Page 99 of It Was Always You

She gasped as she looked deep into his eyes and saw it. That look. The one she had longed to see for so, so long.

Adoration.

Her heart beat so fast she became lightheaded. ‘I’m sorry?’

‘Lily, I know now that all those years ago, that day on the tennis court, that was the day I fell for you. But the timing was all wrong. And I had no clue how you felt. All these years I’ve been oblivious. I truly fell for Eve and pushed my feelings for you down, locked away. I never wanted to acknowledge them. When I lost Eve, you were so selfless. You helped my heart to mend. But I didn’t know it was because you loved me too. I wish you’d told me. Why didn’t you tell me?’

She reached up and touched his face where the rain had been replaced by his tears. ‘I guess… I was scared and then we lost Eve and my heart shattered for you. All I wanted was for you to be happy again. I would’ve done anything to ease your pain. So I tried to let you go.’

‘Well, this is it, Lily. No more fear. No letting go. It’s you and me against the world. Do you still want that? Do you still want me?’

The sincerity and hope in his eyes took her breath away. He really meant it. He was in love with her.

A sob broke free and she smiled at him through her tear-blurred vision. ‘I do.’

‘Lily Macrae. You have my heart. I love you. I think I always have.’

With one hand slipped around her waist and the other in her hair, he sealed his declaration with the kiss she had always longed for. It had been worth the wait.

And the pieces of her broken heart finally mended.

TRACK 40

‘IT WAS ALWAYS YOU’ (MAROON 5)

January 2026

Lily awoke to an empty bed. Bright winter sunlight streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked Loch Linnhe. She sat up and curled her arms around her legs, resting her chin on them. She had always hated waking up alone.

There was a knock at the door, and she tiptoed across the thick, warm carpet of the Admiral’s Suite to open it. There stood a young man with a large bouquet of winter roses in his arms.

‘Hello, Madam. I’m from McCaig’s florist. Where would you like these flowers?’ the smartly dressed young man asked with a polite smile.

She gazed first at the huge display and then back at him. ‘Oh, wow, thank you, they’re beautiful. Please, could you put them on the table by the window?’

‘Yes, Madam… but… there are a few more to come.’ He gestured behind him where another three men stood, arms equally as full.

Her hand came to her mouth and tears welled in her eyes. ‘Oh… goodness… please, bring them in. They look heavy.’

The man smiled. ‘Yes, as you can see, I had to get extra help for this delivery.’

Her heart skipped as her senses were bombarded with beautiful colours and scents. ‘Just place them wherever you can.’

Following her instructions, the men placed vases filled with the most fragrant flowers she had ever smelled wherever there was an empty surface. Their sweet, heady perfume permeated the air around her. Once the deliverymen had gone, she stood in the centre of the room surrounded by a vibrant rainbow. A calm serenity washed over her and a smile pulled at the corners of her mouth.

She pulled on the fluffy white robe and wrapped it tight around her body then stepped out to the balcony that overlooked the mirror-like sea loch with the majestic snowcapped mountains in the distance, she inhaled the fresh, crisp winter air and watched her breath cloud before her as she released it from her lungs. As she stood there looking at the view out over the crystal-clear water, listening as it lapped at the shore beneath the hotel, arms encircled her waist. Kisses were feathered from under her ear down her neck to her shoulder, sending shivers tingling down her spine.

She closed her eyes and sighed. ‘Hmm, I wondered where you’d got to.’

‘Went out to get my beautiful girl a few flowers.’

‘A few? I think you bought all the flowers in the Highlands.’ She giggled, enjoying the closeness of her man. She turned around and gazed into his eyes, slipping her arms around his neck.

‘I called my folks to check on Monty. He’s living the life of Riley. He’s had a bit of steak, some chicken and some salmon, not to mention half a hundredweight of treats. He won’t want to come home with us when we pick him up to go to Glasgow.’

Lily sighed as she ran her fingers through Adam’s hair. ‘Who would’ve thought that we’d end up here?’

His eyes glistened. ‘In the Highlands? It seemed the perfect place. It’s ours. Just ours.’