve always craved is somewhere to belong. Chasing the next big thrill was a way to forget that I never had anywhere that truly felt like home.’
‘Home is this little corner of west London?’
‘Home is wherever you are.’
Warmth blooms in my chest, making me brave enough to tell him how I feel.
‘I think I might love you, Mark.’
